Boom.
Like a meteorite hitting the ground, a massive crater was smashed into Shiroppu Village's harbor entrance. Seawater poured in, and the entire island trembled.
"Is it a tsunami or an earthquake?"
"Am I seeing things? I just saw a dragon fall to the ground!"
The going merry, which had just left port, hadn't gone far when it was swept by the incoming seawater and slammed against the shore of Shiroppu Village.
Smoke and dust billowed, and waves surged.
A dark shadow seemed to be floating upwards from the bottom of the crater.
"We just set sail and already encountered a natural disaster. We're all soaked, really!"
The Straw Hat Pirates stumbled out of the ship's cabin.
The entire cabin was leaking. Nami was drenched, her hair clinging to her fair cheeks.
Further down, water droplets silently rolled over her peaks, and Sanji couldn't help but get a nosebleed.
"It's not a natural disaster."
Zoro's expression was grim. He had seen it clearly: a dragon-like shadow fell directly from deep within the dark clouds, smashing heavily into the ground.
Usopp's teeth chattered as he nervously said, "Even if it really is a dragon, falling from such a height, it must be dead, right?"
If steel falls from the sky, it turns into a pancake. If this thing is still alive, how incredibly strong must its defense be?
Swallowing the entire Shiroppu Village would be no problem for it.
"Wow, that's great!"
Luffy picked up a dead branch and, like teasing a caterpillar, squatted on the edge of the deep pit, poking at it with the branch, laughing, "If it's really a dragon, we can eat dragon meat! The Pirate King gets to eat the biggest piece of meat!"
As his words fell,
The edge of the deep pit began to tremble, and loose rocks rattled down.
Suddenly,
A gigantic, ferocious blue dragon head emerged from the water. The entire going merry wasn't even the size of a single dragon scale on this blue dragon. Its extended whiskers alone were hundreds of meters long.
Everyone was terrified and stood rooted to the spot.
The current Straw Hat Pirates hadn't yet experienced the Marineford War or the Battle of the Trant Kingdom.
Although they had seen the battles of top players through the Reincarnation Game, this close encounter with a monster comparable to a top player made them tremble just from the aura it emitted.
A hurricane swept across the sea, churning the surface.
Dense dark clouds obscured the sky, and purple-black lightning flashed.
"The climate, it suddenly changed?"
Nami swallowed. Her body had a very keen sense, naturally able to detect changes in the climate.
The sky, which should have been clear, had actually changed due to the appearance of a single creature.
What on earth was happening?
"Brat, have you heard of the Game Merchant? Tell me where he is?"
The blue dragon gradually transformed into a human form.
He had two horns on his head, scale-like patterns wrapped around his arms, and a huge sake gourd at his waist.
As he spoke, slightly hot air spewed from his mouth.
It was none other than Kaido, the captain of the Beasts Pirates, who had left Onigashima and headed for the East Blue.
Even though they didn't know Kaido's true identity,
Most people would have been scared silly seeing such a sight, but Luffy, being thick-skinned, shook his head and said, "I don't know."
"Is that so?"
Kaido nodded, took a couple of sips from his sake gourd, then swayed and turned to leave.
He had come to the East Blue to find the Reincarnation Game; nothing else could pique his interest.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Zoro's face was solemn.
He now controlled the power of the Ghost God and his perception was keener than the others'.
The aura emanating from Kaido was very strong. Although there was a slight gap compared to top players, it shouldn't be difficult for him to deal with the Straw Hat Pirates.
It was best not to clash with such a powerful enemy.
"Wait, brat."
The burly figure, who had already turned, suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at the Straw Hat captain, and asked, "What did you just say? What king do you want to be?"
To hear such an irritating remark in a small place like the East Blue.
What an arrogant brat.
Kaido's gaze fell, looking at the serious-faced Straw Hat Luffy, thinking he had heard things.
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Luffy also looked up, facing the tall figure looking down at him.
Without hesitation, he repeated his earlier words.
"What a joke! You're so weak!"
An extremely powerful Haki burst forth, sweeping across Shiroppu Village's coastline like a hurricane, even causing the waves to halt.
Usopp was directly knocked unconscious.
Zoro, Sanji, and Nami felt their bodies suddenly heavy, enveloped by immense pressure.
Kaido swung his massive spiked club towards Luffy, who stood at the edge of the deep pit.
"Blaze Furnace!"
Nami was the first to act. A scorching orange-red flame pumpkin jumped out of her pocket.
The flame pumpkin rapidly expanded, enveloped by various mechanical devices, instantly transforming into a giant furnace.
Burning red flame stones continuously spewed from the top of the furnace, creating violent explosions.
Those that flowed into the seawater directly evaporated the water.
"Spirit Eater Ghost Slash!"
Zoro crouched, drawing his sword.
A phantom of the Ghost God materialized, and a stream of air, carrying a ferocious evil spirit, charged towards Kaido.
Boom.
The giant furnace was struck by the massive spiked club. It didn't shatter on the spot, only showing subtle cracks.
And Kaido, who was hit by the Spirit Eater Ghost Slash, felt a slight warmth in his chest.
"This is... there's no Haki at all, how is that possible?"
Kaido lowered his head in disbelief, reaching out to touch his chest.
His skin was intact, not even a scratch, but a faint ghostly aura subtly lingered, as if it had penetrated his boasted defense, directly harming his insides.
Buzz.
Armed Haki wrapped around him, and Kaido's chest turned as black as dark iron.
But the chill of being invaded by the ghostly aura still hadn't faded.
Kaido was greatly shocked, asking in surprise, "Is this a skill from the Reincarnation Game? It can't even be dispelled by Armed Haki?"
He had left Wano Country and come to the East Blue to search for the Game Merchant's whereabouts.
But he kept getting lost along the way until he finally managed to wander to the East Blue, having only briefly seen some exciting clips from video Den Den Mushi.
Now, after personally battling this power, he realized it was indeed extraordinary.
"This big guy isn't a game player!"
Nami, realizing that [Blaze Furnace] couldn't harm Kaido, quickly interrupted the skill and retreated to a safe position.
But she also noticed that the opponent didn't seem to understand game skills very well.
He seemed more like a primal powerhouse who hadn't encountered the Reincarnation Game.
Upon hearing this,
The Straw Hat Pirates all breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, although there was a power gap, players with skills and equipment, at the same level, had a stronger overall strength than non-player experts.
This was the advantage the Reincarnation Game gave them.
Even if they couldn't win, there was still a chance to struggle.
"Interesting. Although they're weak, they have enough value to become my subordinates!"
Kaido suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.
He had long grown weary of the dull and boring world, which was why he had committed suicide countless times, deliberately charging alone at other Four Emperors pirate crews, and provoking Navy Headquarters—all in search of fun.
Or to gather pirates he found acceptable as subordinates.
These guys in front of him were barely acceptable.
"No."
Luffy shook his head, refusing with a serious expression.
Anyone who attacked his comrades was an enemy. Moreover, the freest man in this vast ocean could not be someone else's subordinate.
He took a deep breath and said, "I'll hold him off, you guys run!"
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