"So incredibly boring."
This was the sentiment Kai expressed on the tenth day of sailing across the open seas.
He was starting to regret refusing Komurasaki and Yamato's offer to accompany him on this journey. With those two along, he could have at least enjoyed some card games to pass the endless hours.
But now, looking around the deck, Kai observed Jack frantically lifting weights with obsessive dedication, Page One sitting motionless on the Rayquaza's dragon head like an eternal member of the Air Force fishing club, and Ulti circling around Page One trying desperately to capture her brother's attention. He couldn't help but release a heavy sigh.
Life aboard this ship was proving far from easy.
Kai reached toward the sky, sending invisible waves spreading outward toward the vast cosmos above. Before long, a meteor several meters in diameter fell from the heavens, trailing blazing fire as it hurtled directly toward him.
Jack and the others weren't surprised by this daily spectacle. They had witnessed this scene every single day during their voyage.
Ulti glanced over at the incoming meteor and complained with obvious irritation: "That guy Kai is going to chew on rocks again. I really don't understand what's so delicious about them."
Page One stared at the water's surface without blinking, refusing to turn his head as he responded: "Didn't Kai say he was training?"
Ulti immediately flew into a rage, grabbing Page One's neck and shaking him vigorously: "Little Pay-Pay, how can you not look at me when talking to your sister!"
"Ahhhh! I'm sorry, big sister!" Page One's eyes rolled back as he begged for mercy from her aggressive affection.
While the siblings engaged in their usual chaotic interaction, Kai had already cooled the meteor and caught it securely on deck.
"Jack!"
As soon as Kai called out, a brilliant flash of blade light swept through the air. The meteor was instantly cut into countless fist-sized fragments, perfectly portioned for Kai to consume one by one.
Jack silently sheathed his two curved swords and returned to his weightlifting routine without a word.
"Worthy of being my most trusted companion! Such perfect coordination."
Kai gave Jack an enthusiastic thumbs up, picked up a piece of meteor, and tossed it into his mouth with a satisfying crunch: "Mm, this one has a bit of a spicy flavor. Not bad at all."
When the meteor fragments were digested in his stomach, streams of cosmic energy escaped and were captured and absorbed by Kai's transformed body.
Kai nodded with secret satisfaction. Although this energy was minimal, the feeling of measurable progress was genuinely addictive.
He hadn't been lying to Jack and the others about his training regimen. He really was strengthening himself by devouring meteors.
Ever since gaining Rayquaza's incredible power, Kai had never forgotten about Rayquaza's legendary Mega form. It was both impressively cool and devastatingly powerful.
Even better, compared to other mythical creatures, Rayquaza's Mega Evolution didn't require carrying any special item. Instead, it used meteorite energy stored within the body to achieve transformation.
Even the legendary Kyogre and Groudon couldn't accomplish this feat.
So Kai had experimented with summoning meteors to devour, and unexpectedly, he had actually managed to figure out the process.
He maintained a strong intuitive feeling that the cosmic energy contained within meteors could not only strengthen his physical body but was also closely connected to Devil Fruit awakening.
Perhaps the day he achieved Mega Evolution would coincide with his fruit's awakening.
With this possibility in mind, Kai became even more enthusiastic about consuming meteors.
As long as there was a visible progress bar, even if advancement was as slow as water wearing away stone, what did it matter?
How many people gave up halfway through studying or pursuing relationships simply because they couldn't see tangible progress?
"Lord Kai, we're approaching Dressrosa."
Speed, who had been carefully monitoring their navigation route, approached to deliver her report.
Kai commanded with authority: "Excellent. Spread the word throughout the ship. Once we dock, give all the sailors a full day off to enjoy themselves."
Life aboard the ship wasn't easy for anyone, and Dressrosa was famously known as the country of love and passion. It would be perfect for allowing the hardworking sailors to properly relax and unwind.
An hour later, a tropical island radiating vacation atmosphere appeared before Kai's eyes like a paradise.
Dressrosa had finally arrived.
Jack set down his massive dumbbells and approached to ask: "Kai, should we proceed directly to the royal palace?"
Kai considered the question thoughtfully: "Speed and I definitely need to go for the negotiations. You, Ulti, and Page One can do whatever you prefer."
He wasn't worried that traveling with just two people would make them appear weak or vulnerable.
After all, this was a world where individual might trumped everything else.
Although Kai had given them permission to move freely after docking, Jack's trio all expressed their desire to follow Kai together on his mission.
They still maintained that much discipline and loyalty.
At Dressrosa's bustling harbor, the Rayquaza's massive size quickly caught the attention of people gathered on shore.
"Pi-pirates!"
"Don't be an idiot! What's scary about pirates? Our king is one of the Seven Warlords!"
"You fool! Th-that's the Beast Pirates' flag!"
The Beast Pirates' fearsome reputation in the New World could literally stop children from crying at night.
When the crowd learned the Beast Pirates had arrived, the originally prosperous harbor was cleared out in record time.
Only a few exceptionally bold souls and those who couldn't escape in time remained behind.
A nervous pirate advised his captain: "Captain, we should run! That's the Beast Pirates!"
The pirate captain, wearing a traditional pirate hat with a long sword at his waist, laughed with misplaced confidence: "Run? Who do you think I am? I'm 'Blade' Davy, and I make my living off challenging Sea Emperors!"
"Boys, it's time to make our name legendary!"
With that bold declaration, he drew his long sword and pointed it directly at Kai's group.
Oh? Who is this brave general to display such courage?
Kai looked questioningly at Speed, who served as both steward and secretary on the ship and maintained comprehensive intelligence about all noteworthy pirates in the region.
But Speed thought carefully and frowned with uncertainty: "Lord Kai, I don't have any intelligence on that particular pirate crew. However, I can confirm the opposing captain's bounty won't exceed 100 million berries."
Below that bounty threshold, pirates weren't worth her time to record or remember.
Kai understood the situation perfectly: "Jack, would you handle this minor inconvenience?"
Jack silently drew his curved swords, transformed into his intimidating mammoth hybrid form, and charged forward with devastating force.
Facts proved he had actually overestimated his opponent's capabilities.
With just one powerful charge, the so-called Blade Davy was killed instantly on the spot, and his crew suffered catastrophic casualties.
The harbor scene became an absolute mess of destruction.
Before long, Jack returned, carrying his two bloodstained curved swords with professional calm.
At this moment, a man with distinctive short golden hair, wearing stylish sunglasses, a pink feathered coat, cropped pants, and pointed shoes, led several people over.
"Fufufufufu."
The man opened with his unmistakable trademark laugh: "Distinguished guests from afar, how remiss of me not to welcome you properly. Diamante, go clean up this mess. They're far too noisy."
The smile plastered on Doflamingo's face wasn't genuinely friendly. On the contrary, it carried a faint but unmistakable sense of calculated aggression.
Diamante, wearing a furred hat with two distinctive facial markings, left the formation and headed toward the survivors of the earlier violent skirmish.
Squelch, squelch...
Diamante drew his long sword and methodically finished off the wounded pirates one by one, maintaining a completely expressionless demeanor throughout the execution.
"How utterly unsightly." Diamante wiped the fresh blood from his sword and efficiently sheathed it with practiced precision.
Kai glanced at Doflamingo with obvious disdain and mocked: "Indeed quite ugly to witness. Your Donquixote Family really throws heavy punches at the weak and defenseless."
Doflamingo's artificial smile gradually stiffened, prominent veins bulging visibly on his forehead.
But the critical importance of establishing trade relations with the Beast Pirates forced him to suppress his mounting displeasure.
In the New World, for any force to maintain respectability, they either had to be powerful enough that Sea Emperors wouldn't want to provoke them easily, like the notorious Hachinosu, or they had to align themselves with a Sea Emperor and benefit from their protection.
Doflamingo had chosen the latter strategy.
For this alliance opportunity, he hadn't hesitated to offend Kaido directly by first eliminating that middleman, then delivering himself to their doorstep.
He was betting everything that Kaido would need his services.
Fortunately, he possessed a trump card that Kaido absolutely couldn't refuse.