Chapter 23 — You Haven't Seen True Terror Yet!
The next afternoon.
The people of Dressrosa were only just beginning to calm down after the horrors of the previous night—
after the disappearance of the so-called "King of the Plateau," the tyrant who had ruled over them for years.
They hadn't even begun to discuss whether the reign of "Joker," their monstrous overlord, had truly ended—
When suddenly—
A pressure unlike anything they had ever felt descended from the heavens.
Heavier. Denser. A thousand times more suffocating than the fear of the night before.
It pressed down upon the entire island.
"W-What… is that?"
A dockworker who had been unloading crates froze, trembling as he looked upward.
The sky—had turned black.
But it wasn't because of clouds or the coming of night.
The sun itself had been swallowed by the vast shadow of something massive—
something far beyond human comprehension.
"A… a dragon…"
"I-It's a DRAGON!!!"
"RUN!! EVERYONE, RUN!!!"
Panic erupted like wildfire.
The once-lively streets of Dressrosa drowned in screams of terror.
Floating above the clouds was a colossal blue dragon, stretching thousands of meters long.
Its two enormous eyes—each the size of a mountain—gazed down coldly upon the island below.
The Strongest Creature in the World.
Kaido of the Beasts Pirates.
"WORORORORORORORORO!!!"
The dragon's roar tore through the heavens, becoming a physical shockwave that slammed into the ground below!
Windows shattered across the entire island in a deafening chorus of breaking glass!
"Kaido-sama!!!"
"Kaido-sama, you've finally arrived!!!"
While the citizens collapsed in despair, one figure shot up into the air from the direction of the harbor—
Doflamingo.
Using his transparent strings, he soared through the air toward the dragon's head.
His face was pale, his breath shallow—
yet his eyes gleamed with a mix of fear, ecstasy, and false devotion.
When he finally reached Kaido's massive snout, he immediately dropped to one knee in midair.
"Kaido-sama!! You've finally come!!"
"The traitor! That damned bastard Akira—he's here!! He's on this island!!"
His voice cracked, trembling with pretend outrage and wounded loyalty.
Kaido's massive head slowly turned.
Those cold, merciless dragon eyes fixed themselves on Doflamingo.
"Take me to him."
The words rumbled like thunder rolling straight out of the abyss.
"Y-Yes!! Of course!! Right away, Kaido-sama!!"
Doflamingo's grin stretched wide as he descended, leading the way with exaggerated reverence.
It worked.
Kaido's here himself.
Akira, you're finished.
In his mind, Doflamingo could already see it—
Akira torn to pieces under Kaido's hands,
Yamato dragged back to Onigashima as her father's "victory prize."
The image alone made him laugh uncontrollably.
"Fufufufu…"
"Fufufufufufufufu!!"
But halfway through his laughter, a sharp pain stabbed his chest.
His expression froze. His smile faltered.
"3… 3.2 billion…"
"My palace… my factories…"
All gone.
Even if Kaido killed Akira, even if Yamato was captured—
his lost wealth would never return.
"AKIRA!!!"
His laughter twisted into a scream of rage and despair.
"You bastard!!!"
"Even dying a thousand times wouldn't repay what you stole from me!!!**"
— — —
Meanwhile, in the Wealth District of Dressrosa.
The massive villa owned by Akira trembled violently, letting out groans of steel and cracking stone.
BOOM!!
CLANG!!
The walls were covered with spiderweb cracks.
The grand chandelier that once hung from the ceiling had already shattered into dust.
"Hah…"
Akira exhaled slowly, his calm demeanor unshaken.
He buttoned up his black training outfit and slung Murakumogiri casually over his shoulder.
BANG!
The bathroom door burst open with a thunderous crash.
Yamato stepped out, her body radiating searing heat that warped the air around her.
Her face gleamed with excitement, and her breath steamed in the air.
Grabbing Hassaikai from the wall, she swung it once and laughed in exhilaration.
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Akira! My body feels incredible right now!"
For a full day and night, the two of them had been engaged in relentless "layer-stacking" training—no rest, no mercy.
Their Will Core layers had climbed past one thousand.
Their physical strength had multiplied tenfold.
"I can feel it…"
Yamato clenched her spiked club tightly, her arms trembling from sheer power.
"Right now, I could crush that bird-brain King with a single swing!!"
Akira only smiled faintly at her words.
"...Your father's here."
Yamato froze.
"Huh?"
Her expression shifted as she focused her senses—
and then she felt it.
That suffocating pressure…
That familiar, monstrous aura that had haunted her since childhood—
Kaido.
But this time, there wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes.
Instead, her fighting spirit blazed even hotter.
"He's finally here!!"
Her teeth bared in a feral grin as she turned to Akira.
"Akira! Wait! Let me go first!"
"I want to test my strength myself!"
"I'll make him see how strong I've become—how strong Yamato really is!!"
Her entire body trembled with excitement.
Of course, beneath that fiery "Oden-like" bravado, she was scheming something a little less noble.
Akira might be a pain in the ass, but he's a great sparring partner.
If he ends up getting beaten half to death by Father…
I'll just beg for his life!
Inside her mind, Yamato already had a flawless alibi prepared.
I'll tell Father that Akira only helped me train—that he made me stronger!
A man like him, who values strength above all else, wouldn't kill someone who trained his daughter… right?
Yeah. Perfect.
Hahaha! I'm a genius!
— — —
BOOOOOOM—!!!
Outside, a thousand-meter-long azure dragon coiled through the sky, shaking the heavens themselves.
The citizens of Dressrosa had long since lost all reason.
Screams and chaos filled every street.
Men and women alike ran for their lives, desperately trying to escape the shadow of the beast above them.
"Kaido-sama!!"
Doflamingo hovered in the air on his invisible threads, bowing deeply in exaggerated reverence.
He extended a trembling hand toward the only building still standing amid the devastation—
Akira's villa.
"The traitor Akira and Young Master Yamato are inside that house!!"
"...Oh?"
Kaido's massive dragon head tilted downward.
His colossal eyes locked onto the cracked, half-collapsed villa.
Through the shattered doorway, two figures emerged side by side—
Akira.
Yamato.
Kaido's slitted pupils narrowed dangerously.
In an instant, his massive body twisted midair, spiraling down toward the ground.
As he landed, he transformed back into his human form—
the impact alone ripping the earth apart beneath him.
BOOM!!!
The shockwave was so intense it hurled Doflamingo backward like a ragdoll.
"Ugh—!!"
He tumbled across the dirt, coughing and spitting blood before forcing himself upright.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he quickly dashed to stand behind Kaido like a loyal subordinate.
Kaido didn't even look at him.
His gaze was fixed entirely on Yamato—
or more precisely, on the massive spiked club resting on her shoulder.
"Hassaikai."
His teeth ground together, the sound like steel scraping against stone.
"So it's true!!"
"That bastard Akira really did steal it!!"
Kaido's killing intent erupted, crushing the air itself.
The sheer pressure made even Doflamingo's breath hitch.
But then Kaido's gaze flicked sideways—
to the weapon in Akira's hands.
A massive naginata gleaming under the sunlight.
"...Hm?"
The fury in Kaido's eyes eased slightly.
"Murakumogiri…?!"
For a moment, his expression twisted into something between shock and amusement.
Then, he laughed.
"Worororororo…"
"You brat…"
"You even stole Whitebeard's weapon too?!"
"Not bad!!"
Though anger still simmered in his chest, it was tempered with a strange satisfaction.
Remembering that his old rival had also fallen victim to this same thief somehow soothed him.
"Akira!!"
Kaido raised a massive sake gourd, gulped deeply, then slammed it down.
He stared at Akira with a mix of fury, pride, and confusion.
"I never treated you badly!"
"So why?!"
"Why did you betray me?!"
"Was I not good enough to you—as a father-in-law?!"
But Akira remained calm.
He planted Murakumogiri into the ground and looked Kaido straight in the eye.
"I just wanted to see the world beyond Wano."
"Yamato wanted the same."
"See the world?"
Kaido's brow furrowed—then he burst out laughing, his deep voice booming across the sky.
"Wororororororo!!"
"Akira, you fool!"
"The world outside isn't as simple as you think!"
"As long as you're in Wano—on Onigashima—I can protect you!"
His laughter faded.
The air grew heavy.
When he spoke again, his tone was low, dark—like a man who had seen something unspeakable.
"You want adventure because you've never…"
"Never witnessed true terror."
"Terror?"
Akira tilted his head slightly, a thin smile curling on his lips.
He met Kaido's glare head-on.
"You're talking about… Imu."
"And the 'demons' under their command?"
"…"
Kaido froze.
His laughter died instantly.
His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
The air itself seemed to warp under the crushing pressure of his Haki.
"How—"
"How do you know that name?!"
"Who told you about them?!"
Kaido's composure shattered completely.
He took a step forward, and the ground split open beneath his feet.
The name Imu—it was the one thing he had sworn never to utter again.
That was the name tied to his deepest trauma.
To God Valley, where he had seen a power so horrifying that even Rocks D. Xebec himself lost his sanity in an instant.
But Akira—his own subordinate, the boy he'd raised under his wing—
How could he possibly know?!
"I don't just know," Akira replied calmly.
Even as Kaido's killing aura pressed down like a mountain, his voice was steady—cold.
"I also know that in that battle… you were beaten so badly that your very spirit shattered."
"That's why you hide here in Wano—drunk, pretending to be the 'King of Beasts.'"
"But me…"
His eyes sharpened, burning with golden light.
"I left to erase every threat that stands in our way."
"Including Imu."
"Wororororororo!!"
Kaido burst into laughter again—but this time, it was pure rage mixed with disbelief.
"Just you?!"
"You think you can challenge Imu?!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Akira! You have no idea what kind of monsters they are!!"
"You… you're overestimating yourself!!"
"…"
"Enough talking!"
A voice suddenly cut through their exchange like lightning.
Yamato stepped forward, eyes blazing with blue flame.
Through her Observation Haki, she could clearly see the Armor of Will shimmering around her father's body—
the same energy she had studied for years.
Her blood boiled.
Her fighting spirit ignited.
"Akira!!" she shouted, her grin feral and wild.
"Why waste time arguing with this old drunk?!"
"Let's just fight him!!"
"If we beat Father, everything will be settled!!"
ROAAAAAR!!!
Without waiting for a reply, Yamato charged forward.
Her hair whipped behind her as she raised Hassaikai, pouring every ounce of her newfound strength into the attack.
"KAIDO!!!"
"Take this—!!!"
"RAIMEI HAKKE!!! (THUNDER BAGUA!!!)"
Lightning exploded from her club, the ground splitting apart beneath her feet as she swung—
and the clash between father and daughter once again set the heavens ablaze.
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