Yamato gradually figured out a way to counter Kaido, but as the saying goes, “the older, the wiser.” As long as Kaido doesn’t act recklessly, Yamato likely wouldn’t be able to outsmart him in this lifetime.
Though she had gained temporary safety, the underlying problem remained unsolved.
From Kaido’s gaze, it was clear that he had already come up with a new plan.
Elsewhere, compared to the tug-of-war between Jack and Elizabeth—a tank and a sniper-assassin hybrid—the battle between Babanuki and Maria on the Mountain battlefield was much more normal.
Although Maria didn’t possess the bloodline of the Fish-Men or inherited Kaido’s talents, she is the same generation as Yamato and Jack, and was the oldest among them. Having formidable strength wasn’t her dream, but an essential part of realizing that dream.
She wants to stay by Kaido’s side, but there’s no place for the weak around him. Flattery or begging won’t earn his attention—only strength can make Kaido value someone.
For this reason, Maria had been rigorously training, and now she was putting the results to the test.
Mountain Terrain was Babanuki’s chosen home ground. Udon mines had been left in the care of Pokémon, and unless something extraordinary happened, there wouldn’t be any problem.
Even if something did go wrong, they weren’t worried. After all, even when the Beasts Pirates was still underdeveloped, they had managed to conquer the relatively intact Wano Country.
Now that they were stronger, and Wano had lost its strongest forces, if anyone were to take advantage of the situation and cause trouble, it would actually be an opportunity for a major purge.
“Spiders… what a nuisance.”
Due to stiffness, Babanuki reverted from his transformed state again—this is his weakness. Slaking’s ability wasn’t easy to overcome. This ability is the source of their immense strength, and only a rare few of them can break free from this limitation.
In the early days, Slaking was incredibly powerful, so those who defeated him mostly exploited this weakness. However, Maria is much more difficult to handle now.
Every step Babanuki took now consumed a significant amount of energy. The Mountain Terrain was originally his home ground, where even the rocks on the ground could be used as weapons. But now, Maria has altered the terrain.
A dense web of threads covered the ground, with thin, transparent strands connecting the rocks. A single thread wasn’t dangerous, but when thousands of them are stuck together, they become incredibly powerful.
A large number of webs shot out from Maria’s hands. Taking advantage of Babanuki’s ability cooldown, she planned to intensify her offensive.
Rumble!
A clap of thunder echoed across the sky. Moments ago, it had been perfectly clear, but now dark clouds covered the sky.
Before long, torrential rain began to pour down. The stickiness of Maria’s webs started to diminish due to the rain and airborne dust, gradually loosening the restraints on Babanuki.
“Paopaopapa, Maria, it seems your luck isn’t so good.”
While rain fell on Babanuki, his cooldown also ended. His muscles swelled, fur covered his body again, and with Slaking’s power, he broke free from the webs.
With the webs losing their stickiness, it became much easier for him to escape.
“Maybe not, Uncle Babanuki. Perhaps you’re the unlucky one.”
Galvantula is similar to a cave spider, and its powerful webs have always been a great aid in hunting. Most importantly, their webs can conduct electricity.
This is the luck created by the uncertainty of the terrain. The rain weakened the web’s stickiness, giving Babanuki more room to move, but it also provided better opportunities for lightning to come into play.
“Thunder Maria!”
A surge of electricity shot from Maria’s body, with bright lightning illuminating the entire battlefield. Lightning from the clouds began to strike the ground as well. In the rain, Babanuki was instantly engulfed by the lightning.
Under the cover of thunder and lightning, Maria began to close in on Babanuki. Lightning alone wasn’t enough to knock him out, so she planned to use this opportunity to land the final blow. Purple venom secreted from her fingertips, forming two venomous weapons.
“Cross Poison!”
Compared to Babanuki, Maria had another significant advantage—her size. Her impressive height grants her a longer reach, and when there wasn’t a massive difference in strength, size could offer a considerable advantage in terms of power.
Against a strength-type opponent like Babanuki, Maria’s larger frame gave her a crucial edge.
Lightning crackled beneath her feet as she swung the Cross Poison on both her hands continuously. However, Babanuki also reacted, unleashing his long-prepared Counter before his stamina was exhausted.
The accumulated damage caused significant injuries to Maria, but in the midst of the thunderstorm, Babanuki was eventually defeated. Then, together with Maria, he headed to the nearby medical center.
There’s no concept of admitting defeat here once it seems like the other side is about to win. They perfectly embody Kaido’s philosophy, transforming into the incarnation of water ghosts and attempting to drag their opponents down with them.
However, that was just a way to vent their emotions. In the ranking battles, the medical center’s treatment methods are all about quick recovery.
Arceus’ Life Dew was already prepared. As long as they weren’t dead, a bit of time was all it took to recover, which is why they could afford to go all out in battle.
After quick recovery, they would once again return to the arena to defend or claim their new positions.
Aside from Jack and Elizabeth’s prolonged battle, many fights had already reached their conclusions. Babanuki even saw Mandrell appear at the medical center, though he was only there to drop off injured people.
“Babanuki? You lost?”
“Ah… maybe just bad luck, but these young ones are getting stronger.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? It means I’m getting closer to retirement.”
“Brother Mandrell, if I’m not mistaken, you said that when I had just joined the Beasts Pirates, but now you’re a high-ranking officer.”
“Yeah, thinking about it makes me nostalgic for the old days.”
At first, Mandrell was just an ordinary pirate forced out to sea by circumstances. Maybe it was luck, but he ended up being one of the first people Kaido recruited.
Back then, his goal was simple—after learning about the Beasts Pirates’ system, he hoped to work hard for a few years and then live a stable life.
Later, his luck turned for the better, and he successively acquired both skills and ability, rising to the rank of a small officer. He was satisfied at the time, and thanks to his luck, he even found a Plate, which allowed him to soar to new heights.
He once had the chance to take on a more leisurely position. Many of the pirates who survived alongside him made that choice.
But by then, he had already met Rusalka, and he heard that the retirement benefits for high-ranking officers were even better, including extra perks for their families, so he embarked on another round of hard work…
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