266 One Piece: My Name is Jack

Boom!

"Damn it!"

"What the hell are these guys?!"

Yasopp shouted in frustration, his eyes filled with anger as he looked at the monstrous men who bore a striking resemblance to Kaido.

Even with his bullets coated in Armament Haki, they seemed unfazed by pain. The Red-Haired Pirates had mobilized over a thousand elite fighters, yet just a few dozen of these brutes were holding them back.

"Divine Departure!"

Boom!

Another one went down, but before their eyes, Master shone with a flash of white light, and the fallen man quickly recovered.

Shanks and Benn Beckman exchanged glances before charging forward.

However, before they could advance any further, Rim and Teren stepped in to block them. At the same time, Holdem arrived with an army of over a thousand artificial Devil Fruit users, while Master had disappeared once again.

Shanks paused briefly, then shouted decisively, "I'm going to find Jack! I'll take this straight to Kaido! The rest is up to you!"

"Got it, Captain!"

"Then I'm counting on you!"

Shanks turned to his crew, then gripped Gryphon tightly and slashed at the oncoming Holdem and his men.

"Divine Departure!"

Boom!

Using the opening created by the attack, Shanks dodged Rim's strike and vanished from his sight within moments.

...

"Kuzan! Are you really betraying the Marines?"

Garp asked sternly as he faced off against Kuzan.

After a brief silence, Kuzan finally spoke in a low voice.

"There's no going back. If upholding justice means slaughtering innocent people at will..."

"Then how are we any different from pirates?"

"Years ago, that doubt took root in my heart. The more I saw, especially as an Admiral, the deeper that doubt grew."

"I once thought that if I became Fleet Admiral, I could change things. But I lost. And worse—I realized that even if I had won, the Marine system itself wouldn't change."

"So if I can't change it, why not join a force that can?"

"After all... the world can't get much worse, can it?"

Kuzan exhaled, his breath turning into frost. "To be honest, I've always envied you. You've always done whatever you wanted."

"And now, I'm doing the same thing."

His gaze hardened. "So tell me, Vice Admiral Garp..."

"Can you really bring yourself to kill your own student?"

"Kuzan..."

Garp clenched his fists as he looked at the Marines struggling under the weight of multiple clones, others already frozen solid.

With a roar, he lunged at Kuzan.

"Ice Ball!"

A blast of icy mist shot out, instantly encasing Garp in a thick block of ice. But within a second, he shattered it and leaped forward.

Catching Kuzan with one massive hand, he suppressed the Logia user's ability with Armament Haki and slammed him into the ground like a ragdoll.

"Kuzan! You listen to me!"

"A hesitant man is weak!"

"Fist!"

Boom!

...

Enel's jaw dropped as he stared at Luffy.

His power had grown exponentially—he no longer needed his drums to unleash devastating attacks. At his peak, his lightning could reach five hundred million volts, a force strong enough to vaporize an ordinary person on the spot.

Yet Luffy had taken everything without so much as a scratch.

Aside from Jack, this was the first time Enel had ever seen someone completely immune to his lightning.

Even Kaido himself would have taken some damage!

Glancing at the others he had already electrocuted into ruin, Enel narrowed his eyes at Luffy.

"You rubber brat! Just what the hell are you?!"

"Gomu Gomu no King Kong Gatling!"

Luffy's fists, coated in Armament Haki, came crashing down.

Enel gritted his teeth and met the attack head-on.

Boom!

"Enel-sama!"

...

A streak of flame-like clouds drifted through the sky.

Seeing the battlefield below, Yamato gripped her kanabo and prepared to leap down, but Jack grabbed her arm.

"Oi, what are you doing? Let go! I need to fight!"

Jack scoffed. "Fight what, exactly?"

"There are way too many people down there. Why don't you just sit this one out?"

"Take a page from Maria's book. What's a girl doing fighting all the time?"

"Why waste your energy on this? Rest up, and later, we can spar properly."

"Hmph!"

Yamato turned away in defiance, puffing out her cheeks.

"So what if I'm a girl? Besides, these people are here to attack my father! How can I, as his daughter, just stand by and do nothing?!"

Jack nodded approvingly. "At least you're loyal."

Then, with a grin, he added, "But don't worry. Since they dared to come here, as Kaido-san's son-in-law, it's my duty to deal with them!"

"Those fools are nothing but overconfident weaklings. Just sit back, relax, and in a couple of years, give your old man a grandson!"

"Someone bring me a drink! I'll handle them before my sake gets cold!"

With that, Jack's flame clouds morphed into the shape of a ship. Pushing off with both feet, he shot down toward the battlefield.

"Move the ship closer!"

Boom!

Shanks, locked in battle with Shiryu and the others, stiffened as Jack landed before him.

He took a cautious stance.

"Jack..."

"Yo, red-haired geezer!" Jack smirked. "Nice seeing you! But it's time to say goodbye."

Boom!

In a flash, Jack sent Shanks flying with a single punch before he could even react.

Blood spurted from Shanks' mouth as he hit the ground, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Impossible!"

"Your speed... your strength... How did you become this powerful?!"

Jack grinned. "Nothing's impossible. Now, time to send you off."

Just as Jack raised his fist for the finishing blow, Shanks suddenly spoke.

"Wait... How did you achive this Body?!"

Jack's eyes narrowed.

Swoosh!

Boom!

Without answering, he knocked Shanks unconscious with a single blow, then turned to Shiryu and the others.

"Keep an eye on him. Once I finish dealing with the rest, we'll have a little chat."

"Yes, Lord Jack!"

Shiryu and his men exchanged uneasy glances, cold sweat forming on their backs.

"A Yonko... couldn't even withstand a single punch?"

...

Kaido and Big Mom sat in the grand hall at the center of the island, reminiscing over old times as they feasted.

After downing another cup of sake, Kaido frowned.

"Lafitte!"

Lafitte entered promptly. "Yes, Kaido-san?"

Kaido scowled. "We received intel, didn't we? Where's the Navy? Where's the Red-Haired brat? And that so-called Straw Hat kid?!"

"Don't tell me even King and the others couldn't hold them back?"

Lafitte hesitated before pointing at Shiryu, who had just arrived with Shanks in tow.

"Um... it seems Lord Jack has almost finished dealing with them already."

Kaido's expression froze as he stared at the unconscious Shanks.

"..."

Then he roared, "STOP JACK RIGHT NOW! LET THEM IN!"

"I need to see for myself... who the real Joy Boy is!"