Super Card System

Chapter 584: The Barbarian

“Ka… Kaido!!??”

“What’s going on!? Why is Kaido here!?”

“What… What does he want to do!?”

“Oh my God! One Yonko, the Whitebeard, is already terrifying enough, and now Kaido too…”

The entire battlefield erupted into a buzzing roar, the voices of thousands of pirates and Marines filled with panic and confusion.

It wasn’t just them; even Ian and Ace were utterly bewildered at this moment.

Ian looked over at Fujitora, only to find him frowning deeply as well.

“What’s going on?” Ian asked Fujitora in a low voice. “Wasn’t Red-Haired Shanks supposed to be stopping the Beasts Pirates? How come Kaido is here!?”

“I don’t know either!” Fujitora shook his head. “Could it be that Shanks lost to Kaido!? So he couldn’t stop him?”

“No… no! That ain’t right!” Ian thought for a moment and dismissed that possibility. “Shanks and Kaido are probably equally matched; how could he lose?”

“Regardless, this is big trouble…” Fujitora sighed.

Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu were also exchanging worried glances. The Navy hadn’t even dealt with the Whitebeard Pirates yet, and now another Yonko, Kaido, had appeared. This war…

People all over the world watching the broadcast were also on edge, holding their breath as they watched the screen. They had heard the Navy captain’s voice too, but many still clung to a sliver of hope, wanting to see if it was really true.

For a moment, both pirates and Marines simultaneously stopped fighting, all turning their gaze toward the distant sea.

That was the direction the Navy captain had reported Kaido’s appearance.

Because of this, no one noticed two figures hidden behind a large reef at the edge of the battlefield.

“Fufufufufu! He came as expected!”

Doflamingo, dressed in his flamingo coat, still had a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He clutched his chest, looked up in that direction, then squatted down and said to the prone figure of Gecko Moria on the ground, “See, I told you I’d give them a big surprise, didn’t I?”

At this moment, Moria looked utterly miserable, covered in blood from head to toe.

Previously, when he had fought Jinbe and received a powerful punch, Moria had coughed up blood but hadn’t been in such a terrible state. His current condition was actually due to Doflamingo.

After being punched out of the sky by Whitebeard, Doflamingo was also injured. So, the two injured men temporarily regrouped.

Upon realizing Whitebeard’s state was far beyond their expectations, they stopped exerting themselves and gradually hid in a corner.

However, during the clash between Ian, Ace, and Akainu, Doflamingo suddenly launched a sneak attack on Moria, striking him from behind with his String-String Whip and piercing Moria’s body!

At first, Moria didn’t understand why Doflamingo suddenly attacked him, but then he recalled Doflamingo’s previous words. Realizing Doflamingo intended to kill him, Moria immediately fought back.

However, his strength was far inferior to Doflamingo’s, and he was quickly beaten to the brink of death.

Hearing Doflamingo’s laughter, Moria struggled to lift his head and said, “You… you actually brought Kaido… brought Kaido here? Did he order you to kill… kill me?”

“Wrong!” Doflamingo chuckled darkly and said, “The ones who want you dead are the World Government!”

“Why… why!?” Moria exclaimed in disbelief, “You are no longer… no longer one of the Shichibukai, so why obey… the World Government!?”

“That’s because I also want you dead!” Doflamingo squatted down and forcefully patted Moria’s face. “Blame it on your peculiar Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability!”

“My Shadow-Shadow Fruit!? Why… why do you say that?” Moria became more and more confused.

“Your ability is just too dangerous!” Doflamingo said, “If you continue to develop your power and actually create an immortal monster, it would be disastrous…”

As Doflamingo’s voice trailed off, it became so faint that Moria couldn’t make out his final words.

“Wha… what!?” Moria coughed up blood and tried to ask again.

However, Doflamingo ignored him, straightening up and looking towards the distant battlefield.

“Traflagar Law… he’s really not dead, and he even joined Ian’s Dragon Hunter Pirates… Law ate the Ope-Ope Fruit. If Ian learns about the ‘Perennial Youth Surgery’ ability, things could get troublesome…” Doflamingo mused, rubbing his chin. Beneath his sunglasses, his eyes were unreadable.

But as he thought about it, Doflamingo suddenly gritted his teeth, and threads shot out from his fingers, piercing through Moria’s body on the ground.

Moria’s throat made a “heh heh” sound as he glared at Doflamingo with eyes full of venom. After a brief struggle, he finally lay still.

After killing Moria, a smile crept onto Doflamingo’s lips.

“The Celestial Dragons’ national treasure is mine. No one else can covet it! Any potential threats must be eliminated!”

“With Kaido here, it’s time for me to leave. Heh, by now Shanks must have realized that the Kaido he’s facing is a fake! The puppet clone created by the Shadow Knight String is really useful. It was worth the time I spent enhancing this technique…”

“Now, let that madman Kaido wreak havoc…”

Thinking this, Doflamingo looked up at the sky, flicked his fingers to shoot out threads that latched onto the clouds, and floated away in a peculiar manner, heading off in another direction.

If Ian could see this scene, he would understand that the real reason Kaido appeared here actually lies with him.

Because of Ian, Doflamingo was prematurely stripped of his title as a Warlord of the Sea. Back on Dressrosa Island, he had used Sugar’s Hobby-Hobby Fruit ability to turn many World Government officials, CP agents, and even Navy officers into toys. When Sugar’s ability was nullified, all of Doflamingo’s crimes were fully exposed. His act of deceiving the World Government and the Navy led to intense pursuit by the Navy.

Moreover, with his territory falling into Ian’s hands, Doflamingo had no choice but to seek refuge with Kaido.

Thus, history took another twist at this moment. When the Navy launched its war against the Whitebeard Pirates, the war-obsessed Kaido, who had always wanted to wage a grand battle, naturally wanted to join the fray.

Originally, Red-Haired Shanks, aiming to prevent the war from escalating, had gone to stop Kaido. Given his strength and reputation, he indeed had the capability to hold Kaido back.

However, with Doflamingo now by Kaido’s side, the situation took a different turn.

Doflamingo used his String-String Fruit ability to create a fake Kaido using his refined Shadow Knight String technique, leaving this puppet aboard the Beasts Pirates’ ship. When Shanks arrived, the real Kaido made a brief appearance. Then, with the puppet standing in for him on the ship, Kaido managed to fool Shanks. Kaido himself seized an opportunity to head towards the battlefield alone.

Doflamingo’s Shadow Knight String ability originally couldn’t control the puppet if the real body was too far away. But after being defeated by Ian, Doflamingo had spent some time specifically developing this ability. The new puppet created by the Shadow Knight String could now be controlled from a great distance, though it couldn’t speak.

However, the inability to speak wasn’t a significant issue because, under Kaido’s orders, the Beasts Pirates didn’t engage in battle with the Red-Haired Pirates but instead maintained a distant standoff. As long as Shanks didn’t personally attack Kaido, he wouldn’t detect the deception.

Despite stripping Doflamingo of his title and sending the Navy after him, the World Government couldn’t push him too hard since he knew the secrets of the Celestial Dragons. Moreover, with the Seven Warlords now lacking in strength, they eventually sought him out again. They offered to stop pursuing him in exchange for his participation in the war and gave him a secret mission—to find a way to kill Gecko Moria after the war.

Upon receiving the invitation from the World Government, Doflamingo discussed it with Kaido, and they devised this grand deception plan.

Kaido, the madman, although he had a pirate crew, often preferred to act alone. So, it wasn’t surprising that he would make such a move to head to the battlefield by himself.

All this went unnoticed due to Doflamingo’s quiet departure. However, everyone was too preoccupied to ponder much about it. All eyes were now fixed on the massive ship that appeared on the sea.

Standing on the foredeck of the ship was an enormously tall figure. He had a head of wild long hair and a pair of curved horns. His bare upper body was covered in explosive, strong muscles, and on his left arm was a bright red tattoo resembling dragon scales!

Like the mightiest barbarian from myth… Even though the ship hadn’t approached yet, his appearance was already clearly visible. The moment one laid eyes on him, an overwhelming sense of oppression was palpable!

Amid countless terrified gazes, Kaido, standing at the bow, suddenly puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and then let out a frenzied roar!

“WHITEBEARD——————————!!!!!!!”

Boom! As his roar echoed, a tremendous shockwave swept through, causing countless splashes to erupt on the sea’s surface!

The sound reached the battlefield, where many Navy soldiers and pirates clutched their ears in agony and crouched down, unable to withstand the deafening roar…

This mighty roar heralded the arrival of the world’s strongest creature, Kaido of the Beasts…