The value of the treasures accumulated in God Valley was impossible to estimate. They were rare treasures gathered from across the entire world.
Pirates who managed to leave God Valley alive all gained something to one degree or another; some even treated it as their future "startup capital."
Among the many pirates, Kaido was probably the most straightforward case. Aside from the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon that he snatched from Charlotte Linlin, Kaido's gains were essentially zero.
Now his pockets were even cleaner than his face. Apart from the kanabo he carried and the clothes on his body, there was nothing else of any value to be found.
If Nereus kept talking, who knew what old accounts might get dug up.
Even though he had already eaten a Devil Fruit, Kaido was well aware of the gap in strength between them.
That Devil Fruit had certainly boosted his power, but not to the point where he could surpass the other party.
Inviting Nereus had been nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment idea; the current Kaido had no intention of finding himself another captain.
While thinking about how to change the subject, Kaido suddenly noticed Dragon controlling the sails.
For Kaido, picking a fight was a good way to divert the topic, and compared to getting beaten, beating someone else was clearly preferable.
"Kaido, I'm not blind. If I didn't want him alive, do you think this Marine would still be breathing right now? What exactly are you trying to do? Just say it."
Nereus didn't step in to stop him. Whether Kaido intended to kill or was just fooling around was something Nereus could tell at a glance.
Dragon, however, was a different matter altogether. At this point, he was still just a fresh recruit among the Marines, and in some sense his treatment was far worse than Koby's.
Although Kaido's swung club stopped in midair, the gust of wind it kicked up rushed straight at Dragon, making cold sweat bead on his forehead.
"Worororo, is this your nasty sense of humor again? Looks like this Marine is pretty unlucky."
Weak.
That was Kaido's only evaluation of Dragon. Since Nereus had taken an interest in him, Kaido naturally wouldn't do anything further.
After all, they had known each other for many years, and Kaido was familiar with some of Nereus's habits.
When faced with opponents who were extremely weak yet ignorant of their own strength, Nereus would sometimes get playful, using his abilities to toy with them, like a cat playing with a rat.
"I was just hungry and came looking for something to eat. Didn't expect this warship to be yours now. You don't mind if I grab some food, do you?"
"Go find it yourself. The storeroom should be around—"
"I know where it is. Then I won't hold back."
With that, Kaido easily made his way to the warship's storeroom. Given that the Marines also had many large-bodied soldiers, the corridors on the warship had been widened to a certain extent.
It was a bit cramped for Kaido, but he could still get through.
Watching Kaido be so familiar with the warship's layout left Dragon feeling conflicted, unsure how to judge it.
Nereus's people had always liked seizing warships for their own use, and Kaido had often treated warships as dining halls. Over time, all of them had become quite familiar with warships.
Before long, Kaido found some smoked or pickled food that was easy to preserve. He didn't pay much attention to the taste and ate casually, only complaining a bit about not finding any alcohol.
"Kaido, you were at that battle in the center of God Valley earlier, weren't you? I saw you fly over."
"That… yeah, I was there at the beginning."
"What exactly happened back then?"
By the time Nereus arrived, Kaido and the others had already left, leaving only Garp and Roger, as well as the controlled Rocks.
Although Nereus had already learned the details of what happened from Garp, Roger, and Rocks' soul, he still wanted to hear how others would describe it.
"At the time I had just gained my Devil Fruit ability and sensed that strange thing, so I wanted to go test it out.
That Linlin was chasing me the whole time too. I stole her fruit, and she looked extremely furious, Worororo!"
Speaking of this, Kaido didn't feel the least bit embarrassed, but his expression suddenly turned serious afterward.
"Me, Linlin, Newgate, Rocks, as well as Garp and Roger. We all attacked that thing together.
But it was useless. That spider-like monster had a black shadow on its back. Our attacks did absolutely nothing to it. It seemed like it couldn't be killed at all."
"If I really had to give an example… it's very similar to your ability."
Even the damage dealt with Haki was as good as useless. In Kaido's memory, the only person who possessed such power was Nereus.
"Can't be killed… no, Kaido. There's no such thing in this world as something that truly can't be killed. If it can't be killed… then it just means its weakness hasn't been found yet."
"Oh? You're the same as well?"
"That's right. I'm the same, provided you can find the weakness."
Kaido didn't continue questioning him. Asking any further would have been impolite, clearly an invitation to get beaten.
And Nereus wasn't joking either. Things like sunlight or silver had no effect on him. Unless someone managed to find some kind of God Devil Fruit to bless those things first.
His own weakness… was his heart.
Break through Nereus's Haki barrier, then, with an ability no different from elemental transformation, destroy Nereus's heart, and you could kill him once.
Repeat that process countless times, and the goal would eventually be achieved.
"By the way, Nereus, what are you planning to do next?"
"First, I'm going back to Fishman Island. There are some things that are about time to set into motion."
"I see. You're heading back to the New World after that, right? Let me hitch a ride for a few days. I haven't decided yet whether my first step should be finding a ship or recruiting a few subordinates."
"Do as you like. Same thing as always, just don't cause me any extra trouble."
"I know. Before starting a new voyage, I should conserve my strength anyway."
Kaido agreed with Nereus, found an open spot on the deck, and lay down to rest. Nereus didn't pay him much attention after that.
Kaido was the kind of person who didn't care about the means as long as he could achieve his goal. If his own strength was sufficient, he wouldn't mind a fair, head-on battle.
But when facing a goal he absolutely had to accomplish while lacking sufficient strength, Kaido wouldn't stick to conventions either—ambushes and the like didn't bother him in the slightest. That was the survival rule Kaido had learned from stepping onto the battlefield as a soldier at a young age.
Still, in matters like this, Nereus could trust him. After all, there was no real conflict of interest between them at the moment, and they had some past ties from Fullalead Island.
"And you, Marine? What do you plan to do next?"
Nereus looked toward Dragon, who had finished tidying the sails, and asked casually.
"I… I don't know. There are things I need to go back and ask about. After that… I'll leave the Marines."
There was confusion about the future in Dragon's voice, but his resolve to leave the Marines was firm.
After witnessing what had happened at God Valley, he couldn't convince himself to continue upholding that so-called justice within an army that buried its head in the sand.
"A good choice. Have you considered coming to work for me?"
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