"So, what exactly do you mean by the purpose you mentioned?" Lanchi asked, her voice filled with concern.
"It is actually quite simple."
Saff placed an arm around Lanchi's shoulder and gently reassured her. "Everyone came to Wano Country this time to use the power of one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, to help those who have hit a bottleneck break through their limits."
"The reason I stopped you earlier was because Wyper asked me to."
Saff sighed, then added with a hint of frustration, "But I did not know that guy never even told you the reason for this trip. That is just like him."
Lanchi puffed her cheeks in annoyance, but her expression quickly shifted when she saw her companions on the battlefield, battered and coughing up blood.
"But they are in that condition... my healing ability might not be enough to restore them quickly!"
Saff tightened her grip on Lanchi's shoulder and smiled. "Do not worry. These guys all received Devil Fruit abilities from Ash, their endurance is far beyond normal."
"And besides, among everyone here with healing abilities, including you and Tsuki, Ash's healing ability is far stronger. There is nothing to worry about."
The reason Saff was so confident was simple.
Not long ago, Pini, Youki, and the others felt their growth had stalled. After discussing it, they decided to push themselves through intense battles under the protection of several wood-element ability users, hoping to break past their limits.
The result was several days of brutal fighting, leaving everyone bruised and exhausted with little improvement.
At that moment, Ash happened to return to the Dawn ship after visiting a nearby island.
To them, it felt like the perfect opportunity.
Among the entire Dawn faction, there was only one person capable of overwhelming everyone else without question, Ash.
Once Ash understood what they wanted, he was speechless.
He knew how strong he was, but he rarely trained. His power kept increasing naturally, but his control over it was far from perfect.
If he acted as a sparring partner, there was a real risk he might seriously injure someone with a single strike.
No matter how he tried to refuse, the others insisted.
To be safe, they sent out the strongest among them first, Sali.
Left with no choice, Ash agreed. He threw a punch, holding back most of his strength, or at least that was what he believed.
Sali, determined to push his limits, chose not to dodge.
His Observation Haki screamed warnings.
Then everything went silent.
The speed was too fast, he could not react.
With a single punch, Sali was knocked out instantly.
Vergo and Tsuki, both possessing wood-based abilities, rushed forward, desperately trying to save him. Their efforts barely helped. In the end, Ash had to step in himself.
He poured an overwhelming amount of vitality into Sali's body while simultaneously activating the solar energy within him, stimulating Sali's natural affinity.
Only then did Sali recover.
After that incident, no one ever suggested sparring with Ash again.
From that point on, Sali set a different goal. Rather than chasing Ash's level, which felt unattainable, he aimed to reach the level of an Admiral or Emperor.
Back in the present, Saff had already managed to calm Lanchi.
Meanwhile, Sali finished his meal.
He wiped the grease from his mouth, stood up, stretched his body, and rolled his shoulders.
"Alright, that is enough rest. Time for round two."
With that, he shot toward the battlefield.
On the shore, after beating Jack into unconsciousness, Dai Li Jack had grown bored. The moment he saw Sali return, he leapt into the air and followed.
Despite being only twenty years old, just slightly older than Tsuki, Dai Li Jack ranked among the top five in combat strength within the group.
Sali, Pini, Youki, Wyper, and Dai Li Jack, that was the order.
His strength even surpassed veterans like Dicken and his own older brothers. This ranking was not speculation, it had been decided through actual battles aboard the Dawn ship.
Kirk, being the cook, did not participate.
Earlier, during their combined assault on Kaido, Wyper had repeatedly used his lightning to paralyze Kaido at critical moments. This provoked Kaido's fury, causing him to focus his attacks almost entirely on Wyper.
Fortunately, Jebao's earth abilities and Kamachiri's metal abilities excelled at defense, allowing them to shield Wyper from much of the damage.
Only now did they fully grasp the true meaning behind the title "the world's strongest creature."
Even with eight people attacking together, their efforts barely made a difference.
Aside from Armament Haki and Ryuo, which could inflict some real damage, most elemental attacks failed to penetrate Kaido's defenses.
After such a long battle, their greatest achievement had only been forcing Kaido to use his Devil Fruit and enter his hybrid form.
The only notable damage came from two Ryuo-infused strikes by Youki and Wyper, where they traded injuries to make Kaido spit out blood.
Other than that, they could not even dislodge a single scale.
Among them, Braham suffered the most.
After his fight with Jinbe, his confidence had soared. But against Kaido, his flames were completely ineffective.
Not only that, Kaido retaliated with a blast of heat breath that overwhelmed Braham's fire and forced it back.
There was nothing more frustrating than being crushed in the very area you excelled in.
At this point, Youki had taken several hits from Kaido's club, but with the support of Wyper and the others, along with Tsuki's healing, he was still holding on while searching for another opportunity to strike with Ryuo.
Wyper remained the main target, drawing most of Kaido's attacks, while Jebao and Kamachiri continued to defend him.
Jason had learned the hard way not to provoke Kaido recklessly. After attempting to use water against him, he was struck by a backhand swing of Kaido's club. Thanks to the others and Tsuki's healing, he only suffered minor injuries. Now he remained on standby with Braham, while Jella assisted Youki whenever possible.
After half a day of fighting, they had achieved almost nothing.
Kaido, on the other hand, had already recovered from the few injuries he had sustained.
His regeneration outpaced the damage they could deal.
And his irritation continued to grow.
From above, Sali quickly assessed the battlefield. As he approached, he shouted, "Youki, Wyper, Jason, fall back and recover your stamina!"
Tsuki, who had spent most of the time providing support, had long noticed Sali's return. Seeing him rejoin the fight, he quietly let out a breath.
The pressure of facing Kaido had been immense.
Hearing the order, Jason did not hesitate. He retreated immediately and glanced back at Kaido with a frustrated expression.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered. "Why does the opponent have to be this strong?"