"Are these men your subordinates?" Ren asked as he looked at the sake Kaido had tossed to him.
Ren wasn't particularly fond of drinking, but he often had some while in Wano. However, to his constitution, those clear sakes were pretty much just flavorful water.
As for why Kaido was showing him goodwill, that wasn't hard to guess. He naturally wanted Captain John's treasure as well.
Currently, the Beast Pirates could be described as having nothing—no men, no money. But if they could obtain Captain John's treasure, those two problems would no longer be issues.
However, with his strength, it would be difficult even to lurk in the shadows among all the big shots. So when he saw Ren and Moli, who were only two people, he got the idea to cooperate with them.
The white-haired man before him looked somewhat familiar, but after careful recollection, Kaido still felt he should have never seen this person before. There was no news about them in the great sea either.
This meant these two people likely did not belong to any other large pirate crews. This made Kaido feel there was a basis for cooperation between them, and it would be even better if they could directly join the Beast Pirates.
"They barely count as some combat power," Kaido said casually.
These people were indeed gathered by him. Their strengths weren't great, but most were pirates with bounties of tens of millions, and quite a few even exceeded 100 million.
The Beast Pirates really didn't have much potential for development now. Besides himself, currently only a kid showed decent potential.
But that kid seemed to have some serious psychological issues.
"Too many trash gathering together makes the air smell awful."
Ren's gaze casually swept around the entire bar, pausing for a moment only on a kid covered head to toe in leather, before making no other movements.
The Future Flame Disaster, Jin?
They called him a kid, but Jin was actually much taller than Ren. Now his height had exceeded three meters, making him look extremely burly, though those eyes visible through the mask looked somewhat weary and mad.
"Calling us trash? You bastard!"
"Mr. Kaido, we can't just let this slide. That useless Doujam is one thing, but this guy has insulted us too!"
This person's words were clearly agreed upon by the others. They followed Kaido not to come here and be humiliated. Now they couldn't tolerate being insulted by some pretty boy who popped up out of nowhere.
"Don't you think these people are too noisy? Like insects that never stop chirping."
Ren's gaze became aggressive. Kaido seemed to realize something, and his expression turned solemn.
The next moment, a powerful aura erupted from Ren's body. The powerful Conqueror's Haki instantly spread out like ripples, continuously impacting the pirates' brains.
Those pirates with bounties over 100 million naturally wouldn't be knocked out so easily by the Conqueror's Haki, but they also collapsed as if attacked! Their faces were pale, as if they had been struck heavily, and their consciousness became muddled.
Kaido felt some pressure, but he also had Conqueror's Haki, so it basically had no major effect on him.
At the same time, he moved his body to the side, standing in front of Jin.
Jin felt as if he had suddenly appeared in the midst of a stormy sea, like a raft on the verge of capsizing. Only when Kaido's figure blocked him in front did he manage to catch his breath.
Kaido's expression visibly darkened. Although he was indeed planning to cooperate with Ren, it didn't mean he could tolerate Ren's provocations indefinitely.
But before Kaido could lose his temper, Ren abruptly retracted his Conqueror's Haki. He found Kaido's current frowning expression quite amusing.
"Much quieter now, isn't it?"
Kaido glared at Ren with his eyes, not saying a word. The two just stared at each other.
Seeing this situation, Jin behind Kaido also stepped forward, staring fixedly at Moli beside Ren. Jin's thoughts were simple; if a fight really broke out, he absolutely would not let this woman disturb Mr. Kaido.
However, this conflict eventually subsided.
Kaido was a very patient person. In the current situation, he already knew it was basically impossible to take Ren as a subordinate. People with Conqueror's Haki weren't so willing to submit easily.
Besides, the other party's strength was also very strong. But the basis for cooperation still existed.
To achieve his goals, Kaido didn't mind cooperating with people he disliked, as long as that person was truly useful.
"You're here for John too, right?" Kaido didn't beat around the bush.
"The whole world's attention is gathered here now. Everyone wants to get that miser John's treasure, but how many are qualified to stay until the end?"
"We can cooperate! If we succeed, the treasure can be split in half," Kaido said.
"Although I'm actually here for John himself, I have some history with him. But that guy's treasure... sure, if we succeed, let's split it in half."
Ren didn't refuse. He of course knew that he and Kaido were friendly on the surface but not in their hearts. Talking about splitting in half now, if they really got the treasure, Kaido would probably selectively forget about it.
The reason he agreed to join forces with Kaido was also because Kaido was more familiar with John. Also being someone who went solo after the collapse of the Rocks Pirate Fleet, Kaido might know more about their former colleague.
"Jin, throw those unconscious trash out."
Kaido turned and sat down on a chair, tilting his head back to take a large swig of sake.
Jin didn't say a word, nor did he question Kaido's order, silently throwing the unconscious pirates outside.
Now, although there were still some people in the tavern, it was much more spacious. Ren didn't continue provoking Kaido, but sat opposite him. Moli stood by his side.
"The name's Kaido, that kid... just call him Jin. What about you?" Kaido asked.
"You can call me Sesshomaru."
Ren didn't reveal his real name. After all, his name was now on the wanted list. Kaido certainly wouldn't want to cooperate with someone stronger than him right now.
Because that likely meant he would lose the initiative.
Kaido currently only felt that Ren was strong, but since they hadn't fought, he didn't know just how strong. But presumably, he couldn't be stronger than him, right?
How could there be so many monsters at the Golden Lion level in this world!
[
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