Kaido's sharp gaze swept over Is and Uchiha Madara before he replied to his crew member.
"I'm not blind. Of course I can see that."
Another apprentice from the Rocks Pirates stepped closer and spoke in a low voice, "Captain Kaido, let's not cause trouble. Captain Rocks told us to come ashore and gather supplies."
"If we attack a Celestial Dragon, we'll just be asking for trouble. An Admiral or CP0 could show up at any moment."
"Yeah, Captain Kaido, I agree. We shouldn't stir anything up—it might bring unnecessary trouble to Captain Rocks and the others," another pirate on the side added.
Kaido shot them a glance and said in a deep voice, "What are you implying… that Captain Rocks would fear the Celestial Dragons? That he'd fear a mere Marine Admiral?"
"O-Of course not…"
"As long as he can't contact the Marines, there's no problem. From what I know, if we take down that guy in black instantly, they won't be able to call for help."
"As for the Celestial Dragon… he's just a useless fool with a head on his shoulders," Kaido stated his reasoning.
And in truth, that was usually how things worked for Celestial Dragons.
"This guy… why does he look a bit familiar?"
Madara stared at Kaido and asked Is.
"You should've seen his bounty at Mary Geoise. A member of the Rocks Pirates—Kaido. Bounty: 150 million Beli," Is replied calmly.
A bounty of 150 million wasn't small.
In lesser pirate crews, that would already secure a solid position.
But within the Rocks Pirates, it barely meant anything.
The reason was simple—their crew was filled with monsters whose bounties were far higher.
Hearing this, Madara still couldn't recall anything specific—just that Kaido seemed vaguely familiar.
"Step… step…"
Before Is could say more, Kaido had already charged forward, swinging his kanabo.
But his target wasn't Is—
It was Madara.
Kaido leapt into the air, bringing his kanabo crashing down toward Madara.
Madara frowned slightly—but his weapon was still in hand.
Raising his war scythe, he blocked.
Clang!
The kanabo and scythe collided, sparks flying.
The ground beneath Madara's feet visibly sank.
The force behind the blow was immense.
Meanwhile, Is didn't hesitate.
He calmly walked to a nearby rock and sat down, then said,
"Madara, don't play around. Take him down quickly."
Under normal circumstances, Is wouldn't mind letting Madara enjoy himself.
But this situation was different.
If members of the Rocks Pirates were here, it meant the crew itself was nearby.
If this dragged on and Rocks or the other officers arrived—
Things would escalate fast.
"I understand."
Even while fighting, Madara responded.
"Don't look down on me, you bastard!"
Hearing Is's casual tone, Kaido's anger flared.
His grip on the kanabo tightened, and his swings grew even more forceful.
Yet despite that—
Madara's expression didn't change in the slightest.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In a flash of exchanges, Madara seized an opening and struck—
Sending Kaido flying back.
Kaido spun through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Captain Kaido, are you alright?!"
The other apprentice pirates rushed over to help him up.
Kaido frowned, clearly surprised.
Not long ago, he had heard a senior say that the agents accompanying Celestial Dragons were nothing more than weaklings.
"Our apprentice crew can take ten of them alone?"
"Damn it—were you messing with me?!" Kaido cursed.
Forget apprentices—
Even some officers might not be able to handle this guy.
After all, while Kaido was still an apprentice, his strength had already surpassed some full-fledged crew members.
"I told you earlier not to provoke a Celestial Dragon… and now look what happened…" one of the apprentices muttered.
"Shut up! Captain Rocks made me the leader—you follow my orders!" Kaido snapped.
"Fine, fine—you're the boss. So what now? Before he contacts Marine Headquarters, do we attack together?"
"What kind of question is that? I don't believe we can't take him down with our numbers."
Kaido picked up his kanabo again, his voice cold.
"Then… what about that Celestial Dragon?"
"Send one person. That'll distract his bodyguard and give us an opening."
"Got it, Captain Kaido!"
The plan was quickly set.
One pirate rushed toward Is—
The rest moved to surround Madara.
Is remained seated on the rock, not even attempting to dodge, calmly watching the approaching pirate.
"Die!"
The pirate swung his axe down toward Is.
BOOM!
The spot where Is had been sitting erupted in dust.
"Did it work? Looks like he really was just a useless noble," the pirate muttered.
But the next moment—
Sheets of paper began drifting out of the dust.
Sensing something wrong, the pirate tried to retreat—
But it was too late.
The paper stuck to his body.
More and more—
Until he was completely immobilized.
Beside him, the remaining sheets gathered together, slowly reforming—
Is's figure reappeared.
"You're… a Devil Fruit user?!"
Is didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward Kaido and let out a faint sigh.
"Kaido… you've got a pretty hard head, don't you?"
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