Although it sounded like flattery, MR. 3's praise held some sincerity.
Recently, Crocodile's strength had become obvious to everyone.
Ever since his scheme in Alabasta was ruined by Sanders, Crocodile seemed to have rekindled his fighting spirit.
His power had surged—or perhaps more accurately, recovered—at an astonishing pace.
During the recent clash with the Whitebeard Pirates, he had even launched an assault directly on Whitebeard himself.
Although he failed, he managed to hold his own in skirmishes against some of the division commanders afterward.
To MR. 3 and the others, their boss was no weaker than Jack the Drought or Queen the Plague.
Becoming the "Fourth Calamity" didn't seem out of reach.
In the Beasts Pirates, strength was everything.
If you had power, you could challenge anyone—from the Tobiroppo to the Calamities.
"Then I'll start with the Tobiroppo."
Crocodile thought aloud.
He did need higher status to gain more freedom.
"Pick Sasaki," MR. 3 suggested quickly.
"Oh?"
Crocodile glanced at MR. 3.
"He looks down on us small fry."
MR. 3 scratched his head and explained.
Back in the first half of the Grand Line, MR. 3's power was decent.
But here, in one of the strongest pirate crews,
he was only slightly stronger than the low-level grunts.
And that was after he learned both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Without Haki, he wouldn't even be sure of beating a grunt who did know it.
Crocodile nodded in understanding.
Sasaki was arrogant and prideful, with few friends in the crew.
He was indeed a good target.
"Him it is."
Crocodile agreed.
"After I beat him, I'll move on to challenge Jack the Drought."
The Tobiroppo were the elite six among the Beasts Pirates, also called the "Shinuchi."
Only the six strongest could claim the title of Tobiroppo.
With his fame and strength, Crocodile had already been recognized as a Shinuchi upon joining, but he hadn't officially challenged any of the original six—so he wasn't considered a Tobiroppo yet.
The Tobiroppo fell under Queen's command.
Defeating Sasaki wouldn't allow him to replace Queen, though.
Queen was a scientist, with a unique status in the crew—like King, irreplaceable.
Jack, on the other hand, had risen purely through strength,
and his position wasn't so protected.
Even though Kaido, King, and Queen treated Jack like a "little brother," they wouldn't stop someone stronger from replacing him.
So, Jack was the best option among the Three Calamities.
Besides, Crocodile didn't plan to replace one of the Three Calamities— he wanted to become the Fourth Calamity.
That way, even if he won, he wouldn't offend anyone in particular.
Once he made up his mind, Crocodile turned and walked off, heading out to find Sasaki.
"Boss, you're going now?"
MR. 3 called out.
"Wait for us! We'll go cheer you on!"
Meanwhile, King had already arrived before Kaido.
Surprisingly, Kaido wasn't drinking as usual—he was training.
His massive body swung a kanabo club, muscles slick with sweat, as if he were developing some new technique.
"Kaido-san."
King called out calmly.
"Ah, King."
Kaido stopped at once.
He tossed the club aside, which landed with a thud and cracked the ground beneath it.
Taking two steps forward, Kaido sat cross-legged in front of King and took a big swig from his gourd.
"How did it go?"
Kaido asked, wiping his mouth.
"I didn't meet Thor Sanders. He wasn't there."
"But I spoke with him—he agreed to an alliance, but refused a political marriage."
King replied in his usual flat tone.
"Ohohoho, I figured it wouldn't be that easy!"
Kaido laughed loudly.
"However, Princess Yamato has stayed behind as you instructed."
"Good. Let Sanders teach Yamato a lesson—show him that there's always someone stronger. Maybe he'll stop dreaming of being Kozuki Oden all the time."
"Before long, Yamato will become a fine son of mine!"
"He'll probably still try to smash you with that club."
King said quietly.
To him, Yamato was already too far gone with his "Oden complex"—it wouldn't be easy to fix.
"Whatever."
Kaido dug a finger in his ear and waved it off.
"As long as he stops yelling about being Kozuki Oden in my ear, I don't care."
King nodded, then after a moment of silence, asked:
"Are you planning to awaken your Devil Fruit powers?"
Kaido's Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit had not been awakened yet.
In fact, none of the Three Calamities in the Beasts Pirates had awakened their Fruits.
Was it because they couldn't?
Of course not.
Awakening a Zoan-type Fruit came with major drawbacks.
The biggest two:
Failure during awakening,
and personality changes after success.
If you failed, turning into a mindless fool was the best-case scenario...
Even those who become great pirates must have the courage to take risks.
But Zoan-type Devil Fruits contain an internal will.
Even if you succeed in awakening, that will can start to influence you— this is what makes many hesitate.
Some are willing to take the risk for the sake of power.
But for those already strong in their own right, the idea of something altering their will or personality is unacceptable.
That's exactly why many powerful Zoan users avoid awakening:
Kaido, the Three Calamities, the Flying Six...
Even Marco, Whitebeard's 1st Division Commander.
These people already possess incredible power through Haki and physical strength.
So why risk their mind and identity for something so uncertain?
"Yes, King. I really do plan to awaken my Devil Fruit, to gain greater strength..."
Kaido said this without hesitation.
"It's risky," King frowned.
"Hahaha! I'm Kaido! When would I ever fail an awakening?"
Kaido roared with laughter.
"Kaido-san, that's not what I meant."
"Ohohoho... you mean the will inside the Devil Fruit?"
"I'll tame it."
"It will become my strength. It won't influence me."
"I've said it before: I will become Pirate King. I am the legendary Joy Boy. Isn't that what you believe, King?"
Kaido shouted boldly, swinging his sake gourd around with arrogant confidence.
"Is it because of Sanders?"
King's calm words made Kaido's laughter stop instantly.
"King, you're so annoying. Jack is way more likeable than you."
Kaido muttered after a moment of silence.
"You know..."
"Sanders, that guy—he actually can win."
"I've fought Whitebeard before. That old man is strong, and I couldn't guarantee victory."
"Now, I have to train seriously. If not, I'll fall behind."
"Whether it's Haki or physical techniques, at my level, further growth is near impossible."
"Haki is the greatest power—I know that."
"But if I want fast progress, the only path is awakening my Devil Fruit."
Kaido took another deep drink of his sake as he spoke.
Though Sanders hasn't defeated him yet, Kaido's battle with Whitebeard gave him a reference point— and he could tell that Sanders had already surpassed him.
That realization gave him a sense of urgency.
A feeling he hadn't experienced since becoming an Emperor of the Sea.
Back then, the Four Emperors had a delicate balance— None truly respected the others, but they were evenly matched, able to fight for days without a clear victor.
But Sanders shattered that balance.
The world may believe Sanders only got this far due to multiple Devil Fruit abilities.
But Kaido, having fought him, knew better:
Even just in Haki and physical strength, Sanders is already one of the strongest in the world.
His learning speed was frightening.
Most of all—he was still young.
Still growing.
Kaido believed even if Sanders didn't use Devil Fruits,
he could still rival or defeat legends like Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard.
So if Kaido didn't want to become obsolete, he had to find a way to get stronger.
And the fastest way—was awakening his Devil Fruit.
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