At this moment, the pirate's mind was in complete chaos.
Weren't Celestial Dragons supposed to be useless fools?
Then what was this?
This was nothing like what he had been told.
Is raised his hand slightly, and sheets of paper began gathering around his palm.
In the blink of an eye, they formed into a straight, razor-sharp spear.
Seeing this, the pirate grew frantic, struggling desperately—
But it was useless.
He couldn't break free at all.
"Why… why?! It's just thin paper… how can I not break out of it?!"
Is didn't bother replying.
He simply hurled the spear forward.
Whoosh!
The paper spear pierced straight through the pirate's body and embedded itself into the ground at an angle.
Pffft!
The pirate spat out blood. After struggling for a few more moments, he went still.
Clearly… he was dead.
The sheets of paper wrapped around him loosened one by one, vanishing at a visible pace.
Looking at the corpse, Is said coldly,
"You really think all Celestial Dragons are useless fools?"
The moment his words fell—
A massive explosion sounded in the distance.
Is looked over.
Above the rising dust, a faint blue skeletal giant began to take shape.
Others might not recognize it—
But Is knew exactly what it was.
The unique power of the Uchiha clan—
Susanoo.
And the outcome there was obvious.
With just Kaido and a group of apprentice pirates, how could they possibly stand against Madara?
In such a short time, they had already been scattered. Some had fled.
Whoosh!
A figure shot out of the smoke, flying toward Is.
Thud!
It landed right in front of him.
Is looked down.
Kaido lay there, battered and bloodied, his face swollen and bruised.
"Didn't expect this, did you, Kaido? Running into someone even harder-headed than you."
Is spoke with a faint smile.
At the same time—
Madara walked over, adjusting his suit.
"All dealt with. What do you want to do with him?"
Crack… crack…
Sheets of paper peeled off Is's body again, forming a massive spear.
"What else is there to do? Kill him on the spot."
Kaido might not have achieved much yet—
But as someone who knew the future, Is understood all too well what he would become.
If left alive, he would undoubtedly become a major threat.
So Is had no intention of letting this opportunity slip.
"If I get the chance, I don't let threats live."
As he spoke, he gripped the spear tightly.
"Goodbye."
The spear came down—
A seemingly certain kill.
But at the last second—
Kaido moved.
Like a corpse springing back to life, he rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the strike.
Then he shot to his feet—
Without even glancing back—
And ran at full speed.
Is's eyes widened.
He looked at Madara.
Madara looked back at him, equally surprised.
"What the hell… was that? Playing dead?"
"I'll go after him!"
Madara moved to give chase, but Is grabbed his arm.
"Forget it. If we run into Rocks, it'll be trouble."
To be honest, Kaido's move had caught Is completely off guard.
But thinking about it—
In the original story, Kaido wasn't just a brute. Beneath his rough exterior, he was cunning and calculating.
That moment proved it—
He wasn't some mindless brawler.
"I thought he had passed out…" Madara said, his expression odd.
"Not just you—I thought the same. Didn't expect… he was faking it, waiting for a chance to escape. I underestimated him."
Is let out a long sigh.
A perfect chance to eliminate a future threat—gone.
"Let's go. This place isn't safe anymore. If Rocks and the others show up, things will get messy."
Madara nodded in agreement.
…
Some time later—
At the shores of the Sabaody Archipelago.
The Rocks Pirates were holding a grand banquet aboard their ship.
Most of them were already drunk.
A bloodied pirate came stumbling in, crawling and shouting—
"Something's wrong—something's wrong!"
Everyone turned to look.
Seeing his condition, they immediately grew alert.
"Captain Rocks—Captain Rocks—something's happened!"
Rocks stepped forward, looking down at the apprentice.
"What happened? Didn't I send Kaido to lead you in gathering supplies?"
"Y-Yes… but…"
His voice trembled—he still hadn't recovered.
Rocks's gaze turned cold.
"You were attacked by the Marines?"
"N-No… not that. It was a Celestial Dragon… and his bodyguard," the pirate said, gasping for breath.
"A Celestial Dragon, huh?"
One of the officers stepped forward, drinking as he laughed.
"I've got plenty of experience beating up Celestial Dragons."
"Useless trash. Sent you to gather supplies, and you managed to draw in a Marine Admiral?" another officer sneered.
"Captain Rocks, this kind of useless garbage should be killed. Keeping him around will only make us a joke."
"N-No… that's not it!"
The pirate hurriedly explained,
"We didn't attract an Admiral. We were defeated by a Celestial Dragon and his bodyguard!"
For a moment—
Silence fell over the Rocks Pirates.
Then—
Laughter erupted.
Slash!
A blade of sword energy flashed.
The pirate was split clean in two.
Blood splattered across the ground.
And yet—
Most of them weren't serious at all.
They burst into even louder laughter.
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