Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The fierce wind blades didn't shake King's body. They only tore his clothes apart, revealing his brown skin beneath.
Naruto swung his sword with all his might, but he still couldn't injure King—only shred his garments.
When the mask on King's face was finally torn by the wind blades, just as his true face was about to be revealed to Naruto, the wings on his back suddenly spread wide, violently tearing apart the blade storm surrounding him. Immediately after, the flames behind his head sharply contracted, and his figure vanished from its original position.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Naruto.
Before Naruto could react, he felt a sudden numbness at the back of his neck, and his vision went black as he lost consciousness.
"This kid…"
King looked at the unconscious Naruto, his gaze complex.
The strength Naruto had displayed even surpassed Yamato's, far exceeding King's expectations.
That should have been a good thing—but King couldn't shake the feeling that Naruto's rebellious nature might be even stronger than Yamato's.
The possibility of him truly remaining with the Beasts Pirates in the future seemed… slim.
"Forget it. Let Big Brother Kaido worry about this kind of thing."
King shook his head, put on a new mask, then lifted both unconscious children—Yamato and Naruto—and left.
In the days that followed, Naruto and Yamato spent nearly every day seeking out challenges.
Aside from eating and sleeping, they fought relentlessly.
They were beaten badly each time, but their growth was obvious to anyone watching.
Soon, a full month passed.
After a month of training, both Naruto and Yamato had made significant progress.
Naruto became far more proficient in using the Nine-Tails' chakra, while Yamato developed her Devil Fruit ability to the point of achieving a hybrid human-beast form.
More importantly…
Both of them became far more resistant to beatings.
If King wanted to knock them unconscious again without using Haki, it would take at least a hundred exchanges.
On this day, Kaido—who had been away from Onigashima for quite some time—returned.
And he brought two children with him.
One was named Ulti, four years old.The other was Page One, only two.
They were the children of Kaido's subordinates.
Those subordinates were not part of Kaido's main forces and were currently involved in extremely dangerous work. Unable to take their children with them, they entrusted them to Kaido, asking him to tell the children that their father had already died.
Kaido couldn't refuse such a request.
So he brought the two children back to the Beasts Pirates.
"King, these two are entrusted to you as well."
Kaido tossed the children toward King and, without giving him time to speak, transformed into a massive dragon and flew off.
"..."
King stared at Kaido's retreating figure, then looked down at the children at his feet—who looked barely weaned.
Under his mask, his expression turned painful.
That bastard boss… does he think I'm a nanny?
However, when King learned that both children were Devil Fruit users—and had eaten extremely rare Ancient Zoan–type fruits—his mood improved slightly.
On top of that, Kaido had also brought back two Devil Fruits that he valued highly and granted King the authority to distribute them.
"King Big Brother!"
At this moment, eight-year-old Jack—already over three meters tall—rushed over and knelt before King.
"Please train me too!"
Jack knew Naruto and Yamato were receiving King's guidance and that their strength was rapidly increasing. If he didn't work harder, he wouldn't even be able to see their backs in the future.
King frowned beneath his mask.
Jack's talent was inferior to Naruto's and Yamato's, but he was still promising. With proper training, he could become an executive of the Beasts Pirates someday.
He already had four children to train.
One more wouldn't change much.
"King Big Brother, please take me in too!"
Black Maria suddenly rushed out from the side and knelt beside Jack.
She wasn't as desperate for strength as Jack, but she didn't want to be left behind either—and this whole idea had been hers to begin with.
"…Alright."
King agreed.
Five children, six children—what difference did it make?
"Wow, that's a lot of people!"
When Naruto and Yamato came to challenge King again, they found Jack, Black Maria, and the even younger Ulti and Page One already present.
Yamato immediately asked bluntly, "Are you opening a kindergarten?"
King's face darkened beneath his mask.
"Jack and Black Maria will train with you from now on," he said flatly. "As for Ulti and Page One—you two will take care of them."
"This is also part of your special training."
"We don't need anyone to take care of us!"
Four-year-old Ulti immediately objected, then transformed into a dinosaur and roared at them.
"Roar!~"
Page One followed suit, transforming as well.
"Wow—dinosaurs!"
Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement. "So cool! You're so young and already Devil Fruit users!"
"This is an Ancient Zoan type!" Black Maria said in surprise. "And both of them are!"
Run puffed out her chest proudly. "I'm a Pachycephalosaurus! Page One is a Spinosaurus!"
She tried to assert dominance—
And was immediately knocked out by Yamato.
"Too weak," Yamato said casually.
King appeared behind her and struck her head.
"Behave yourself."
Then he declared, "From today onward, you six will train together. Naruto and Yamato—you'll spar with the others."
Jack and Black Maria felt chills down their spines.
Time passed.
Jack and the others quickly realized they were completely suppressed by Naruto's Shadow Clones.
They believed it was some terrifying innate ability.
When Yamato explained it wasn't a Devil Fruit power—and that Naruto wasn't even a Devil Fruit user—they were even more envious.
Ulti and Page One became Naruto's most devoted followers.
Another month later, King returned with gifts.
Two Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits.
One went to Black Maria.One went to Jack.
Yamato received a custom-made spiked club from Queen.
She loved it instantly.
But then she noticed Naruto had received nothing.
King said flatly, "Naruto is not our companion."
Yamato exploded in anger, throwing the club back.
"Naruto is my companion!"
King replied calmly, "A true companion is someone you can entrust your life to."
Yamato answered without hesitation.
Naruto silently stood beside her, smiling brightly.
King watched them.
This won't do.
Kaido Big Brother will have to deal with this personally.
---
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