One strike!
Carlo was sent flying over a thousand meters by Rocks' blade.
From the plaza of Hachinosu Island, he flew all the way to the coast and plunged into the sea!
Seeing this scene, the eyelids of everyone behind Rocks twitched wildly.
Whitebeard's mouth twitched. "Is this what you told Shiki about not being too hard on the newcomer? Rocks, your strike was much more ruthless than Shiki's!"
"Jiehahahaha, that brat is dead for sure!" Golden Lion Shiki, on the other hand, was delighted.
"Wohahaha, Wohahahaha!"
Rocks sheathed his sword and laughed heartily. "Don't underestimate human vitality! If he can't even withstand a blow of this level, how can he follow me to confront the [World] in the future! Don't just stand there in a daze, go fish him out and get him treated before he actually dies!"
Two days later.
Inside a massive room.
Two men, wrapped in layers of bandages like mummies, stared wide-eyed at each other.
"How did you also..."
Kaido looked at Carlo across from him, who was wrapped up like a zongzi and whose injuries seemed even heavier than his own. He instinctively wanted to ask how Carlo ended up like this.
But the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back down.
Because Kaido realized that he and Carlo weren't that close.
Not only were they not close.
The two sides even had a grudge.
Kaido hadn't forgotten how miserable this detestable white-haired brat had made him look back at Rocky Port.
However, Carlo didn't care.
He laughed self-deprecatingly, "Don't bother guessing; I was beaten by Rocks."
"Beaten by Rocks?"
Kaido was stunned.
Then, his face, which was originally a bit gloating, suddenly changed.
It shifted from schadenfreude to a jealous envy, as if he were being slighted.
"Damn it! Did you challenge Rocks after all?"
The shift in his expression made Carlo's mouth twitch involuntarily.
"Hey, I said I got beaten by Rocks, and you're actually jealous?"
"If you're so envious, go find him and let him beat you up in a bit."
"I'll challenge him without you telling me to!" Kaido stiffened his neck and immediately sat up from the bed.
As he stood up, the bandages wrapped around him snapped one by one.
Seeing this, Carlo also sat up, took a breath, and flexed his muscles.
With a series of crackling bone pops, the bundles of bandages on his body all snapped and scattered across the floor.
With a click, the closed door was pushed open.
Gloriosa, who was carrying something, was about to say something when she saw two naked, buff men standing like pillars to her left and right.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
"Uh..."
Carlo instinctively reached out to cover himself.
But he saw Gloriosa expressionlessly toss the things she was holding onto his and Kaido's beds.
"What's there to hide? What haven't I seen? Who do you think wrapped those bandages on you?"
She glanced at Carlo and Kaido with disdain.
"Put your clothes on; Rocks wants to see you."
Hearing Rocks' name, Kaido immediately got excited. He ran over to pick up the oversized clothes clearly prepared for him, threw them on haphazardly, and ran outside.
Carlo, however, was in no rush. He cleaned off the bandage scraps from his body.
He scanned the room and found a sink in the corner.
He walked over, splashed some water to give himself a simple rinse, and then put on the pirate-style sailor suit before opening the door and walking out.
Outside the door was a long corridor.
From the far end of the corridor came Kaido's impatient shouting.
"Rocks! Why won't you accept my challenge?"
"No way! I must have a fight with you today!"
"Where is my hachisai-kai? Bring me my hachisai-kai! I'm going to defeat you here and become the leader of Hachinosu!"
"Young Teacher Kai is surprisingly Super-Aggressive and hot-blooded," Carlo shook his head and walked out of the corridor.
His field of vision suddenly opened up.
A massive hall appeared before his eyes.
Inside the hall, many sofas, tables, and chairs were arranged.
In the middle stood a large round table, piled high with mountains of various foods.
A dozen or so core members of the Rocks Pirates were currently sitting around the round table.
Rocks was undoubtedly sitting in the center seat at the head of the table, buried in his own eating and drinking.
Kaido, who was wearing an Alabasta-style elder's robe and looking extremely stupid...
...was currently making a scene in front of the round table, stiffening his neck as he tried to rush Rocks, only to be easily held back by the tall and peak-beauty Charlotte Linlin.
"Mamamama~ Brat, you're not Rocks' match yet. Stop fooling around, sit down and eat something. We'll talk about everything else later."
Although her catchphrase was a bit distracting, it had to be said that Charlotte Linlin's voice was indeed damn sweet right now.
"Don't stop me! I must defeat him today!" Kaido was still shouting.
Sitting to Rocks' left, Golden Lion Shiki, who was gnawing on a steak, couldn't take it anymore. He turned his head toward Rocks and said:
"Jiehahahaha, Rocks, just grant his wish. If you don't beat him up, he'll be shouting here all day!"
Rocks poured several mouthfuls of strong liquor down his throat before looking up, glancing at the loudly clamoring Kaido, and saying something that made Kaido fly into a rage.
"Newcomer, you're not qualified to challenge me yet."
Kaido's face instantly turned bright red.
Just then, seeing Carlo walk out, he immediately pointed at Carlo and roared angrily, "Why? This kid could challenge you, so why can't I? This is unfair!"
Kaido's roar was silenced by another casual sentence from Rocks.
"Because he is stronger than you."
"I...!" The words in Kaido's mouth got stuck in his throat, his face flushing red, unable to say a word for a long time.
Rocks continued to eat and drink, his gaze moving from Kaido to the approaching Carlo.
"Kaido, I value your talent. It's not that I won't accept your challenge, it's just that before that... you should defeat Carlo first."
"Fine! Then I'll defeat this kid right now and then challenge you!" Kaido gritted his teeth and looked at Carlo, "Carlo! Let's fight another round!"
Carlo didn't pay him any mind at all, walking straight past him.
Under the watchful eyes of Shiki, Whitebeard, and the others, he walked to the large round table, pulled out a chair, sat down, and unceremoniously grabbed food from the table and stuffed it into his mouth.
Seeing this, a look of approval appeared on Rocks' face. He grabbed a bottle of fine wine from beside him and tossed it over.
Carlo caught it without looking up and set it aside, burying his head to continue devouring the food like a whirlwind. He completely ignored Kaido's shouting behind him and the scrutinizing gazes of Maron, Gloriosa, and the others nearby.
Kaido challenged him for a long time but didn't see Carlo respond.
Perhaps finding it boring himself, he finally walked over dejectedly, found a seat, and began to gorge himself.
Once at the table, it was as if he were competing with Carlo even in eating, reaching out his large hands to quickly snatch food from the table.
Kaido grabbed a piece of roasted Sea King meat over a meter long. While taking huge bites, he squinted at Carlo, thinking somewhat smugly to himself.
No matter how much his current strength still lagged behind this annoying fellow Carlo...
...at least in terms of appetite, he could definitely leave Carlo miles behind.
However, as he ate, the smug look on Kaido's face slowly vanished, gradually turning into an expression of disbelief.
Because he discovered to his shock that Carlo's eating speed hadn't fallen behind his at all.