"I won't kill you."
Facing Kaido's doubts, Kahn's response was unexpected.
After Kahn removed the shackles from Kaido, he tossed the key aside, looked up at Kaido, who towered over him even while seated and smiled sincerely: "Someone like you dying here... what a waste. You're free, Kaido."
"Boy, are you pitying me?" Kaido asked, frowning.
"No, not pity," Kahn replied, shaking his head. He crossed his arms and continued, "I just think this sea would be a lot less exciting without you."
"Are you serious?"
Kaido, using his Observation Haki to gauge Kahn's emotions, widened his eyes in disbelief. Clearly, he had never encountered such an enemy before.
As a true pirate, Kaido only had two ways to deal with a defeated foe.
The first was recruitment. If the opponent agreed to become his subordinate, whether they were sincere or not didn't matter. Kaido believed that if he could beat them once, he could beat them again. In that case, he'd spare their life.
The second was punishment. If they refused to submit, Kaido would imprison them, giving them time to reconsider. If they still refused, he'd kill them.
The third was rare—escape, like what Gekko Moria did.
But here was Kahn, someone who had defeated Kaido and yet let him go.
What stunned Kaido even more was that Kahn's sincerity was obvious—there was no deceit in his words.
What kind of boldness was this?
Wasn't Kahn afraid that Kaido would escape, come back stronger, seek revenge, or attack his allies?
As if sensing Kaido's thoughts, Kahn smirked and said, "I'm looking forward to your challenge and revenge, Kaido."
"In this world, there aren't many who can stand on equal footing with us. I hope you grow stronger—so strong that I can't eat or sleep in peace."
"Wororororororo!"
Hearing Kahn's words, Kaido let out his infamous maniacal laugh. "I see. You want me to be your motivation to grow stronger?"
"Exactly."
Kahn locked eyes with Kaido, a wild grin on his face, and said boldly, "I hope that you, a stray dog, will make my future battles less dull."
"Hey... how dare you say that!"
Despite Kahn's taunt, Kaido didn't get angry. Instead, he grinned. "Kahn, you'll regret this one day."
With that, Kaido rose, walked out of the cell, and transformed into his massive dragon form. He flew through the hole in the roof of Onigashima caused by Kahn's earlier shockwave, quickly leaving Wano Country as the people of Onigashima and Wano watched in awe.
Just like when Charlotte Linlin left only her eldest son behind, Kaido chose to leave King and his daughter, departing from Wano alone.
It's the same principle: winners and losers!
Everything the loser owns—whether it's people or property—becomes the spoils of the victor.
Before his defeat, Kaido cared about King's and his daughter's fates. But after losing, Kaido no longer concerned himself with them. To him, they were now the enemy's property.
"When I defeat Kahn, I'll naturally win them back," he thought.
Watching Kaido disappear into the distance, Kahn shook his head and sighed, "What an honest man!"
In Kahn's eyes, Kaido, despite being a traditional pirate, was an honest person. A truly cunning pirate, like Blackbeard, wouldn't play by the rules of the pirate world. Kaido, while also devious, still showed respect to those who stood equal to or stronger than him.
For instance, Kaido respected Kozuki Oden for twenty years, even after his death.
Now, for Kahn, who had defeated him, Kaido would feel the same. After being spared and humiliated by Kahn, Kaido would undoubtedly rebuild the Beasts Pirates, much like pirates who fail in the New World and return to the first half of the Grand Line to regroup. In time, he would challenge the "Cross Family" again.
As a former sea emperor and one of the strongest forces in the world, Kaido wouldn't bother targeting Kahn's outside forces. He had bigger plans.
Kahn wasn't afraid of Kaido's potential revenge. If Kaido tried something foolish, Kahn would simply kill him with no regrets.
Despite everything, Kahn had genuinely let Kaido go. Without someone as powerful as Kaido, the New World's seas would be far less exciting.
Of course, Kahn wasn't arrogant enough not to take Kaido seriously—he simply believed that he could handle him at any time. During the day Kaido was unconscious, he had no idea what Kahn had done to his body.
With the abilities of a Paramecia Strong-Strong Fruit user combined with a Paramecia Ghost-Ghost Fruit user, it became an almost invincible combination.
Similarly, a Paramecia Op-Op Fruit user combined with a Mythical Zoan Bat-Bat Fruit user, Vampire Model, was another nearly unstoppable team.
Even someone as strong as Kaido, when unconscious, couldn't defend against these abilities. While unconscious, Kaido's seemingly invulnerable body couldn't withstand the conceptual power that surpassed normal abilities. Sonia had easily drained Kaido's lifespan, leaving him as a frail old man with only one breath left.
Faced with the weakened Kaido, Monet, using the Op-Op Fruit's power to bypass physical limitations, effortlessly removed Kaido's heart and made changes that even Observation Haki couldn't detect. Monet also drew large amounts of Kaido's blood before restoring his life.
If Kahn could later access Vega punk's knowledge, he might even create artificial Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits.
Now, with Kaido's heart in his control, Kahn no longer took him seriously. As long as Kaido didn't provoke him, a living Kaido was far more valuable than a dead one.
Firstly, Kaido's presence helped keep the New World chaotic, weakening the control of both the World Government and the Marines. With Kaido's strength and personality, he was bound to make a comeback somewhere in the New World.
When Shanks returned to the New World and the Revolutionary Army began to rise, the New World would fall into the hands of five emperors—but in reality, it would be a battle among six powers.
The seas of the New World were only so big. Once the six divided it up, the Marines would have little chance, aside from a few bases.
Secondly, Kahn needed Kaido to stir up trouble elsewhere, allowing the Cross Family to grow stronger quietly.
It's like doing nothing for years, and then, when the time comes, your bounty skyrockets to 4.555 billion berries.
After the Cross Family absorbed the resources the Beasts Pirates had accumulated, they would go dormant. And the next time they made a move, they would shake the world once again.
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