Naruto: From Konoha to One Piece

"Tsk!" Shin rolled his eyes, speechless at Kaido's sense of shamelessness.

As pirates, words alone hold no sway—it's all about power and fists. Even the most notorious figures justify their actions without the slightest sense of shame.

Fortunately, Shin never expected to defeat Kaido through words alone. He clenched his fists, charging forward once again.

Ace, Yamato, Asura Doji, Denjiro, and the others were all prepared to join him against Kaido.

At that moment, there was a loud noise in the sky, and a shadow descended, kicking Ace and Yamato away and blocking the others.

"It's King," Kaido looked at his most trusted subordinate. "There's been a small problem with the plan—the entire Onigashima is gone."

As he spoke, Kaido threw his head back and lamented, "That was my lair! Everything was there, and now it's gone!"

King, clearly accustomed to Kaido's antics when drunk, replied calmly, "I apologize, Brother Kaido. I arrived late."

"No," Kaido replied, sobering up instantly and grinning. "You're actually early! I haven't had enough fun yet!"

Shin, watching the two exchange words, rolled his eyes. "Leave Kaido to me," he said to the others. "You all go and handle King! If King is here, the entire Beast Pirates' army will likely be nearby. Defeat him quickly, though I know it's a tall order..."

"Shin, are you sure you can handle Kaido alone?" Ace asked, frowning. "Maybe we should use that technique."

Shin shuddered, recalling a previous fusion attempt, and shook his head vigorously. "No, I'll only fuse with someone else as a last resort!"

"But if you want to..." Shin's eyes glinted as he glanced between Ace and Yamato. "The combination of ice and fire sounds promising."

Ace, shivering at the thought, especially at the idea of potentially altering his form, quickly shook his head. "Forget it. That's a last-ditch move."

Leaving that discussion behind, Shin rushed toward Kaido without hesitation.

Throughout the battle, he could feel his weaknesses more acutely than ever. Although his physical strength and potential might rival Kaido's, he clearly lacked mastery over the three types of haki and the full development of his own body.

As a result, while he could easily overwhelm weaker foes with his physical prowess against a Four Emperors-level opponent like Kaido, whose physique was nearly equal to his own, he was constantly on the defensive.

However, with his unique sage body and ninjutsu skills as trump cards, Shin was far from intimidated. In fact, he saw Kaido as a perfect sparring partner to sharpen his skills—relying on raw tenacity!

"I may not have Luffy's Nika fruit," Shin thought, "but with eight lives, I'll surely learn something from Kaido's… 'teaching'!"

Kaido thoroughly fired up, swung his club at Shin without hesitation. The two of them clashed in a thunderous explosion.

After exchanging just a few blows, Kaido noticed Shin's incredible resilience. "Has this guy healed already? Even for a mythical Zoan-type, this level of recovery is rare."

The sage body granted Shin almost miraculous regeneration, which was unheard of even in this world. With only a handful of devil fruit users—like Marco the Pheonix—possessing such regenerative powers, others couldn't match his continuous healing.

Shin's injuries, caused by Kaido's fierce attacks, had already healed, while Kaido's wounds from their last exchange were still bleeding.

Despite Kaido's renowned resilience, his injuries paled compared to Shin's. "Am I going to have to be ruthless here? This kid is more unkillable than I am."

Kaido, fully committed now, unleashed his full might with both Armament and Conqueror's Haki. Flames and lightning surrounded his club as he swung it with force.

"Thunder Bagua!"

The impact sent Shin flying, but Kaido didn't ease up this time. He charged, capitalizing on Shin's moment of disorientation.

"Gundari Ryuseigun!"

"Kosanze Ragnaraku!"

Kaido's attacks came in rapid succession, his blows landing with the intensity of a thunderstorm. Shin felt like he was a mere ball being volleyed back and forth under Kaido's relentless strikes.

But while Kaido held the upper hand, Shin remained focused, gradually feeling his haki improve through the harsh battle. Each punch sharpened his instincts and his senses.

Shin began to close the gap through sheer tenacity, managing to counter one or two of every ten blows Kaido landed.

However, as the fight wore on, his injuries accumulated. Despite his sage body's regenerative power, new wounds piled on faster than the old ones could heal.

Kaido's tactic was clear: to overwhelm Shin's body and ultimately crush his spirit.

But Kaido was unaware of one key fact—Shin had eight lives. Had he known, Kaido might have abandoned this strategy altogether. As it stood, Kaido's persistence would only tire him out long before Shin's endurance waned.

Moreover, Shin had an ace up his sleeve. His dark-dark fruit ability had yet to make an appearance. This fruit's power nullified other devil fruit abilities, making it even more potent.

If Kaido were stripped of his Azure Dragon abilities, defeating him would be well within Shin's grasp.

But Kaido, completely unaware, continued the fight with renewed confidence, assuming he had the upper hand.