"Boss Kaido!!!"
Queen's agonized wail tore through the sky.
Dragging his extremely elastic fat, he scrambled and crawled over to the fallen Kaido.
"He's not breathing! The boss is so angry he passed out! Where's the ship's doctor?! Get the hell over here!"
Terrified out of his wits, Queen frantically placed his hands on Kaido's broad chest and began performing CPR like a madman.
Having his dragon horns severed didn't knock Kaido down.
Being sent flying by the aftershock of that demon god's sky-splitting slash didn't knock Kaido down either.
Yet now, a few words had literally caused his blood pressure to explode!
"Cough... cough, cough—!"
A full five minutes later, accompanied by violent choking coughs, this "Strongest Creature" finally regained consciousness.
His eyeballs struggled to turn, his vision refocusing.
A handsome face bearing an expression of pity was looking down at him from above.
"Awake?"
Kane, draped in a pristine white Justice Coat with his hands clasped behind his back, spoke in a gentle tone.
"Your Mythical Zoan physique is truly astonishing. For anyone else, the grass on their grave would be three feet high by now."
Kaido shoved Queen aside, staggering to his feet with his massive frame, his chest heaving violently as he panted like an ox.
"Cut the crap... give me a quick death!"
"I'd rather die... than be a dog for you Navy bastards!"
"Thinking you can let Kozuki Oden's woman ride over my head... you're dreaming!!!"
Dignity—this was Kaido's last shred of underwear.
Defeat was acceptable, death was acceptable.
But he could not accept the Beast Pirates he had built with his own hands becoming the Navy's wage slaves, and even less could he accept being supervised by a powerless widow!
"Death?"
Kane shook his finger, the pitying expression on his face deepening.
"No, no. As a Navy Admiral, I am here to save and rehabilitate you. How could I casually take a life?"
"Since you harbor such strong resistance to 'Labor Reform,' I, being a democratic person, am willing to offer you an alternative path—the 'Artistic Rehabilitation Education' route."
"Artistic... rehabilitation?" Kaido was stunned, and even King and Queen beside him were dumbfounded.
"Remember Kozuki Oden?"
Kane extended his index finger and tapped his own eye.
The next moment, his pitch-black pupils instantly turned crimson, three tomoe spinning rapidly before coalescing into an intricate six-pointed star pattern!
"Guess how a fool full of bushido spirit could turn overnight into a shameless exhibitionist with no bottom line?"
Pointing at his own eyes, which emitted an ominous red glow, Kane smiled cheerfully.
"These eyes have a rather elegant name: 'Kotoamatsukami.'"
"Their effect is quite simple. No contact is needed, not even your consent."
"As long as I lay eyes on you, I can silently erase your will and brand an absolute command into the deepest part of your soul—one you can never defy for all eternity."
Kane's smile grew even brighter.
"The command Oden received was: defend the supreme dignity of dance. So he dances every day, every hour, every moment. He will keep dancing until his muscles rot and his bones turn to dust."
A cold wind howled.
An unprecedented chill, bone-deep and marrow-freezing, shot straight up to the crown of his head.
Even when facing that world-splitting blue demon god earlier, Kaido had only felt a surge of fighting spirit and the heroic resolve to risk everything.
But upon hearing this casually delivered explanation, the overlord who had roamed the seas all his life felt, for the very first time, an emotion called "fear."
"If you think mining is too tiring,"
Kane suggested cheerfully.
"I'll send out a worldwide announcement via news birds first thing tomorrow morning. The Beast Pirates will officially be renamed the 'Beast Men Dance Troupe.'"
"You, the Governor, will lead your Three Disasters, strip naked, and debut as a group with Kozuki Oden in the Kuri marketplace. You'll do catwalk performances daily along the main streets of the Flower Capital to entertain the folks of Wano Country."
Kane specifically looked at the masked King and the obese Queen.
"I believe, with your Lunarian Tribe's black wings and Mr. Queen's remarkably flexible physique, your dance troupe will surely take the world by storm."
"..."
Thud! Thud!
Two dull thumps sounded.
Two pirates with bounties exceeding one billion berries, Queen and King, their legs giving way, knelt straight down in the mud pit.
Queen's fat face turned a purplish-red, terrified out of his wits.
Performing nude dances in front of everyone?! If it ever came to that, he'd rather bite off his own tongue and die on the spot than suffer such an unprecedented humiliation!
And King, who had always taken pride in his race, now even the flames on his back seemed to wither.
He clutched his mask tightly, his fingertips trembling with extreme fear.
In his mind, the image of Kozuki Oden dancing wildly in the mud pit was inescapable, only now... the protagonist was replaced by himself.
"Boss Kaido!"
Dragging his obese body, Queen scrambled over, threw his arms around Kaido's leg, and wailed.
"Let's go! Boss, let's go mining! Mining can even build our bodies!"
"Labor Reform... I think it's great! Consider it a collective team-building exercise for our Beast Pirates!"
King, too, abandoned all dignity at this moment.
His black wings drooped powerlessly as he nodded frantically at Kaido, his voice hoarse and distorted.
"Boss... as long as we don't dance... even if you order me to chew through every stone in the quarry, I won't utter a word of complaint!"
"Let's go mining, right now!"
The fearless Beast Pirates, under the threat of dancing, saw their psychological defenses crumble instantly.
Kane stepped forward, bent down, and gently patted Kaido's bloodless face.
"Tell me, Kaido of the Beasts."
"Do you feel like dancing?"
Silence. Deathly silence.
"Mining..."
Two streams of murky tears slid shamefully from the corners of this overlord's eyes.
He gritted his teeth so hard they shattered, blood seeping from between them, and with all the strength of his life, roared two words:
"This old man... is going to Udon!"
"This old man... loves labor!!!"
"A wise choice."
Kane straightened up again, his smile gentle.
"The guidance of Justice always leads stray lambs back to the fold."
"Then from today onward, your Beast Pirates will be my exclusive Labor Reform brigade in Wano Country."
"The quarry and munitions factory in Udon will be your reformation sites. Dig until you drop, produce until you die. Ninety percent of the output belongs to me, the remaining ten percent is for your meals."
"Remember, anyone who dares to escape will spend the rest of their lives as a dancing boy."
Kane brushed off his sleeves as if announcing a trivial matter.
"Of course, I'm not some devil."
He shifted his tone.
"As long as you stay obediently in Udon and don't step a foot outside the mining area, I can pretend you don't exist. The pirate crew's structure, I'll allow it to remain. If you want to continue recruiting and expanding, go ahead."
He looked at Kaido, a malicious curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Strive to grow stronger, Kaido."
"Mine to your heart's content, train to your heart's content, and accumulate your rage to your heart's content."
"I eagerly await the day when you've gathered enough strength to break out of Udon and come for your revenge."
"I'll be waiting for that day."
Despair.
Amidst the endless despair, a faint glimmer of light seeped through.
Kaido clenched his fists tightly, nails digging into his palms until they bled.
He understood.
This man not only sought to enslave his body but also to toy with his dignity!
He had given him a hollow, elusive hope—like a wild beast chained, fantasizing about breaking free amidst endless labor.
What a despicable sense of amusement!
"Fine..."
Kaido completely lowered his head, which had remained proud for decades.
The next moment, he turned abruptly and let out a hysterical roar at the stunned remnants of the Beast Pirates!
"What the hell are you all standing around for! Didn't you hear Admiral Kane's orders!"
"Everyone still alive and able to move, gather at Udon now, immediately, right away!!"
"Anyone who dares to slack off, I'll tear them apart with my own hands!!!"
At this moment, the "Strongest Creature" who had reigned supreme over Wano Country for years, the governor of the strongest pirate crew on land, sea, and air, Kaido...
Had completely become Kane's most diligent, strict, and powerful foreman.
[Ding—Detected that the host has completely shattered the will of the "Strongest Creature" through non-physical means and transformed him into a production tool. The behavior is extremely twisted and filled with malicious amusement!]
[This action has caused a massive shift in the worldline!]
[Violation Value obtained: 900,000 points!]
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