Kaido of the Beasts

Kaido was drinking when the Den Den Mushi on him suddenly began to ring.

"Purupurupuru..."

Hearing it ring, Kaido put down his sake jug. It struck the ground and left a crater.

Against his palm, which was even larger than a palm-leaf fan, the Den Den Mushi looked as tiny as an ant. Even Kaido's fingers were bigger than it.

He answered, his breath reeking of alcohol, and shouted, "Hey! Who the hell wants me?!"

Then the Den Den Mushi's appearance changed. It took on a cocky, wicked look and even sprouted a pair of sunglasses.

"Fufufufufu, Kaido, it's me."

"Oh, it's you, brat! What do you want? Is the new batch of Devil Fruits ready?!"

"The Devil Fruits are still being cultivated. They'll need a little more time."

"Then why the hell are you calling? Don't bother me for nothing! You're interrupting my drinking!"

Looking thoroughly annoyed, Kaido was about to hang up and return to his drinking when Doflamingo hurriedly stopped him.

"Wait, Kaido! I have something you'll definitely be interested in!"

"Oh? What is it? Let's hear it. If you dare lie to me, I'll come over and beat you up!"

That was how casually Kaido acted. Even though Doflamingo was his business partner, and he even depended on Doflamingo for Artificial Devil Fruits, he showed none of the humility of someone asking a favor. Instead, he would beat him up whenever he felt like it.

On the other end, Doflamingo seethed at Kaido's rude words. But for the sake of his plan to pit one enemy against another, he kept his temper and explained what had happened.

"Fufufufufu, you'll definitely be pleased. There's a bar in the Sabaody Archipelago..."

"Huh? What a big mouth! A brat who doesn't know his place!"

Kaido's voice grew considerably louder, and he unconsciously infused it with Conqueror's Haki, dispersing much of the cloud cover overhead.

"That bar is at Mangrove No. 13 in the Sabaody Archipelago. Fufufufufu..."

With that, Doflamingo hung up.

The Den Den Mushi, which had held on until the very last second, finally gave out and fainted under the pressure of Kaido's Conqueror's Haki. In a sense, it was already pretty damn impressive. After all, even some mighty pirates with bounties exceeding a hundred million, or the so-called pirate Supernovas who would emerge later, couldn't last long under Kaido's Conqueror's Haki.

Kaido set down the pitiful Den Den Mushi, picked up his enormous sake jug again, and drained the remaining liquor in one go.

"A bar that can grant any wish, huh? Hmph. Big talk!"

Kaido muttered to himself. He had actually always had a dream-ahem, perhaps "dream" wasn't quite the right word. A hobby would be more accurate. Kaido had always been courting death, in the most literal sense. For example, despite being a pirate, he had stormed Marine Headquarters alone. The Marines had captured him, only to discover they couldn't kill him. Awkward. Another example was jumping straight down from a Sky Island.

Yes, Kaido wanted to kill himself, but his body was simply too powerful. No matter what he tried, he couldn't die. Wasn't that infuriating?!

Now, however, Doflamingo had told him about a bar that claimed it could grant any wish, and it immediately piqued Kaido's interest.

Although Kaido looked like his head was full of muscle, that didn't mean he was stupid. He simply possessed enough strength that he didn't need to use his brain. In truth, he was quite clever and cunning. That much was clear from how he had used Wano Country's shogun, Kurozumi Orochi, to wipe out the Kozuki Family and seize Wano Country as his base-a land that was easy to defend and hard to attack, rich in resources, and possessed advanced Seastone-working techniques. At the same time, he suppressed public discourse and information, keeping the people from developing an interest in the outside world to make his rule easier.

So although Doflamingo hadn't said it outright, Kaido had already guessed the truth. Doflamingo must have suffered a setback there. He certainly hadn't called to share this information out of the goodness of his heart!

Though Doflamingo's strength was insignificant compared with his own, there was no denying that he had some ability. If even Doflamingo had suffered a setback there and could do nothing but turn to him, then this bar that had suddenly appeared must have something going for it. Perhaps it could even give him a little fun.

That was right. Besides his fondness for suicide, Kaido also loved fighting and war. He was a battle maniac through and through, a war fanatic, a terrorist set against the world!

Once he realized there might be someone strong in that bar, Kaido began itching for a fight. He immediately decided to go there, have some fun, and raise hell!

As for Doflamingo plotting against him, he could deal with that after he had enjoyed himself and come back!

He had heard Dressrosa was a nice place. Tearing it apart ought to feel pretty good!

But it probably never occurred to Kaido that, once he went there, he might not have a future at all...

Then Kaido tossed the now-empty sake jug onto the ground, smashing a large crater into it and shattering the jug into pieces.

He slowly stood up, like a small hill suddenly rising from the earth. After loosening his somewhat stiff muscles, his body began to change.

Dense scales slowly grew across Kaido's body. The horns on his head gradually enlarged, and his physique underwent a tremendous transformation. His presence quietly changed as well, shifting from overflowing aggression to something mysterious and regal.

Then, with a burst of force, Kaido actually lifted both feet off the ground and flew into the air. At some point, a layer of dark clouds had gathered above the small island, creating an oppressive atmosphere. Still transforming, Kaido plunged straight into those clouds.

The dark clouds churned overhead, occasionally streaked by lightning. In those brief flashes, something could faintly be seen within them, something enormous.

"Roooaaar-!" A piercing cry rang out amid the thunder, filled with deadly majesty and an overwhelming, unrivaled force, as though the sky itself had shattered!

The dark clouds churned even more violently, as though some creature were stirring them from within. Then the mysterious being hidden behind them finally revealed a glimpse of itself. A sharp, scale-covered claw suddenly stretched out of the clouds, exposing part of the creature's body as well.

"Roooaaar-!" Another piercing cry rang out. Then a massive head emerged from the clouds, covered in fine, tightly packed scales. It bore two pairs of horns, flowing whiskers and a mane, and terrifyingly sharp teeth. It was unmistakably a Divine Dragon, brimming with majesty!

Yes, the mysterious creature concealed behind the clouds was now a legendary being-a Divine Dragon!

As the saying went, wind followed the tiger, and clouds followed the dragon. So it was perfectly reasonable for a Divine Dragon to bring a few dark-cloud effects along when it appeared.