*Chapter 9: Kaido's Rage! Unstoppable Defense of the Iron Head!*

"The Hundred Beasts!"

A terrifying aura, like that of a primordial beast, filled the depths of the cave. The oppressive pressure almost solidified into something tangible.

Even with Troy's calm demeanor, cold sweat instantly poured out from every part of his body, drenching his back. This was the instinctive response of an intelligent being when faced with ultimate danger!

"Boy..."

Kaido's bull-like eyes scanned the cave quickly, assessing the situation in an instant. His deep voice rumbled like thunder, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.

"Do you know where the thing that was in that empty chest went?"

Kaido didn’t have time to waste on someone as insignificant as this weakling, who had the aura of a blade of grass.

A few minutes ago, in his dragon form, Kaido unleashed his "Tornado Destruction," causing massive damage, while also summoning lightning and fierce winds to launch a wide-scale attack on the town that had just experienced a huge explosion. His target was the group of Navy recruits in the town!

To protect the elite Navy recruits, Zephyr had no choice but to abandon his fight with Kaido and leave the aerial battlefield.

This finally gave Kaido the chance to shake off Zephyr's constant interference and focus on his own plans.

Muzan’s two children!

Muzan’s two Devil Fruits!

Kaido wanted them all!

But Kaido also knew that for someone like Zephyr, "Tornado Destruction" was not hard to deal with. So, his time was limited.

Originally, he was sure he would get his hands on both of the ancient Zoan Devil Fruits!

But now, it seemed something had gone wrong...

One of the treasure chests was empty...

'Calm your heart, even if the sky falls...'

Facing Kaido's thunderous question, Troy mentally repeated his "Ice Heart Technique," trying his best to keep a solemn expression, as if lamenting Kaido's death, and replied calmly, "I don’t know."

"Oh?"

Kaido softly responded and took a small step forward.

The pressure was suffocating!

Almost instinctively, Troy drew his weapon, a spiked hammer, holding the rough wooden handle in both hands. The hammerhead, stained with the dried blood of zombies, was positioned in front of him as protection.

"This... is your weapon?"

Troy barely heard the first word before his vision blurred. Kaido’s massive fist, as large as a millstone, flashed like black lightning and slammed towards his head.

The spiked hammer, raised purely out of instinct, lasted less than a second before being smashed to pieces, sending splinters of wood and metal flying everywhere like dandelions in the wind.

Bang!

Kaido's iron fist connected directly with Troy's head. His vision blurred, and the world spun as he flew backward, embedding him into the cave wall. Dust and debris scattered everywhere, and his bones felt as though they had been shattered.

One punch had nearly killed him...

As the intense pain wracked his body, Troy’s heart filled with despair—until it didn’t.

Wait, I’m not dead?

I took a punch from Kaido to the head... and I’m still alive??

Troy’s mind raced, remembering the trait of his newly acquired ability, [Savage Body]: [Iron Head].

He had thought it was some bizarre ability that would haunt him, but now it turned out to be his lifesaver!

He also recalled that the description of [Savage Body] mentioned something about "blank... ancient Zoan... blank."

Could this mean... that the ability of [Savage Body] isn’t complete yet?

Could he enhance it by acquiring other Zoan-type Devil Fruits?

Could he gain more rule-level traits like [Iron Head]?

Despite being stuck in the wall, Troy’s mind began to wander.

Meanwhile, inside the prison, Runty and Page One were nearly in shock at Troy’s "tragic" state. The man who had just given them warmth was now seemingly killed by the "dragon-tattooed brute" in one punch.

Runty bit her lip hard, and Page One clenched his fists as they glared angrily at Kaido.

"Such weak and useless emotions!"

Kaido, with his sharp senses, noticed their reactions but didn’t care. He let out a cold snort. What concerned him more was the missing ancient Zoan Devil Fruit!

"You two brats in the cage, did your deadbeat father Muzan ever tell you how many Devil Fruits he left behind?"

Kaido could confirm that the guy he just "killed" wasn’t a Devil Fruit user, at least not a Zoan-type user.

The dirt on those two small treasure chests was still fresh, clearly having been dug up recently.

If anyone in the cave had eaten a Devil Fruit, they would still be adapting to the Zoan-type abilities, and Kaido would’ve sensed some kind of animal transformation by now.

That left two possibilities.

One: Someone else had entered the cave before Kaido and taken the Devil Fruit.

Two: That damn Muzan really only left one fruit and lied about there being two!

The first option was impossible!

No one could escape the observation of a Yonko’s Haki!

So, the second option seemed far more likely...

Runty instinctively wanted to look toward Troy, but the sharp little girl knew that doing so would only end badly.

"I don’t know!" Runty said stiffly, glaring at Kaido. "All I know is that my father left behind a treasure, and I was going to have that man take it out and free us..."

Kaido fell silent.

The atmosphere in the cave became incredibly heavy.

Just as Runty feared that the "dragon-tattooed brute" was about to do something drastic—

"Waaaaahh!!"

Kaido suddenly burst into loud sobs, tears the size of boulders splashing onto the cave floor like rain, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Muzan! You bastard! How dare you lie to me!!

“How are you going to repay me for that ancient Zoan Devil Fruit?! (Auto-tuned cries)…”

Runty was dumbfounded, her mouth agape. "This guy… is he an idiot?"

Equally speechless, Page One tugged at his sister’s clothes after hearing her muttered words.

Sister! My dear sister!

Being clueless doesn’t mean you should be this clueless!

Kaido’s mood shifted rapidly.

Or perhaps it was because his Haki had sensed a familiar presence approaching. There wasn’t much time left to indulge in his emotional outburst.

Kaido flicked his fingers, and a wisp of flame-like cloud snaked out, grabbing the remaining "Spinosaurus Fruit." He walked to the prison, casually crushing the iron bars with his hand, twisting them like soft dough.

Just as Runty and Page One stepped out of the destroyed cage, the cave suddenly began to shake.

Boom! Boom!

"Kaido! Kaido!"

A series of loud crashes came from outside the cave, accompanied by increasingly furious shouts, as if someone was using the mountain as a punching bag.

Kaido, with the "Spinosaurus Fruit" in hand, didn’t respond immediately.

Just then, Troy, who had been playing dead, accidentally fell from the wall as it shook.

Thud!

"What the—"

As Troy, who had been pondering how to use the Devil Fruit with his [Savage Body] ability, hit the ground, he nearly swore, but quickly stopped himself.

Things were already awkward enough.

"Boy, you're still alive?" Kaido's surprised voice reached Troy's ears as he lay on the ground.

"Tro—Troy! You're alive!" Runty called out excitedly, with Page One equally overjoyed.

"Almost dead! Almost dead!"

Knowing he couldn’t hide any longer, Troy reluctantly climbed to his feet, standing on the still-trembling ground.

"As soon as Captain Kaido leaves, I’ll find a quiet place... and definitely die far, far away!"

Runty and Page One's shoulders shook uncontrollably, their faces showing an expression of wanting to laugh but not daring to.

"Kid, you’ve got guts!"

Kaido narrowed his eyes slightly. He looked closely and noticed that apart from his breath being a little unstable, the punch to the head really didn’t cause this weakling any damage.

A strange constitution...

Kaido's eyes suddenly narrowed, and a surge of Conqueror's Haki radiated from him in all directions. Black and red lightning arcs appeared in the air around him, creating a terrifying scene.

"What... an incredibly frightening... aura..."

Troy felt his shoulders suddenly bear the weight, like a giant mountain had just landed on him. His teeth clenched under the oppressive force of Kaido’s Conqueror's Haki.

To lessen the pressure from Kaido’s Haki, Troy's chest heaved, using the technique of "Beast Breathing" to take in large gulps of oxygen, enhancing his body’s physical strength.

At the same time, Troy drew his Nichirin Sword from his waist with a sharp sound, gripping the handle tightly to focus all his strength.

The power of "Beast Breathing" flowed into the Nichirin Sword, and white steam rose from Troy’s body. The sword’s bright white blade slowly changed to a beautiful new color—a misty blue-gray with a faint glow.

“A sword that changes color? You’re a samurai?” Kaido raised an eyebrow as his Conqueror’s Haki grew even stronger.

“Cheap tricks!”

“Is... is that so?”

Troy’s face flushed red as veins bulged from his neck, struggling to speak under the immense pressure of Kaido’s Haki.

But that arrogant, overwhelming posture was like a spark, igniting the pent-up frustration, anger, and violent energy Troy had been holding back for days.

Enduring Kaido’s Haki, the taste of blood slowly rose in Troy's mouth. Instead of complaining, he gave the Emperor a savage grin.

"When Kozuki Oden almost killed you with one strike, what ‘cheap trick’ did you use to beat him?!"

Kaido’s eyes immediately turned into bloodshot, enraged slits, devoid of any human emotion.

The dragon has its reverse scale!

"Kid! You’re asking for death!"

Troy, blood-stained, grinned. "I’ve been offering you a funeral this whole time, you poor lizard!"

Swoosh!

The giant spiked club "Hassaikai" sliced through the air, tearing out a bone-chilling wail, the sharp spikes gleaming ominously.

In his fury, Kaido was clearly using his full strength, intending to crush this insolent brat’s head like a watermelon!

This time, even Troy’s instincts wouldn’t save him.

Hassaikai moved faster than Troy’s nerves could react. The massive black club hadn't even lingered in his field of vision for a split second before it smashed into his forehead!

Bam!

Troy felt his neck snap with pain, as if his head was about to be ripped from his spine.

Under Kaido’s immense strength in his half-beast form, Troy was like a meteor crashing deep into the mountain’s depths.

Against the power of an Emperor, the cave floor shattered like paper. The ground cracked instantly.

Troy’s body sank, driven deep into the mountain.

He only heard a constant rumbling in his ears, and everything went dark. He had no idea how many meters of rock he’d broken through or how deep into the earth he had fallen.

In a daze, with every inch of his body screaming in pain, Troy lifted his head to the sky, only catching a glimpse of the blue dragon Kaido fleeing, chased away by Z.

In Kaido’s left claw were two young Oni children. The older one held a blue-gray long sword, sneakily trying to peel a Devil Fruit caught between its claws.

"Sword..."

Before losing consciousness completely, Troy’s mind flickered with just a few words.

"Kaido!"