"So…" King turned to Kaido, all polite-like. "Mr. Kaido, what's our crew called?"
"Uh…" Kaido plopped down, elbows on knees, chin in hands, staring at the campfire like it held the secrets of the universe. Total thinker's pose. After a solid minute of brain-cramping, he punted it to Lei Luo. "Yo, Lei Luo, what should we name this bad boy?"
"I literally said YOU'RE the captain," Lei Luo snapped, patience thinner than a Sea Prism Stone cuff.
Kaido's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Fine, then I'm appointing you Vice Captain. Your job, Vice Captain? Name this crew for your glorious Captain!"
Kaido, you power-tripping lizard! Who knew those thick brows hid a sneaky side?
"Call it the Beasts Pirates," Lei Luo blurted without missing a beat.
"Why 'Beasts'?" Kaido asked, scratching his horn like a confused puppy.
Beats me why you canon clowns picked it. Lei Luo BS'd on the spot: "'Cause we're all Zoan Devil Fruit freaks."
"Why not 'Three Beasts Pirates,' then?" Kaido pressed, going full curious George.
This world's future strongest creature, reduced to a toddler with a thesaurus. Lei Luo sighed. Kaido was only 25, first-time captain—cut the dragon some slack for the hype.
"'Three Beasts' sounds like a petting zoo. No swagger. Plus, we'll recruit more weirdos later—'Three' caps us at, well, three."
Kaido nodded sagely, then hit back: "What about 'Ten Thousand Beasts'? WAY more epic!"
"Whatever, Captain. Your call." Lei Luo was done. Crew name? Didn't give a flying Tengshe. Potatoes in Wano were the real prize.
Kaido brooded… pondered… then smacked his palms together like he'd cracked the code to One Piece. "It's settled: Beasts Pirates!"
Like a client rejecting 50 revisions for the original draft. Lei Luo's murder-boner meter hit critical. Deep breaths. He's the captain. For now.
Once Kaido and King finally stuffed their bottomless pits and the fire died down, they crashed on the ground like logs. Lei Luo? No sleep for the weary. He pulled night-watch duty. Those two were Punk Hazard lab rats—needed the Z's more than he did. Lei Luo could go days without crashing; transmigrator stamina was OP.
Next Morning.
The sun climbed, painting the sea tangerine. Lei Luo stomped over to the snoring duo and boot-kicked Kaido's scaly butt. "Rise and shine, lazybones!"
Kaido cracked one eye, grumbling like a hungover bear. "Five more minutes, Lei Luo. Buzz off."
"SLEEP!?" Lei Luo roared, channeling every tiger mom ever. "You've got the AUDACITY to SNOOZE?!"
He launched into full Chinese-education mode: "Rocks Pirates crew? Whitebeard and Golden Lion owning the seas. Big Mom squatting Totto Land like a queen. Wang Zhi terrorizing Beehive Island. ALL legends! And you? Zilch! Yesterday you were a lab rat in a jar!"
Kaido wilted under the verbal barrage, mumbling, "I got caught on purpose… for, uh…"
"DOESN'T MATTER!" Lei Luo steamrolled. "Is our captain ambitionless? Just napping his life away?"
Kaido's dragon head drooped, staring at his feet like a scolded pup. King, woken by the tirade, shrank into invisibility mode—don't get dragged into this roast session.
After an eternity of silence, Kaido piped up weakly: "Sooo, Vice Captain… what's next on the agenda?"
Lei Luo eye-rolled so hard he saw his own brain. "YOU'RE the captain! Or did you forget?"
"I've never captained before! Vice Captains handle the grunt work—that's literally your gig." Kaido puffed up, grin turning smug. Trained by Lei Luo, now bossing him around? Chef's kiss.
Lei Luo ignored the little dictator, plotting their glow-up. Wano? Dream on—too soon. No crew, no ship? Amateur hour.
"First: pirate ship. Can't fly everywhere—looks desperate. Second: recruit bodies. Three's a party, not a crew. Third: jolly roger. Gotta rep our brand."
Kaido nodded like a bobblehead. Whoa, pirating's a whole thing. Good thing I've got a VP.
King bobbed along too.
Spotting Lei Luo's pause, Kaido stroked his chin all "deep strategist." "Exactly my thoughts! Great minds, eh? Wororororo!"
"Oh yeah?" Lei Luo smirked, dripping sarcasm. "Where we building the ship? Recruiting? What's the flag look like, Captain Genius?"
Kaido's eyes darted like a kid caught stealing cookies. "Uh… I'm the captain! So YOU handle it!"
Lei Luo facepalmed with a gusty sigh. Garrote this bird-brained dragon I picked myself.
But he had a plan: "Hit nearby islands for a merchant ship—or pirate snag. Then sail to Water 7. Best shipwrights on the planet. We're building top-tier: Treasure Tree Adam or bust."
"Recruits? Later—ship first."
"Flag? Got it sketched in my head. Paper and pen, I'll doodle for you noobs."
"Done. Captain, additions?"
Kaido beamed. "Nah, you're the pro. Nail it!"
King nodded silently. Man's got it all mapped. What's left to say?
"Let's roll."
Wings out for Lei Luo. Kaido revved for dragon mode—HALT! "No transforming. Nighttime? Fine. Day? You're a panic-inducing sky whale."
"Oh." Kaido sulked. Off they flew to the nearest island.
Half-navy navigator Lei Luo nailed the landing. Before touchdown: jackpot. A pirate ship docked at the port.
Kaido's eyes lit up, grin feral. "Wororororo! Ship acquired!"
Lei Luo clocked the flag—not Roger, Whitebeard, or Rocks vibes. Smug nod: "Yup."
"Beasts Pirates! Charge!" Kaido dove like a Shonen hero.
Lei Luo: ...
Unknown scrubs, and you're hyping it like Enies Lobby?