"What exactly do you want?"
Kaido was infamous for his explosive temper.
However, at this moment, despite the raging fury inside him that felt like a volcano ready to erupt, he found himself completely unable to vent it.
Right now, if there was a phrase to describe his situation, it would be—
"A turtle looking for a vet… completely stifled!"
He wanted to fight, but he couldn't use his abilities.
He wanted to run, but he damn well couldn't escape.
In all his life, he had never felt so utterly helpless.
"You're a strong warrior, have some dignity!"
Kisame looked at Kaido, whose eyes were bloodshot from rage, knowing full well that he had completely pissed him off this time.
So, there was no way he would let this opportunity go to waste.
"I…"
Kaido was already seething, but hearing Kisame say that only made him even angrier.
I'm already trapped like a damn turtle, and this bastard is still calling me a 'strong warrior'…
Who the hell says that?!
As he watched Kaido's face turn even redder with frustration, Kisame continued,
"Don't take it the wrong way, I just want to make a deal. From now on, let's stay out of each other's way when we meet."
"I admit that I can't kill you, and I can't even beat you."
"But… I'm thirty-seven this year."
"You're saying that again?! What's the point?"
Kaido's dragon eyes burned with red fury.
"The point is—I can outlast you."
"So I'm telling you, it's not that I'm afraid. I just don't want to waste my energy." Kisame emphasized once again.
"Fine, I accept your request. Now let me go!" Kaido growled through clenched teeth, glaring at Kisame.
Kisame stared at Kaido for a moment before finally releasing his transformation and ending his Water Release technique.
—SPLASH!!
The massive water sphere, no longer maintained by Kisame, instantly burst apart, cascading down like a waterfall onto the island below.
"Kisame Hoshigaki… very well!"
"I, Kaido, will remember you!"
Now freed from the water sphere, Kaido—still in his enormous dragon form—looked down at Kisame, who had landed on the island below.
A glint of intrigue flashed through his furious eyes.
He had finally gotten a good look at this man. Physically, Kisame wasn't particularly impressive, but his techniques were ridiculously bizarre.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Kaido focused on Kisame again.
"Kisame Hoshigaki… you must be a pirate, right?"
"If you ever come to the New World, come find me in Wano. I'll be waiting for you there!"
With that, Kaido stepped onto a flame cloud and soared into the distance.
Watching him leave, Kisame muttered to himself—
"That bastard… is even harder to deal with than a Tailed Beast!"
As Kaido finally left, even Kisame, whose chakra reserves rivaled that of a Tailed Beast, found himself drenched in cold sweat.
Maintaining that massive Water Release technique had been a constant drain on his chakra.
This world wasn't the Shinobi World—he couldn't just rely on Samehada to absorb chakra.
Here, chakra could only be replenished through personal training and recovery.
"Good thing that guy left… Otherwise, I would've had to use that move."
After resting for a moment and feeling his strength mostly recovered, Kisame turned to check on his ship.
But suddenly—
A teasing voice rang out from behind him.
"Kowai ne~! So it really is the big muscle-bound bro!"
"Oh, for fuck's sake!"
Kisame's pupils shrank at the sound. Without hesitation, he swung Samehada with a powerful whoosh behind him.
He didn't care who it was—anyone who dared to insult him had to pay in blood.
BAM!
Samehada struck something, but it barely offered any resistance as it sliced clean through.
Huh?
Something felt off. It didn't feel like he had hit flesh.
Kisame looked up in surprise—his sword had cleaved the person's body in half.
But instead of blood and gore, golden light flickered where the body split.
The upper half of the figure, sporting a sleazy grin, floated mid-air, his mouth twisted in an exaggerated pout.
Seeing this, Kisame's heart skipped a beat.
It's that guy from before!
He knew this man was strong, but he hadn't expected something like this.
Having just witnessed Kaido's terrifying power, Kisame wasted no time. He immediately formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
In an instant, high-pressure water jets erupted around Kisame, shooting forward like bullets at his opponent.
The golden figure—Borsalino, a.k.a. Admiral Kizaru—had been watching lazily, but the moment the water attacks flew toward him, his pupils shrank.
"Dangerous… Very dangerous!"
"Even in my light form, if I get hit by those, I might actually take damage."
Not daring to take any chances, Kizaru instantly transformed into a streak of golden light, dodging the attack and reappearing in the sky above Kisame.
"Kowai ne~! I say, my friend, attacking so suddenly… That's not very friendly!"
"Bullshit! And insulting people the moment you see them is friendly?!" Kisame shot back, glaring up at him.
"Uh…"
"Did I insult you?"
Kizaru's perpetually smug face twisted in feigned confusion.
Kisame gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to punch him. With a grunt, he slung Samehada over his shoulder.
He had figured it out—everyone in this world was an absolute pain in the ass.
One moment, it was an unkillable monster like Kaido.
The next, it was this absurdly fast bastard.
With his current abilities, he wasn't sure if he could take Kizaru down.
So, he simply chose to ignore him.
Without another word, Kisame stepped onto the water, walking toward his approaching ship.
Kizaru watched him go, then lazily called out—
"You're a little late. The pirate already ran away."
"Oh?"
"You can actually walk on seawater?"
"This is even more advanced than that brat Aokiji's ability."
Kizaru's triangular eyes glowed behind his sunglasses as he clicked his tongue in amazement, watching Kisame stride effortlessly across the water.
"Hey, big guy, how about we have a little chat? Didn't you want to join the Marines?"
"A chat?"
Kisame glanced sideways at Kizaru, who was perched on his shoulder, and asked in a low voice, "You call this a chat?"
"Dowahaha, don't mind the details… After all, I don't have the ability to stand on the sea like you do."
Kizaru smirked sleazily before continuing, "Anyway, Fleet Admiral Sengoku already knows about you."
"He's willing to make an exception and recruit you directly into the Marines."
"And your starting rank would be straight to Captain."
Kisame stopped in his tracks, hesitating for a moment before asking,
"What's your rank?"
"Uh, Vice Admiral. Why?" Kizaru answered, slightly confused.
"Is that higher than Captain?"
"Uh… yeah, I suppose so?"
"Then forget it. I don't want to work under a sleazy guy like you."
Without a shred of hesitation, Kisame flatly refused and resumed walking forward, completely ignoring the Marine still sitting on his shoulder.
"Uh…"
"Hey, wait a sec—"
"Kisame Hoshigaki!"
"Listen, Kisame, do you have some sort of grudge against me?"
"Besides, a civilian being directly promoted to Captain—this has never happened before in Marine history."
"And you wouldn't even be working under me."
"You'd have your own warship. If you want to get promoted further, you'd need to earn military merit…."
For once, Kizaru actually seemed motivated, eagerly explaining the Marine promotion system to Kisame.
"Do you get anything out of this?"
Hearing Kizaru rambling on and on, Kisame suddenly asked.
"Huh?!"
The unexpected question caught Kizaru off guard, and he looked at Kisame in shock.
After a brief pause, he admitted with a nod, "Yeah. There's a bonus. And a pretty hefty one at that."
"Give me half, and I'll accept your offer."
Kisame wasn't particularly interested in money, but if he could annoy Kizaru in the process, that was reason enough.
Simply put, he just didn't like this pervy weirdo who kept calling him "big muscle bro."
"Deal!"
Kizaru hesitated for a moment but then grinned and agreed instantly.
Sure, his bonus would be cut in half, but hey, half was still better than nothing.
Puru-puru-puru…
Suddenly, a strange ringing sound echoed from Kisame's shoulder.
Hearing it, he instinctively turned his head
Only to see Kizaru pulling out a strange-looking snail from his coat.
"Moshi moshi…?"
A loud voice came through the transponder snail—
"Hahaha! Kizaru, I see you! Wait for me—!"
(End of Chapter)
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