It was night in Wano Country. Far away from any city lights, the starry sky above was bright and clear.
Kaido and King stood at the edge of a massive volcano crater, located just behind the Flower Capital. Pristine white snow covered the ground beneath their feet. Their boots made a crunching sound with every step.
This volcano was Wano Country's sacred mountain: Mount Fuji. The entire nation of Wano was built around this single, giant mountain.
King was curious about why Kaido had brought him here. Kaido stared down into the dark crater and did not waste time. He began to speak slowly.
"I brought Sukiyaki to Linlin's territory for a reason," Kaido said, his voice a low rumble. "I needed her power. She has a daughter, Pudding, who has the Memory-Memory Fruit. That fruit lets her mess with memories. I used Pudding's ability to look inside Sukiyaki's mind. I found what I was looking for: memories about the Road Poneglyph... and the Ancient Weapon, Pluton."
King's eyes widened. He immediately understood where this was going.
"That's right," Kaido confirmed. "Even Sukiyaki doesn't know what Pluton really is. But his memories, the old knowledge passed down in the Kozuki Clan, are clear. The legends say the Ancient Weapon Pluton is hidden deep inside this volcano. It's sleeping in the magma."
Kaido continued to explain what he learned from Sukiyaki's mind. The "opening of Wano Country" was a specific, ancient plan.
"First, that giant elephant, Zunesha, has to destroy the walls around Wano," Kaido explained. "When the walls fall, the sea will rush in. After the waters calm down, Mount Fuji's true, full shape will be revealed. Then, Zunesha is supposed to drag Pluton out of the volcano. But if that happens, Wano's islands will collapse into the sea. That's why the Kozuki heir needs the flame clouds ability—to hold the islands up and stop them from falling."
Kaido had no intention of destroying Wano's natural defenses. The country was easy to defend and hard to attack. He wouldn't ruin that just to get Pluton. If he wanted the weapon, there was only one way: he had to go into the volcano himself.
King became excited. "So that's it, Big Brother!" King said. "Let me go! My Lunarian race isn't afraid of fire!"
"No." Kaido shook his head. "It's true, Lunarians aren't afraid of flames. You can survive in terrible environments. But that doesn't mean you can survive in magma. I'll go down myself to investigate. I just need you to cover me from up here."
King hesitated. "This... Big Brother, isn't that too dangerous? We don't know what's down there. How about I go down first, just to take a look?"
"No," Kaido said firmly. "I'm not being reckless, and I'm not doing this for selfish reasons. You might not believe this... but I've been feeling uneasy recently."
"Uneasy!?" This was not something King expected to hear from Kaido. The old Kaido would never have admitted to feeling pressure or doubt. But Kaido's expression was completely serious.
It was true. Unlike his usual confidence, Kaido felt a strange unease ever since he arrived in Linlin's territory. The feeling came from nowhere, and he couldn't explain why, but it was real.
Kaido thought hard about it. He finally found one possible reason. He worried that his enemies, perhaps helped by fate or some forgotten power, were about to get stronger. He worried about some ridiculous, ancient legend coming true. He thought about the foolish old stories of a "Sun God," tales he always dismissed. What if they were real? What if some new power was about to awaken in one of his foes?
To fight this feeling of unease, he had to get stronger himself. He needed more power. He had to go down into the volcano and find Pluton to feel secure again.
Seeing Kaido's serious expression, King was silent for a moment. After thinking, he could only nod. "I understand, Big Brother!"
King quickly calculated the time. "Big Brother, I'll give you five hours. If you're not back up in five hours, I'm coming down to find you!"
"Hmph," Kaido grunted in agreement.
Kaido did not hesitate. With a mighty roar, he transformed. His body shifted and grew, becoming the giant Blue Dragon. As his massive dragon form appeared, the sky above Wano filled with dark clouds. Kaido's huge dragon body flew up into the storm clouds.
Flames began to burn inside the clouds, glowing brightly.
"BOOM!"
A giant dragon, covered in burning magma, shot down from the sky. This was Kaido's powerful technique: Blazing Bagua. He looked like a meteor.
As he fell, Kaido felt he understood something new. He remembered his past. He always claimed that only Haki could conquer the world. Yet, in his biggest fights, he always relied on his Devil Fruit power.
Perhaps the original Kaido, the one whose memories he now shared, knew about Pluton. Maybe that Kaido had tried to enter this volcano before, seeking the Ancient Weapon's power. And maybe he had failed.
If he failed, it meant he could never become "Joy Boy."
Did Kaido ever want to be Joy Boy?
Others might not know, but the current Kaido understood the man he used to be. Yes, that man once hoped he could be the chosen one. He wanted to be the one to save the world. He must have been so disappointed when he failed.
But all of that was history now.
The Kaido who fell toward the magma no longer needed to be Joy Boy to save himself. He didn't need a legend. He would save himself with his own strength.
With that thought, Kaido descended like a bolt of burning lightning. He plunged straight into the volcano's crater and disappeared into the red, surging magma below.
Back in Wano Country, on the island of Onigashima, Queen was in his laboratory. He had returned happily after his meeting with Kaido. He did not come back empty-handed. He brought a very important object with him.
It was a giant, pitch-black spiked club, a kanabo.
This was Kaido's personal weapon: Hassaikai.
The old saying "two heads are better than one" was proving true. With help from Caesar Clown and Vinsmoke Judge, Queen's experiment was moving very fast. He was learning how to make objects "eat" Devil Fruits.
Queen was now confident he could create his first finished weapon. This first weapon was very important for the Beasts Pirates. So, Queen chose a weapon that had a special meaning. He chose Big Brother Kaido's Hassaikai.
Inside the brightly lit lab, Queen looked at Caesar and Judge. He could see the envy and jealousy in their eyes. This made Queen's ego feel great.
Lately, Queen had been using the technology he got from the Pluton blueprints. He used that knowledge to solve problems that Caesar and Judge had studied for their entire lives.
Of course, Caesar and Judge hated how smug Queen was. They didn't like him showing off. But they stayed in the lab. They stayed because the new techniques Queen showed them were very valuable. They were learning a lot.
The three scientists gathered around the giant spiked club.
Queen took a long puff from his cigar. He then spoke in a slow, serious voice.
"Alright, listen up. This is Big Brother Kaido's personal weapon. It was really hard for me to get it," Queen said, tapping his cigar. "You both understand what this means, right? This has to be perfect. I want to turn this club into our greatest masterpiece!"
"Shurorororororo!" Caesar laughed his strange laugh. "I can't wait to see this!"
Judge, always impatient, just crossed his arms. "Then don't waste time. Let's just start."
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