Onigashima, banquet hall.
"Our weapon trade middleman has been eliminated."
King calmly announced the bad news.
"Who?" Kane frowned.
The Beasts Pirates' weapon trade was practically an open secret in the New World; their middleman was not someone just anyone would dare to touch.
"Look at this." King tossed over an invitation letter.
Kane took it and opened it, discovering it was actually a self-recommendation letter.
In the letter, the writer was frank about killing the middleman but offered no words of apology.
His words implied that the Beasts' judgment in choosing people was poor, that the middleman was too weak, and that such a thing wouldn't have happened if it had been him.
Kane was amused by this guy's foolishness; he truly didn't know what Kaido represented in this world.
Then he looked at the signature—Joker.
Oh~ So it was Doffy, everything made sense now.
Kane smiled with relief.
King supplemented the information: "This group calls themselves the Donquixote Family, led by Heavenly Yaksha Donquixote Doflamingo, with a bounty of 340 million Berries.
He was active in the North Blue before coming to the New World, and through some means, he became one of the Shichibukai. Not long ago, he seized the Dressrosa Kingdom, likely intending to Ingrain himself in the New World."
Kane nodded, closing the self-recommendation letter: "What does Mr. Kaido mean?"
Kaido narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Kane, go test that clown's mettle for me."
He could not care about the death of a partner, or even Doflamingo's offense, but the premise was that Doflamingo had the strength worthy of his respect.
"Understood, I'll depart tomorrow." Kane nodded.
King added: "Your exclusive flagship was completed last week. These are the subordinates you'll be taking tomorrow."
With that, he tossed over a list.
There was naturally nothing to say about the pirates whose names King didn't even bother to record on the list, but for the first few...
"Jack, Ulti, Page One?"
Kane was confused: "A mere Heavenly Yaksha doesn't warrant all of us going, does he?"
Yamato not being on the list, he could understand; perhaps Kaido still wasn't very reassured.
"A simple Doflamingo naturally wouldn't warrant it."
King explained: "We have a long-term Devil Fruit trading channel, and when you set sail, it just happens to be the bi-annual delivery period, so you might as well take care of it along the way."
Then, he stated the transaction time, location, and contact person.
Kane suddenly understood; no wonder he specifically had Ulti and her brother go together.
The so-called channel, wasn't that the Shichibukai Hanafuda?
He didn't expect Kaido to be so gentle, specifically finding an opportunity for their family to reunite.
As for Jack, he was truly just an extra.
The next day.
Wano Country's southern part, hidden port.
Although Wano Country claimed to be closed off, it wasn't without channels for external communication.
Compared to ascending the waterfall by having carp pull ships upstream, the hidden port route was much safer.
This port was converted from a huge cave beneath Wano Country; ships could ascend and descend Wano Country via an elevator, and the cave itself connected to the sea beyond the high walls.
Here, Kane saw a large pirate ship over a hundred meters long.
The ship's sides were densely packed with cannon ports, and the bow was inlaid with a sculpture modeled after Kane's Rayquaza form.
"Indeed, it's the Beasts' style."
Kane nodded inwardly.
Just as Jack had his exclusive flagship in the original work, Kane, who replaced Jack as a Headliner, naturally had one too.
"Lord Kane, please name this ship."
Speed, with black and white hair and carrying a bow, respectfully said.
She was a Headliner assigned to Kane by King, specifically responsible for managing the pirate underlings on the ship.
Kane said without hesitation: "Let's call it the Raikougo."
"Damn it, that bastard Kane has his own ship after only three months."
Ulti, who was accompanying them, was full of resentment, "Little Page, we need to get one too!"
Page One sighed, "Big Sis, Big Brother Kane is a Headliner."
Ulti was full of confidence, "So what? We'll team up and eventually unseat him!"
"Hey, next time you discuss something like this, can you please do it out of my earshot?"
Kane had a dark line on his forehead.
He even regretted agreeing to Kaido taking these two siblings out.
Jack, his good brother, was quiet and good.
"Kane, I want to challenge you!" Jack, who was posing like a master with his arms crossed, suddenly spoke, his eyes filled with longing for the Raikougo.
One day, he would also get a ship like this, with a mammoth sculpture at the bow!
"Let's talk after we set off~" Kane rubbed his forehead helplessly.
It turned out to be a ship full of problem children; thankfully, he had appeased Yamato, who wanted to come along, otherwise, those days...
Once the four of them, Kane, boarded the ship, at Speed's command, the already positioned sailors began adding fuel to the engine room.
The large ship slowly began to move, proceeding along the waterway.
The waterway spanned half of Wano Country, terrifyingly long, until after half a day, light suddenly appeared from the previously dark front, and the sound of a huge waterfall echoed in their ears.
Soon, a massive waterfall prominently came into view.
Splash~
The large ship burst out of the waterfall, and the clear blue sea unfolded before Kane and the others.
This was a completely different ocean from Wano Country's inland sea.
Just looking at it made one feel refreshed.
But exiting the waterfall did not mean safety; the waters near Wano Country were filled with fierce whirlpools.
Fortunately, the Raikougo was sturdy enough, and the ship was manned by experienced sailors, so they safely navigated away from the nearshore without much trouble.
After setting sail, Page One eagerly took out a fishing rod and started fishing from the ship's side.
His skilled baiting, casting, and reeling were enough to indicate that he was an experienced angler who often came up empty-handed.
Of course, Page One's frequent lack of catches was also largely due to Ulti.
Not every angler can catch fish when there's someone constantly bothering them.
On the deck, Kane and Jack stood opposite each other.
They tacitly agreed not to use weapons or abilities; it wouldn't be good if they damaged the ship.
"Normal Punch."
As Kane's Armament Haki-covered fist smashed towards Jack, he tilted his neck, dodging Jack's punch.
After three months of relentless training, Kane had mastered the hardening and flowing externalization of Armament Haki, could use Observation Haki as he pleased, and even pinpoint release of Haoshoku was no longer an issue.
Only the more advanced techniques remained a mystery to Kane.
Kaido, however, was not stingy with his teachings. Whether it was internal destruction, Future Sight, or Haoshoku Infusion, he taught everything without reservation, truly living up to his name as Kaido of a Hundred Beasts.
But even if the principles were known, not being able to do it meant not being able to do it.
"Advanced Haki techniques cannot be learned through teaching. Only by constantly battling strong opponents and achieving a transformation of spirit and body can one grasp that flash of insight."
Teacher Kai said so.
This was one of the reasons Kane agreed to fight Jack.
Even if Jack didn't put much pressure on him, accumulated over time, these experiences would become his foundation.