Kaiji slowly put away the Den Den Mushi and lifted his gaze toward Junior.
A faint killing intent flickered within his green eyes.
"So… Junior, was it? A pirate daring to sneak into the World Draft. That's bold."
Junior forced himself to stay calm, raising his voice.
"D-Don't joke around! Pirate? That's nonsense!"
Kaiji raised a brow slightly.
"Oh? So you're saying my idol is wrong?"
Junior froze, unable to respond.
A moment later, his expression hardened. A desperate resolve took over.
"Fine. If I'm going down, I'll take you with me!"
His eyes flashed. He hurled the axe in his hand.
Whoosh!
Kaiji tilted his head slightly and dodged with ease. The axe slammed heavily into the ground in front of him.
"That it?"
Kaiji's tone carried clear disdain.
But Junior's lips curled into a grin.
"Thunder Split!"
Crack!
The axe suddenly lit up with blue energy. Lightning surged from it, racing across the ground toward Kaiji at terrifying speed.
Junior's face twisted with killing intent.
"Die!"
At that exact moment, everyone watching the screen held their breath.
Then, without warning, a wall of wood erupted from the ground in front of Kaiji.
Yes. Just like that. Wood, rising out of nowhere.
Boom!
The lightning slammed into the wooden barrier, sending up plumes of smoke.
"That's impossible! Where did that come from?!"
Junior shouted in disbelief.
Not far away, Kaiji brushed his shoulder as if dusting off something invisible, his gaze taunting.
"That it?"
Junior's composure shattered.
"You bastard! Die!"
He stomped the ground, his body bursting forward like a streak of light. In an instant, he reappeared before Kaiji, gripping the axe once more as he swung it down.
Kaiji remained calm.
"Thorn."
Bang!
A wooden spear shot up from the ground, forcing Junior to raise his axe in defense.
Clang!
The sheer force sent him flying backward.
By then, Kaiji had already grasped the wooden spear in his hand.
"Come on. Don't tell me this is all you've got. The Fleet Admiral wants to see my Devil Fruit ability."
His face was full of mockery.
Junior snapped.
"Enough!"
His upper body darkened under Armament Haki as he charged again.
"White Bear Charge!"
The sheer force and reinforced body finally made Kaiji's expression shift slightly.
"Now that's more like it."
Kaiji drove the spear into the ground.
A soft green glow spread from it, seeping into the earth.
"Thorn Domain."
In an instant, countless vines burst forth, crawling wildly across the ground and wrapping around Junior's body.
"This… what is this?!"
Junior's voice trembled.
He could feel it.
The energy inside his body was draining rapidly.
His Armament Haki was being stripped away, transformed into nourishment for the vines.
Blossoms began to bloom along the twisting tendrils.
Beautiful. Vivid.
And utterly horrifying.
Because those flowers were feeding on him.
No matter how violently Junior struggled, the vines only tightened further.
Kaiji walked closer, stopping a short distance away.
"The more you struggle, the tighter they get."
"What… is this…?"
Junior's strength was nearly gone. Even speaking became difficult.
Kaiji smiled faintly.
"They're called Bloodthirst Vines."
He tilted his head slightly.
"You can feel it, right? Your energy slipping away faster and faster."
Junior said nothing, only glaring with hatred.
Kaiji raised a finger and wagged it.
"Careful. This is only the beginning."
At first, Junior didn't understand.
Then the pain came.
His eyes widened as he looked down.
The flowers had changed.
They now had fangs.
And they were biting into him.
"Oh? It's starting."
Kaiji's eyes gleamed.
Panic finally took hold of Junior.
He could feel his blood being drained at an alarming rate.
"S-Save me!"
His voice broke.
"I'll tell you everything! Kaido's location, his plans, all of it! Just stop this, please!"
Before the screen, Xu raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
He picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Kaiji. Let's hear what he has to say."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral."
Kaiji waved his hand. The flowers stopped feeding, though the vines remained tightly coiled.
In that short time, Junior's face had already turned pale. His body swayed, on the verge of collapse from blood loss.
"Junior, congratulations. You've caught the Fleet Admiral's attention."
Kaiji's tone was calm.
"Now speak. What is Kaido planning?"
Junior swallowed with difficulty.
"K-Kaido… he's gathered the Three Calamities, the Flying Six… and a special unit."
His voice trembled.
"They're preparing to attack Stussy… another Emperor."
Kaiji frowned slightly. He didn't know Stussy's true identity, so to him, it was simply a clash between two powers.
Xu's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"What special unit?"
Junior shook his head weakly.
"I don't know… it's something Kaido has been preparing for a long time. A combat unit."
Xu fell silent for a moment.
A special combat unit…
He already had a guess.
An army of artificial Devil Fruit users.
Still, one question lingered.
Why target Stussy?
He shook the thought aside.
"Kaiji."
His voice turned cold.
"Kill him."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral."
Junior's body trembled violently.
"You… you said you'd let me go! Is this how the Navy keeps its word?!"
Xu's quiet chuckle echoed through the Den Den Mushi.
"When did I ever promise that?"
His tone turned indifferent.
"Pirates should all meet the same end."
The line went dead.
Kaiji's smile slowly turned cruel.
He clenched his fist.
Instantly, the flowers sprouted rows of sharp fangs.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"No! No! Please… no!"
Junior's screams echoed briefly.
Then… silence.
Blood trickled down the vines, seeping into the earth below, staining the ground a deep, crimson red.