Caesar, exuding the aura of a demon from hell, planted his foot on Kaido's chest and pointed the blade at his pupil.
Pudding and Yamato broke out in cold sweat, barely daring to breathe.
It was as though that violet-glowing blade was aimed at them.
The world fell into silence, save for Kaido's labored breathing.
"Do it, Caesar! What are you hesitating for? Didn't you want to slaughter everyone in this world? Do it!"
After a moment, Kaido spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Shut up! You think I don't have the guts? I've lost count of how many Oni Clan members I've killed—what's one more?!"
Caesar roared, his eyes crimson, as the blade inched closer, nearly touching Kaido's eye.
"I've told you countless times—it wasn't your fault! The past is gone. Can't you move on and live again? If killing eases your pain, brother... then kill me first."
Kaido's vision blurred, as if obscured by some liquid. His deep voice trembled.
The longsword clenched in Caesar's grip began to shake.
Clang.
The blade suddenly fell, landing beside Kaido's head.
Caesar, who had been pressing him down, abruptly bent over, lifting Kaido into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Caesar held Kaido, murmuring the words over and over.
"Little brother, I can't control myself anymore. I feel myself growing colder, more bloodthirsty. That catastrophe from the past—was it manipulation, or was it the demon inside me awakening? I don't know."
"I've decided. I'll return to Wano Country, to the place where you wish to build your power, and sleep for a long, long time."
"This world is yours now. Do as you see fit—I won't interfere."
"If one day your consciousness fades into slumber, it will mean you've failed. Then, I'll awaken from my sleep, take your place, and rule this world my way—to uncover the truth behind that catastrophe."
"Goodbye, Kaido... my little brother."
...
The voice in his ears grew fainter, and darkness swallowed Kaido's vision.
Splash.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he regained consciousness to the sound of splashing water.
It sounded like someone was washing something.
As Kaido opened his eyes, he froze.
Before him stretched a dry beach, the distant sea foaming white under the scorching sun overhead, its glare nearly blinding.
The source of the splashing water was a towering woman, six meters tall, with vines and leaves covering her vital areas.
She was using a hollowed-out tree stump to scoop seawater, washing a sharpened, thick tree trunk.
Kaido himself was bound to a coconut tree by thick vines.
Severely wounded by Caesar and covered in injuries, he lacked the strength to break free.
"Hey! Woman, why are you tying me up? Untie me now, or I'll kill you once I recover!" Kaido roared furiously at the woman before him.
The woman paused her actions and looked up, revealing a face strikingly similar to Yamato's current appearance.
The only difference was her gaunt, dull complexion.
Her eyes gleamed eerily as she stared at Kaido, as if she hadn't eaten for days.
In the hall, Yamato shuddered, her gaze fixed on this tall, wild-looking woman.
The face that mirrored her own left no doubt about the woman's identity.
"Is she... my mother?" Yamato murmured, staring blankly at this stranger who, with just one glance, filled her with an indescribable sense of familiarity.
Linlin remarked curiously, "Kaido's wife is quite tall too. Is she human? Though she's too short to be a giant."
"Hey! Woman, what's that look for? What are you trying to do? Huh? Stop! Ah...!" Kaido let out a scream as the woman drove the sharpened trunk into his wound, prying fiercely as if trying to carve meat from his body.
"Meat, meat... so hungry. Finally, some meat. This damned place has no fish. I haven't eaten in over ten days. Hehehe, I actually found a cow. Beef for dinner, hehe." The woman wore a sickly, foolish grin, licking her cracked lips while tearing at Kaido's wound.
Kaido was frantic, struggling desperately to break free.
But his injuries were too severe, and having been unconscious for who knows how long, he had no strength left.
"Look closely, damn it! I'm a man, not a cow! Don't mistake everyone with horns for cattle, you crazy woman! Ah...!" Kaido's terrified screams and the woman's mad laughter echoed across the beach.
Kaido wasn't afraid of death, but the thought of being eaten alive by a madwoman was pure torture.
Fortunately, despite his grave injuries, his extraordinary physique saved him.
His body's incredible resilience meant the emaciated woman couldn't cut through his flesh, exhausting herself until her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the sand.
Clang.
The woman tossed the trunk aside, kicking up sand wildly with her feet, sending grains flying onto Kaido.
"Is this woman insane?" Kaido muttered, only to see her burst into loud sobs, tears and snot streaming down her face.
"Waaah, I'm so hungry! I don't want to die! I haven't returned to the village yet! I don't want to die here, waaah!"
They say women are made of water—Kaido never believed it until now.
The woman before him looked thin, clearly having gone without food for many days.
Yet she cried endlessly, her tears falling in long, unbroken streams as if they cost nothing.
Her wails were deafening, and even as the sun began to set after what felt like hours of sobbing, she still hadn't stopped.
"Shut up! You crazy woman, go cry somewhere far away and stop bothering me! And untie me right now, or I'll kill you later!"
Kaido felt like his ears were about to give out.
All afternoon, his head had been buzzing as if a swarm of flies were incessantly humming in his ears.
The woman's crying suddenly stopped.
Just as Kaido thought his shouting had worked, he saw the eerie green glow in her eyes and couldn't help but shudder.
Drooling, the woman crawled to her feet, picked up a tree branch again and jabbed it into Kaido's wound.
"Beef, delicious beef, hehe..."
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