After the Pure Gold incident and that decisive battle, the Grand Line, no, the entire world, no longer dared to question or challenge the Marines.
"As long as Soryu (Azure Dragon) lives, pirates will never see the light of day!"
This saying gradually began to spread across the seas.
It was a throne built upon the lives of millions of pirates, with an entire stretch of sea dyed red by blood and corpses, the stench of death lingering for months!
Indeed, to form that encirclement, tens of thousands of innocent civilians died before the trap was even sprung. That was the only point where pirates could still scoff at Rowen with disdain.
However, precisely because of that, they felt an overwhelming sense of awe.
Think about it carefully, someone who can, without hesitation, treat tens of thousands of people not as living beings but as mere bait... what kind of attitude would he show toward his enemies?
The more you think about it, the more terrifying it becomes.
And yet, this battle left behind only that impression for the world. They only saw Rowen, the supreme commander of the operation, as ruthless and cunning beyond imagination; rarely did anyone recall what he had done before this.
Kizaru was no exception.
When it came to Rowen, especially his scheming mind, Kizaru's impression was very, very deep. From the first time they met during Rowen's recruitment into the Scientific Force when he tried to poach Zephyr's disciple and failed, Kizaru knew: this kid was as deep as the city government itself!
So now, watching Kaido getting pinned down and relentlessly beaten by Rowen, Kizaru suddenly remembered,
Oh yeah!
This guy was the monster who, years ago, had single-handedly stormed Cake Island, killed Big Mom, beheaded Whitebeard and Blackbeard during the War at the Summit, and publicly declared war on all pirates before the entire world!
"Mmm... yeah, it's safest not to pick a side here."
Witnessing Rowen's present ferocity, Kizaru silently made up his mind.
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed.
"Enough!!"
"You think I'm really afraid of you?!!"
At the same time, a deafening explosion rang out. The force of the shockwave pushed the sea into a massive tsunami. Kaido, with both hands, caught Rowen's fists, glaring at him with a bloodshot red eye.
Creak... creak...
A tooth-grinding sound rang out as their titanic muscles clashed at the arms. A continuous snapping echoed from their bodies, the sound of freakishly strong muscle fibers twisting and tearing under the strain.
Rowen's arms bulged with tightly knotted muscle, crackling with blue lightning, barely managing to hold Kaido at a stalemate.
But he showed no sign of panic. Hearing Kaido's words, he simply nodded.
"Yes."
"Heh! Stubborn little brat!!"
Roaring in anger, Kaido unleashed a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering aura. Terrifying strength surged through his arms.
Rowen clenched his teeth, but still found himself being pushed back continuously.
Boom!!
Kaido took the chance to bend his left leg, bracing it against the ground. Using it as a pivot point, he slowly pushed Rowen off him, maintaining the grapple.
Staring into Rowen's eyes, Kaido's face twisted with fury.
"It's true, if this fight drags on, you'll gain more and more of an advantage. Maybe I will get defeated by you alone!"
"But…"
"If I beat you down before I lose my ability to resist, that's still a win!!"
The paralyzing effects of Rowen's lightning still required accumulated hits to activate. So, if Kaido could defeat him beforehand, this whole setup could be flipped.
Kaido wasn't exactly smart, his temper alone made sure of that. But his instincts were razor-sharp, almost like Luffy's animal-like ability to sniff out an opening. Without that, he'd never have survived growing up in such a brutal world.
"If you can pull it off… just don't forget that if! "
Rowen responded with a cold, mocking smile.
Suddenly, he stepped half a pace back, flicked his arm outward, and just as Kaido's mind wavered after speaking, he diverted the force Kaido was pushing with to the side.
Kaido, caught off guard, lost his balance and stumbled forward. Just as he was about to fall, he suddenly smashed a fist into the ground, using the impact to twist his body and swing his elbow backward in a sweeping strike.
Boom!!
Rowen, who was punching downward, let out a muffled grunt as the devastating force traveled through the elbow and into his fist, giving him the illusion that his bones were going to shatter.
Kaido's counterattack, it had to be said, was extremely precise, and the timing was nothing short of perfect.
But…
"Back when I was still in the recruitment camp, my sparring partners were monsters like Zephyr-sensei and that old bastard."
"You wanna compete with me in technique, Kaido?!"
Kaido had just knocked Rowen's fist aside with an elbow and watched him stagger sideways, but before he could catch his breath,
A flash of blue lightning, shrieking through the air, smashed straight into his temple.
Super Electromagnetic Cannon Kick!
With both legs charged with electricity, Rowen had used the force of Kaido's blow to twist his body, borrowing the momentum, just like Kaido had done earlier, and unleashed a sweeping kick.
"Not bad… bastard!"
His head spinning from the blow, Kaido gritted his teeth and tried to leap forward again, only to notice a flash of blue light in the corner of his vision.
It was his blind spot, caused by the loss of his left eye. But his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) warned him: a foot was hurtling straight toward him.
Boom!
Any attack, once seen through, becomes much less effective.
Kaido raised both arms to guard at his side, barely blocking the heavy, powerful kick. He then grabbed at Rowen's pants leg, trying to use it to throw him off balance.
But, he found he couldn't exert any force at all.
Because Rowen had already jumped at the same moment Kaido reacted, and his left leg was drawn back, ready to strike.
"I'll say it again... you're too slow!"
Whoosh, BOOM!!
That same left leg once again blasted into Kaido's temple.
Kaido couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of dark blood, his head buzzing violently. His fingers loosened involuntarily.
"Did you really think I could only maintain that attack frequency with my fists? Don't assume everyone who dares fight you head-on is Garp, you old bastard!"
Thunder God Kick · Lightning Combo!
Boom Boom!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosive tremors rang out like rolling thunder. Rowen's legs, charged with electricity, moved so quickly that only streaks of blue lightning arcs could be seen slashing through the air.
The ocean churned wildly under the pressure. The power of legs always surpasses that of fists, this is simply a fact of human anatomy.
Thousands of lightning-fast kicks exploded in rapid succession. The surging electricity and bursting energy shook the surroundings violently. The huge vacuum zone in the sea didn't shrink, instead, it kept expanding!
"This is… terrifying."
Watching this, Kizaru silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Kaido's defense was nearly invincible, and his strength and destructive power were astonishing. But he had one weakness, well, not so much a flaw, as a relative vulnerability:
Speed and technique.
Because of his near-impenetrable body and the fact that just one blow from him could heavily injure even an Admiral-level opponent like Kizaru, Kaido hadn't encountered a truly threatening rival in many years. No one made him fight with the caution and care of his youth.
It made sense. When your skin and muscles are as tough as iron, refining technique or mastering tempo might not seem so important anymore.
No matter how good your martial arts are, a brick to the head still wins.
Kaido had forged himself into that brick.
But that only worked if:
His enemy's attacks couldn't hurt him. His own attacks could end fights with one blow.
Unfortunately for him, Rowen broke both of those rules.
As a result…
Kizaru was now startled by a chilling thought:
"If this keeps up… Kaido might actually lose."
His defenses couldn't fully shrug off the devastating damage of the Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit).
Rowen outclassed him in speed and technique in every possible way.
The only area where Kaido held a raw advantage was strength, but even that wasn't enough to dominate.
Put all those factors together…
"Kaido… might really be done for."
That terrifying realization flashed through Kizaru's mind.
(End Of This Chapter)
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