Jin An scratched the back of his head.
His fingers touched a warm, damp spot, and a faint stinging sensation came from it.
He felt dizzy all over.
His memory was still stuck at the final confrontation with Kaido. The intense battle had left him aching all over and covered in wounds.
He clearly remembered his blade piercing Kaido's body.
The resistance of the blade cutting through flesh and the warm sensation of the other's blood spraying out were still vivid in his mind.
But what about Kaido?
Where was he now?
Jin An tried hard to open his eyes, his vision vaguely shifting in the dim light.
He looked around and found himself in a dark cave. It was quiet and desolate, with only the sound of water droplets falling from the rock walls to the ground slowly echoing.
The cave's light was dim, and the moss-covered rock walls and slippery ground made him feel uncomfortable all over.
He shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel the chaos in his mind.
Just then, a huge figure appeared in front of him.
"Kaido!"
Jin An vigilantly groped around for his long sword, but to no avail.
In this eerie environment, Kaido revealed a strange smile.
His palm caressed the wound that had already been bandaged, a hint of triumph in his eyes.
"I was almost killed by you."
Kaido said coldly, his voice echoing in the cave, but his tone was full of mockery and contempt,
"Fortunately, I made preparations in advance."
Jin An looked around, his mind recalling the unusual experiences before.
He suddenly realized that everything here was not quite right, and he couldn't help but frown, his palms slightly clenched.
Kaido laughed loudly:
"You should have realized it too, you can't do anything now."
Jin An was not surprised. He tried to circulate the power within his body, but found that his limbs seemed to be bound by invisible shackles, and he couldn't move at all.
"Sea stone?" Jin An said calmly.
"That's right."
"Even if you are strong, you are still powerless in the face of sea stone with a purity higher than 95%."
Kaido looked down at Jin An, his face full of smiles,
"Although I can't beat you head-on, I will use my brains."
His tone was contemptuous,
"Even if you are strong, you will still become my prisoner."
Jin An's mind raced, trying to find a way to break the situation, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through the shackles on his body.
Kaido's laughter echoed in the cave, sounding particularly harsh.
"When you pierced my body with your sword, you thought you had won?"
"No, the game has just begun."
He walked forward triumphantly, staring intently into Jin An's eyes, his gaze filled with deep triumph and sinister intent.
Jin An was unwilling to admit defeat. He took a deep breath, tried to concentrate, and tried to find a breakthrough with his last bit of consciousness.
Seeing that Jin An was still resisting, the smile on Kaido's face deepened:
"We'll see."
He slowly reached out and punched the already helpless Jin An, stirring up gusts of wind. The entire cave almost collapsed with his fist.
Jin An gritted his teeth, trying to move with all his strength, but his body would not obey.
He watched helplessly as Kaido's fist struck, but he was helpless.
"Bang!"
With a loud noise, Kaido's mountain-like fist slammed into Jin An.
Jin An's body was like a kite with a broken string, thrown out and heavily hitting the stone wall, blood gushing from his mouth.
Jin An fell to the ground, his vision gradually blurring, his consciousness gradually fading, but the unwillingness in his heart still burned.
"You spent a lot of effort to deal with this kid, Kaido."
A slender man with long, flowing hair appeared at the entrance of the cave, his voice as low as an owl.
Kaido laughed loudly:
"John, I really have to thank you this time."
He turned around and nodded to the person at the entrance of the cave.
"We're all old buddies who have been on the same ship, it's just a small favor."
Captain John said lightly, a faint smile on his face.
"Besides, didn't you save my life too?"
A trace of gratitude flashed in his eyes.
Recalling the events of a few years ago, a look of reminiscence appeared on Captain John's face.
At that time, he was backstabbed by his own crew and was on the verge of death, but Kaido happened to pass by and pulled him back from the brink of death.
It was also because of this that he had been recuperating under Kaido's cover ever since.
Hearing the conversation between the two, Jin An gradually focused on the man at the entrance of the cave in his blurred vision.
The slender figure with long hair gradually became clear, and he had already seen that this man was once a member of the Rocks Pirates.
"Remnants of the Rocks Pirates?"
Jin An murmured to himself, his voice barely audible due to weakness, but his eyes were full of vigilance.
The person who could sneak attack him under his Observation Haki was definitely not simple.
Captain John's eyes raised slightly, obviously hearing Jin An's whisper.
He walked forward a few steps, his eyes sharply scrutinizing Jin An, who was lying on the ground.
"Yes, kid, I'm John of the Rocks Pirates. It seems you know a lot about us."
Kaido stepped forward, looked down at Jin An, and grinned hideously:
"Jin An, you didn't expect this, did you? This is my moment of revenge."
"Who told you to eat the Devil Fruit that I liked the most?"
Jin An supported his body, his eyes filled with unconcealed anger.
He took a deep breath and said with difficulty:
"Even if you join forces, don't even think about making me submit. Kill me if you want, why so much nonsense?"
Although it was a pity that he couldn't achieve his goal, that's how the world is, the winner is king, there's nothing to say.
Kaido grabbed Jin An's collar, lifted him up, leaned to his ear, and said in a low but threatening voice:
"You are my prisoner now, I can make you die however I want."
"I can also decide when I want you to die."
In order to make that experiment a success, he didn't want Jin An to die so soon.
Captain John watched the confrontation between the two, a sneer on his lips.
He slowly walked to Kaido's side and patted Kaido's shoulder:
"Keep a good eye on him, this kid is not simple."
Kaido nodded and slammed Jin An heavily on the ground.
Jin An groaned, the pain almost making him faint.
But he endured it, gritted his teeth, and didn't let himself lose consciousness.
"No matter how strong you are, you're just struggling on your deathbed."
Captain John turned and left the cave, leaving Kaido and Jin An in this gloomy and damp place.
Kaido stood beside Jin An, watching his eyes that were still full of resistance.
Because of this, Kaido was even more excited. He liked to meet challenges, and he liked the feeling of completely crushing his opponents even more.
"Rest, Jin An, you need energy to welcome the next 'hospitality'."
Kaido sneered, turned and left, leaving Jin An in this cold cave.
Jin An lay on the ground, staring at the darkness at the entrance of the cave, his eyes wandering.
Thinking about how to solve the sea stone chains on his hands.
...
