"Yamato... you... get over here right now..."
The words were forced out from deep within Kaido's throat, mixed with the metallic taste of fresh blood.
Four-year-old Yamato hid behind Kane's wide, snowy-white Justice cape, peeking out with half of her small head, which sported a pair of little red horns.
She looked at her father's pathetic state, then looked up at Kane, who radiated a charming majesty beside her, and wrinkled her small nose in distaste.
"No! Stinky Dad is too lame!"
Yamato's small hands tightly gripped the hem of Kane's clothes as she shouted with all her might in a crisp voice:
"I want to follow Lord Kane and learn how to be a hero of justice! I don't want to be a pirate who gets beaten up like you!"
[Ding! Host has influenced the future of a key character. Psychological damage to a Yonko detected. Scumbag Justice Points +500!]
It was another solid critical hit to his pride.
Kaido's chest heaved violently, and a mouthful of blood sprayed onto the messy, broken stones on the ground.
Even Queen, standing to the side, couldn't help but close his eyes, unable to bear watching this filial piety scene that could only be described as a tragedy of the human world.
Kane, however, seemed completely oblivious to Kaido's breakdown.
He gently ruffled Yamato's long white-and-green hair, then turned his head to look at Kaido, his tone filled with a concern as refreshing as a spring breeze.
"Don't be so angry, Kaido of the Beasts."
Kane stood tall with one hand in his pocket, speaking with a straight face: "You should feel gratified. In this era where pirates run rampant and life is precarious, your daughter possesses extremely upright values and a soul that yearns for the light."
"I see that she has an extraordinary build and an overflowing sense of justice; she's an extremely rare good seedling for the Marines."
The corners of Kane's mouth curled into a gentle and elegant arc.
"Once this official business is done, I will personally take her back to Marineford. Furthermore, in my name as an Admiral, I will recommend her for the Marine Elite Training Camp."
"You... keep dreaming..."
Kaido glared fixedly at Kane. "As long as I have a single breath left... don't even think about taking her away..."
"Alright, let's end the sentimental family chatter here. My time is very precious."
Kane interrupted him impatiently.
He slowly lifted his right foot and casually stepped onto a half-melted giant stone tablet, his dark eyes scanning the purgatory-like devastation around them.
"Let's talk about the matter of the fine."
"I... won't give you... a single cent!" Kaido panted heavily, like a wild beast driven into a corner.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not negotiating with you."
Kane elegantly pulled a silk handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped the dust off his fingers.
"Given that your Beasts Pirates just violently resisted the law, causing damage to the landscape of this beautiful island, the environmental restoration and management fees will also be charged to you."
"Rounding it up, the fine is now six hundred billion Berries."
Hearing this, Queen's fat shook all over, and he nearly went into shock on the spot.
Your single slash split the island in half, and you're blaming us for that?!
"Of course, I know the Beasts Pirates don't have that much cash. Forced melons aren't sweet; as a Marine representing justice, I have always emphasized being reasonable and sustainable development."
Kane casually tossed the handkerchief into the wind.
"Therefore, I have mercifully decided to allow you to pay in installments, using physical goods to offset the debt."
Kane's gaze moved past Kaido, locking onto the towering chimneys of the weapons factories visible in the distance, as well as the continuous mountain range of the quarries.
"From today onward, all weapons factories and high-purity Sea Stone mines in Wano Country will be taken over by me and fully restructured into the Marine Natural Disaster Special Logistics Base."
Kane read out his ridiculous, overbearing terms word by word.
"To prevent you evil pirates from using weapons to harm the world and destroy peace."
"All output—whether weapons or Sea Stone—will be entirely confiscated by me, representing the Marines as an Admiral, to the tune of ninety percent, to be used for suppressing outlaws across the four seas."
"You are only entitled to keep ten percent."
"This ten percent is the operating capital for you reform-through-labor prisoners to repair equipment and buy lunch boxes. After all, with room and board included and no taxes to pay, you won't find this kind of treatment anywhere else even if you searched with a lantern."
This was no fine.
This was practically keeping the entire Beasts Pirates as cheap slaves!
"You... you've gone too far! Do you really think our Beasts Pirates are pushovers?!"
A deafening roar suddenly erupted.
It was Jack the Drought!
His simple brain couldn't comprehend the concept of compromise; he only knew that the Marine in front of him had insulted his boss and wanted to steal their foundation.
Rumble!
The hill-like mammoth hybrid form crushed the earth, charging madly toward Kane with an unstoppable, violent momentum!
Those two giant tusks were set on goring Kane straight through!
"You're seeking death..." King's eyelids twitched wildly, but it was too late to stop him.
Facing this overwhelming charge, Kane didn't even turn his head.
He just gently turned around and covered four-year-old Yamato's large eyes with his hands.
"Be good, Yamato, close your eyes. Next is Justice Judgment time for adults. If a child sees too many bloody scenes, it will affect their growth."
"Mm-hmm!" Yamato nodded obediently, but she still mischievously parted her fingers slightly, revealing a tiny gap, her eyes wide with curiosity.
At the very moment the terrifying mammoth tusks were less than half a meter from Kane's back—
Swish!
The air in that spot let out a sharp, overwhelmed sonic boom.
Kane's figure vanished into thin air!
No one could see how he moved; it was the pure physical evasion of one hundred points of Physique pushed to the limit!
In the next frame of the scene, Kane had appeared like a ghost above the mammoth's massive head.
No Devil Fruit ability, no Armament Haki hardening.
Just a long, slender leg, carrying a terrifying sonic whistle that tore through the void, slamming hard into the dead center of Jack's forehead!
Boom—!!!
A terrifying shockwave exploded in a ring, and the surrounding air visibly distorted and caved in.
"Awoooo—!!!"
Jack let out an incredibly shrill scream as his massive body was smashed into the earth by this unbelievable monstrous strength!
With him as the center, the rocky ground for a hundred meters in diameter shattered inch by inch like a spiderweb.
Kane slowly landed at the bottom of the pit, expressionlessly reaching out his hands to grab Jack's two giant tusks.
His arm muscles suddenly tensed!
"Crack, crack, crack—"
The crisp sound of bones tearing was scalp-tingling, echoing through Onigashima.
Under the horrified gazes of Queen and King, and amidst Kaido's eye-splitting roar, Kane actually relied on pure brute force to pull the mammoth's two giant tusks out by the roots, alive!!!
Blood shot up into the sky like a fountain, staining the ground around Kane, yet it failed to touch even the edge of his snowy-white Justice cape.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH—!!!"
In extreme pain, Jack immediately reverted from his transformation to his human form, twitching twice in the pool of blood before his eyes rolled back and he fainted cleanly.
Kane casually tossed the two blood-stained giant tusks aside, like throwing away two pieces of worthless trash.
He turned his head and found that Yamato, who was peeking through her fingers, not only wasn't scared to tears by this bloody scene but was instead so excited her eyes were shining, her small hands clapping loudly.
"Wow! So cool, so cool! Disobedient bad guys should be taught a lesson like this! Lord Kane is an invincible hero!"
The four-year-old girl's crisp cheers became the final straw that crushed the Beasts Pirates' pride.
Kane elegantly straightened his shirt collar, which had been slightly wrinkled from the exertion, and walked back in front of Kaido.
"Now, does anyone else have any objections to my control regulations?"
A breeze blew past, carrying a thick scent of blood.
No one dared to speak.
King gritted his teeth hard, and Queen was trembling uncontrollably.
Because they knew that if it had been them who charged just now, their end would not have been a bit better than Jack's.
"Very good, it seems you are all reasonable people."
Kane nodded with satisfaction.
"Since the industries are under my management, I have to send someone I trust to be in charge of auditing your accounts every year, lest you pirates have sticky fingers."
Kane looked down at the deathly pale Kaido, the corners of his mouth widening into an arc full of malice and mockery.
He deliberately lowered his voice, speaking softly in a tone only Kaido could hear:
"Speaking of which, Lady Toki's arithmetic has always been quite good. Not only is she beautiful, but she also has a very gentle personality. I especially like her tea-making skills."
"In the future, Lady Toki will serve as the auditor for your Wano Country factories."
"When you crude pirates are working, you'd better show her some respect. She now represents my supreme will in Wano Country."
Boom!
These words were like a thunderclap, directly shattering Kaido's last shred of sanity!
I was beaten into a heavy injury by you!
My daughter was kidnapped by you right in front of me!
My territory and factories have all been seized by you, and I have to pay ninety percent interest!
And now, you're even throwing Kozuki Oden's wife, whom you snatched away, back here to be my foreman?!
"Puu—!!!"
Kaido faced the sky and let out one last howl of grief and indignation, an extremely shrill wail, before his eyes rolled back.
This strongest creature, known for being invincible in a one-on-one fight, was actually fainted out of pure anger by this triple heart-piercing blow!
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