Just then, the guard raised his whip to strike again.
"Hello."
A voice came from the line of prisoners.
He was a short, elderly man with a severely hunched back, gray hair, and deep, knife-carved wrinkles on his face.
He wore the same tattered prison uniform as the other prisoners, and his wrists were shackled with heavy Seastone shackles.
But in those cloudy old eyes, there was something completely different from the other prisoners.
"Be polite to the elderly."
The guard paused for a moment, then sneered, "Who do you think you are? You think you can teach me how to do things?"
The whip lashed out at Hyogoro.
Hyogoro did not dodge.
He knew that hiding would only invite a more brutal beating.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the whip to fall on him.
But the whip did not fall.
Then a hand grabbed the tip of the whip.
The guard tried to pull the whip back, but found it wouldn't budge.
"You just kicked that old man, didn't you?"
Luffy looked up.
The guard met his eyes.
There was no anger or murderous intent in those eyes, but a chill inexplicably ran down the guard's spine.
He couldn't quite explain the feeling—
It was as if he were standing not with a prisoner, but with a sleeping beast.
"What... what do you want to do--"
Luffy did not answer.
He simply yanked the whip towards himself, and the guard was dragged over.
Immediately afterwards, Luffy smashed his hammer into the guard's forehead.
"Bang!"
The guard's eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground.
The quarry was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.
"Someone is attacking the guards!"
"It's that new Straw Hat Boy!"
"This is insane! Call for reinforcements!"
A dozen or so guards surged in from all directions, carrying knives, spears, and clubs.
Luffy grinned. Although he couldn't use his rubber powers due to the Seastone Handcuffs, his physical skills and Haki were still there.
One punch, one kill.
Without Devil Fruit abilities or Armament Haki Hardening, it's just pure fists and instinct.
But every punch hit the guard's vital points precisely, and every punch carried an unreasonable brute force.
In less than two minutes, all of the dozen or so guards were lying on the ground groaning.
Luffy shook the blood off his hands and turned to look at Hyogoro.
"Grandpa, are you alright?"
Hyogoro stared at him blankly, speechless for a moment.
He had been imprisoned in Udon for twenty years and had seen countless prisoners, but he had never seen anyone like this.
Despite wearing Seastone Handcuffs and being seriously injured, he still dared to stand up for a complete stranger.
"Little brother... you..."
My name is Luffy.
Luffy grinned.
Please guide me in the future.
That night, in the prison cell.
Luffy and Zoro were locked up next to Kid.
It was called a prison, but it was actually just a few stone holes in the mine wall with the exits sealed off by iron bars.
The ground was covered with moldy straw, the corners of the walls were covered with moss, and the air was filled with the stench of excrement and rust.
Luffy sat cross-legged on the ground, his stomach growling with hunger.
The prison lunch consisted of a fist-sized ball of brown rice and a bowl of clear soup with a few vegetable leaves floating on top. Luffy finished it in two bites and is now staring at a gecko on the wall, drooling.
" Zoro, do you think that gecko is edible?"
"Cannot."
But I'm so hungry.
"Bear with it."
Luffy pouted, and his stomach growled again.
Kid's cold laughter echoed from the next cell:
" Straw Hat Boy, in this place you have to learn to go hungry."
"I've been starving for almost half a year, and you're already complaining after only two days."
"You've been starving for half a year?!"
Luffy was shocked.
"Then how come you're still so strong?"
"I'm exceptionally gifted!"
Kid said that, but he was actually very hungry too.
The Seastone Handcuffs suppressed his Devil Fruit powers, causing him to expend far more energy than usual, and the daily prison food was simply not enough to replenish it.
He's been able to hold on until now entirely thanks to his willpower and his hatred for Kaido.
"You three, be quiet."
Zoro leaned against the wall, his eyes closed.
"You'd be better off saving your energy for arguing."
I still have to move stones tomorrow.
Luffy fell silent upon hearing this.
But not long after, his stomach growled again.
Footsteps could be heard outside the iron railings.
Hyogoro walked over carrying a broken bowl containing two rice balls.
He passed the bowl through the gap in the railing.
"Young man, I have two rice balls left here. If you don't mind..."
Luffy glanced at the two rice balls, then at Hyogoro's thin, bony arms, and shook his head.
"Grandpa, you eat it yourself. You need it more than I do."
"I'm just an old man, I can't eat that much."
Hyogoro insisted on stuffing the bowl in.
Luffy hesitated for a moment, then took the rice ball and gave one to Zoro.
The two ate in silence. Hyogoro sat down outside the railing, looking at Luffy with a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Hey bro, that thing you used during the day—was it the Haki '?"
Luffy, with a rice ball stuffed in his mouth, nodded indistinctly.
Who taught you that?
Luffy swallowed the rice ball. " Rayleigh. Dark King Rayleigh."
Hyogoro's body trembled, and a sharp glint flashed in his cloudy old eyes.
Rayleigh — the Pirate King's right-hand man?
"Um!
He taught me about Haki and how to use Devil Fruit abilities.
He trained for two years.
Hyogoro remained silent for a while, then lowered his voice and asked:
"Young man, do you know who I am?"
Luffy tilted his head and looked at him, clearly unaware.
Hyogoro gave a wry smile:
My name is Hyogoro.
He was once a retainer of Kozuki Oden.
Twenty years ago, after Oden was defeated by Kaido, I was imprisoned here and have remained so ever since.
Luffy's eyes lit up. " Oden! He's Kin'emon's friend!"
You know Kin'emon?!
Hyogoro suddenly stood up, his hands gripping the railing trembling violently.
His breathing became heavy, and tears glistened in his eyes.
Luffy briefly recounted how Kin'emon brought them to Wano Country, how they formed an alliance on Zou, and how they encountered Kaido in the Flower Capital.
Hyogoro listened, tears streamed down his face, etched with wrinkles.
"Twenty years... I've waited twenty years..."
Hyogoro wiped his tears haphazardly with his sleeve, but he couldn't stop them.
"I thought... I'd never live to see this day again..."
Kid, in the next cell, impatiently slammed his fist on the wall.
"Stop getting sentimental! Instead of reminiscing, you should be thinking about how to escape from prison."
I still want to get my revenge on Kaido!
"I want to too! A hedgehog hairstyle!"
"But Kaido is really strong; my punches couldn't do any damage to him at all!"
Luffy rubbed his stomach, recalling his battle with Kaido, and said with a dejected expression.
Hyogoro wiped away his tears and listened to Luffy's words, his expression becoming extremely solemn.
He looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned close to the railing and spoke in a voice only Luffy and Zoro could hear.
"Brother Luffy, if you want to hurt Kaido, ordinary Armament Haki is far from enough."
You need to learn ' Ryuo ' first.