Super Card System

Chapter 587: Fruit

The final lightning strike descended, engulfing Kaido’s entire body in black lightning, causing his hair to stand on end!

As the lightning flashed and vanished, the scene seemed to freeze.

After taking this lightning bolt head-on, even Kaido’s iron-like body couldn’t withstand such immense electrical energy. His skin burst open, flesh rolling back, but not much blood was visible. The blood that did appear was instantly vaporized, leaving only charred black marks all over his body.

He was thoroughly scorched, emitting a foul smell of burnt flesh and smoke, his eyes rolling back before he slowly fell forward.

With a thud, Kaido’s massive body hit the ground, causing it to shake.

“Did… did we get him?” Ian, still maintaining the posture of his downward strike, asked in surprise.

He knew his final lightning strike was incredibly fierce, but given the inhuman strength Kaido had displayed, Ian found it hard to believe he had actually fallen.

“I don’t know!” Vista, standing beside Ian, replied with a complex expression. “In my memory, Pops has defeated Kaido several times. In fact, at the level of a Marine Admiral, if they fight seriously, they can all injure Kaido. But… just like your lightning strike, it can at most temporarily incapacitate him. To truly defeat him, well…”

Vista left the sentence unfinished, implying the near impossibility of completely defeating someone like Kaido.

When they reached Kaido, Whitebeard propped himself on his naginata and looked down at Kaido on the ground. He saw that the places where Kaido had been scorched by the lightning were already gradually healing. He couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on and muttered, “As expected, it’s like this again!”

Turning to Sengoku, Whitebeard said, “As usual, he’s your problem now!”

However, Sengoku was not happy about it at all. “Why should I? This huge problem, and you want to hand it over to me? Don’t forget, he’s here for you!”

Whitebeard sneered dismissively, “Aren’t you the Marines? Capturing pirates is your duty! Besides, I don’t have any Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs!”

“You…!” Sengoku was left speechless by Whitebeard’s retort.

But regardless of how one looked at it, it was strange that neither Whitebeard nor Sengoku seemed willing to deal with the trouble of handling Kaido.

Especially Sengoku. The Marines had captured Kaido many times before. Situations like this, where Kaido was beaten unconscious and temporarily incapacitated by the combined efforts of the Marines, had happened more than once or twice. Each time Kaido was captured, the World Government had tried to execute this Yonko, but every execution attempt ended in failure. Not only did they fail to kill him, but they also lost many prison ships and warships when Kaido woke up and escaped, causing destruction in the process.

Yes, escaped! Although Kaido often claimed that his greatest interest was suicide, he didn’t truly want to die. Every time, he would escape rather than wait for the Marines to figure out a way to actually kill him.

In essence, Kaido’s talk of suicide was just a way for him to show off his strength.

Seeing Whitebeard turn and walk away, Sengoku had no choice but to call out, and several Marine Vice Admirals stepped forward to bind Kaido with Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs.

They could only bind him because, due to Kaido’s size, the existing Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs didn’t fit his hands and feet properly.

Watching Whitebeard walk over, Ian was somewhat surprised and asked, “Oyaji, is it over just like that?”

“Over? The trouble is just beginning!” Whitebeard snorted. “You don’t really think you took down a Yonko with one hit, do you? Look carefully!”

As he spoke, Whitebeard pointed at Kaido, who was bound by the Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs.

Ian looked closely and noticed something shocking. Since the Marines used Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs to bind Kaido, it meant he was undoubtedly a Devil Fruit user. However, Ian observed that the effect of the Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs on Kaido was…

It is well-known that Sea-Prism Stone and seawater are the natural enemies of Devil Fruit users. Seawater can sap the strength of a Devil Fruit user, making them weak and powerless, although they can still use their abilities.

But Sea-Prism Stone is different. It is essentially a crystallized form of seawater and has a stronger effect, nullifying the abilities of a Devil Fruit user.

In other words, if Kaido’s extraordinary regenerative abilities stemmed from his awakened Devil Fruit power, then after being bound by the Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs, his regenerative abilities should also be suppressed.

However, what Ian saw was that Kaido’s injuries were still continuously healing. Although it seemed a bit slower, the regeneration was undeniably ongoing.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before all the damage Ian inflicted on him would be completely healed.

“What… what’s going on!?” Ian asked in disbelief.

“It’s simple. That immense regenerative ability is his own, unrelated to his Devil Fruit,” Whitebeard said, a bit frustrated as he stroked his beard. “I only discovered this after fighting him a few times. Sea-Prism Stone can suppress his Devil Fruit regeneration, but it can’t suppress his innate regenerative ability!”

“So, Kaido’s freakish regenerative power is actually a combination of his own ability and the Devil Fruit’s?” Ian understood.

“Exactly,” Whitebeard nodded. “Even when he’s unconscious, he can maintain his iron body, so no execution method can kill him. Physical attacks are the easiest for him to handle. In fact, that powerful lightning strike you used earlier caused him considerable damage…”

“Seriously!?” Ian exclaimed in shock. “Is there really no way to kill him? Not even throwing him into the sea?”

“Pointless!” Whitebeard shook his head. “It’s been tried before. Once, I threw him into the sea for seven whole days. When we sent people down to check later, we found that he was still alive…”

Jinbe, overhearing this, suddenly interjected, “As a Devil Fruit user who can breathe underwater, could he possibly have the bloodline of the Fishmen?”

“Yes, and perhaps not just the Fishmen’s bloodline…” Whitebeard sighed. “I’ve always suspected that Kaido might not be a naturally born human. The racial abilities he displays are too numerous, which is why people call him the strongest creature on land, sea, and air, rather than the strongest human.”

“Is he truly immortal?” Ian asked skeptically. “There must be some way to kill him, right? Like feeding him another Devil Fruit, for instance?”

“It won’t work!” Crocodile joined the conversation. Hearing Ian’s hypothesis, he couldn’t help but explain, “If using more than one Devil Fruit could easily kill a Yonko, the Navy wouldn’t be so troubled. They have the backing of the World Government, and there’s no Devil Fruit they can’t get their hands on. But Kaido is an awakened Zoan Devil Fruit user. Once a Devil Fruit user awakens, they automatically repel any additional Devil Fruit powers. Even if you force-feed him another one, it won’t work. The power of the second Devil Fruit won’t activate… Kaido might indeed be killable by some means, but it definitely isn’t as simple as using two Devil Fruits.”

Ian could understand Crocodile’s point. According to popular belief, if Devil Fruits truly housed demons within them, then awakening would mean that the Devil Fruit’s power had fully integrated with the person’s body. The body would be completely occupied by the demon, leaving no room for other powers, thus naturally repelling any additional Devil Fruit abilities.

To put it in scientific terms, the Devil Fruit’s energy would have filled the entire body, preventing any foreign powers from intervening…

However… the fact that Crocodile knew about such things indicated that he had also done considerable research on Devil Fruits…

The group gathered around Whitebeard, watching the Navy react as if facing a major threat. They dispatched a large number of marines to surround Kaido, who was bound with Seastone handcuffs, discussing what method the Navy would use to execute him this time.

Due to Kaido’s interference, the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy had to be halted. Ian speculated that Red-Haired Shanks might also be on his way here, but with three Yonko present, the Navy would be even less inclined to continue fighting.

“Tsk, it’s a pity that Shanks’ ‘Face Fruit’ won’t be useful this time,” Ian thought. (T/N: ‘Face Fruit’ it’s a fans’ joke for those who are unfamiliar with this term)

“Speaking of which, what exactly did Kaido come here for?” Ian asked, puzzled. “Was he just here to make a scene?”

It wasn’t surprising that Ian thought this way. Even without Ian’s intervention, Whitebeard and Sengoku together would have been enough to take down Kaido. It would just take more time. But Kaido knew that the battlefield was filled with people capable of defeating him, yet he still rushed here. What on earth was he thinking?

Finding it hard to understand the behavior of a madman, Ian couldn’t help but mock him a little.

Hearing Ian’s jest, Robin and Reiju couldn’t help but chuckle, but Whitebeard had a different perspective. He said, “If I’m not mistaken, this guy came here to use this battlefield to show off his power to the world!”

Everyone nodded thoughtfully. That could very well be true. This war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy was being watched by the entire world. Kaido, showing up alone on the battlefield and challenging both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy, would be remembered by everyone, regardless of the outcome.

It could be said that this war would be remembered for two individuals: Ian, who single-handedly changed the entire course of the battle with his spectacular display of power—from the opening sunlight to the final, earth-shattering black lightning—showcasing strength that, to the world, seemed like the birth of another Yonko…

And the other person would be Kaido, who crashed into the scene halfway through. His insane actions and terrifying immortality would make his name another nightmare for the world…

While everyone was pondering this, they suddenly heard Luffy, who was standing with his arms crossed and head tilted, wearing a puzzled expression, saying, “Hey, you’ve said so much, but no one has mentioned what kind of Devil Fruit ability Kaido has!”

Ian was taken aback. That’s right! So he looked towards Whitebeard.

However, Whitebeard had a peculiar expression as he said, “He’s a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user of the Snake-Snake Fruit…” (T/N: keep in mind is novel is finished around 2019)

“What!?” Luffy was stunned.

Ian, on the other hand, burst out laughing!

He glanced at Boa Hancock among the Navy crowd not far away, remembering that her two sisters had Snake-Snake Fruits.

“No way!” Ian incredulously said to Whitebeard, “Old man, I didn’t read much, but you can’t be fooling me! Kaido is a Snake-Snake Fruit user!?”

“Of course!” Whitebeard nodded seriously with a stern face. “But he possesses the Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Model— the Eight-Serpent Form!”

This time, not only Ian but also everyone in the Dragon Hunter Pirates burst out laughing together…