Looking at the Mountain God that had transformed into Emboar, Kaido’s eyes seemed to gleam. In this world’s battlefield, only large creatures are considered superior war weapons.
As long as they didn’t face those monsters with extraordinary strength, these large creatures’ strength would remain unmatched.
Sea Kings in the vast ocean don’t possess any special abilities; their dominance is established through their enormous size. Similarly, the Giant’ Vice Admirals, when not facing those monsters, excel at dealing with common enemies.
These gigantic units were capable of turning the tide in a small-scale war, and even a warship’s firepower would seem insufficient against them.
However, Giants often end up as mere background characters since they usually face main characters like the Four Emperors and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, making it inevitable for them to be defeated swiftly.
Observing Emboar before him, Kaido entertained some peculiar thoughts.
“What are you planning to do?”
Looking at Kaido who looked eager to make trouble, Arceus had a feeling that things might not go well.
“Worororo, he seems like a formidable guy, but of course, I have to personally test his strength.”
Saying this, Kaido walked towards Emboar.
“Hey, big guy, come and fight me. You understand, right?” He knew that after Arceus’ modification, the animals’ intelligence would be enhanced, and comprehending human commands was just the most basic ability.
Then he stretched his arms and beckoned to Emboar.
“Come on, it’s been a while since I’ve had some action, and my body has become a little rusty.”
“Wu?” Faced with Kaido’s request, Emboar was puzzled. Along with the increase in intelligence, the modified animals’ loyalty also increases. Kaido had been with Arceus just now, so this sudden command to attack left Emboar perplexed.
Its lantern-like eyes were filled with uncertainty, and finally, it looked towards Arceus.
“Listen to him, but go easy on it when you attack!”
The latter part of the sentence was not directed at Emboar but at Kaido. Kaido was one of the few powerful monsters who could ignore differences in size.
“I know, and besides, this big guy isn’t familiar with its body yet, right? Battle is the quickest way to get used to it.”
After receiving the instruction, Emboar sprung into action. Despite having only three fingers, it formed a fist and struck towards Kaido.
Facing the incoming punch, Kaido didn’t dodge or evade; he allowed the blow to land on his head. He didn’t move an inch, but the ground beneath his feet couldn’t bear the pressure, resulting in numerous cracks.
“Emboarrrr?”
Emboar felt that something was off with the sensation of its fist connecting. The next moment, its massive body flew up as Kaido performed a shoulder throw, slamming Emboar, whose height was about three times his own, to the side.
“You’ve got strength, but don’t you have anything else? This much won’t be enough!”
Being thrown by Kaido seemed to trigger the fierce nature inherent in Emboar. Though it was still unfamiliar with this form, it quickly got back on its feet. The flames surrounding its body blazed intensely, and soon, its fists were also engulfed in flames.
Fire Punch, Emboar’s most frequently used move. Blaziken relies more on its powerful legs, whereas Emboar depends on its fists.
With its fists burning with flames, also known as Fire Punch, Emboar smashed them towards Kaido.
This time, Kaido didn’t choose to take the punch with his face. Instead, he extended a hand to block Emboar’s attack.
The outcome of the battle was not suspenseful. Even with the use of Fire Punch, Emboar was no match for Kaido. It only served to widen the grin on Kaido’s face, adding one more pig in the world that questioned its life choices.
After being beaten by Kaido for a while, Emboar was quickly getting familiar with its new body. Though it felt much stronger than before, it still wasn’t a match for this smaller opponent.
After entrusting Emboar to Kojiro’s care, Arceus and Kaido left. Despite having only three fingers, hands were much more convenient than its previous pig hooves, and after practice, Emboar grew to like its new form.
For the ordinary populace, the transformation of the Mountain God into the new form caused quite a stir.
An ordinary giant boar was already revered as a Mountain God by them, let alone this new form. This completely changed the perspective of some people, highlighting the unimaginable influence of religious authority on their thoughts.
The huge vines reaching the sky, Mountain God now walking on two legs, and the various miraculous Pokémon present in the secluded Wano Country were all perceived as miracles by them.
After some time, Kaido received another call from CP0. This time, he didn’t refuse outright but chose an island for inspection.
He didn’t think it could be an ambush. Back when Rocks caused so much havoc, Marines didn’t even mobilize their entire force. They have too many areas to take care of, and it’s not possible for them to divert too much manpower just for the current Kaido.
After the Great Pirate Era began, the Marine’s workload had increased significantly. Some unruly Celestial Dragons also chose to set sail, making the protection of the Marine fleets an essential requirement.
That’s why they decided to trade with Kaido rather than directly deal with Wano Country. From the perspective of the World Government, having Wano Country remain in its sealed state was preferable.
Though Kaido might not be able to defeat the forces gathered by them, escaping from them wouldn’t be a problem.
“Captain, he didn’t refuse this time.”
“Analysis Branch’s findings should be correct. This is indeed something he needs.”
“But Captain, isn’t it unclear what Kaido wants? And that piece of stone, isn’t it useless as well?”
In his view, it seems that the higher-ups were well aware of what Kaido wants. They were worried about providing their enemy with something like Devil Fruit. However, they were withholding something that is evidently useless. Even if that piece of stone is incredibly sturdy, it holds no value for the World Government.
“It may be useless, but that thing is a part of the collection of Celestial Dragons. Do you want to try negotiating with them?”
“Uh…”
Although CP0 is known as the shield of the Celestial Dragons, these CP0 members are well aware of the Celestial Dragons’ attitude. The intelligent elites see them as mere tools, while in the eyes of the brainless fools, they are no different from dogs.
A dog demanding something from its master could easily be killed, and even if the Celestial Dragons did such a thing, no one would hold them accountable.
“Negotiating is impossible for us to do, and those above are unwilling to bother with such a trifling issue. If we can solve this matter with these things, it’s better not to trouble them.”
As they were talking, their ship arrived at Punk Hazard. Inside the frozen storage of Punk Hazard, the two of them saw the frozen test subjects.
“Can they still be used?”
“No problem. Once thawed, they can move freely, however getting them to obey would be quite challenging.”
[*TN: About the chapter title’s meaning, it’s talking about how this fruit is weak. If you want to know more about it you can just read it here: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/509284997, just google translate it. ]
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