Chapter 236: Brothers
The Momo Fruit is indeed a powerful fruit with strategic significance.
In extreme situations, it can grant the target object amplification of a hundred times speed and volume, enough to turn even the most unremarkable wood chip into a kinetic monster capable of destroying everything.
Of course, just like every gold coin has two sides, this incredibly powerful fruit is not perfect.
In fact, the Momo Fruit can only amplify volume and speed, and cannot increase the inherent strength of the object itself.
To put it bluntly, it only handles takeoff; landing is up to you to figure out.
Fortunately, things like bullets and cannons don’t need to worry about that—worst case, they just shatter into pieces anyway~ After all, we’re made for that purpose…
But when the one being amplified is Wald himself, he has to consider how to protect himself under the terrifying instantaneous G-force…
He is not a Lunarian born with a body adaptable to any environment; nor is he like Big Mom with her ‘Steel Balloon’ that is impervious to blades and bullets; much less a Logia ability user who can evade physical impact through elementalization…
In terms of physique alone, Wald is just an ordinary human, easily wounded by gunfire without using Haki for defense.
So, to withstand the damage caused by using his ability on himself, he chose the most direct method—covering his entire body with Haki while accelerating.
In fact, anyone with even slight proficiency in Armament Haki wouldn’t do something so stupid as evenly distributing their already limited Haki… such behavior is completely meaningless waste.
But Wald must do this, or else without the enemy even making a move, he might suddenly suffer internal organ rupture and die after some acceleration… then become eternally famous on the sea as an enduring joke.
Snap!
“Urgh…!”
The azure dragon tail twisted and whipped through the air, splattering a large swath of fresh red blood… Kaido easily broke through Wald’s physical defenses, landing an unexpectedly heavy blow.
『Must… must create distance first.』
Enduring the pain of broken bones, Wald prepared to immediately activate his ability to get away from Kaido.
“Momo·Fifty—”
Crack!
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Kaido’s scale-covered palm suddenly clamped down hard, yanking the retreating Wald right in front of him, and then…
Bang!
A brutal headbutt smashed into the opponent’s forehead; Wald’s pupils dilated massively on impact, and his Viking-style hat with its broken horn instantly shattered, fragments dropping into the sea below, vanishing without a trace.
“Urgh…!”
…
“Hm? Passed out?”
“So weak… you guy.”
“Can’t handle even this much?”
Looking at Wald, whom he had yanked over and who was now covered in blood, Kaido felt a bit bored… the opponent’s strength didn’t seem as formidable as he’d imagined.
Though exceptionally outstanding in terms of attacks—that barrage of hundred times speed fists had left his bones aching all over even now, and his internals had sustained some degree of damage.
But that was it; his physique, far superior to an ordinary person’s, combined with the Mythical Zoan’s powerful defense and recovery, gave Kaido far greater combat endurance than an ordinary human like Wald.
Unless someone like Whitebeard landed a punch that left Kaido unable to rise again, dragging it out would inevitably tilt the scales of victory toward Kaido bit by bit…
“Tch~”
Splash~
Casually tossing Wald aside to let him fall into the sea, the now-disinterested Kaido flicked his tail, riding his flame cloud back toward his own warship.
Since he’d learned the Navy was lurking nearby, watching eagerly, it was time for a head-on clash!
Avoid his edge?
If they wanted to reap the benefits without fighting, they’d need the skill for it—and Kaido hadn’t had his fill of battle yet.
He had no intention of slinking back to his territory like a coward.
Whoosh—Bang!
Landing heavily on the deck, Kaido immediately summoned King and Burufaruto.
“How’s it going? Any moves from the Navy side?”
“None.”
“Skipgate just reported that the mixed fleet of Navy and pirates, which had started moving, suddenly stopped for some reason.”
Burufaruto reported the surveillance situation from there truthfully to Kaido.
“Stopped… What’s going on? Did they detect our surveillance?”
Kaido pondered for a moment before asking:
“Did you see who’s leading the Navy side?”
“Sengoku.”
“Just him?”
“Yeah, for now, we’ve only spotted him.”
“Tch!”
Hearing it was just Sengoku, Kaido’s brow furrowed instead.
If it were Garp coming, there’d be no scheming—just ram the ships and fight.
But it was Sengoku, and openly just him, which definitely meant some scheme he didn’t know about… This stop-start behavior was probably coordinating some trick.
『Whatever!』
Figuring he couldn’t outthink the other side, Kaido simply stopped thinking; better to charge ahead now and shatter the plot with raw strength than get caught in endless layers of ‘I predicted your prediction of my prediction.’
“Pass the word: turn the ship around immediately. We’re going to meet those spectators.”
“Yes!”*n
…
“Wald! Wald!”
“Cough cough!”
In his hazy consciousness, Wald seemed to hear familiar calls.
“Wald!”
“…”
“Mm…”
“B… Boss? Is that Binjack Boss?”
Light pierced his eyes, illuminating the dark world… Wald, slowly regaining consciousness, stared blankly at the sky, but was soon drawn by the voice beside him.
“Wald, you’re finally awake!”
“Cough cough! How do you feel now?”
Soaked to the bone, Bin Jack looked at his younger brother with deep worry; in his hand, he clutched a shattered piece of ox horn helmet.
“Urgh… What happened to me?”
“Don’t move yet, Captain.”
“I temporarily stopped the bleeding with silver needles, but if you keep thrashing, the wounds will reopen.”
Another familiar voice rang out.
“Nai Qin… You’re alive too, huh.”
Propping up his upper body slightly, Wald saw the two figures bandaging him, and his mood, which had hit rock bottom, lifted a little.
His boss was still alive, the ship doctor was still alive—that meant the Wald Pirates hadn’t completely vanished.
“Yeah, after the ship sank, I stayed hidden in the sea with the first mate… until I saw you fall in, Captain, then we surfaced again.”
As for how Bin Jack’s physique allowed him to hide in the sea so long, that was thanks to Nai Qin’s habit of personally gathering various medicinal herbs.
Since many herbs grow in strange places, she carried small props for mountaineering and diving… like the coral bubbles from Fish-Man Island.
The two stayed in the bubble until Bin Jack spotted a fragment of a Viking helmet with a broken horn…
“That’s Wald’s helmet!”
The moment he saw the broken horn, Bin Jack recognized it as his younger brother’s helmet.
Back then, when he was captured by an enemy pirate crew due to his frail body, Wald risked his life to rescue him, earning a permanent ferocious scar on his left cheek.
Endless guilt and self-blame once made Bin Jack want to give up their dream of circumnavigating the world, but Wald smiled, raised the hat high, and personally snapped off one horn to symbolize never abandoning his brother.
『It’s fine. I’ll protect Boss.』
『Let’s do it together… sail around the world!』
“Wald! Wald’s in danger!”
“Cough cough cough!”
Spotting the helmet fragment, Bin Jack immediately paddled to surface.
He’d escaped decisively before because he trusted his younger brother and knew staying would only hinder Wald.
But now it seemed Wald had likely lost; as the boss, he absolutely couldn’t abandon him at this moment!
Even if it meant facing death upon surfacing, he wouldn’t back down!
…
“B-Boss. Where’s Kaido?”
“The Beasts Pirates’ fleet just left; they didn’t spot us.”
Hiding behind a massive cube, Bin Jack watched the fleet sailing off into the distance.
“I see…”
“Sorry, Boss.”
“I lost, to Kaido. And not just that—the whole pirate crew too…”
Lying back down, Wald spoke in a tone of unprecedented dejection.
“It’s okay, Wald. It’s okay.”
“Cough!”
Placing his slender hand on the other’s strong arm, Bin Jack comforted softly:
“As long as you’re still here, as long as you’re alive, the Wald Pirates will one day rise again.”
“And then we’ll sail around the world together.”
“Yeah, sure—”
“That won’t do. We can’t allow dangerous elements like you back on the sea.”
“The Wald Pirates must be completely eradicated today.”
Just as the Bondy Brothers planned to regroup, a strange, icy voice cut into their conversation again.
“It’s… cough cough! You guys! Cipher Pol!”
This CP wasn’t the previous pair, but a newcomer wearing a bizarre mask with an extremely eerie aura.
The CP agent in a conspicuous white suit ignored Bin Jack and pointed his finger directly at the prone Wald.
“Watch out! Wald!”
Bang~
The gloved fingertip fired an air bullet like a pistol, piercing the flesh ahead.
『Wald, this time it’s Boss’s turn to protect you.』
“First Mate!”
“Boss!”
Feels a bit messy; I need to sort it out properly… Just one chapter today.
