Getting stronger just by getting beaten up?
Does that even make sense?!
It's insane! Completely absurd!
If that logic held true, then Queen—who was pummeled daily by Big Brother Kaido's kanabo until he coughed blood and begged for mercy—should have surpassed King ages ago!
The thought alone made King's temples throb. The sight before him defied reason, and yet, he couldn't look away.
Still, a memory stirred.
Another lunatic had once sought out beatings under the same pretext—and that lunatic's name was Darren.
Now that that same man had somehow taken down Golden Lion Shiki, even if sheer luck had played a role, King couldn't help but feel his entire understanding of the world beginning to crack.
---
"What?!"
Kaido's furious roar shook the sky. His massive frame rippled with rage, eyes blazing with scarlet lightning. That brat Darren had learned the Dragon Claw Fist from this hooded bastard?!
Before Kaido could swing again, the cloaked man chuckled, his tone maddeningly calm.
"Darren was right," he said lightly. "A good fight with you does make anyone stronger."
Kaido froze.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then the dam broke.
"THAT LITTLE BASTARD SENT YOU?!"
BOOM!!
The heavens themselves seemed to split.
Kaido's aura exploded outward, a torrent of overwhelming, primal force. The air warped beneath the weight of his fury, and the world dimmed as if the sun itself recoiled.
Crimson-black lightning crackled around his body, flickering violently across his shoulders and weapon. His kanabo—Eight Precepts—hummed with power as he gripped it in both hands.
With a roar like a thunder god, Kaido swung downward in a devastating arc.
"ROARING THUNDER EIGHT TRIGRAMS!!!"
The air screamed.
A black-red maelstrom swallowed everything in its path, tearing through the atmosphere and leaving behind a jagged, smoking void.
Dragon barely had time to react. His vision filled with the crackling brilliance of destruction—the same move that had nearly broken his spine before.
That strike wasn't just strength—it was will itself, weaponized. A Conqueror's Haki-infused blow that crushed everything it touched, even from a distance.
Gritting his teeth, Dragon met it head-on.
"Hurricane—Dragon's Breath!"
ROAR!!
A sound like the sky itself crying out thundered across Wano.
From Dragon's palm burst an ultra-compressed storm of air, pure pressure infused with Armament Haki. It erupted outward in a spiraling blast, tearing through the battlefield like a divine gale.
BOOOOOOM!!
The collision birthed an explosion so massive it warped the very landscape. A colossal pillar of energy shot into the heavens, splitting clouds and shaking the island for miles around.
The earth fractured, shockwaves ripping through mountains, sending shards of stone flying like artillery shells.
Through the storm, Dragon's body was hurled backward, smashing into a mountain range with bone-crunching force.
"Gah—!" He spat blood, his vision blurring red.
But through the haze of pain, a fire still burned behind his eyes.
He could feel it. The rhythm. The resonance.
He was close—so very close—to grasping that elusive power that set the true kings apart.
He wasn't some inexperienced fool.
Raised beneath the iron fists of Monkey D. Garp himself, Dragon had felt that terrifying force before—back when his grandfather's "Iron Fist of Love" had literally shattered mountains.
Back then, he'd thought it just physical strength. Now, after countless duels with Kaido, he knew better.
That overwhelming aura—raw, unrestrained dominance—it was Conqueror's Haki in its purest form.
And now, he was on the verge of mastering it.
"You're finished!!" Kaido bellowed.
He rocketed high into the air, the sky trembling around him. Crimson-black lightning cascaded from his kanabo, forming a massive, writhing net that engulfed the heavens.
At that moment, the Emperor of the Beasts truly looked like a god of thunder descending upon the mortal world.
"TRISAMSARA—GUIDE TO NARAKA!!"
Dragon's pupils shrank to pinpoints. His instincts screamed move! But before he could react—
A massive hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Time to go."
The deep, gravelly voice came from right beside him. The newcomer's appearance was so sudden it seemed as though he'd stepped straight out of the air itself.
A bulky, rough hand—its knuckles pink and scarred—emerged from beneath the newcomer's hooded cloak.
Dragon managed a bloodied grin. "Heh. If you'd waited another second, I'd be dead."
He raised a trembling hand for a high five.
The man ignored it, lightly tapping Dragon's forearm instead.
Dragon: …
And then—
Kaido's kanabo, wrapped in raging thunder, came crashing down like divine judgment.
But as it struck—both Dragon and his mysterious ally vanished.
BOOOOOM!!!
The explosion erased the entire mountain. Stone turned to dust; fire and lightning swallowed the horizon.
Half a minute later, the roaring wind died down, leaving only smoking ruins where a mountain had once stood.
Kaido burst from the rubble, chest heaving, eyes bloodshot with rage.
"DAMN BASTARDS!!"
He swung his kanabo through the air, lightning still sizzling across its spikes.
Not again. Not for the fifth damn time! They'd slipped through his fingers once more—vanishing right under his nose with that same mysterious ability.
Even in his dragon form, he hadn't been able to track their speed.
"It's over…" King muttered, his tone weary.
He turned toward Queen—only to find the man already gone.
Vroom… Vroom…
The unmistakable sputter of an engine echoed through the smoke. King turned his head just in time to see Queen astride his absurdly modified motorcycle, tears streaming behind his goggles as he gunned the throttle.
The machine belched out a puff of smoke and rocketed off into the distance.
King: …
He glanced at Kaido—who was now stomping and roaring like a thunder god having a tantrum—then sighed. After a moment's hesitation, he unfurled his wings and transformed into his Pteranodon form, swiftly taking flight.
It looked suspiciously like fleeing.
"Damn it all…" Kaido growled.
When he finally tired of roaring, he stood in the silence of the ruined battlefield, his breath heavy and ragged.
Muttering curses under his breath, he gave up on finding Queen and stomped toward a hidden cliffside cave, his enormous body shifting and shrinking back into human form as he entered.
The interior was dimly lit by flickering oil lamps, their light dancing over jagged stone walls.
Kaido's furious steps echoed through the hollow cavern—until he froze.
The walls were plastered from floor to ceiling with newspaper clippings, maps, and photos—each one focused on the same man.
Rogers Darren.
Articles chronicling every one of his feats—his rise in the North Blue, his duel with Shiki, his "mentorship" of Mihawk and Moria.
But what truly made Kaido's veins bulge were the scribbles scrawled across every page.
"Awesome!" "Legendary!" "So cool!!"
"King of Men!" "My Idol!"
It was clear that the person who had plastered the cave with these clippings deeply admired and yearned to be like Darren.
As Kaido surveyed the newspaper-covered walls, his gaze darkened, his anger simmering dangerously.
To be continued...