"Old friend? Then feel the care from an old friend!"
Kaidou's entire face almost darkened; he was inherently emotional, known for his moods swinging unpredictably.
For Arceus, if he found the wrong one, he'd just keep searching; the Plates couldn't be lost, nor could anyone destroy them. Although he had the wrong idea, his emotions wouldn't fluctuate much.
But Kaidou was different. Earlier on the ship, he dreamed of leading a grand-scale war with a troupe of mythical beasts.
In the end, it turned out to be a fake. Without finding the real John, the Rocks' treasures couldn't be found, and without the treasures, the location of that Plate remained unknown. Without the Plate, his deal couldn't be made, and his dreams drifted further away.
What could be more severe for a pirate than destroying the realization of his dreams? Kaidou picked up his Wolf Fang Club. In his dragon form, it always hung from his belt, indicating the belt's quality was quite good.
"You're John, right? Then surely you can take this hit, Thundering Hakken!"
It would have been stranger if the people aboard Rocks' ship hadn't fought each other. If not for Rocks' overwhelming strength, those monsters couldn't have been gathered together.
As a result, this pirate crew had no cohesion whatsoever. In the face of a major crisis, most chose to go their separate ways; otherwise, Rocks wouldn't have been so easily defeated.
Although Kaidou and John didn't have significant conflicts, their relationship wasn't great either. This strike was something even the John from five years ago could handle.
The Wolf Fang Club, entwined with Haki, smashed toward John's head. No matter how John tried to dodge, the club always locked onto his head. Helplessly, he had to raise his sword to fend off the strike.
But the moment the cutlass met the club, unimaginable brute force transmitted from the blade to his wrist.
The blade, material unknown, surprisingly wasn't broken by Kaidou's attack, but he couldn't keep hold of his sword, which flew from his grasp under Kaidou's massive strength.
"This guy... doesn't know how to wield a sword at all."
"His stance with the sword is strange, and the strength difference between his left and right hand is too great. Doesn't look like a Dual-Sword Style user."
Queen and King were commenting on John nearby. Although neither were swordsmen, Queen kept two swords at his side, but had many more weapons within his body and could pull out various strange weapons in a fight.
As for King, the sword was merely his weapon; he had no fixed moves; his sword existed solely for battle.
But to them, John seemed completely like an outsider who didn't know how to use weapons.
"No, don't you feel he's a bit odd? His movements are somewhat stiff compared to normal people."
While Queen and King focused on the collision of weapons, Shaina noticed the lack of coordination in body structure. This feeling was unlike that of a living person and more like a puppet.
Meanwhile, strange changes occurred on Kaidou's side too.
After John's weapon was disarmed, the Wolf Fang Club struck John atop his head, then straight down to the floor. Yet, Kaidou felt an unusual sensation; what he hit seemed more like wood than a human.
When the raised dust settled, there was no blood, only pieces of unidentifiable material, mixed with bone-like white substances, and a mask shattered into several pieces.
"A Stand? A devil fruit user?"
Looking at the puppet reverted to its original form, Kaidou didn't understand what happened, only that the hard-won lead seemed to be cut off.
Queen came over and unabashedly picked up the items from the ground to inspect.
"This ought to be a humerus, seemingly dried and pieced together by special means, yet such a thing could speak."
Kaidou ignored Queen's analysis and moved toward the base ahead. Although the puppet had vanished, he sensed a peculiar presence within the base.
Just then, the pirates previously knocked out by his Supreme King's Haki began standing up one after another again. However, their eyes remained rolled back, not regaining consciousness, as if controlled by something.
A crowd of pirates blocked the base building entrance, showing no intention of letting Kaidou enter.
The base's broadcast sounded at the same time.
"Kaidou! Why is a pirate like you in a place like this?!"
"Huh? I don't need permission from some hiding creep about where I go. I'm just looking for that John fellow; what's your connection with him? Have him come out or tell me where he is. I'm not interested in you."
Purely impersonating John couldn't have left attack marks similar to John's here. Plus, that person's attire was identical to John's, and they seemingly had some understanding of his relationships. Clearly, all this was well-planned.
Kaidou's voice wasn't particularly loud, but it was answered by the other party, who seemed to have a unique method.
"Hehehehe, looking for John? Wait until you find me. Pirates of the Four Seas truly are a bunch of trash, though it maximizes their utility this way!"
Heads crammed all around, people swarmed like zombies toward Kaidou and his group. Queen, King, Shaina, even around Arceus, several pirates congregated.
But before Arceus made a move, two figures, one red and one gray, knocked the pirates close to him flying, creating an impenetrable fortress of flames and rock.
"I'm not that weak yet..."
"Honorable sacred beast, if any random person could approach you, then it would truly be a disgrace for us. You don't have to do anything; King and I will take care of them."
Then an untimely voice came from the back.
"Hey, hey, hey, you two, can you give a notice?! You suddenly disappear, and it puts me in a tough spot!" Queen transformed into a giant Tropius, with fearless pirates even climbing onto his legs.
King and Shaina's sudden departure left Queen facing more pirates simultaneously.
Although they were just minor soldiers, it was troublesome. He didn't have heavy weapons on him, his internal weapons hadn't been reloaded, and he hadn't developed Tropius' abilities yet. For now, he could only rely on his massive body for brute combat.
Meanwhile, the voice on the broadcast continued from the opposing side.
"Kaidou, you're just an intern, so stop being so arrogant. You're already at an absolute disadvantage in terms of troop strength!"
"Troop strength? What's the use of more of this garbage stuff? How could you be so naive?"