One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

The mace and nunchaku stopped at the moment they were about to collide, and the gusts of air they created blew away the surrounding debris.

Kaido and Wang Zhi were both stunned and looked towards the source of the sound at the same time. They saw five children running quickly from the street in the distance. The boy in the lead looked the oldest. He wore a pointed hat and held a lollipop-shaped short stick in his hand. His mouth opened and closed widely, and his exaggeratedly long tongue kept swinging with the violent movement of his body. It seemed that the sound just now came from his mouth.

Lingling, who was about to go and separate the two fights, accidentally caught a glimpse of those children and immediately recognized them as her children. Her face changed slightly and she swung her sword without hesitation, slashing it hard on the ground from top to bottom. As countless sparks splashed, Lingling's body was bounced up with the help of the powerful recoil force, directly passed over the heads of the two men, turned several times in the air, and returned to the ground steadily.

"Well, well, well! I feel relieved to see that you guys are okay!"

Lingling sheathed her sword and turned slightly to the side. She saw her children had run up to her and were standing there panting. Their bodies were covered in dirt, but there was no blood or scars. She breathed a sigh of relief and a faint smile flashed in her eyes. Her gaze fell on the boy with the long tongue. "From your tone, it seems that you know the whereabouts of that girl very well, Perospero."

"Hu...Hu...Ever since Roger and his gang left, we have been wandering the streets waiting for your return, mom, so we quickly came here when we heard your voices!"

Perospero wiped the sweat from his forehead. Ever since he lost contact with Lingling, he has been worried about his mother's safety all the time, and spent every day in fear. It was not until he saw her safe and sound that his heart slowly calmed down. However, he could not be happy no matter how serious the situation was. He said in a deep voice, "It is very troublesome to explain. In short, it took a lot of twists and turns, but we brothers finally found Sister Setoirizu!"

Although Perospero's voice was not very loud, Kaido heard it clearly. A look of surprise and joy appeared on his face. He put the mace back with trembling hands and walked straight past Wang Zhi without looking at him. He stopped suddenly in front of Perospero, half-crouched down, and pressed his right hand on his shoulder with a "snap". He asked excitedly: "Are you telling the truth? Take me to see her!"

Perospero was pressed so hard by him that the pain was unbearable. His bones creaked and he couldn't help but shout out: "It hurts! It hurts! Let me go first and I'll tell you!"

"Is...really? I'm sorry!"

Kaido then realized that he had used too much strength, and moved his right hand away somewhat embarrassedly. Perospero rubbed his red and swollen shoulder for a long time before he gradually recovered his breath. Looking at the young man who was famous for his mood swings, and thinking about his relationship with Setoorizu, he felt indescribably nervous, fearing that he would cause trouble to his brothers because he could not accept the facts, so he stammered, "My sister and I were rescued by Setoorizu, so we ran all the way back...home to get help, but...who knew that the number of enemies was far beyond our expectations..."

Katakuri, who was standing nearby, sighed softly when he saw his elder brother's explanation was too long-winded. He couldn't help but interrupt and said, "In order to prevent the news from leaking out, we deliberately concealed the news about Sister Setoiri. She is now lying in her bedroom. I have already told others not to disturb her at will."

Kaido has always trusted this young boy who is very reliable despite his young age. His mood is no longer depressed, and his expression gradually eases. He said to him in a voice so low that it is barely audible: "Thank you!"

"Miss Colleen Lola has moved to another place to avoid being hunted by the pirates. We came here just to explain this."

Dafu, who has a crew cut, said with a tired look on his face, his breathing a little rapid. It was obvious that the long journey had consumed a lot of his physical strength. "We are currently living in the only street in the South District that has not been damaged much, and it is not far from here."

"In short, be mentally prepared in advance."

Owen, who has always been inseparable from Daifuku, said coldly. Since the moment he arrived, the heavy expression on his face has never changed. "Sister Setoori is not in a very good condition. In her current state, anything can happen. Don't blame me for not warning you."

As the door was slowly pushed open, the moment the face he had been longing for came into view, Kaido felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, as if all the blood in his body had solidified.

The girl was lying motionless on the snow-white bed sheet. Her fair face, which was once as white as a bouncy puff of silk, was now as pale as gold paper. Her long, smooth hair was now scattered messily on both sides of her cheeks. Her eyes were tightly closed, her long eyelashes drooped down over her eyelids, her lips were dry and bloodless, and beads of sweat kept oozing from her forehead, soaking the pillow under her head.

The area below her neck was almost completely wrapped in bandages, her chest heaving, and through the bandages two shocking scars could be vaguely seen above her right chest and on her abdomen. Even though the bandages were tied tightly, blood still seeped slowly through them, and a bloody smell began to fill the entire room.

There were several basins of blood and towels stained with blood under the bed. A chubby girl holding a fruit plate was sitting on a small stool beside the bed. She was wrapping the blood-stained bandages around her body and replacing them with clean bandages. Her face was already covered with visible beads of sweat and heavy breathing came one after another. It was obvious that this set of actions had been going on for an unknown amount of time.

Witnessing this tragic scene, Kaido felt a buzzing in his head, and the next second his head was empty. He staggered involuntarily to the bedside, and stood still like a puppet sculpture, staring blankly at the unconscious girl, unable to utter a word for a long time.

"Sister Compert, has her condition changed in any way while we were away?"

While speaking, Katakuri walked in from the door alone, walked quickly to the girl, his tone was very hurried and his expression seemed a little anxious.

Comperte, the eldest daughter of the Charlotte family, who was busy taking care of the patient, suddenly heard that calm and reliable voice. A heavy stone in her heart fell to the ground. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, slowly turned her head to look at her brother, and said in a very heavy tone: "It's still the same. The injury has not improved. Her bleeding is too heavy and can't be controlled no matter what. I have used many methods to only slow down the spread of the wound, but it is not a solution for a long time!"

Katakuri listened to his sister's description patiently and nodded towards her. His sharp eyes gradually became gentle at this moment: "I understand, sister, you did a great job. Go back and rest first."

"Well...I'll leave it to you guys from now on."

After watching Compert's back go away, Katakuri turned his head and looked at Kaido who was still standing beside the bed in a daze. There was a trace of regret in his eyes, and he told him what happened in a serious tone: "We ran all the way to Mr. Uno's office to find Sister Setoirizu. At that time, she was lying in a pool of blood, dying, and many enemies were gradually approaching her. After a fierce battle, we successfully killed those people and took a lot of detours to bring Sister Setoirizu back."

Recalling the thrilling scene that day, Katakuri is still frightened. If the enemy had not chosen to withdraw from Beehive Island because they had achieved their goal, I'm afraid all of them would have died tragically at the hands of the sword.

Kaido just said "hmm" and didn't answer, his eyes still fixed on the girl.

"Seeing you two running so fast, it seems that the situation is not good..."

Following a gentle yet elegant voice, Stussy walked into the room with light steps, holding a small square iron box in her hand. Looking at the scene in front of her that she expected, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "I just went back to my residence, so I'm a little late."

"...Are you the only one here?" Kaido squeezed out a few dry words from his hoarse throat without even turning his head.

"Newgate was worried about Locke's situation and went to see him first. Captain John ran to the vault to confirm whether there was any money missing."

As Stussy spoke, she placed the iron box on the round table, took out a key from her pocket and opened the box, revealing rows of reagents filled with brown liquid, with bubbles flowing inside. She stretched out her slender fingers and carefully picked up one of the reagents, shaking it gently, "As for Lingling and Snake Girl, they followed Wang Zhi to count the casualties. After all, if we don't regroup quickly, some enemies might show up and take advantage of the opportunity."

"If anyone dares to hurt my lovely brothers and sisters, I will annihilate them all without leaving a single one alive!" Katakuri said decisively with a look of lightning and unquestionable determination in his eyes.

"I feel a lot more at ease with you around, little guy."

Stussy chuckled, walked slowly to the bedside, and carefully observed the wounded girl from head to toe. He stretched out his hand to probe under her nose. After feeling a faint airflow, he breathed a sigh of relief, frowned slightly, and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, muttering as if talking to himself, "There is a hole in the right lung, and the incision in the abdomen is also very deep. If you tear off the bandage, you should be able to clearly see the intestines inside. If a giant was injured like this, he would have died on the spot. I didn't expect her to be able to hold on until now... Could it be that the vigorous vitality of the mythical beast species helped her?

"No matter what the reason is, given her current condition, it would be a miracle for her to live for another ten hours. Fortunately, I brought this with me for the sake of being conservative."

As he spoke, Stussy unscrewed the cap of the bottle, and a pungent smell of medicine immediately hit his nose. Katakuri beside him immediately frowned and covered his nose, but Stussy seemed to be used to this smell. He stretched out his left hand as if nothing had happened, pinched the girl's cheek with just the right amount of force, and poured the liquid in the bottle into her passively opened lips and tongue, and it flowed down her throat little by little.

"Cell activators can repair and regenerate dead cells. While restoring injuries, they can also further strengthen body functions. They were originally intended to be used as supplies during war."

Seeing that Seorizu swallowed the medicine without leaving any drop, and his originally painful expression slowly eased, Stussy put the empty bottle into his coat pocket and briefly introduced his new invention that he had spent three years on. "If you take one bottle a day, you can get out of bed and walk in three days, and you will be back to normal in two weeks. Although there are still some side effects, I don't think it will have much impact."

Looking at the girl's perfectly curvaceous body, Stussy couldn't help but sigh, "By the way, even if scars are left, they can heal quickly in a short time. Although Miss Setoiri is a little different from other girls, she must care about her appearance to some extent, right?"

Kaido, who had been absent-minded, mechanically turned around little by little, staring blankly at the elusive blonde woman, and his hoarse voice slowly rang out in the room: "Why did you help to this extent?"

The sudden question made Stussy stunned for a moment. The next moment, she lifted the curly hair covering her forehead, and a strange smile gradually emerged on her charming face: "Haha, it's just that I need a suitable little white mouse to confirm the results of my experiment. If you insist on saying a deeper reason..."

She stood up slowly, and smiled at the young man who was puzzled by her actions: "I have a slight interest in her future. Scientists always have inexplicable persistence in certain areas~"

Stussy's tone was as nonchalant as usual, even perfunctory. However, Kaido found it quite useful. He gradually recovered from his distracted state and sighed, "Should I say it's your bad taste? A person's life and death is decided by your whim."

He said this verbally, but there was no resentment in his tone. He could not hate this woman who had helped him get out of countless difficulties.

"Who told me to be born such a scumbag?"

Stussy yawned a few times facing the ceiling, and a hint of meaning flashed in his eyes as he glanced at Kaido. "That's not the way to put it... The kind of world you live in will breed the kind of people you want to be. You have to know how to judge the situation in order to survive... Although you don't understand this now."

Katakuri, who had remained silent for a long time, secretly activated his Observation Haki and observed. Feeling that Kaido's aura was much more stable than before, he felt relieved and said to him: "Mr. Kaido, there is something I think I need to tell you."

"...but it's okay to say it."

"Sister Setoiri has been in a state of deep coma for the whole day, and no one can wake her up. As the wound expands, her condition becomes worse and worse, and I don't know how many times she coughs up blood."

Katakuri paused slightly here, staring at Kaido's complicated eyes, and said word by word, "Every once in a while, her lips would open and close slightly, no less than three hundred times. Although the sound was very small, and each sentence was different. But there is no doubt that what Sister Seorizu called was your name."

When the last sentence came out of the boy's mouth, Kaido's mind seemed to be struck by a thunder. His eyes widened and for a moment he even forgot what he should say.

"It seems that girl regards you as the most important person~"

Stussy pursed her lips and smiled secretly, and teased in a joking tone, "Wait until she is fully recovered, don't miss this opportunity~"

Kaido, whose experience had greatly changed compared to the past, naturally understood the meaning of her words. He opened his lips to refute something, but a barely audible moan suddenly came from the bed, as if it was squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

"Uh... is it... Onigoro...?"