Clouds churned as the Divine Dragon swam through them, sections of his body emerging now and then. He looked utterly mysterious, his imposing presence unmatched.
And this was Kaido of the Beasts!
Yes, Kaido was also a devil fruit user. Not only was he extraordinarily powerful, with physical strength beyond question, but the devil fruit he had eaten was also among the very best: the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon Form!
Kaido's fruit was a mythical Zoan, even rarer than a Logia, and its Azure Dragon Form ranked among the finest of all mythical Zoans. That alone made it easy to imagine just how terrifying his strength was!
Kaido swam through the clouds for a while, as though sobering up a little. Then he worked out which direction the Sabaody Archipelago lay in and swiftly flew toward it.
How could the Marines possibly let someone as dangerous as Kaido out of their sight, when his slightest move could set everything in motion?
Several kilometers out to sea from the island, Marine intelligence agents were stationed on watch. Their mission was to monitor Kaido's movements. Watching a single person might sound easy, but keeping an eye on a humanoid beast like Kaido was like dancing on a knife's edge. One careless moment could get them killed!
Observation Haki was standard equipment for powerful fighters, let alone a top-tier powerhouse like Kaido. That was why the Marine surveillance team stayed several kilometers away from him. Even then, they spent every day on edge, terrified he might discover them.
While Kaido had been doing nothing but drinking on the island, the watchers had felt relatively relaxed. But now, for whatever mad reason, he was on the move again. Had he gotten drunk?
Although they had already seen Kaido's Divine Dragon form when he arrived on the island, seeing it again still left them momentarily dazed. This creature was simply too perfect: a streamlined body, strong and magnificent limbs, a majestic face, and an air of mystery and nobility. He truly lived up to his reputation as the strongest creature on land, sea, and air!
They immediately snapped to full attention and tried to keep up with Kaido, but his speed was so overwhelming that they could only give up.
Looking in the direction Kaido had flown, they hurriedly took out a Log Pose to check.
"That direction... looks like the Sabaody Archipelago!"
"The Sabaody Archipelago? Damn it, why would Kaido go there? Notify the Fleet Admiral, now!"
At Marine Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral's Office, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was resting with his eyes closed.
The Cygnus God Cloth had been sent to Vegapunk several days ago. Sengoku still remembered Kizaru relaying Dr. Vegapunk's assessment when he returned to report: the Cloth was so perfect that it seemed to be the work of a god!
The work of a god. Even now, those words stirred complicated feelings in Sengoku. Of course, he knew that the god Vegapunk spoke of wasn't one of those filthy wretches, but he still couldn't keep his thoughts from wandering.
He had heard it from Kizaru himself: the owner had effortlessly subdued him, an Admiral, without even lifting a hand. Describing strength like that as godlike hardly seemed excessive...
Naturally, research into the Cloth had yet to yield any results. With no news after all this time, Sengoku felt that hope was already growing slim.
Just then, a Den Den Mushi in his drawer began ringing with a "puru puru."
Sengoku hurriedly stopped his idle musings, opened the drawer, and took out the Den Den Mushi to answer.
"Hello, Sengoku speaking!"
"F-Fleet Admiral Sengoku! This is Team A of the Kaido surveillance unit! A few minutes ago, Kaido suddenly flew toward the Sabaody Archipelago!"
"What?! ...All right, understood. You did well!"
After hanging up, Sengoku wore a composed expression, though there was something odd about it.
Garp, who was there stealing senbei as usual, noticed something off about Sengoku's expression and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Ah, Kaido's headed for the Sabaody Archipelago..."
The news startled Garp too. Even he wasn't absolutely confident he could stop Kaido head-on. If Kaido went on a rampage in the Sabaody Archipelago, how much of it survived would depend on how long his fit of madness lasted.
But then something else suddenly occurred to him, and he calmed down.
"Bwahahahaha! Don't tell me Kaido heard about the bar owner and went there specifically to find him!"
Sengoku was thinking the same thing. After all, Su Yu's presence was the only thing that had changed about the Sabaody Archipelago. If Kaido had suddenly decided to go there, he was most likely heading for Su Yu.
But considering Su Yu's strength, Kaido might well be walking straight into a trap!
If Kaido really angered Su Yu, the Four Emperors might just become the Three Emperors...
Why did I suddenly feel a little gleeful at someone else's misfortune...?
Still, this was only their guess. Neither of them knew what that madman Kaido was actually thinking, so Sengoku sent Sengoku out again...
It would be best if Kaido was going to see Su Yu. If not, Kizaru could use his speed to keep Kaido occupied and lure him away from the Sabaody Archipelago.
When Kizaru heard he was being sent to the Sabaody Archipelago, his first response was to refuse. After all, the place had already left him traumatized. In the end, though, he yielded to the Fleet Admiral's tyranny. He still needed his paycheck, after all. Besides, this trip was about Kaido, not a visit to Su Yu's bar, which came as a relief.
The island Kaido had been on was quite far from the Sabaody Archipelago, and he wasn't a speed specialist like Kizaru, so it would take him some time to arrive. Kizaru was in no hurry to leave. First, he needed to prepare himself mentally...
The Sabaody Archipelago had lovely scenery, but alongside its beauty, the islands had an ugly side: slave-catching gangs, auction houses, and the like. These things greatly interested the Celestial Dragons, who often came to amuse themselves or attend auctions and buy a few slaves that caught their fancy. To them, slaves were nothing more than consumables. That was why this place was also known as the Celestial Dragons' backyard.
For the residents of the Sabaody Archipelago, every visit by the Celestial Dragons was a harsh ordeal. Whether they made it through depended entirely on luck and the Celestial Dragons' mood.
Whenever the Celestial Dragons went out, dedicated bodyguards or experts from CP accompanied them to ensure they suffered not the slightest harm.
Everyone had to kneel and prostrate themselves before the Celestial Dragons. If one of them took a fancy to an attractive commoner, they would simply seize that person as a slave. The commoner's family could not resist, or they would be shot dead on the spot.
To the Celestial Dragons, commoners were an entirely different species, and they could do whatever they pleased to them. They were descendants of the gods, unwilling even to breathe the same air as ordinary people, so they always wore bubble helmets.
The commoners suffered terribly, but there was nothing they could do. Both the World Government and the Marines effectively belonged to the Celestial Dragons. The commoners didn't even have anywhere to lodge a complaint.
After learning that Kaido was headed for the Sabaody Archipelago, Fleet Admiral Sengoku immediately notified the World Government, asking them to keep the Celestial Dragons from visiting the islands for the time being.
Although the Celestial Dragons were domineering and many were fools, some of them still had functioning brains. They knew Kaido was a madman who didn't care whether someone was an ordinary person or a Celestial Dragon. The heads of the various families immediately issued an order: no one was to visit the Sabaody Archipelago for a month!
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