"Alastor, I want to fight you again! Last time, I was careless!"
Alastor straightened the collar of his jacket, his tone still calm: "Careless? That's the favorite excuse of losers."
"You!"
Page One clenched his fists, his chest burning with anger.
Alastor glanced at Page One's furious expression and suddenly smiled. "You really want to fight me?"
Page One replied bitterly: "Of course! I'm not reconciled. How could I lose to you?"
"Fine, then as you wish."
Alastor faced Page One, half-smiling as he spoke: "But if you lose again this time, you'll have to call me 'big brother' whenever you see me in the future."
Page One's face immediately changed.
"Brother?" he thought. Even the Three Calamities didn't have such an honorable title.
"Why? Don't you dare? Or is it that you don't have any confidence in yourself?"
Alastor's words pierced through Page One's heart like a steel needle.
To be honest, Page One was feeling insecure. It wasn't because of Alastor's powerful life return and Navy Six Styles skills, but rather his weird and perverse physique.
Yes, what had impressed Page One the most in their previous fight was Alastor's body.
He distinctly remembered that Alastor's body had grown harder and stronger with each passing moment, and his defense had become increasingly impenetrable.
Every time Page One's attacks landed, the damage was negligible, even when using his strongest form.
For the past few days, Page One had been pondering this, but couldn't come to any conclusion.
"Oh, so you don't have the guts after all. I think I've been overestimating you."
Alastor sneered and turned to leave.
The sneer made Page One's face flush with embarrassment.
He was young, two years younger than Alastor, in the prime of his youth—how could he stand this kind of provocation?
"Alright, I promise! If I lose, I'll call you... call you 'big brother'!"
Alastor's smile deepened. It was easy to handle someone as impulsive as Page One.
Alastor stood with his hands behind his back. "Then let's begin."
Page One gritted his teeth, the muscles in his cheeks tightening.
This time, he couldn't afford to lose!
With a massive roar, Page One transformed into his strongest human-beast form.
The ground cracked under his feet as he used the recoil to launch himself at Alastor.
His dragon claws glistened with cold light in the sun.
With a swipe, the claws aimed directly at Alastor's chest.
Alastor stood still, not moving an inch, showing no sign of defensive posture.
Page One was furious, thinking that Alastor had underestimated him.
However, a few moments later, Page One froze.
His sharp spiny dragon claws raked across Alastor's chest, but they left no marks, simply sliding off as if they had struck an unbreakable wall.
Page One was dumbfounded.
It didn't make sense—this was his strongest human-beast form.
Moreover, his attack from a few days ago had still had an effect on Alastor.
Could it be that...?
Page One suddenly realized a possibility: Alastor's physique had strengthened again in just a few days, and his physical defense had greatly increased.
Page One was shocked by this realization. It seemed absurd.
How could he become so much stronger in such a short time? It didn't make any sense!
"I don't believe it!" Page One roared inwardly, his eyes turning red.
He launched a frantic series of attacks.
But it still didn't work.
Even his strongest blows couldn't make Alastor budge an inch.
"This... Why..."
Page One was completely dumbfounded, almost in despair.
He couldn't understand what was happening before his eyes.
Alastor simply looked at him calmly, which was actually easy to understand when you considered the difference in defense between the two.
Alastor's defense now stood at 1780, while Page One's was only 1500—a gap of 280 points.
That difference made it impossible for Page One, who relied heavily on his animal form's strong body and didn't master any other advanced attack methods, to inflict significant damage on Alastor.
Alastor spoke: "Do you want to keep going?"
Page One, dazed, stepped back and accidentally fell to the ground.
After a long pause, he said dejectedly: "I lost. Completely lost."
He suddenly raised his head and looked at Alastor.
"But... I don't understand. How is your physique and defense so much stronger in just a few days?"
Alastor stretched his back, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you... once you call me 'Big Brother.'"
A look of shame appeared on Page One's face.
But he really wanted to know why. This was the bet they'd made.
Page One wasn't the kind of person to go back on his word.
"Big... big brother."
"Very good, Pay Pay. I recognize you as my little brother."
Alastor patted Page One on the shoulder, playing the role of a proud big brother.
Page One was even more embarrassed and said angrily, "Tell me why."
Alastor straightened his face and became quite solemn.
Page One hastily pricked up his ears.
Then he heard Alastor's sonorous and powerful voice:
"Listen well, my physical fitness and defense all come from my hard work!"
"Hard work?"
Page One blinked, looking like an ignorant child with a confused expression.
He doubted whether someone could really have such a perverted physique and defense just by exercising.
Alastor patted him on the shoulder again.
"I've already told you my biggest secret, Pay Pay. As for how much you can understand, that depends on your own talent."
Page One remembered that Alastor had indeed been exercising shirtless in the training ground when he first arrived. The other party didn't seem to be lying.
Page One felt a little moved. Alastor hadn't hidden anything from him, so the "big brother" title wasn't so bad.
"Cough, cough." Alastor cleared his throat. "Alright, Pay Pay, you must have other important matters this time, right?"
Page One informed Alastor that Kaido had asked them both to guard the mine island and meet the Big Mom Pirates.
Alastor was thoughtful.
The mine island, rich in metal ore, was perfect for weapon production. In the future, Kaido could be persuaded to move the weapon factory there.
As for the battle over the mine island, Alastor wasn't too concerned.
As a time traveler, he knew better than anyone that a large-scale war wouldn't break out over the unclear relationship between Kaido and Big Mom.
Even if Yamato didn't look anything like Big Mom, Alastor would still have suspected that Yamato's mother might be her.
Alastor clenched his fist, and the aura of his Internal destruction domineering filled his palm.
Once the Mine Island mission was over, he could finally release Yamato's restraints.
The plan to help Yamato become the general of Wano would officially begin.
Alastor changed his clothes and, together with Page One, began mobilizing troops.
Although Alastor didn't believe the battle for the island would be large in scale, the Big Mom Pirates were still a formidable enemy, so they couldn't afford to be careless.
Alastor selected more than 20 strong fighters, including one of the Gifters Batman, who had fought back and forth with Straw Hat Luffy.
Batman could fly freely through the air, and his bat sonar detection ability made him the perfect scout.
Page One brought hundreds of pirates.
A fierce beast army was soon formed and set off from the port of Wano.
Meanwhile...
Cracker, one of the Sweet Commanders and a user of the Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit with a bounty of 860 million Berries, also set out with several warships.
"Don't worry, Mom, I'll beat those bastards who dare to steal from Mom until they don't even know who Kaido is!" Cracker said confidently.
---
Half a day later...
Alastor, Page One, and their party arrived at the mine island first.
On the island, members of the Hundred Beasts were stationed, led by a strong fighter known for his quick wit and sharp thinking.
It was this clever individual who had first discovered the island that the Big Mom group had targeted.
Alastor said to Nazhen, "You did a good job this time. After you return, Kaido will reward you handsomely."
Nazhen immediately beamed with joy, dancing and bowing repeatedly. "Thank you, Lord Alastor, for your kindness!"
Alastor nodded and gazed at the sea in the distance. His Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) extended far, yet he failed to sense any enemy presence.
Unfortunately, his Kenbunshoku wasn't as vast as Fujitora's, which could even reach into space.
"It seems the Big Mom Pirates won't be here for a while. Batman, stay vigilant in the sky. The rest of you, take advantage of this time to rest and recharge."
Though both Alastor and Page One were part of the Flying Six, it was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that Alastor was the true leader of the group.
And Page One showed no signs of dissatisfaction.
Everyone followed orders and sat down to rest.
Only Page One ran to the woods behind them and did push-ups alone.
He pushed himself, determined to build a physique as strong as Alastor's.
Alastor couldn't help but sigh. "Young people sure are eager!"