One Piece : Captain, We’ve Arrived at Laugh Tale

The massive tree trunk must have fallen from the vanishing desert island earlier. Kaido had been fortunate—when he floated back to the surface, he happened to emerge right beside it.

For someone of Kaido's caliber, climbing onto the floating trunk posed little challenge.

"It's... it's Kaido!!!"

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief. "Didn't he fall into the sea? How did he manage to climb out again?! Isn't seawater supposed to be a Devil Fruit user's weakness? Why doesn't that rule seem to apply to the Four Emperors?!"

Law wore an expression that seemed to say "of course."

This was precisely why people called Kaido immortal. The man was simply too resilient.

What was a mere dip in the ocean to him? Even when Kaido had confronted Whitebeard one-on-one years ago, he hadn't drowned after falling into the sea. The notion that a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user like him could be defeated by drowning was practically laughable.

Kaido coughed violently, expelling copious amounts of seawater as his consciousness fully returned.

Everyone aboard the Thousand Sunny and the Heart Pirates' vessel immediately went on high alert, tension rising palpably. Though Carl stood with them, his injuries were severe. Whether he could defeat Kaido in his current state remained doubtful.

If they couldn't win, both pirate crews might be annihilated!

Carl noticed with dismay that the wound on Kaido's right chest had already healed.

This monster's physical resilience was beyond comprehension—no wonder he was so difficult to kill. Even Garp would struggle against such an opponent. In their current situation, continuing the fight against Kaido seemed futile. Their only option was to drive him away!

"Well, well! Teacher Kaido, still alive I see," Carl greeted with a deliberately relaxed smile.

"Hmph! If you're not dead yet, how could I possibly die? I've attempted suicide countless times but can't die anyway. No one can kill me!" Kaido growled, clearly displeased.

"Kaido, are you truly that confident in your immortality?"

"Of course! Do you have any idea how many times I've tried to end my own life? Even Whitebeard himself couldn't kill me—what chance do you and that Straw Hat boy have?"

Carl merely shrugged, offering no further comment.

After a brief moment, Kaido appeared to regain his strength. He immediately transformed into his emerald dragon form, opening his blood-stained maw toward the Thousand Sunny.

"I've been humiliated by you two brats today. I will definitely kill you both, along with your entire crew. What a shame that such a promising pirate group will vanish from the seas today!"

As he spoke, he began charging his devastating breath attack.

Everyone among the Straw Hat and Heart Pirates gritted their teeth, taking defensive stances against the impending onslaught.

They faced one of the Four Emperors who ruled the sea—even injured, he remained far beyond their capacity to handle. Yet remarkably, not one among them uttered a word of surrender despite facing certain death.

Instead, determination hardened their faces, their eyes blazing with intense defiance.

They would not die here like this!

Carl smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm here—I won't let anyone die!"

As he spoke, he extended his hand with a swift motion. A pitch-black cannonball flew into his palm. With practiced form, he squared his stance and hurled the projectile with tremendous force.

The shell moved with incredible speed, smashing directly into Kaido's massive dragon mouth before exploding violently.

Yet Kaido appeared completely unharmed.

"Ha! Is that all? Carl, are you at death's door already? That throw mimicked Garp's Fist Meteor technique—impressive speed, but mere cannonballs can't harm me. You should obediently—"

"If cannonballs can't kill you," Carl interrupted, "then how about this?"

He held up a fruit covered with intricate spiral patterns.

It was a Dog-Dog Fruit model!

Kaido froze mid-sentence. Seeing Carl's stance reminiscent of Garp's technique, he immediately snapped his dragon jaws shut, even extending his claws to cover his mouth as he stared at Carl with murderous intent.

"What happened to that breath attack? Why so quiet now?"

Carl met Kaido's glare with a mocking smirk. "Are you afraid? I thought you wanted to die? Open wide and take this worthless Dog-Dog Fruit—you can explode and die just as you've always wanted. Open your mouth! OPEN IT!"

His final command came as a roar so forceful that Kaido instinctively recoiled.

For all Kaido's talk about wanting to die and his constant suicide attempts, when faced with something that could genuinely kill him, true fear emerged.

As a Devil Fruit user, Kaido knew precisely what would happen if he consumed a second fruit.

Of course he did—yet he had always avoided eating another fruit during his theatrical suicide attempts. Instead, he relied on his immense physical resilience, leaping from 10,000-meter heights merely for show. Only a fool would believe his death wish was genuine!

Facing the seemingly unhinged Carl, Kaido experienced genuine fear for the first time...

He couldn't be certain how severe Carl's injuries truly were. If Carl could still fight effectively enough to force that Devil Fruit into his mouth, Kaido would meet an ignominious end.

And dying because of some trashy Devil Fruit would be utterly humiliating.

"I don't fight madmen! You bastard Carl, and that Straw Hat kid—I'll remember you both! When you reach the New World, I will definitely kill you!"

With those words, the enormous dragon turned and fled rapidly toward the horizon.

Carl watched intently until he was certain Kaido had truly departed. Only then did his legs give out beneath him. Fortunately, Robin caught him before he could collapse onto the deck.

Yet Carl couldn't appreciate the softness of her embrace—he had already lost consciousness.

Kaido never returned, and both the Straw Hat and Heart Pirates left the area to find another deserted island for temporary refuge. To prevent Kaido from tracking them, they concealed both the Thousand Sunny and Law's submarine, establishing a modest camp on the uninhabited island.

With Carl and Luffy unconscious, the Straw Hats had no choice but to maintain a low profile.

Fortunately, within two days, both warriors regained consciousness.

When Carl awoke, he found himself lying in a tent. Outside, Robin was reading a book while Nami sketched a map.

It seemed Kaido had truly abandoned his pursuit!

Carl's expression brightened, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

What Kaido didn't realize was that he had been too effective as a teacher. During this encounter, Carl had not only learned the basics of infusing Conqueror's Haki, but in their final clash—despite suffering severe damage from Kaido's advanced Armament Haki—he had glimpsed its underlying principles.

Emission-type Armament Haki—he would master it!

Carl was elated. Now he wouldn't need to wait for Rayleigh to learn this technique.

The sooner he and Luffy grew stronger, the better they could protect the Straw Hat crew. After that, they could focus on developing the strength of the entire crew.

As for how to train the crew, Carl contemplated implementing a Spartan regimen.

Elsewhere on the island, everyone busy with their tasks suddenly shivered simultaneously, each believing they had caught a cold.

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