THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

"This guy came to Dressrosa some time ago, but he's already quite a sensation!"

The cadres of the Don Quixote family, except for Virgo, who was an undercover agent in the navy, had all gathered here, including Viola.

They were all shocked as they looked at Alastor's bounty notice, finding it hard to believe.

Pica said in a shrill voice, "His initial bounty was 330 million, and it doubled in just a few days. Has anyone's bounty ever increased this quickly?"

Everyone shook their heads in disbelief.

Gladius, who had a small grudge with Alastor, turned pale and trembled slightly. He really wanted to slap himself. Why had he dared to provoke Alastor? The man was on an entirely different level!

Doflamingo frowned. Alastor's rise had been far faster than he had anticipated.

Earlier, he had ordered the family cadres not to provoke Alastor, primarily because he was a subordinate of Drought Jack, a key figure in the Beasts Pirates.

But now, even if Alastor didn't have such high status, Doflamingo would hesitate to offend him.

"Hehehe..."

Doflamingo suddenly let out an eerie laugh.

"Conflict with Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world? That guy is even crazier than me!"

"The world is becoming more and more interesting. The trends of the times are rushing forward. Only the truly strong can survive in it!"

"Quickly, prepare for the war of death!"

Viola quietly left the palace heights. Her emotions were complex—both happy and worried.

In general, she was happy because the man she secretly admired was far more formidable than she'd imagined.

With his rapid rise, it seemed inevitable that Doflamingo, and even the entire Don Quixote family, would eventually be wiped out.

Viola told her niece Rebecca about it.

Rebecca was overjoyed, and her admiration for Alastor seemed to reach an almost fanatical level.

Although Viola wanted to advise Rebecca not to be so naïve, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Rebecca's life had been full of hardships—losing her parents at a young age, living alone, fighting in the arena, and enduring ridicule from everyone.

She was just a girl, not yet fifteen.

When she was at her lowest, crying and helpless, a god-like man had come to her and wrapped her in a warm coat.

Of course, she fell for him.

Viola thought about her own situation and realized she couldn't fault Rebecca for feeling the same way.

With a sigh, Viola could only worry about Dressrosa's future under Alastor's control.

"Little Pay, do you know why you can't hurt me? It's not because my defense is better than yours, but because you rely too much on the hard body of your animal form and lack a higher level of Haki!"

On a small island, Alastor was practicing what he preached, teaching Page One how to cultivate Haki.

As for his bounty notice that had doubled, Alastor had tossed it aside without a second thought, completely ignoring the adoring gazes of his subordinates.

He said to Page One:

"Armament Haki can not only strengthen your defense, but more importantly, it increases your offensive power."

"Take that biscuit guy you fought before. His Haki was so strong that, in comparison, your animal form was as fragile as paper."

Attack and defense are opposites, and it's the most basic truth that a stronger attack will overcome a weaker defense.

Putting aside the use of Haki for defense, a person's offensive power generally far exceeds their defensive capabilities, so the two aren't always balanced.

Take Whitebeard, for example. His offensive power is still one of the top in the world, but his defense is likely only at the level of an ordinary person.

Animal-type Devil Fruit users can somewhat balance attack and defense since they rely on their physical form for offense, like you, Page One.

The problem with this approach is that if you meet someone with stronger defenses, your attacks won't work, and you'll be crushed.

That's why strengthening your offensive power is just as important, if not more so, than strengthening your defense.

Alastor had never slacked off in improving his attack power. For the most part, his offensive strength exceeded his defensive capabilities.

After all, in the three years he spent traveling, he focused mainly on attacking techniques, especially after mastering the Ghost Flow swordsmanship and Liuying.

His attack power had reached a level capable of overcoming Drought Jack.

As for defense, Alastor only started improving it after the system was awakened.

After his battles with Cracker and Whitebeard, Alastor's defense reached 3500 points.

What's different about his defense is that it encompasses both external and internal protection.

This means that even if an enemy's attack surpasses Alastor's external defense, it still can't penetrate deep enough to cause significant damage unless it exceeds 7000 points of defense.

That's why it's so hard to seriously injure Alastor—except for Whitebeard, Cracker, and Shutenmaru, who had to go all out.

Alastor's teachings were a great help to Page One, and the latter promised Alastor:

"I understand, Brother Alastor! I will definitely focus on my Haki training while exercising from now on!"

Alastor nodded in satisfaction, ending the break, and called his subordinates to set sail again.

Half a day later, they arrived in Wano Country and headed straight for Onigashima.

The tens of thousands of Beasts Pirates members on Ghost Island looked at Alastor with a newfound respect.

Even Who's-Who and Sasaki showed expressions of solemnity.

Clearly, Alastor's confrontation with Whitebeard and his survival had left them in awe.

Jack clapped Alastor on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Good job!"

Queen, cigar in mouth, circled Alastor in amazement:

"You boy are really lucky. You survived an encounter with Whitebeard."

Although King didn't speak, he observed Alastor in silence, likely trying to figure out what made him different.

"Nahhhhhhh!"

Kaido laughed heartily:

"Alright, everyone, tonight I allow you to celebrate all night long!"

The grand banquet began. As one of the main guests, Alastor mingled with the others, but his mind was elsewhere.

When everyone was drunk and passed out, Alastor cleared his mind, his eyes sharp and focused, and quietly left.

He was headed to the small cave where he and Yamato often met.

"Master Alastor, let me tell you, you weren't on Ghost Island yesterday, but you should've seen Yamato's crazy actions! He almost went head-to-head with Boss Kaido!"

"And Yamato's strength is terrifying! He actually managed to injure Boss Kaido!"

"Although he lost in the end, Yamato didn't seem discouraged at all. He even said he would become the next Joy Boy!"

The words spoken by a real person echoed in Alastor's mind, filling him with both relief and emotion.

What is gratifying is that his efforts over the past three years have not been in vain. Yamato has not only changed, but also shifted her future goal from becoming Kozuki Oden to becoming Joy Boy.

More importantly, Yamato has matured, becoming both stronger and more composed.

As for Alastor's emotions, he knew that while he was in a coma, Yamato had made more than a dozen phone calls.

The girl must have been deeply worried.

Her sudden confrontation with Kaido was likely connected to this.

Alastor quietly walked into the night, arriving at the cave entrance and peering inside.

Yamato was leaning against the rock wall, her eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

Her arms and legs were bandaged, clear signs that Kaido had inflicted the injuries. Even as an Animal Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, recovery wouldn't be easy.

Alastor approached her.

Yamato suddenly woke up, instinctively reaching for her mace with her right hand.

Her gaze met Alastor's.

Her right hand paused mid-grip.

She stood still for a moment.

Then, Yamato smiled, as pure and bright as a lotus flower.

"I knew you wouldn't die."

Alastor silently replied, "What if I had died? You know, the enemy I faced this time was Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world."

A dangerous gleam flashed in Yamato's beautiful eyes at the mention of Whitebeard.

"If you die..."

She stood up suddenly, her voice regaining its usual strength.

"You can't die, no matter what enemies you face! Do you understand? This is what you promised me! As a man, you should keep your promise!"

Alastor smiled and said:

"I don't remember promising that. I only remember promising to help you break free, and now I can finally do it."

Yamato's eyes widened in surprise, her joy uncontainable.

"You can do it? That's amazing! Hurry up and unlock these handcuffs. Without this cursed thing, I can use my powers to defeat Kaido!"

Yamato's handcuffs were made from Seastone. Like many prisoners in Impel Down, she couldn't use her Devil Fruit abilities while wearing them.

Moreover, the handcuffs were incredibly durable, resistant to knives, guns, or axes. They could only be destroyed from the inside by something like a cherry blossom.

Yamato extended her wrist, pure and white like jade, towards Alastor.

Alastor took a deep breath, then, with his red Haki-enhanced Ryou, he gripped the handcuffs.

During his battle with Whitebeard, Alastor had unlocked more of his body's potential, and his mastery of internal destruction had reached a higher level.

With a firm grip, he exerted force, and the handcuffs immediately bent and shattered.

Alastor tossed the broken handcuffs away with lightning speed.

Boom!

The handcuffs exploded, causing rocks and trees outside the cave to shatter.

Yamato stood frozen for a moment, then gritted her teeth and shouted:

"It actually exploded! That old man... does he really want to kill me?"

What Kaido did was truly despicable, using real bombs on his own daughter.

The explosion was no small matter. If the Beasts Pirates on Onigashima hadn't been drunk at the time, the noise would surely have drawn attention.

Seeing Yamato's angry face so close, Alastor suddenly reached out and gently brushed a strand of white hair from her forehead, speaking seriously:

"Yamato, from now on, you are free"