ONE PIECE: KAIDO'S SON

"This lightning... is not simple."

Who's-Who's expression darkened as he stared at the unconscious Ulti.

"The moisture in the body was completely drawn out."

Nearby, Queen's usual frivolous demeanor disappeared as he looked at Ulti's skeletal frame. As an Ancient Zoan-type Pachycephalosaurus user, Ulti was famed for her resilience, physical toughness, and insane vitality—yet even she had been reduced to this by a single blow.

Her charred skin and gaunt frame spoke volumes. For anyone else, it would've been instant death. Only the regenerative endurance of the Ancient Zoan lineage kept her clinging to life.

"Well, that's one nuisance out of the way."

Jack grunted coldly, glancing at Ulti and Page One sprawled on the ground. "Get them out of here."

"This is no fight for second-stringers."

Turning away from the siblings, Jack's voice echoed over the silent battlefield.

"Master Jack, please be careful!" Ginrummy suddenly called out.

There was a tremble in her voice—not of fear, but of awe. "Our Prince of Beasts… is not someone simple."

She didn't realize it, but the words that left her lips held weight. "Prince of Beasts." A title.

And what was more shocking—no one around her refuted it. The usually unruly Beast Pirates stood silent. After defeating two of the Tobi Roppo with ease, Ragnar had earned their respect. Maybe not the seat of All-Star just yet—but he was acknowledged as a potential heir to Kaido.

Only the Three Calamities could now challenge his ascent.

"You told me to be careful?"

Jack turned to Ginrummy, his voice low and dangerous.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I am Drought Jack!"

A growl followed as a mask-covered sneer twisted his lips. Her concern had only made his blood boil hotter.

With a thunderous crash, Jack stomped hard on the ground.

In an instant, the entire field fractured like a parched wasteland, all moisture sucked away. The air dried out, and the terrain began to mirror the desolate wastelands Jack was infamous for. The Drought had come.

Dust, sand, and wind coiled like a desert storm. A kilometer-wide dust cloud surged, swallowing up the battlefield and blinding the senses.

"Moo!"

With a rumbling war cry, Jack transformed into a colossal mammoth, his ancient Zoan form erupting with mass and power. His tusks gleamed with Armament Haki, and each step was a seismic event.

Outside the swirling cloud, Queen clicked his tongue.

"King… you think Jack's gonna fall like Ulti and Page One?"

"Don't compare Jack to the Tobi Roppo," King replied coldly. "He's a calamity for a reason. Kaido-sama didn't name him a Calamity just for show."

"Even Navy Admirals hesitate before him."

Queen frowned but didn't argue further. He knew the truth—Jack was a monster.

Inside the dust storm, Jack charged like a freight train, the ground cracking beneath his thunderous gait.

"I want to see where your talk of Pirate King gets you, brat!"

Jack's crimson eyes locked on the small figure ahead. Ragnar stood alone, not even half the height of Jack's mammoth legs. But the boy's expression was calm, undisturbed.

With a bellow, Jack dipped his head, his massive white tusks glowing black with Haki, ready to gore through the upstart in front of him.

  Jack's tusks scraped against the ground as he charged forward like an enraged beast. His heavy Mammoth Zoan form roared with power, the earth trembling under each thunderous step.

  "You think you're something special, huh?" Jack snarled, fury burning in his small eyes. "Talking down on Lord Kaido… you've got a death wish!"

  But Ragnar stood still, unfazed. His eyes, calm yet resolute, locked onto Jack.

  "You're not the only one who's angry," Ragnar muttered. "But don't mistake your reverence for Kaido as something universal."

  His gaze sharpened.

  "I'm tired of people measuring my worth with the yardstick of Gol D. Roger," he said. "To them, it's praise. To me—it's an insult."

  The tension in the air was suffocating. From the side, Queen and King exchanged glances, clearly unsettled.

  "You brat…!" Jack bellowed. "You dare talk like that about the Pirate King! And Lord Kaido?!"

  Ragnar's voice cut through the dust and chaos like a blade.

  "Joy Boy… Pirate King… I'm not aiming to become anyone else. I refuse to be compared to ghosts of the past."

  He exhaled deeply, and then—

  Boom!

  His right foot slammed into the rocky surface of Onigashima. A deafening tremor split the ground as if a volcano had erupted beneath them. Cracks webbed across the battlefield, and plumes of debris shot into the sky.

  "Stop looking at me through the lens of your narrow world."

  A monstrous pressure burst from Ragnar's body—not haki, but a raw and overwhelming aura that made even seasoned veterans flinch. His body began to expand rapidly.

  "What the hell…?" Queen muttered, eyes widening. "He's getting bigger?"

  In moments, Ragnar grew to rival even Kaido's hybrid form in scale. Ten meters… then twenty… his massive figure loomed over Jack like a living colossus. His skin shimmered faintly with a stone-like gleam, as if something more than muscle held him together.

  Jack's charge met the now-giant Ragnar head-on.

  Clang!

  His massive tusks jabbed into Ragnar's ankle—only to be stopped cold, not even piercing the surface. Sparks flew, but no blood. No damage.

  Ragnar didn't even flinch.

  Jack staggered back, his pupils shrinking. "What… what are you? That body… it's not natural. Is this some kind of Mythical Zoan?!"

  Ragnar finally looked down, voice like rolling thunder.

  "I don't need a devil fruit to rise above the legends. I am my own force."