Chapter 250: Kaido's Belated Arrival
BOOM.
Like a meteor crashing down, a massive crater appeared at Syrup Village's harbor, seawater surging in as the entire island trembled.
"Is it a tsunami? Or an earthquake?"
"Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I just saw a dragon fall from the sky!"
The Going Merry, having just left port, hadn't gone far before being swept up by the incoming tide and smashed back against the island's shore.
Dust billowed. Waves churned.
A dark figure at the bottom of the crater slowly rose to the surface.
"What a disaster! We just set sail and we're already soaked through!"
The Straw Hat crew stumbled out of the flooded cabin.
The entire cabin was leaking. Nami was drenched, her hair clinging to her pale cheeks.
As droplets slid down her chest, Sanji couldn't help but get a nosebleed.
"It's not a natural disaster."
Zoro's expression darkened. He had seen it clearly—a dragon silhouette falling from the clouds and slamming into the earth.
Usopp's teeth chattered. "Even if it really is a dragon, falling from that height… it'd be dead for sure, right?"
If a chunk of steel fell from the sky, it'd flatten like a pancake. If this thing survived, what kind of defense must it have?
It could probably swallow the entire Syrup Village in one bite.
"Whoa! Awesome!"
Luffy picked up a broken stick, crouched at the crater's edge, and poked inside like he was playing with a caterpillar.
"If it's really a dragon, we can eat dragon meat! The Pirate King gets the biggest piece!"
As he spoke—
The crater began to shake. Pebbles rolled.
Suddenly—
A massive, terrifying azure dragon's head emerged from the sea.
The Merry Go wasn't even as big as one of its scales. Its whiskers alone stretched hundreds of meters.
Everyone froze.
The Straw Hats had yet to experience the Summit War or the Tottoland Incident.
They had only seen high-level battles through the Reincarnation Game's broadcasts.
But seeing a beast of this level up close, something that rivaled a top-tier player, left them trembling.
Hurricanes tore across the ocean, stirring up colossal waves.
Dense thunderclouds blotted out the sun. Purple-black lightning crackled.
"The weather… changed?"
Nami gulped. Her body, naturally sensitive to atmospheric changes, had detected something unnatural.
A clear sky had suddenly been overwritten by this creature's mere presence.
What was going on?
"Brat, have you heard of the Game Merchant? Tell me where he is."
The azure dragon slowly shifted into human form.
Two horns adorned his head, arms covered in scale-like markings, a massive gourd of wine tied to his waist.
His breath carried a faint heat.
It was none other than the captain of the Beasts Pirates, Kaido, who had departed Onigashima to search for the Reincarnation Game in the East Blue.
Though unaware of his true identity,
any normal person would've fainted from fear at the sight alone.
But Luffy, being Luffy, simply shook his head. "Nope."
"I see."
Kaido nodded, took a swig from his gourd, and turned to leave, wobbling as he walked.
He'd come to find the Game Merchant—anything else held no interest for him.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Zoro looked grim.
Now wielding demon power, his perception was sharper than the others.
Kaido's aura was immense.
Though slightly below top-tier players, he could crush the Straw Hat crew effortlessly.
Best to avoid conflict.
"Wait, kid."
The massive figure stopped.
Kaido turned to face the boy in the straw hat. "What did you just say? What kind of king do you want to be?"
Hearing those words in a backwater like the East Blue was… insulting.
What a brat.
Kaido looked down at Luffy, thinking he'd misheard.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Luffy looked up at the towering figure without a hint of hesitation.
"No joke? You're this weak and still say that?"
A monstrous wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted, tearing across Syrup Village's coast.
Even the waves froze.
Usopp fainted instantly.
Zoro, Sanji, and Nami felt a crushing pressure slam down on them.
Kaido raised his massive kanabo and brought it down on Luffy at the crater's edge.
"Inferno Furnace!"
Nami moved first.
A burning orange-red flame pumpkin burst from her pocket.
It expanded rapidly, wrapped in mechanical parts, forming a giant furnace.
Flame stones shot from the top, creating violent explosions.
The heat was so intense it evaporated the seawater.
"Soul-Cleaving Oni Slash!"
Zoro lowered his stance and drew his swords.
A demonic silhouette appeared behind him, sending a ferocious ghostly wave at Kaido.
BOOM.
Kaido's kanabo smashed into the giant furnace—not destroying it, but cracking it slightly.
The Oni Slash struck Kaido's chest.
No visible damage, but a faint ghostly aura lingered.
"No Haki… How?!"
Kaido looked down in disbelief, touching his chest.
His skin was untouched, his defense unbroken—
yet something had pierced through, attacking his insides directly.
Buzz.
He wrapped his torso in Armament Haki, turning it pitch black.
But the chill from that ghost aura didn't fade.
Kaido was shaken.
"This is a Game ability? Even Armament Haki can't dispel it?"
He'd left Wano in search of the Game Merchant,
but had gotten lost and only just reached the East Blue.
He'd seen some clips through Den Den Mushi, but—
Now, facing it firsthand, he realized the power was real.
"This brute… isn't a player!"
Nami canceled her ability after seeing that the Inferno Furnace had no effect.
She quickly retreated.
But she also realized:
this man didn't seem to know anything about the Game.
He felt like a relic from the old world.
The Straw Hats relaxed a bit.
Truth be told, even if there was a gap in strength, players with gear and skills could still stand a chance against non-players.
That was the advantage the Reincarnation Game gave them.
Even if they couldn't win—they could fight.
"How interesting. You're weak, but still have enough value to be my subordinates!"
Kaido suddenly burst out laughing like a madman.
He was long bored of life.
That's why he kept trying to die, why he'd challenged the other Yonko alone, why he provoked the Marines—just to find excitement.
Or gather pirates he deemed worthy.
And these kids… barely met the bar.
"No."
Luffy shook his head, face serious.
Anyone who attacked his friends was an enemy.
And the freest man on the seas would never serve under anyone.
He took a deep breath.
"I'll hold him off—
you guys run!"
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