"Bai Feng."
His reply was simple and direct. Curiosity flickered within his pitch-black eyes as he looked at Kaido.
As one of the most regretfully compelling villains of the original timeline, Kaido was someone Bai Feng deeply admired.
Not just because of his personal charisma, but because of what he represented throughout the Wano arc—
A rotten Wano Country deserved to be ruled by a dragon.
While Bai Feng sized up Kaido, Kaido was scrutinizing him from head to toe.
A small body, appearing no more than four or five years old. Delicate skin, soft silver-blue hair cascading smoothly, and ink-black eyes utterly devoid of the stupidity and innocence typical of children.
If one ignored the appearance and focused only on those eyes, Kaido almost felt as though he were facing someone his own age.
"Worororo… Bai Feng? A clean name."
Kaido chuckled.
"Rumor says the Aragami killed the land. Anyone who sees it vanishes without a trace. Was that you?"
"Probably."
Bai Feng's answer was ambiguous.
Kaido grinned brightly and exhaled sharply.
A gale rose from nothing, spiraling into a tornado-like storm around him and Bai Feng. Countless grains of sand were swept into the air like a raging sandstorm.
Moments later—
The hurricane dispersed. The yellow sand around them had been completely blown away, revealing moist soil beneath that still retained a trace of vitality.
However, their standing height had dropped several meters compared to before.
Clatter, clang…
A large pile of katana fell from the air, forming a small mound beside them.
"Wororororo…"
Kaido laughed as if he had seen through everything.
"Devouring the vitality of the land, devouring human life… That's quite a dangerous ability."
"Brat, your power isn't limited to just that, is it?"
Bai Feng paid no attention to the swords Kaido had "excavated." Instead, he stared straight at Kaido and extended one chubby little hand.
"Do you have a Devil Fruit?"
Kaido narrowed his eyes, gaze settling on the small outstretched hand.
"What do you want a Devil Fruit for?"
Bai Feng answered frankly, "Another application of my ability is modifying Devil Fruits."
"Since you didn't bring one, I can also modify it directly."
The moment those words fell, Kaido's aura shifted instantly. The lazy casualness from before vanished, replaced by seriousness and focus. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"You're saying your power can modify Devil Fruits?!"
Bai Feng nodded lightly.
"Don't believe me?"
Kaido fell silent for a moment—then burst into laughter again.
"Worororo… Hard to believe, sure. But!!"
"Devil Fruits are miraculous powers. Since you claim you can modify them, I'll take your word for it—for now."
In that instant, Kaido recalled the God Valley Incident thirteen years ago—the battle that had changed his entire life.
If there existed abilities absurd enough to grant others near-immortality, then perhaps this brat's so-called ability to modify fruits wasn't impossible.
Of course, what Kaido imagined wasn't anything overly grand—more akin to Queen's body modifications, or perhaps something like Charlotte Linlin's ability to create Homies.
The memory flickered past, and Kaido looked again at the child before him.
"My name is Kaido. I'm a pirate."
"Your ability is valuable to me. I'm currently recruiting subordinates. Interested in joining my ship?"
If it were another pirate, they would likely have attacked immediately and taken Bai Feng by force.
But Kaido was different.
Having once been an apprentice aboard the Rocks Pirates, he understood that forced companionship bore no sweetness. True partners were those who shared the same ambition.
So he extended a formal invitation to Bai Feng—whose appearance was young, yet whose words and demeanor were strikingly mature.
Bai Feng was somewhat surprised by Kaido's straightforwardness.
But cooperating with Kaido had been part of his plan even before transmigrating.
Without hesitation, he stood up and reached out his small hand.
"Captain Kaido! It is a pleasure to work together."
Bai Feng's firm response brought another grin to Kaido's face.
"Wororororo! Welcome to my pirate crew, brat!"
As he spoke, Kaido crouched down and gently scooped up Bai Feng's small body with his massive hand, placing him on his shoulder with visible pride.
"From today on, you'll change your name to Jack! Your title will be Drought! I'm forming a trio of top officers called the Three Calamities. I already have two core members—you'll fill the third slot!"
"No! I refuse!"
"What did you say?!"
"I am who I am! My name is Bai Feng! I will not change it! As for the title, 'Drought' doesn't suit me. We'll talk about that in the future."
"You little brat dare refuse your captain's first order?!"
Kaido turned his head and glared at the child on his shoulder. Bai Feng glared back without yielding an inch.
"Hmph!"
Kaido snorted, twin streams of air puffing from his nostrils in irritation.
This brat—barely older than his own daughter—didn't act like a child at all.
"You've got the nerve to reject my very first captain's order. Looks like you've steeled yourself for the consequences!"
"If you don't want to be the third Calamity under me, fine! From today on, you're just an apprentice under my command!"
"No problem. Apprentice it is."
Bai Feng had never worried about.
Having once stood at the pinnacle of another world, if he lacked even this much confidence, what right did he have to call himself a world invader?
Besides, he had no interest whatsoever in occupying the ecological niche originally belonging to Jack.
"Hmph! Brat!"
Seeing Bai Feng genuinely indifferent left Kaido with the uncomfortable sense that his authority hadn't properly landed.
Yet arguing with a child would only make him look more childish.
So he merely snorted again in dissatisfaction.
Then his massive frame began rapidly expanding.
In the blink of an eye, a colossal azure dragon soared up from the barren land.
Bai Feng sat steadily upon the dragon's shoulder, the raging winds whipping across his face without moving him in the slightest.
Kaido's enormous dragon eye rolled to glance at him. Though he found it slightly irritating, he still summoned a small cluster of flame clouds to wrap around Bai Feng—stabilizing his body and shielding him from the biting wind.
"Hey! Brat! You said you can modify Devil Fruits. Once we return to my territory, you'd better prove it to me!"
"Relax," Bai Feng replied calmly. "My power of modification will astonish you—never disappoint you."