ALL NOVEL Chapter 166: Chapter 168
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Chapter 70: Inmate?
Tick... tick...
The sound of water dripping on the ground echoed steadily in Darren's ears, marking his first moments of awareness. There was a strange smell in the air. It was damp and rotten, bloody and stinking, yet there was a faint scent of spirits mingling with it.
Darren struggled to open his eyes slightly, and the flickering bonfire cast a dim and inexplicable light. He felt a tearing pain all over his body. He tried to breathe deeply but ended up choking and coughed up a large puddle of blood and mud. He thought to himself, "I'm alive..."
At that moment, a low and hoarse voice sounded from the darkness, startling Darren and causing his muscles to tense instantly. Unfortunately, his body was extremely weak and exhausted, leaving him without the strength to lift a finger. He pulled himself together and tried to open his eyes, focusing to capture his blurred surroundings.
The blackened walls were stained, and rusty steel bars were visible in the dim light. The damp ground was covered with moss. It was a prison. Outside the cell, a burly and imposing figure sat on the ground. He had wild long black hair draped over his shoulders, long sharp horns on his head, and a dragon-like beard on his mouth.
His upper body was bare, revealing faint burn marks on the left side of his abdomen. The wound had stopped bleeding. There was a purple jacket hanging at his waist, with two gold chains hanging from the hem, dark green wide trousers, and a purple cloak. A Shimenawa was tied around his waist.
The bonfire's light cast a huge shadow of his figure on the ground and wall, swaying constantly. The flickering shadows made him look terrifying, like a "demon" come to life. Darren's eyes turned cold. He was staring at Kaido's back.
"If you don't want to die, just lie there..." Kaido's voice sounded like thunder. While speaking, he stretched out his arm covered with dragon scale tattoos, picked up a wine gourd with the word "Heaven" printed on it, took a sip, and glanced vaguely at the scar on the left side of his body. "That magma guy is really amazing."
Darren was momentarily surprised, then instantly realized the situation. He had been captured by Kaido! The searing pain in his brain blurred his memory. He vaguely recalled the last scene he saw: Sakazuki leaping from the ground, blasting the dragon's breath with his fist, and then being struck down by Kaido in human form.
After that, his body couldn't endure it anymore, and he fell into a coma. When he woke up, he found himself in this dark prison. But where was this place?! Was it Wanokuni? No, in this timeline, Kozuki Oden hadn't gone to sea yet, and Kaido hadn't teamed up with Kurozumi to seize control of Wanokuni.
Given this, the place couldn't be Wanokuni. Darren gasped, forcing himself to calm down while his mind raced. He was still alive... meaning Kaido had no immediate intention of killing him. Regardless of Kaido's purpose, as long as he survived, there was a possibility of escape.
Before that, though, assessing Kaido's strength and the prison's defensive capabilities was crucial. Thinking this, Darren glanced at Kaido carefully, his gaze resting slightly on the scar on Kaido's left abdomen before quickly looking away.
It truly was the Lava-Lava Fruit, known for its powerful attacks. Sakazuki's punch had not only generated explosive heat flames but had also managed to injure Kaido's "King Kong Indestructible" body.
Reminiscent of the power of the stick that Kaido gave Sakazuki at the end, Darren had a rough calculation in his mind. Kaido, who is about 30 years old now, probably has the strength of an Admiral level, which is better than Sakazuki at this time; after all, the age difference is there. But what is certain is that Kaido has definitely not stepped into the ranks of legendary top combat powers like Roger and Garp.
Of course, the so-called Admiral-level combat power is just a vague measure. There is also a difference between one Admiral and another. For example, in the original plot, the new Admiral Green Bull after the World Conscription is obviously one level lower than Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji. Possessing Admiral-level combat power is a necessary condition for becoming a Marine Admiral, but not a sufficient condition. But as Sakazuki said, rank doesn't mean anything. After all, some Marine Vice Admirals can chase One Piece all over the sea. And for the strong, it is basically difficult to predict the outcome until the moment of real fighting.
Maybe that's why Kaido didn't continue the war with Sakazuki. No one could have predicted how vicious the cornered mad dog would be, even if that mad dog had been seriously injured. Just as Darren's thoughts turned, a painful groan suddenly came from the dark cage. Darren was taken aback and followed the sound.
The light from the bonfire on the wall cast down, and in the other corner of the cage, a dejected and tragic figure was leaning against the wall, gradually waking up. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, but those wounds were not bleeding. The bumps and dust along the way dried up the wound, and the left side of the body was criss-crossed with Sakazuki's scorched wounds, which looked like a map of a river network, and the bloody blood flow had dried up and turned black. One arm was missing, leaving only a horrific wound. Douglas Bullet! He was caught by Kaido too!
Darren's pupils shrank, and an idea popped up in his mind, which made him feel a little ridiculous. He and Douglas Bullet turned out to be cellmates?
"This is where...?" Bullet hissed with difficulty, raised his head, and saw the figures of Darren and Kaido. He was stunned and soon understood his situation. "All awake, good." Kaido picked up the wine gourd, raised his head, and drank the remaining spirits in one gulp. He stood up slowly, reeking of alcohol, and walked towards the cage. Every time his huge body took a step, the ground shook. Kaido looked down at Darren and Bullet condescendingly, his dark vertical pupils flashed with ambition, and he suddenly grinned:
"Ohhhhhhh! I can give you everything you want! Power, wealth, status, strength... I can give you whatever it is!" He stretched out his big hand covered with dragon scale tattoos. "This world is so boring... I can tell from your eyes that none of you are law-abiding guys! Join my subordinates, and I will lead you... to turn this sea upside down! Ohhhhhhh!" Kaido's heroic laughter shook the entire gloomy prison, and the limestone on the walls shook, as if the sky was shaking.