AN: Schedule update at the end of this chapter!
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"...The hell did- HIC! you say?!" Kaido stumbled a bit, glaring down at me with annoyed and angry eyes, "B-Beast King? Fuckin' brat!"
Then, he drunkenly stumbled forward, and - in a movement far too powerful and clean for a man this drunk - spun on his foot, gathering momentum as he raised his club and slammed it down at me again. In response, I simply stepped forward again and raised my blade.
I swung, and metal met metal. Then, Kaido's club was once again knocked away as I put some force into my arms. He stumbled back a step, his eyes wide as he was overpowered once again.
"Yes, the Beast King," I hummed, smirking up at the towering beast of a man, "I hear you've been calling yourself that. Honestly, I'm insulted to share a title with someone like you - so, I'll have to strip it away."
"You…" Kaido growled, looking more annoyed as he raised his club again, "SHUT UP!"
He lunged at me again, his club swinging downward at my head, and I quickly got annoyed with this little charade. I casually raised my sword again, holding it firm as I met his strike, and the weapons stalled out in the middle.
Then, I raised my hand, and a fireball shot forward into his face.
"GRAH!" Kaido coughed, stepping back and breaking the stalled-out weapons as he reached up, grabbing at his now-lit face and patting out the fire. As he did, I flicked my wrist, and a spike of ice shot up under his foot.
His balance was understandably thrown off as he clutched at his face, his heavy weapon in his other hand, and he stumbled backward. As he did, I leaped forward - soaring into the air far faster than he was prepared for with my stats being doubled from the Boosted Gear, and I stomped my metal boot into his face from above.
"Bah!" Kaido grunted, gravity taking over as my stomp sent him reeling back, and then falling flat onto his back. The castle shook under us from the force, and I just looked at the fallen Yonko blandly as I landed in front of his body.
"Are you going to start taking this seriously?" I asked bluntly, a bit of annoyance in my voice, "If all you're going to do is stumble around like a drunkard, then I might get bored and end this early."
"SHUT UP!" Kaido groaned loudly at my words, shoving himself to his feet faster than I expected as his club was suddenly slamming down at me from above again. The air curved around it, and there was a bit more force than before, but it still wasn't enough to interest me.
I lashed out with my sword, swinging into the side of Kaido's club and sending it reeling to the side. Kaido followed, stumbling sideways as the weight of the club pulled him that way, and I stomped my foot on the floor.
The castle roof shook violently as [Earthquaking Stomp] caused Kaido to lose his balance again, and the massive man fell back onto his ass rather pathetically. I simply stared him down, my annoyance building up even as Yamato looked in near-awe at how easily I was toying with Kaido.
"I'll give you one last chance," I said simply, stepping forward as I stared down into the Yonko's glazed eyes, "I didn't come here to mess around. The next blow will kill you."
I was exaggerating a bit, as I intended to knock him unconscious with the next blow, not kill him. He was still a powerful subordinate I wanted, but if he couldn't even muster the will to give me a decent fight in his drunken stupor, then I wouldn't waste my time pulling it out of him.
I stepped back, raising my blade as Kaido pushed himself to his feet again wobbly, and glanced down at my sword. My reflection stared back at me, and I silently wondered when this part of me had come to be.
I wouldn't say I had always hated fighting, but I certainly hadn't loved it either. When I was fighting for my life in the Familiar Forest against hordes of direwolves, it had certainly not been enjoyable. I didn't hate having to fight for my life - it was just a part of the world I had been thrust into, after all - but I definitely didn't enjoy it either.
But, at some point, that changed. I still wouldn't say I loved fighting, but somewhere along the road, it had become enjoyable. Maybe that part of me had been pulled out by the twin Blizzard Dragons I fought? Way back against Ragnar? Was it when I had fought Benemue? Perhaps against Tiamat?
No, I knew it wasn't from Tiamat. I had been running for my life, spamming [Flash], as fear had gripped me for the first time in a long time. Instead, I could picture the moment that had changed. The moment I stood across from Sirzechs in the dueling arena.
I pointed my sword at Kaido's neck, and as a buildup of excitement formed within me, I realized what it was. It wasn't that I had gained a love for fighting - no, no matter how much I conquered, and how many I killed, I was still a normal human at heart. Instead, this hunger within me - the hunger to take more and more, to conquer everything, and to claim everything as my own - was what had changed.
Ragnar had given me something similar, but I had been too afraid for my life at the time to realize it. The Blizzard Dragons had given me a challenge, but they had been nothing more than slaves. Benemue was the same, and even Tiamat, for being a Dragon King, was a lazy woman with no real land or subordinates to take from her.
But Sirzechs had awakened that hunger stronger than ever before. Not because he was powerful, but because he had everything - because he was the shining star of the devils, the leader of their entire race, and the Lucifer Maou himself.
And when I defeated him, I had taken all of that from him.
As I stared up at Kaido, I would say that we weren't too different. We both claimed, conquered, and took what we wanted. He did in a much more violent and exploitative way, while I valued the happiness and well-being of those I conquered, but we were still the same.
When the main character of this world, Luffy, saw me, he wouldn't see much difference from Kaido. He would see me as a conqueror who took the freedom of those I defeated and forced them to serve under me.
I could act as generously and kindly as I wanted - I could treat my subjects as graciously as I could, and I could be loved by them as a caring King, but that didn't change the reality of what was happening. I was the villain of this world.
My lips curled up into an excited grin as my eyes bored into Kaido, and the never-ending hunger in my gut reared its head. I hadn't felt this drawn to a fight since I had defeated Sirzechs.
I was staring down a fellow conqueror, and when the dust settled, I would take everything he had conquered. Every subordinate, and every inch of land, that he had painstakingly claimed for himself, would become mine.
Truly, it felt like I was put into this world to do this. To take from those who had everything, and to take everything for myself.
Hah, I'm a greedy bastard, aren't I?
"Kaido," I spoke, my legs tensing. I didn't activate any skills, and I didn't plan to right now.
In that moment, any plan or logic I had went out the window. I should've just knocked him out and been done with it - it would've been quick and efficient. I would've been able to go support Tiamat and the rest of my forces. I would've been able to prevent needless casualties, and waste no time preparing to conquer the rest of this world.
But I would've felt empty. The efficient and ruthless mindset I usually carried vanished, and the desire to defeat a fellow conqueror took over.
"Don't die." I finished simply.
I would aim my blade for his neck, and if he died here, then he wasn't worthy of being my opponent, nor my subordinate, anyway.
As I spoke, Kaido's eyes flashed - the glazed, drunken gaze vanishing as if his body knew his death was coming closer. Then, he stepped forward, his club raised to his side as his face became deathly serious.
As if spurned on by his very will, the clear sky overhead disappeared in the blink of an eye. Storm clouds appeared as a strike of pink lightning shot downward, connecting with his raised club as it danced around the outside.
I lunged forward, launching through the air as my blade swung. It broke the air around it as it aimed for his neck, intent on felling the Yonko in front of me. I pushed all my strength into that one swing - my entire being intent on beheading Kaido in this one moment.
"THUNDER BAGUA!" Kaido roared, bursting forward as his club swung through the air. The air broke around it, swirling outward as the entire castle under us shook, and the air became tense.
Then, the two weapons met. My sword slammed into his club, sparks literally flying as they made contact. They stalled out, the entire sky shaking from the power being clashed together.
Then, for a moment, despite Kaido's serious demeanor, I was clearly overpowering him. Despite being shorter, and thus giving Kaido more momentum as he swung downward, I started to push forward. My sword shoved him back, and his feet started to slide back on the rooftop slowly.
Kaido's eyes went wide with disbelief as I shoved him back, and he gripped his club tighter. His muscles bulged as he tried to fight against my superior strength to no avail. Then, as I had hoped, and as Kaido's defeat came closer, the Yonko finally became serious.
His eyes narrowed, his face becoming set in stone as the final traces of his drunkenness vanished. Then, a flare of dark reddish-black aura rose from his hands and consumed his club.
Crack.
The noise wasn't the roof, but instead the very air around us. It was as if the world itself was struggling to contain the power between us. Kaido's club stabilized, no longer being pushed back, and suddenly, I felt like an immense pressure was slamming down on my shoulders.
But I just grinned, my muscles tensing, as I didn't budge under the weight. Good - if Kaido couldn't do at least this much, then I didn't want him under my command anyway.
Above me, his shadow casting over our weapons as we fought for dominance, Kaido's eyes glinted just slightly. Then, his Conqueror's Haki surged to the surface - a violent tide of his will filling the air as it was colored in thick, jagged black and red lightning. The wind bent violently outward around us, swirling inward as it lashed around violently, and a shockwave ripped through the castle as Yamato took a step back from the impact.
Suddenly, the weight on my shoulders felt ten times heavier, and I struggled not to slouch under the authority pressing down on me. But, as his Conqueror's Haki slammed into me, my smirk just became a grin, and [King's Aura] activated.
I didn't need to respond with a burst of Haki of my own, as the skill was more than enough. Kaido's eyes went wide as my presence filled the air, and his grip on his club loosened only slightly as my own authority slammed into him full-force.
In that moment, we were two Conquerors. We were two Kings battling for dominance.
Then, as expected, the True King's presence came out on top.
I stepped forward, shoving against Kaido's club with my blade, and my hungry eyes bored into his slightly weary ones. That moment of doubt was all I needed, and I sent Kaido's club swinging to the side as he stumbled backward, barely maintaining his grip on it.
The wind calmed down a bit as Kaido stumbled backwards, then stabilized himself, his eyes wide as he stared down at me. I simply raised my sword again, my eyes locking with him.
"Good," I grinned, the smile also looking a bit hungry, "If you don't want to die, then come at me with everything you have, alright?"
Kaido just stared back at me, his face set in stone, and his eyes angry. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"I'll acknowledge you," He replied simply, his body shifting into a fighting stance as he narrowed his eyes at me.
Now, the true battle was just getting started.
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AN: As you may have noticed, the updates for this story are less frequent now, as they used to be daily. I'm just at a point right now where I don't have enough time to write and post daily updates, so a new chapter for this story will usually be posted every 4-5 days. However, to somewhat make up for that, the chapters will be longer, and around 1.5-2x the length of the usual chapters.
But, I also already have future chapters posted on my Patreon (7 as of right now), so the next few chapters posted here were written before the chapters became longer. I'm also finally actually adding more chapters ahead on Patreon, so this will be updated twice as often on there. That means there will really be two chapters posted every 4-5 days, but only one will be posted here, while both will be posted there. If you're interested in that, it's Patreon.com/Koyon ! Thanks for reading as always!