Golden Lion was an enemy, so Zekrom certainly wouldn’t hold back its power. Without Zekrom’s help, using Bolt Strike and Freeze Shock wouldn’t be easy.
However, she hadn’t gained Zekrom’s approval yet. This time, Zekrom only lent her its power temporarily because it found her agreeable.
Unlike the modified Okuchi no Makami, this power wasn’t permanent. As the battle ended, Zekrom naturally returned to its original space.
As for Kaido? Matters between father and daughter weren’t his concern.
If she truly became the Hero of Ideals, even if it meant a falling out between father and daughter, Zekrom would stand by Yamato. But the current situation didn’t meet that condition.
“Zekrom?!”
Repeated shouts went unanswered, and Yamato realized what had happened. She immediately canceled her ability, collapsing weakly to the ground.
“Ah, that old lion was pretty tough; it seems I’m injured pretty badly…”
She couldn’t determine Kaido’s current limits, but she could make a rough comparison. Golden Lion and Whitebeard were once overlords of their era. Golden Lion, missing two legs and with a ship’s helm stuck in his head, was clearly not as formidable as the still-young Whitebeard.
And Kaido fought that Whitebeard for five days. No matter how you look at it, Kaido was much more dangerous than Golden Lion. Plus, she’d been fighting Kaido all these years.
Even at full strength, she couldn’t handle Kaido, let alone now. So she simply chose to lie down.
Zekrom’s “retreat” disrupted all her plans. Initially, she wanted to use that power to make Kaido understand the pain she had endured over the years, then go back and test Freeze Shock’s power on Queen, hoping it could counter Queen’s annoying tactics.
But now, she decided to give up.
She’d just been through a fierce battle, which was a reasonable excuse.
“Injured quite badly?”
“Yes, look here and here—these cuts from the old lion still hurt a lot.”
She was a bit frustrated with her body’s recovery speed. Most of the sword wounds left by Golden Lion had already started to heal, and she could only use the remaining bloodstains as evidence.
Kaido scrutinized her. She guessed right: if she truly was in a weakened state, Kaido wouldn’t force a fight now. But she underestimated Kaido’s obsession with battle.
He had stayed in the clouds for several days, just watching without intervening. That was already torture for him. Moreover, if you looked closely, you’d see some battle scars on Kaido as well.
This was the result of him staying in the thunderclouds; Zekrom had given him an electric treatment. But his desire to fight Yamato really had nothing to do with this.
Just as Yamato thought Kaido was about to give up, he suddenly tossed something to her.
“What?”
“See for yourself.”
Kaido’s tone didn’t change, but as he spoke, he had already finished drinking the entire contents of his sake gourd.
Taking the item Kaido threw, Yamato’s expression twisted. She knew exactly what this dried herb was.
“Revival Herb?! Is this how you use it?!”
If Golden Lion had held on a bit longer, she had planned to use the Revival Herb. But his life force had dropped too much, and he couldn’t hold on.
Since it was distributed, this item’s usage rate has been quite low. She never expected Kaido to throw her a Revival Herb at this moment.
“When you’re pushed to your limits during a fight, you can use this to restore your stamina. Isn’t that what your dad told you?”
“How can both fights be the same?! Even if you’re drunk, there’s a limit, you know!”
“You seem pretty lively to me.”
“Ah…”
“Watch closely. Thunder Bagua, this is how you use it!”
…
Boom! Boom!
When Jack and Maria returned, they found Yamato and Kaido engaged in a battle. The commotion was comparable to the previous fight between Golden Lion and Yamato.
“You called Lord Kaido over directly?”
“No way, I don’t have that kind of power. It must have been arranged by Lord Arceus. Now I understand why no one responded to our call for help.”
Reflecting on how smoothly they had left Onigashima, it was clear that everything had been orchestrated.
“So what do we do now?”
“Just wait; it’ll end once Boss Kaido is finished having his fun.”
The fight was brutal, but the two were used to it. As Yamato grew older, their fights became increasingly terrifying.
As for trying to stop their fight? Intervening at a time like this would only make them targets of Kaido’s attacks as well. They had no desire to take that risk.
Under Kaido’s carrot-and-stick approach, Yamato reluctantly pulled herself together and began the battle, on the condition that Kaido would gently place the island down on the sea instead of just dropping it.
The island’s inhabitants had fled earlier. They were a rare winged humanoid race capable of flying, and they would have left long ago if not for Golden Lion.
Now they were on their way to find a new home. With so many islands on the sea, they could easily find a more suitable place to live.
Although the island was now devoid of people, it was still home to many beasts that had returned to normal. Dropping such a large island could kill many fish and sea creatures, which would be unfortunate.
Golden Lion’s dream ultimately did not come true. As a legendary great pirate, his end was not a grand one.
He was the first to fall against someone who was given the power of a Legendary Pokémon. But this end had no audience; the World Government’s agents and the reporters from the World Economy News Paper weren’t God who can be everywhere.
This was an isolated Sky Island created by Golden Lion, so there were no cameras to capture the moment.
Unless Beasts Pirates specially publicized it, no one would know that Golden Lion had fallen. In most people’s minds, Golden Lion had disappeared long ago.
A solitary grave appeared on the island, with Kogarashi and Oto crossed over it. This was Kaido giving Golden Lion a final bit of dignity, not leaving his corpse to the wilderness.
Kogarashi and Oto are famous swords, but no one in the Beasts Pirates was used to wielding double-edged swords like this. So, they were left here for the time being. With the Beasts Pirates’ current military capabilities, they didn’t need to rely on these two swords.
After the battle, Kaido, still not satisfied, drunkenly left to find new victims, while Yamato, after treating her injuries, returned to Onigashima with her Corviknights.
The beasts were left on the island, but all the IQ plants Golden Lion had cultivated were destroyed.
In this battle, she sustained fifteen sword wounds, countless abrasions, and one blunt force injury, the latter being the most serious. However, it wasn’t Golden Lion who inflicted this injury, but Kaido.
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!