While reading the newspaper, Raleigh noticed something very interesting in a corner—a blurry image of a massive creature breathing hot air that looked like the mythical dragon from ancient legends.
Yes, this was currently the only Azure Dragon Devil Fruit ability in the world.
Momonosuke's counterfeit fruit didn't count yet.
"Raleigh-sama, do you think this is real or fake? Why can't the Navy deal with such mysterious creatures?" Enel asked, leaning over curiously.
He couldn't understand why such a "godly" fruit would appear in the hands of pirates.
Raleigh understood immediately upon seeing it—this was a sign that Kaido was beginning to make his appearance on the world stage.
He knew Kaido's future very well, but since Enel knew nothing about it, he could only explain:
"This guy is called Kaido. He is the captain of the Beasts Pirates, and he's a Devil Fruit Ability User, just like you."
"However, his Devil Fruit is of the Zoan type, and it's an extremely rare Mythical Zoan: the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon."
Raleigh sighed with emotion.
This kind of fruit was truly unreasonable.
While Raleigh could understand the appearance of Ancient Zoan forms, the fact that mythical creatures became powers was staggering.
Actually, among the three main classifications of Devil Fruits, Paramecia and Zoan types were gradually dominating the meta.
Although Logia types were incredibly powerful in the early stages, after entering the Grand Line or the New World, most elites learned Armament Haki.
The Logia's invincibility declined visibly.
However, the top-tier Logia fruits could still be a shortcut to becoming strong, just like Kuzan and Sakazuki.
Although they possessed Logia Devil Fruits, they never relaxed their training in Haki and physical combat skills.
That's why, when facing the media in the same positions, Sakazuki and Kuzan behaved completely differently from the average user.
Enel continued, "Dr. Vegapunk called me as soon as he saw the news because he also wanted a sample of Kaido's blood for research."
Raleigh confirmed the request and nodded. "The captain of the Beast Pirates—Kaido. Should we capture him alive or dead?"
After hearing Raleigh's words, Enel didn't find the arrogance unusual.
In his view, as long as Raleigh made a move, unless the opponent was already at the level of an Admiral or Roger, they wouldn't be able to harm him.
"Dr. Vegapunk's intention is to capture him alive if possible. Our next step is to head toward Kaido's location, aiming to take him down quickly and then return to rest."
"Enel, go to the database and look up some information about Kaido."
Actually, there was quite a lot of information about Kaido in the Marine database.
First of all, although this guy was on Rocks' ship, he never made it to a captain's position back then.
That was entirely because Kaido was too young, serving merely as an apprentice.
However, even though Kaido was very inexperienced back then, he still gained the recognition of the other captains, especially Charlotte Linlin, who was closest to him.
....
New World, on a nameless small island.
A massive pirate ship was docked at a hidden port, resting steadily by the shore.
On this deserted island, the pirates were unloading loot and hiding it in a cave.
After moving the treasure, everyone gathered on the beach.
A huge bonfire ignited the passion of all the pirates present. They began drinking and reveling around the fire.
Among them, the most conspicuous was a towering man with a very burly build and two horns on his head.
He was guzzling wine in large mouthfuls, with several empty sake jars already piled beside him.
"Whew~"
After downing an entire jar, Kaido wiped his mouth, tossed the empty pottery aside, and reached for another.
But he was stopped by another extremely burly figure clad in black leather armor and a mask—this was King, the future leader of the All-Stars of the Beast Pirates.
"Kaido-san, you can't keep drinking like this. Your injuries are already severe."
"It's fine, King. I know my own body. It's nothing serious."
With that, Kaido cracked open another jar of wine and poured it into his mouth.
Before King could say anything, Kaido suddenly started coughing violently and spat out a mouthful of blood-streaked phlegm.
When he came to his senses, Kaido seemed utterly enraged.
Crash!
He hurled the wine jar in his hand, which smashed against a large rock and shattered to pieces.
His right hand instinctively moved to his chest.
That was where he had been unexpectedly injured during the God Valley battle.
During that chaotic war, Kaido had only just entered the fray, and his strength was still at the mid-to-lower levels compared to the legends present.
He couldn't break into the core combat circle of the future Four Emperors, Admirals, and Roger.
The inexperienced Kaido didn't yet possess the near-invincible defense he would later be famous for.
His lung had been pierced by a Marine officer in that battle.
If Charlotte Linlin hadn't seen Kaido on the verge of death and given him the greatest treasure—the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon—he would have died there.
"Make haste. I heard there's a genius scientist named Queen who can help me. Go find him quickly."
Kaido had grown tired of this lingering pain; all he wanted was to find that genius scientist capable of cyborg modification and organ replacement to swap out his damaged lungs for healthy ones.
...
New World, near the Sabaody Archipelago.
A Marine warship sailed through these waters with an imposing presence.
Its massive displacement and the deck lined with well-equipped, resolute Marine soldiers spoke volumes.
They had departed from Navy Headquarters days ago, constantly shifting their positions based on gathered intelligence.
Their goal was to intercept Kaido along his inevitable route toward the scientist Queen.
Unlike the other Navy soldiers training on deck, Raleigh was not among them.
He was a master at slacking off, and just as now, he had already taken out a fishing rod and started fishing at the ship's bow, enjoying the sea breeze.
"Raleigh-sama, we've located Kaido's latest position!" Enel exclaimed excitedly, running up behind Raleigh with the intel in hand.
"Shh, keep it down. I feel a big one biting," Raleigh whispered back, winking at Enel.
Enel glanced dismissively at the fishing rod.
Raleigh eventually took the newspaper from Enel, skimmed through the report, and said.
"Let's plan based on this location. We must ensure Kaido doesn't escape our grasp."
In truth, Raleigh couldn't be bothered to chase after a pirate who kept running around.
Most of the time, he had little interest in capturing pirates—he'd only do it if he happened to cross paths with them.
It wasn't often that he set out specifically to target a single individual.
"Kaido... don't disappoint me!"
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