"Alliance?" Upon hearing Queen's words, Kaido immediately fell into deep thought. This news was actually a good thing for him. Kaido was confident in his own strength, but the opposing side was not weak either. In fact, their numbers surpassed his own. Daniel Davis' forces reminded Kaido of the old Rocks Pirates.
The Rocks Pirates hadn't started out with so many powerful members. Initially, they had formed through alliances, which eventually merged into a single massive pirate crew.
Hachinosu, also known as the "Pirate's Paradise," held a special place in the hearts of many pirates. It was the birthplace of the Rocks Pirates, where many of the strongest pirates of the era had formed an alliance, creating the infamous Rocks crew. In the original story, Blackbeard had taken over this island, showing his ambition to follow in the footsteps of the Rocks Pirates.
Most pirates were ambitious by nature. Pirates like Luffy, who lacked such ambition, were rare in this world. The previous balance of power among the Four Emperors in the New World was difficult to achieve under normal circumstances. Both Kaido and Big Mom were ambitious individuals.
The balance of the Four Emperors had largely been maintained thanks to Shanks and Whitebeard. If either of them had been as ambitious as the others, the balance would have been broken. Without one of them, the remaining three would likely have ganged up on the other.
One against three, even for someone as strong as Whitebeard, the "World's Strongest Man," would have been too much. But with two against two, the balance was maintained. In essence, the balance of the Four Emperors was largely due to Whitebeard and Shanks.
However, after Whitebeard's death, the balance quickly fell apart. Blackbeard, as a new Emperor, had no intention of maintaining the status quo. Even without Luffy's interference as the "Fifth Emperor," an alliance between Kaido and Big Mom was inevitable.
Of course, now the "Fifth Emperor" had appeared earlier—Esdeath. After her battle with Whitebeard, Morgans had crowned her with the title. Although Daniel Davis was the leader of Baroque Works, his reputation paled in comparison to Esdeath's. After all, Mihawk's fame couldn't hold a candle to Whitebeard's.
Esdeath's title as the "Fifth Emperor" was far more legitimate than Luffy's in the original story, as it was earned through actual feats.
In the Flower Capital, the sky, which had been clear with only a few clouds, suddenly darkened. Thunder rumbled, and a massive blue dragon's head emerged from the swirling clouds.
"It's Kaido! Beast Kaido! Run!"
Kaido's name struck fear into the hearts of the people of Wano. For over twenty years, he had been a terrifying presence in their lives. Even though Daniel Davis had forcefully driven out the Beasts Pirates, the fear of Kaido ran deeper.
"Daniel Davis, come out!" Kaido's roar echoed throughout the Flower Capital.
Daniel Davis had no interest in becoming a pirate. After replacing Crocodile, he hadn't even bothered to name his crew, simply operating under the Baroque Works banner. His infrequent appearances and lack of notable actions meant that, without his Warlord title, many wouldn't even know who he was.
After Esdeath's battle with Whitebeard, most people began to underestimate Daniel Davis. If not for the fact that Esdeath was a woman and Daniel Davis a man, the World Government might have tried to drive a wedge between them.
Loyalty and camaraderie were often spoken of among pirates, but in reality, only a few crews truly embodied these ideals. Betrayal and backstabbing were far more common.
The World Government had plenty of resources to deal with pirates, and sowing discord was often an effective strategy. For example, if a first mate wanted to rise to the position of captain, the only way was to eliminate the current captain.
The downfall of the Rocks Pirates had been partly due to Kaido, Shiki, and others not giving their all in the fight.
Similarly, the World Government had used this tactic to deal with the World Pirates' leader, Captain John, and his crew.
The Marines also employed this strategy. Akainu's manipulation of Squard, leading to his betrayal of Whitebeard, had been a pivotal moment in the Marineford War. Without that betrayal, Whitebeard might still have died, but saving Ace would have been far more likely.
A stab to the chest, in a world where only physical strength mattered and without the ability to self-heal like Doflamingo, was a severe injury. Combined with Whitebeard's existing illnesses, it could have been the final straw that broke the camel's back.
"Beast Kaido, I've been waiting for you."
Shortly after Kaido's declaration, Esdeath appeared, standing atop a lifelike ice dragon that rose from the ground to meet Kaido at eye level.
Esdeath's control over her ice-based Imperial Arm had improved significantly after studying some modern knowledge. While she wasn't particularly interested in academics, understanding how to better control her powers had motivated her to dive into learning. When it came to increasing her strength, Esdeath never held back.
"Esdeath."
Kaido was about to say something, but Esdeath didn't give him the chance. She leapt into the air, her right arm coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, infused with powerful Conqueror's Haki, and punched directly at Kaido's head.
Esdeath's sudden attack enraged Kaido. The massive dragon head lunged toward her. While Kaido was wary of Daniel Davis and Esdeath, he wasn't afraid of them.
*Boom!*
The clash between Esdeath's fist and Kaido's dragon head sent shockwaves across Wano. The buildings beneath them were instantly reduced to rubble. Fortunately, most people had fled when Kaido appeared, so aside from a few who were knocked unconscious by the shockwaves, there were no casualties.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The battle didn't stop. The two continued to clash in the sky. After the third exchange, Kaido finally reverted from his dragon form, gripping his spiked club tightly as he descended to the ground.
*Crash!*
Kaido's landing caused the ground to collapse in a hundred-meter radius around him. His spiked club crackled with lightning.
"Thunder Bagua!" Kaido's club, infused with Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and lightning, swung toward Esdeath, who charged at him with her slender sword.
The collision of their Haki sent black and red lightning crackling around them. The air trembled under the force of their clash, and the dark clouds above were split in two, as if cut by a blade.
"This guy, seriously..."
Watching the destruction caused by Esdeath and Kaido's battle, Daniel Davis couldn't help but feel exasperated. He had no intention of stopping Esdeath from fighting Kaido, but to prevent the destruction of Wano, he had asked her to lure Kaido out to sea.
With her ice-based Imperial Arm, Esdeath could easily create a battlefield on the ocean. However, upon seeing Kaido, she had immediately attacked.
It was no wonder Esdeath was so excited. While Whitebeard had been a formidable opponent, his age and injuries, combined with the terrain, had limited the fight. Moreover, Daniel Davis had explicitly told her not to kill Whitebeard.
But with Kaido, there were no such restrictions. Although Daniel Davis had spoken of an alliance with Kaido, it was merely a public statement.
Daniel Davis' forces were already drawing too much attention. If he were to subjugate Kaido as well, the World Government would undoubtedly focus their efforts on him, much like they had with the Rocks Pirates.
If Daniel Davis aimed to conquer the world, that would be one thing. But since he had no such ambitions, it was better to keep a low profile. An alliance with Kaido would signal that Daniel Davis' forces weren't strong enough to defeat Kaido outright, making them just another Emperor-level threat. The World Government might not be willing to use their trump cards against him.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered. Daniel Davis had no desire to face the World Government's hidden powers. Let Dragon and his revolutionaries deal with that. After all, this was their world, and if they wanted to change it, they would have to face those challenges eventually.
"Why don't you two take this somewhere else? If you keep this up, we'll have to rebuild the entire city."
Wano's Flower Capital had been rebuilt once before, twenty years ago, after Kaido and his forces had clashed with the Kozuki family. But Daniel Davis had no intention of spending money on another reconstruction, especially when they had the means to relocate the battle.
"Come at me together!" Seeing Daniel Davis preparing to join the fight, Kaido wasn't surprised. His body transformed into a blue dragon-human hybrid, his strongest form.
The biggest flaw in Caesar's artificial Zoan Devil Fruits was this: while the high failure rate was problematic, it wasn't the main issue. Neither Kaido nor Doflamingo cared much about the lives of their subordinates. They only valued their top officers. The real problem was that Caesar's artificial Zoan fruits didn't allow the user to freely switch between forms like real Devil Fruits. Instead, users were stuck in a permanent half-human, half-beast state.
A true Zoan Devil Fruit, when awakened, allowed the user to transform parts of their body at will. For example, they could turn an arm into an animal's claw.
"There's no need for that. Your opponent is her. Wano is mine now, and I don't want it destroyed by your fight." As Kaido and Esdeath clashed again, Daniel Davis appeared in front of Kaido and punched him, sending him flying.
"Whitebeard really is a pity. Most of his contemporaries are still in their prime, but he's aged so much."
Kaido's dragon-human form granted him immense durability, and combined with his Armament Haki, even Daniel Davis' punch only caused him some pain without dealing significant damage.
Watching Esdeath close in, Daniel Davis sighed. In terms of age, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom were roughly the same generation.
Of course, compared to Sengoku and Zephyr, Whitebeard had held up relatively well. The Marines, aside from Garp, had all declined in strength. Otherwise, Zephyr wouldn't have lost his arm to Edward Weevil and seen so many of his students killed.
"Fortunately, Kaido has no intention of destroying Wano. Otherwise, this would be a real headache."
Battles between Emperor-level fighters could cause massive destruction, especially if they were intent on causing harm. In the past, Shiki had single-handedly destroyed Marineford while fighting both Garp and Sengoku.
"So this is Beast Kaido. He's really strong." A bolt of lightning flashed, and Ada appeared beside Daniel Davis, followed by Akame and the others.
"He is, after all, a Mythical Zoan user."
With that, Daniel Davis and his group headed toward the battlefield. From a vantage point, they watched Esdeath and Kaido's battle. The fight had moved beyond simple clashes, with both sides now using their abilities. Kaido's dragon-human form retained all the powers of his dragon form.
Wind, thunder, and fire clashed with Esdeath's ice. The shockwaves from their battle made it impossible for ordinary people to get within a kilometer of the fight without risking their lives.
Aside from Daniel Davis' group, everyone else watched from a distance.
The battle raged on, turning the sky dark and blotting out the sun. If it hadn't been taking place over the ocean, Wano would have lost at least one region to the destruction.
Esdeath held nothing back in this fight, except for her ultimate move, *Mahapadma*. For Esdeath, using her trump card right away would ruin the fun of the battle.
After half a day of intense fighting, Esdeath and Kaido ended the battle in a stalemate, both heavily injured.
"As expected, strength determines status."
With the battle over, Kaido immediately agreed to the alliance and returned to Onigashima. He didn't mention Wano or the destruction of the artificial Devil Fruit factory. This was the result of strength.
If it had been Doflamingo, even if Caesar had gone missing and the artificial Devil Fruit supply had dried up, Kaido would have come after him.
This had been Law's plan in the original story. However, because he had chosen Luffy as his ally, they not only defeated Doflamingo but also ended up confronting Kaido.
"Things should quiet down for now. Next, we wait for the World Government meeting."
With the Beasts Pirates dealt with, Wano's issues became simpler. Anyone who dared to cause trouble could be eliminated. If you can't solve the problem, solve the person causing the problem.
As for the war between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government, it would be a long and drawn-out conflict. After all, the Revolutionary Army now had to govern the territories they had taken.
(End of Chapter)
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