Aboard the Rocks ship, in a cabin, Kaido stood in front of a mirror, indulging in his appearance. Since consuming the Fish-Fish Fruit, Kaido felt like his looks had improved significantly. Not only had his muscle mass grown larger and harder, but his height had also increased slightly compared to before.
The mere memory of the Devil Fruit's taste sent a shiver through him—it was, without a doubt, the worst thing he'd ever tasted, and he was certain that even feces, which he had never tried mind you, couldn't possibly taste worse. If it weren't for the fame of Devil Fruits and how enticing Bob made the fruit sound, Kaido might have vomited all the food he'd previously eaten right on the spot.
Fortunately, after the initial bitterness, the sweet rewards came quickly. A Devil Fruit brought swift and significant improvements to a person. With nonstop training and understanding over this period, Kaido had begun to develop the basic abilities of his fruit. In stamina, endurance, and strength, there were significant, noticeable improvements. Kaido thought to himself that even Bob, as strong as he was now, might not be much stronger than Kaido in raw strength.
"Not bad—mighty, imposing, tall, and bold!"
Kaido evaluated himself while gazing at the reflection in the mirror. Every time he finished training, Kaido would stand in front of the mirror to observe any changes in his physique.
However, just as Kaido was about to turn around and inspect his back muscles—
BANG!
Suddenly, the sound of a door being kicked open filled the room. Kaido froze in front of the mirror, turning his head to see Bob standing at the doorway, glaring at him. Kaido's expression instantly changed.
Bob?! Why is he back?!
As someone who stayed holed up in his room like a recluse, Kaido had no clue what was going on outside. When people came looking for him earlier, he simply yelled at them to leave so they wouldn't interrupt his training. This approach allowed him some peace but also kept him out of the loop. Bob returning? Kaido had absolutely no idea.
"You brat! I, your commander, come back, and you're in here... admiring yourself in the mirror?!" Bob barked in anger, dark-faced, upon seeing Kaido stand before an oversized full-length mirror.
"Commander, I didn't know about this! Nobody told me!"
Seeing Bob's livid expression, Kaido immediately deflated, his confident demeanor from earlier completely gone. If anyone in the Rocks Pirates crew Kaido most wanted to surpass, it was Bob. But if there was anyone he feared more than Bob, aside from Rocks himself, it was still Bob.
Seeing Kaido seemingly genuine ignorance, Bob anger subsided slightly. He spoke up, "I heard you've been staying in your room this whole time. Give me a report on what you've been up to lately."
"It's just... i'm training every day, unlocking my Devil Fruit abilities, strengthening myself!"
Hearing this, Kaido calmed down, thinking that Bob must have just come to inspect things and nothing more. The weight on his mind eased as he replied.
"Oh?"
"And just now, what were you doing?" Bob raised an eyebrow at Kaido response. Developing one abilities after consuming a Devil Fruit was indeed reasonable. But thinking back—when he'd walked in, Kaido hadn't been training. He was standing in front of the mirror, even striking poses.
"Uh, well, you know… after eating the fruit, I wanted to see what kind of changes it brought to my body!" Kaido explained. He wasn't lying—after consuming the fruit, Kaido did feel like he looked better, which was an external change.
Hearing this, Bob nodded.
"Hmm, it does seem like your muscles look much stronger compared to before. Your explosive strength must've significantly improved as well."
Bob assessed Kaido entire physique, offering an objective evaluation. The changes after eating the fruit weren't hugely visible, but with Bob keen eyes, he could still observe them. That said, the true extent of the improvement could only be determined after a direct duel.
Withdrawing his gaze, Bob cleared his throat and adjusted his tone.
"Training is, of course, good."
"But... as the vice-commander, could you maybe do something productive for once?!"
"I made you the vice-commander. Was it so you could sit in your room all day?!"
In Bob absence, he expected Kaido to step up as vice-commander, take on some of the duties of leading the crew, and organize the team well. But returning only to find none of this had been done, Bob was exasperated. Granted, Bob himself hadn't done such things much when he was around either, but he saw no problem with that logic—after all, what was the point of having a vice-commander if he had to do everything himself?
"Do something productive?"
"Isn't training productive?" Kaido asked, looking genuinely confused. In the Rocks Pirates, what could possibly be more important than training to grow stronger?
"Train the crew, of course! The strength of oue crew members is pathetic!"
"As the vice-commander, you should take some time to properly train them and help improve their abilities!" Bob said earnestly to Kaido.
Bob spoke to Kaido earnestly. Kaido frowned at that and shot down the suggestion right away.
"No way!"
"I'm busy with my own training! Where would I find time to look after them?"
Helping Bob train the crew just meant boosting Bob team for free—Kaido wasn't about to be Bob's workhorse.
It was like Bob could read Kaido's mind. Bob sighed, then continued.
"Come on, think about it!"
"If you help train these crew members, and one day they get stronger—won't they be able to take over some of your work for you?"
"You'll be able to free up more time for yourself, and put your energy where it matters most."
"And most importantly, when you eventually defeat me and become commander, won't all the work you're putting in now end up benefiting you? You'll be building your own strong team in advance!"
"At that point, even I'll be working under you. What's there to worry about?"
As Bob spoke, Kaido brows gradually relaxed. It made a lot of sense! Kaido had eat a Devil Fruit. With hard work, catching up to Bob was only a matter of time. After replacing Bob, the whole team would be Kaido, and training them up now would also be a good way to earn some points with them. Thinking this through, Kaido realized this was completely in line with Kaido own interests.
"You've got a point. Leave this to me from now on!"
Hearing Kaido agreement, Bob smiled. Now that's a promising student! Kaido could even teach Luffy—training a few pirates should be easy for Kaido.
Just then, seemingly struck by a thought, Kaido frowned and spoke up.
"Commander, shouldn't we recruit more members for our team? There still aren't enough people! Our overall strength is lacking!"
Bob froze for a moment, but inwardly was delighted. Nice! Kaido was already thinking ahead—this was exactly what Bob was about to bring up. Keeping a neutral face, Bob rested a hand under his chin, pretending to think it over. Then, slowly, he spoke.
"Hmm, not bad. That's a very good suggestion!"
"Looks like I picked the right vice-commander—someone already thinking about the group's best interest."
"And since you brought it up, I'll leave this matter for you to handle."
At that, Kaido grinned. Mission accomplished. Expanding the crew was the best way to ensure that after defeating Bob, Kaido would inherit a powerful team—maybe even enough to start another pirate crew altogether! Pleased with that thought, Kaido grin only widened and he laugh out loud.
Seeing Kaido suddenly burst into laughter, Bob couldn't help but laugh along, though what each of them found amusing was very different...
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