In the waters near Whole Cake Island, deep beneath the sea.
"Zehahahaha! This operation was a huge success! This will be our first step toward ruling the world! Zehahaha!"
Blackbeard had successfully obtained Big Mom's Road Poneglyph rubbing, and by now, he had already returned to the ship hidden beneath the sea, preparing to leave Totto Land.
The crew members who had taken part in the operation gathered around the rubbing and began discussing it.
"Man, this really is amazing. This paper, this ink—they've already been soaked in seawater once, but nothing's smudged. But what the hell does it say? I can't read it."
"I think Shiryu got this stuff. Seems like pirate bounty posters use the same kind of paper and ink… As for what it says? Yeah, I can't read it either…!"
"Stop studying it and hurry up so we can get out of here!"
Blackbeard looked upward and said,
"I don't know why, but my instincts are telling me something dangerous is about to happen!"
"HAHAHA, I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO BE SCARED, CAPTAIN…"
Burgess laughed loudly and looked up toward the blurry sea surface a hundred meters above them.
"There aren't even any Sea Kings around here. What danger could there be? Don't tell me you're afraid an Emperor discovered us and chased us all the way down here…"
"How could that happen? We're in the deep sea!"
"And even if an Emperor did find us, there's no need to be afraid. This is the sea, after all. No matter how strong Big Mom is, she's still a Devil Fruit user!"
"Besides, we're so far from the surface. Even if she had the guts to jump down, I refuse to believe she'd just happen to crash right into us!"
The moment he finished speaking, a tremendous explosion and vibration came from above, forcing everyone to instinctively cover their ears.
Immediately afterward, two enormous beings plunged straight into the sea. The seawater churned and battered violently around them.
The massive impact pierced directly into the deep sea, instantly stirring up the previously calm waters.
The entire ship and its bubble coating shook violently, looking as if they might be swept away by the waves at any moment.
"What the hell is that?!"
Burgess' mouth, which had been open wide from laughing, had not even closed before his laughter died in his throat.
In the rolling seawater, two huge dragon-shaped figures were tangled together, bringing down a mass of bubbles and shockwaves as they fell straight toward the Blackbeard Pirates' ship.
Cain's dragon horns were still firmly locked around Kaido's neck.
Under the pressure of the deep sea, both of their strength rapidly drained away, but their falling momentum could no longer be stopped.
"That's… Kaido?!"
Blackbeard clearly saw the massive outline above them, and the corner of his eye twitched violently.
He had never expected Kaido to appear here in this way!
In the deep sea no less.
And that other dragon… Garp's grandson.
The same guy who had beaten him up before.
Burgess also recognized the pink dragon. It was the one who had beaten them up earlier.
When he heard Blackbeard say the word "Kaido," he immediately covered his mouth with his hand, no longer daring to make a sound.
As they fell rapidly, Kaido and Cain both noticed the coated ship hiding beneath the sea.
To reduce the resistance of the seawater and land accurately, both of them quickly shrank, changing from their enormous dragon forms back into human form.
Because the force of their fall was too great, the two of them shot like cannonballs straight into the bubble coating.
Pop.
The bubble coating violently caved inward before bouncing the two of them onto the deck.
Their figures smashed heavily into the wooden floor, and the enormous inertia carved two deep pits into the deck.
The Road Poneglyph rubbings that the crew had been gathered around earlier were lifted by the violent impact.
The rubbings fluttered through the chaotic air and happened to fall near the edge of the crater.
Then they slid down the slope and stuck directly onto Kaido's face.
At that moment, Blackbeard's heart leapt into his throat.
…
"Worororororo! I really didn't expect to pick up something like this after coming here!"
Kaido laughed as he drank, completely free of his previous brutality.
His eyes were fixed on the rubbings in his hand, but his Observation Haki remained locked on Cain the entire time.
"If I'm remembering right, this should be the one Linlin had, shouldn't it? How careless of her!"
Seeing that Kaido had no intention of attacking, Cain also sat on the deck and watched him with a grave expression.
At this point, Blackbeard and his crew had already handed over the Road Poneglyph rubbing and were hurriedly splitting off enough individual bubble coatings for everyone, swimming toward the surface.
After all, this was the sea.
Blackbeard was a Devil Fruit user, and they were facing both an Emperor at his peak and a monster who had once beaten them up.
Compared with fighting head-on, handing over the thing in their hands to preserve their lives was obviously the best choice.
They did not show much unwillingness over losing the Road Poneglyph rubbing.
Thanks to the lessons learned from repeated setbacks, Blackbeard had been especially cautious this time.
To prevent accidents, he had already prepared three full copies of the rubbing.
Although he handed over one, it was not a big deal to him.
Once the individual bubble coatings around them fully separated from the ship's large coating, Blackbeard quickly signaled for the others to hurry and leave.
Cain could only watch from the side.
Because he had to keep an eye on Kaido and delay his actions as much as possible, he could not chase after Blackbeard and settle old grudges.
He could only sit there and watch them leave.
Still, at this point, he more or less understood.
The culprit behind the destroyed cake… had to be Blackbeard.
And his goal was definitely the Road Poneglyph rubbing.
Just then, Kaido slowly lowered his wine gourd and spoke in a dignified voice.
"Pink… brat… what was your name again…"
"SO YOU STILL HAVEN'T REMEMBERED MY NAME?! I'M CAIN… Chad CAIN!"
Kaido had only been sober for a short while, and now that he had drunk quite a bit from the wine gourd, his emotions broke down again.
Faced with Cain's shout, he instinctively acted spoiled toward him.
"You're yelling at meee~!"
"Ugh!"
Looking at this huge, muscular man putting on such a coy expression, Cain instinctively retched in disgust.
Kaido ignored him completely.
His previously coquettish expression abruptly changed, and in an instant, he became especially serious.
"None of that matters anymore… After soaking in the sea just now, I sobered up quite a bit. I seem to have remembered my original reason for coming here…!"
"I remember Yamato was in Totto Land, right…"
As Kaido spoke, his emotions became extremely aggrieved.
His expression shifted from disappointment to full-on sobbing.
"I prepared so much for him to take office, so much for him to become Shogun, but he actually isn't coming back. Waaaaah!"
Cain looked at Kaido's ever-changing expression and felt deeply uncomfortable.
But when he remembered the purpose Kaido mentioned, he suddenly realized something.
Cain remembered that Yamato had indeed told Kaido she would not act according to his wishes.
So Kaido believed Yamato did not plan to go back, which was why he had personally come to capture her.
In other words, this whole conflict had been caused by Yamato not explaining herself clearly.
Seeing this, Cain hurriedly told Kaido that Yamato had already returned to Wano.
That instantly gave Kaido a strangely familiar feeling.
The ruler of Wano leaves Wano, and then an oni "man" who claims he will rule Wano takes advantage of the opening to move in.
'Damn it. Wasn't that exactly what I did back then?'
"YAMATO REALLY HAS GROWN UP. HE'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE LIKE ME. WUWAAAAA!"
Kaido cried even harder.
Hearing that sharp wailing, Cain instinctively covered his ears.
(Shanks and Garp have arrived in Totto Land's waters…)
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator