Chapter 587: The One Who Came to Stir the Pot
The final thunderbolt crashed down, Kaido's entire body engulfed in black lightning, his fur standing on end within the electric glow!
The lightning flashed and vanished, and the scene seemed to freeze in place.
After Kaido took that lightning strike head-on, even his steel-like body couldn't fully defend against such powerful electrical energy. His skin split open, flesh curling outward, yet surprisingly little blood was visible—because the moment blood surged out, it had already been vaporized, leaving only charred black marks across his body.
His entire form looked as if it had been roasted, emitting a foul, burnt smell with wisps of smoke rising. His eyes rolled back, and then he slowly toppled forward.
With a thunderous crash, Kaido's massive body hit the ground, shaking the earth beneath him.
"Did... did I finish him?" Ian still held his arm in a downward chopping pose, speaking with some surprise.
He knew that his final thunderbolt had been incredibly fierce, but given the inhuman power Kaido had displayed earlier, seeing him fall made Ian himself find it hard to believe.
"I don't know!" Bista, standing right beside Ian, replied with a complicated expression. "In my memory, the Old Man has defeated Kaido several times. In fact, at the level of a Marine Admiral, as long as you fight seriously, you can injure Kaido. But... just like your thunderbolt, at most it can only temporarily incapacitate him. To truly defeat him..."
Before Ian could ask further, he noticed Whitebeard and Sengoku both walking toward the fallen Kaido.
Reaching Kaido's side, Whitebeard leaned on his naginata and looked down at him. He noticed that the areas burned by lightning were already beginning to heal, and he said with some frustration, "As expected, it's like this again!"
He turned to Sengoku and said, "Same old rules! He's your problem now!"
But Sengoku replied very reluctantly, "Why should I!? You're leaving such a huge headache to me? Don't forget, he came for you!"
Whitebeard snorted dismissively and said, "Who told you to be the Marines? Capturing pirates is your duty! Besides, I don't have any Seastone Handcuffs!"
"You...!" Sengoku was left speechless by Whitebeard's rebuttal.
But no matter how you looked at it, what was strange was that neither Whitebeard nor Sengoku wanted to take on the trouble of dealing with Kaido.
Especially Sengoku—the Marines had captured Kaido many times before. Kaido had been beaten unconscious and temporarily incapacitated by the Marines working together on more than one occasion. Every time he was captured, the World Government had tried to execute him as a Four Emperor, but each execution attempt failed. Not only did they fail to kill him, but they also lost many Marine prison ships and warships when Kaido woke up and escaped, destroying them in the process.
Yes, escape! Kaido, though he spent his days treating suicide as his greatest hobby, wasn't actually trying to die. So he always escaped instead of waiting obediently for the Marines to find a way to truly kill him.
In other words, his so-called suicide attempts were nothing more than a way to show off his strength.
Seeing Whitebeard turn and walk away, Sengoku had no choice. He called out, and several Marine Vice Admirals came forward to bind Kaido with Seastone Handcuffs.
It could only be binding, because due to Kaido's size, the existing Seastone Handcuffs didn't fit his hands and feet properly—they couldn't be locked on.
As Whitebeard walked over, Ian asked him in surprise, "Old Man, is that it?"
"Is that it? The trouble is still ahead!" Whitebeard snorted. "You don't really think you took down a Four Emperor with one strike, do you? Look closely!"
As he spoke, Whitebeard pointed at Kaido, who was now bound with Seastone.
Ian focused his gaze and saw something that shocked him. Since the Marines had used Seastone Handcuffs to bind him, it meant Kaido was definitely a Devil Fruit User. But Ian noticed that the effect of the Seastone Handcuffs on Kaido was...
As everyone knew, Seastone and seawater were the natural enemies of Devil Fruit Users. Seawater could drain a user's strength and make them limp, but their abilities could still be used.
Seastone, however, was different. In a sense, it was a crystallized form of seawater, more effective than seawater, and could nullify a user's abilities.
That meant, if Kaido's incredible regenerative power came from his awakened Devil Fruit, then after wearing the Seastone Handcuffs, his regeneration should have been suppressed.
But what Ian saw was that Kaido's wounds were still healing continuously. It seemed slower, but it was indeed still happening.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before all the damage Ian had inflicted on him was fully healed.
"What... what's going on!?" Ian asked in disbelief.
"It's simple. That powerful regenerative ability is his own innate ability, unrelated to his Devil Fruit!" Whitebeard said with some frustration, twisting his mustache. "I only discovered this after fighting him several times. Seastone can suppress his Devil Fruit's regenerative power, but it can't suppress his natural regeneration!"
"So, Kaido's freakish regenerative ability comes from the combination of his own body and his Devil Fruit?" Ian understood.
"Exactly..." Whitebeard nodded. "Even when he's unconscious, he can maintain his steel-like body. So any form of execution is useless against him. Physical attacks are the easiest for him to handle. But Ian, that powerful lightning strike of yours earlier did considerable damage to him..."
"Damn!" Ian said in shock. "Is there really no way to kill him? What about throwing him into the sea?"
"Useless!" Whitebeard shook his head. "It's been tried. I once threw him into the sea for seven whole days. Later, I sent people down to check, and he was still alive..."
Jinbe interjected at this point, "As a Devil Fruit User, he can breathe in the sea? Does that mean he has Fish-Man bloodline!?"
"Yes, and probably not just Fish-Man bloodline..." Whitebeard sighed. "I've always suspected that Kaido might not be a naturally born human. He displays too many racial traits. That's why the world calls him the strongest creature across land, sea, and air, not the strongest person."
"Is he truly immortal?" Ian asked doubtfully. "There must be some way to kill him, right? Like feeding him another Devil Fruit?"
"Useless!" Crocodile had also come over and, hearing Ian's hypothesis, couldn't help but speak up. "If feeding a Four Emperor two or more Devil Fruits could easily kill him, the Marines wouldn't be so troubled. They have the World Government backing them—what Devil Fruits couldn't they collect? But Kaido is an awakened Zoan-type Devil Fruit User. Once a Devil Fruit User awakens, their body automatically rejects other Devil Fruit powers. Even if you feed him another, it won't work—the second Devil Fruit's power won't take effect... Kaido might be killable by some method, but it's definitely not something two Devil Fruits can accomplish..."
Ian could understand Crocodile's meaning. If, according to legend, a Devil Fruit was a demon residing in a person's body, then awakening meant the Devil Fruit's power had fully merged with the body. The body was completely occupied by that demon, leaving no room, so it would naturally reject other Devil Fruit powers.
To put it more scientifically, the Devil Fruit energy had saturated the entire body, leaving no way for foreign abilities to intervene...
But... Crocodile knowing this kind of thing showed he had done considerable research on Devil Fruits...
The group gathered around Whitebeard, watching as the Marines, treating it like a major crisis, surrounded Kaido—bound with Seastone Handcuffs—with a large number of soldiers. They discussed what method the Marines would use to execute him this time when they took him back.
Because of Kaido's interference as a spoiler, the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines had to stop. Ian guessed that Red-Haired Shanks might also be heading here, but by then, with three Four Emperors gathered, the Marines would have even less desire to fight.
Tsk, it was a bit of a shame. Shanks's Face Fruit wouldn't get to be used this time.
"Speaking of which, why did Kaido come here anyway?" Ian asked in confusion. "Did he come just to stir the pot?"
It wasn't an unreasonable thought. Even if Ian hadn't acted earlier, Whitebeard and Sengoku working together would have been enough to take down Kaido—it would just have taken a bit more time. But knowing there were so many people on the battlefield who could beat him, why would Kaido bother coming here!?
Unable to understand the behavior of a madman, Ian couldn't help but mock him.
Robin and Nami, hearing Ian's teasing, couldn't help but laugh. But Whitebeard didn't see it that way. He said, "If I'm not mistaken, he came to show off his strength to the world through this battlefield!"
Everyone nodded thoughtfully. That was possible. This war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines was being watched by the entire world. Kaido appearing alone on the battlefield and challenging both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines at once—regardless of the outcome—would be remembered by the world...
Perhaps it could be said that this war would be remembered most for two things: first, Ian, who single-handedly changed the entire battle situation—from the opening Sunshine to the final earth-shattering black thunderbolt, Ian's displayed strength made the world see him as another Four Emperor in the making...
And second, Kaido, who crashed the party halfway through. His insane behavior and terrifying immortality would make his name another nightmare for the world...
Just as everyone was thinking this, they suddenly heard Straw Hat Luffy, standing nearby with his arms crossed and his head tilted, wearing a confused expression, say, "Hey, with all this talk, why hasn't anyone mentioned what kind of Devil Fruit Kaido actually has!?"
Ian was startled. That was true! So he looked at Whitebeard.
But Whitebeard said with a strange expression, "He's a Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit user..."
"Huh!?" Luffy was stunned.
And Ian burst out laughing!
He glanced at Boa Hancock among the Marines in the distance. He remembered that Hancock's two sisters were Snake-Snake Fruit users.
"No way!" Ian said in disbelief to Whitebeard. "Old Man, I haven't read much, so don't fool me! Kaido is a Snake-Snake Fruit user!?"
"Of course!" Whitebeard nodded seriously. "But he's a Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan model—Yamata no Orochi!"
Pfft!! This time, not just Ian, but everyone from the Dragon Hunter Pirates burst out laughing...