Chapter 159

Countdown to War

The war… was drawing near.

As for Kairos Flint, after defeating Whitebeard, he didn't stop moving—he set off once again.

The world was vast, and he still wanted to see more of it.

More importantly, he needed a steady supply of ability crystals to continue strengthening himself.

So naturally… his next targets were the Four Emperors.

Kaido.

Big Mom.

Or perhaps, like Whitebeard, one of them would offer to surrender powerful pirates in exchange for being spared. If not?

Then Kairos had already decided—he would send Kaido or Big Mom's entire pirate crew to heaven for a chat with the gods.

Their next destination was Cake Island.

Compared to Kaido's Wano Country, Kairos lacked any log pose or Vivre Card to guide him to Kaido's location. So even if he wanted to find Kaido, it would be extremely difficult.

Thus… Big Mom became the logical choice.

At least with her, her base of operations was common knowledge—many knew its location.

Still, they needed to use several islands as waypoints to reach Cake Island smoothly.

So, at the moment, Kairos and his crew continued to drift across the sea aboard the Mythical Sky.

Although the ship sailed quickly, the journey between islands still took time.

"If I had known earlier, I would've asked either Red-Haired Shanks or Whitebeard for Kaido's or Big Mom's Vivre Card," Kairos muttered to himself as he looked at the newspaper in his hand—though his mind was clearly elsewhere.

He sighed deeply.

The Vivre Card was a very particular kind of item. In normal situations—especially between enemies—it was practically impossible to obtain.

But… if someone happened to carry it on their person, and you caught them...

It was possible to steal it.

It wouldn't be the first time that had happened.

Shanks and Whitebeard might very well have had Kaido's or Big Mom's Vivre Cards in their possession.

And as for Shanks having Whitebeard's?

That made perfect sense.

Their relationship had always been rather cordial.

"Kairos, King Neptune just called," Nami walked over and said. "He said they've recently obtained a Devil Fruit, and they're planning to send it to us."

"Devil Fruit?" Kairos raised an eyebrow. "What kind?"

"He said it looks like a Zoan-type."

"A Zoan?"

Kairos looked slightly disappointed.

All the Devil Fruits he had absorbed up to this point had either been Paramecia or Logia types.

As for Zoan, he had never absorbed one before.

Still, he was curious.

If I make a stone slab using this Devil Fruit… what kind of slab will it create?

Could it form something like an Animal Slab?

Kairos silently speculated.

But realistically, that seemed unlikely.

Still, he would only know the true result once he tried to process it himself.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed.

His gaze snapped upward.

His hand instinctively gripped the Sandai Kitetsu (Third Generation Demon Sword), and with his permission, the blade began drawing in his Conqueror's Haki.

"Someone dares come after me… now?"

He muttered quietly.

Up above, a massive shadow grew larger and larger in the sky.

It plummeted toward the ocean surface, growing rapidly in size.

At first glance, it just looked like something large was falling.

But as it neared the sea—it became clear:

It wasn't a thing.

It was a person.

They were falling straight out of the sky.

Aboard the Mythical Sky, Nami and the others didn't recognize the figure right away.

But as soon as Kairos sensed the person's aura with his Haki, he knew instantly who it was.

Kaido—the Strongest Creature in the World!!!

One of the Four Emperors of the New World.

It was Kaido's signature move—jumping from the sky to enter battle.

But Kairos didn't expect him to drop onto his ship of all places.

At that speed, if Kairos hadn't noticed the threat in time, Kaido's impact would've obliterated the entire ship.

"Tch!!"

Kairos cursed as he lifted the Sandai Kitetsu.

The demon sword released a thunderous slash of sword energy, imbued not only with ghostly aura, but layered with his own Conqueror's Haki as well.

Kairos wasn't holding back.

He poured his full strength into the attack.

This slash wasn't just powerful—it was emperor-level.

The blade of energy screamed through the air, heading straight toward Kaido, who was still descending like a missile.

The pressure from the attack was immense—it was enough to jolt even Kaido out of his drunken stupor.

Kaido instantly pulled out his weapon—the Kanabo "Hassaikai".

He wrapped it in Armament Haki, and without hesitation, swung it down at the incoming energy slash.

"Thunder Bagua!!!"

In an instant, Kaido's strike collided with Kairos's sword energy.

But… something felt off.

Kaido's swing felt as though it passed through nothing.

He had missed.

He hadn't even touched the attack properly.

That's when realization dawned.

It's the Conqueror's Haki technique…

The attack is wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and doesn't require direct contact!

He needed to use his own Conqueror's coating to deflect it properly.

But by the time Kaido understood what was happening…

It was already too late.