Chapter 9: Kaido’s Fury

"Beast!"

The cavern's depths were engulfed in a terrifying aura, one as primal and oppressive as an ancient beast. The pressure was so overwhelming, it almost took physical form.

Even with Trace's strong nerves, cold sweat burst out from every pore, soaking his back completely. It was the instinctual fear of an intelligent being confronted with absolute danger.

"Brat…"

Kaido's ox-like eyes swept across the cavern in a flash, immediately grasping the situation. His deep, thunderous voice exploded through the cave like rolling storm clouds, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.

"Do you know where the contents of that empty chest went?"

He didn't waste time chatting with a weakling whose presence was as insignificant as a patch of weeds.

Just moments ago, in his Azure Dragon form, Kaido had unleashed a devastating "Dragon Twister Demolishing Wind", calling forth lightning and razor winds to bombard the ancient town that had just erupted in a massive explosion. His target? The new Marine recruits stationed in that town.

Forced to abandon his aerial battle, Zephyr had no choice but to rush to protect those elite Marine cadets, allowing Kaido to finally break free from his relentless pursuit.

And now, Kaido had his eyes on Muzan's children—

Two Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruits.

He wanted both of them.

But Kaido also knew full well: a move like "Dragon Twister Demolishing Wind" might be devastating, but for a veteran like Zephyr, it wouldn't take long to counter. That meant he was on the clock.

Those two Ancient Zoans were supposed to be in his pocket already.

But now… one of the treasure chests was empty.

'Still your heart, even if the sky collapses…'

Facing the overwhelming aura of a Yonko, Trace mentally recited a calming mantra, forcing a tragic and solemn expression onto his face—like someone mourning the loss of a beloved "Teacher Kaido." With feigned calm, he replied:

"I don't know."

"Oh?"

Kaido let out a faint "Oh?" and took a single step forward.

The pressure was suffocating!

Instinctively, Trace drew the spiked hammer from his waist, gripping its bloodstained handle with both hands and raising its cruel head—still encrusted with zombie gore—before him like a shield.

"That… is your weapon?"

Kaido's voice didn't even finish the sentence before Trace's vision blurred. A massive fist—big as a millstone and dark as lightning—smashed toward his head like a phantom.

He barely had time to raise his hammer. It shattered instantly with a boom, splinters and metal shards scattering through the air like snow.

BANG!

The iron fist smashed directly into Trace's skull without pause. His vision reeled, colors blurring into a chaotic swirl.

Then—BOOM! He was sent flying backward and slammed into the cavern wall like a ragdoll, the shockwave shaking the entire mountain. Dust billowed out. Bones cracked.

One punch—instantly knocked out.

Pain surged through every fiber of his being. Despair seeped in like ink…

Wait.

He wasn't dead?

Kaido had punched him in the head, and he was still alive?!

A flash of realization hit him—the skill he'd just glimpsed in his panel: [Iron Head] from [Primal Body].

What he'd thought was a bizarre, redundant passive might've actually just saved his life.

And wasn't there a note in the description of [Primal Body]? Something like "Blank · Ancient Species · Blank"…

Could that mean the ability was still incomplete?

Could he enhance it further by fishing up more Zoan Devil Fruits?

Could he gain even more law bending traits like [Iron Head]?

Pinned deep in the wall, stuck like a nail and unable to move, Trace's thoughts began to wander.

Meanwhile, back at the prison, Ulti and Page One were frozen in horror at what they thought was Trace's corpse.

The man who had just brought them warmth and hope… crushed to death in an instant by this "tattooed dragon freak."

Ulti bit her lip hard. Page One clenched his fists. The siblings glared at Kaido with undisguised hatred.

"Weak, useless emotions."

Kaido, ever perceptive, noticed, but couldn't be bothered. He was more interested in—

The fruits.

"Hey, you two brats. Before your deadbeat dad Muzan left, did he say how many Devil Fruits he left behind?"

Kaido was certain the guy he'd just flattened wasn't a Devil Fruit user—at least, not a Zoan type.

And the dirt on those treasure chests? Still fresh—clearly just dug up.

If someone had eaten one of the fruits in this cave, their Zoan transformation should've already begun.

Kaido had eaten the Azure Dragon Fruit himself. He knew the signs.

So, only two possibilities remained:

One—Someone else had entered the cave before Kaido and taken the fruit.

Two—Muzan had only ever had one fruit to begin with and lied about having two.

The first option was impossible.

No one could sneak past a Yonko's Observation Haki unnoticed.

So, most likely…

Muzan had scammed him.

Ulti instinctively wanted to glance at Trace, but her sharp instincts warned her—any slip-up now could get them both killed.

"I don't know!" she said through gritted teeth, staring Kaido down. "All I know is that our father left some treasure here. That man was supposed to use it to set us free…"

Kaido fell silent.

The air in the cave turned stifling.

Ulti thought he was about to explode—

Then suddenly:

"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Kaido burst into loud, ugly sobs. His tears—each the size of a human head—splashed down like cannonballs, shaking the cave floor.

"Muzan, you bastard! You lied to me!!

"How are you gonna repay me for that second Ancient Zoan Fruit?!"

Ulti stared, dumbfounded. "Is this guy… an idiot?"

Page One's face twitched violently. He tugged at his sister's sleeve in panic.

Sis… Please. Stop talking. Don't say anything else.

Kaido's mood swung rapidly. Or rather—his Observation Haki had picked up on a familiar presence approaching. There wasn't much time to cry.

He snapped his fingers. A stream of Flame Cloud surged forward like a living serpent and snatched up the remaining Dragon-Dragon Fruit.

He walked over to the prison bars and gently clenched his fist—twisting the reinforced iron bars into a mangled mess.

Ulti and Page One barely had time to take a step out before—

BOOM! BOOM!

The cave trembled violently.

"Kaido! Kaido!"

Furious shouts echoed from outside, each louder than the last. It was as if someone was using the entire mountain as a punching bag.

Kaido still held the fruit in his left hand, but before he could respond—

THUD!

Trace, who'd been playing dead, fell out of the wall thanks to the repeated tremors.

"Ah sh—"

He was just thinking about how to pair a Devil Fruit with his [Primal Body] traits, only to crash unceremoniously to the ground.

He instinctively tried to curse, but quickly clamped his mouth shut.

What a humiliating situation.

"You're still alive?"

Kaido's surprised voice rang out.

"Tr—Trace! You're alive!" Ulti cried in joy, and Page One's face lit up as well.

"Barely! Barely!"

Realizing there was no hiding it anymore, Trace dragged himself off the floor.

"As soon as Captain Kaido leaves, I'll find a quiet place… to die very far away!"

Ulti and Page One couldn't stop their shoulders from trembling, trying not to laugh.

"You've got guts, brat," Kaido murmured, squinting.

He noticed it—aside from the chaotic aura, that kid hadn't suffered real damage from his punch.

What a strange body…

Something flashed in Kaido's eyes.

Suddenly, his Conqueror's Haki exploded outward like a storm, crackling with black and red lightning, suffusing the air with raw, suffocating force.

"What… monstrous… presence…"

Trace felt his shoulders cave in like he was carrying a mountain. His teeth chattered under the crushing weight of Kaido's Haki.

To relieve the pressure, he took a deep breath—activating Beast Breathing to bolster his physique.

At the same time, he unsheathed his Nichirin Blade, gripping it tightly to focus his strength.

Steam rose from his body. The blade, originally bright silver, shimmered and slowly transformed… into a misty blue-gray with a faint glow.

"A color-changing blade? Are you a samurai?" Kaido raised an eyebrow, then unleashed another surge of Haki.

"Such clown tricks!"

"I—I see…"

Trace's face turned red, veins bulging from his neck as he struggled to speak under the pressure.

But that towering oppression—like a volcano ready to erupt—was the spark that ignited all of Trace's pent-up frustration, rage, and ferocity.

Blood filled his mouth from the strain, but he smiled—feral and wicked.

"When Oden almost cut you down with one strike, what little 'clown trick' did you use to survive that, huh?!"

Kaido's eyes turned bloodshot, his pupils slitting into vertical dragon eyes.

He was livid.

"You dare seek your own death?!"

Trace grinned through bloody teeth. "I've been mourning you for seven days now, you pathetic gecko!"

SHHHK!

Kaido's colossal spiked kanabo, Hassaikai, tore through the air, wailing like tortured souls. Its sharp spikes gleamed ominously.

In his rage, Kaido went all out—ready to crush Trace's skull like a watermelon.

This time, no amount of instinct would save him.

The club moved faster than Trace's brain could process, faster than his eyes could register—

WHAM!

The kanabo smashed directly into his forehead.

His neck screamed in agony, as if his skull were about to tear from his spine.

Under Kaido's beastly strength—enhanced by his half-beast state—Trace shot through the cavern like a falling star, crashing into the deepest depths.

The ground shattered like paper under a hammer.

He slammed deeper, and deeper, until—

He could no longer see.

Rocks caved in above him. Everything was black. His ears rang.

He had no idea how far he'd fallen, how much stone he'd broken through.

Pain consumed him.

In the fading haze, Trace lifted his head slightly—and in the distance, through a hole in the mountain, he saw—

Zephyr, having driven Kaido away, now soared through the skies, holding two demon children in his dragon claw.

The older child clutched a long mist-blue blade.

And was sneakily trying to peel a Devil Fruit with it.

"Blade…"

That was the last word in Trace's mind before he blacked out.

"KAIDO!!"