The sky was still dark.
In the square before Skull Mountain.
Two figures, one large and one small, were trading savage blows.
Every gesture either of them made erupted with a landslide-tsunami of violent force.
Each clash of weapons produced a thunderous roar that shook the entire island.
Countless sleepers were jolted awake, cursing at the noise.
Wherever the two stepped.
The newly rebuilt flagstones were trampled into rubble.
"Little Kaido, you're not up to snuff."
Carlo stamped, shattering the ground, and rocketed skyward like a cannonball. Single-handedly gripping his halberd, he cleaved the air apart and chopped down at Kaido below.
Kaido clenched his teeth and raised his spiked club to parry.
The instant the two jet-black heavy weapons collided.
Kaido's face twisted.
Through gritted teeth he snarled, "Damn it, Carlo—who's your little brother?! Don't push..."
Boom!
Before he could finish, the rock beneath him crumbled inch by inch.
His seven-metre frame, like an oversized screw, was hammered into the earth by Carlo's halberd.
Carlo used the recoil to flip back and land steadily.
Yet the moment his boots touched the ground.
The flagstones in front of him buckled with a series of cracks, then exploded.
A storm of gravel shot toward his face.
Right behind it came Kaido, eyes blazing with rage, gripping his club in both hands, leaping high to smash Carlo's skull.
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
Carlo's lips curled into a grin. He grasped his halberd in both hands, swung it in a full arc, and slashed.
Black Armament Haki surged like a tide, instantly cloaking the heavenly dragon halberd in tendrils of black lightning that lashed upward at the descending Kaido.
"Sky-Shattering Ocean-Cleaving Blade!!"
Clang! Boom!
A jet-black crescent over thirty metres long burst from Carlo's halberd, flashing across Kaido's mighty frame.
The next instant.
Spurt!
Kaido cried out in pain.
A vivid crimson geyser erupted across his broad chest.
His spiked club flew from his grip.
He shot skyward like a shell, traced a hundred-metre arc, then slammed head-first into the ground at the square's edge.
Another thunderous crash!
"That's defeat number seventeen, little Kaido."
"You agreed: ten million Berries a pop; you now owe me a hundred and seventy million."
"If you hit fifty losses and still can't pay, I'll trade you to the Marines for your bounty."
Carlo dismissed his heavenly dragon halberd and called over to Kaido, still planted upside-down at the square's edge.
"Shut up! I'll beat you the eighteenth time!"
Kaido yanked his head from the solid rock, wiped the blood from his mouth, and lay panting in the crater, glaring defiantly at Carlo.
"You said the same thing on number sixteen."
Carlo shrugged and glanced at the status panel in his mind.
[Physique: 7-Star – Ogre Power – 75.266]
[Haki]
[Observation: 8-Star – Total Clarity – 82.304]
[Armament: 7-Star – Externalise – 79.992]
[Haoshoku: 7-Star – Externalise – 78.008]
[Devil Fruit Power: 5-Star 55.777]
[Overall Rating: 7-Star]
[Comment: Pirate King! I'm gonna be the one!]
"Almost 8-Star overall—fast progress."
Even the self-disciplined Carlo couldn't help smiling at the panel.
His strength had soared during this period.
Thanks to battles with Kaido, Wang Zhi, and Linlin.
Carlo had reaped huge gains.
Judging by the numbers, the biggest leap was in Devil Fruit development.
It had jumped from 3-Star to nearly 6-Star, a gain of over twenty points.
That meant he was wielding his fruit with ever-greater mastery.
Its development was steadily advancing.
Yet Carlo suspected.
Awakening wouldn't require the attribute to hit 100.
Around 80 should suffice.
In other words, two more stars and his Mythical Zoan would awaken.
Apart from the fruit.
Every other stat had climbed steadily under daily hellish training.
Seeing measurable progress only sharpened his drive.
For the past fortnight.
His life had been an endless loop of eat—train—sleep.
Eat like a madman!
To refuel after training.
Train like a madman!
First temper the body, drain every ounce of stamina.
Then cultivate Haki, squeeze the three colours dry.
Finally study the fruit, meditate, explore new applications.
Once everything was spent, collapse into sleep!
Day after day.
With occasional sparring sessions against Linlin.
And, of course, daily challenges from his good neighbour Kaido.
Ever since seeing Carlo's bounty triple his own.
Kaido had been unable to stomach it.
From that day on.
He not only trained like a maniac to keep up with Carlo.
He also challenged him every single day, desperate to prove himself by winning.
To Carlo, though.
Those "challenges" were more like scheduled beat-downs.
Kaido had indeed grown stronger since arriving on Hachinosu.
Only a few days ago he'd defeated Maron and Gan Sui in succession, earning promotion to Senior Combatant in the Rocks Pirates.
But compared with Carlo's pace, he lagged far behind.
Carlo had already been stronger when they arrived.
Now the gap was wider.
So wide that Carlo could floor him without even entering Mythical Zoan form.
And it got easier every day.
Beating Kaido until the boy questioned life itself.
These days Kaido's mind held only two thoughts: keep trying to beat Carlo—and get his hands on a powerful Devil Fruit that could... beat Carlo!
Having scored defeat number seventeen, Carlo considered his pre-training warm-up complete.
He was about to head back for today's brutal regimen.
Just then, Kaido, still sprawled in the crater, suddenly yelled.
"My hachisai-kai! It's flying away! Carlo, was this your trick?!"
Carlo followed the shout.
The spiked club he'd sent flying was now moving.
As if seized by an invisible hand, it rose from the ground and drifted toward the town.
And it kept accelerating.
No.
Not just Kaido's club.
Carlo noticed.
Other objects around the square were also lifting off.
Dumbbells used for strength training, discarded gun barrels.
Piles of junk in corners.
Even the roofs of a few buildings.
All were soaring skyward.
In moments the air above Hachinosu's square was filled with a chaotic swarm of metal flying toward the harbour.
Every one of them shared a trait.
They were all made of metal.
Large-scale metal manipulation... "The Mag-Mag Fruit?"