So, let the battle begin. In the plaza outside the palace, Roa and Kaido stood facing each other.
"A year has passed in the blink of an eye," Roa said with a sigh. "Brother Kaido, time truly flies."
"Less talk," Kaido said, gripping his black kanabo, the flush from his drunkenness still lingering on his face. "Don't disappoint me!"
Roa smiled. How to put it? You seem to have slightly overestimated yourself, Brother Kaido. You, who were already no match for me a year ago, can you still keep up with my speed?
At the edge of the plaza, members of the Beast Pirates and executives of the Calamity Company were watching.
"Step back further!" Dylan raised his voice. "If you don't want to get caught in the crossfire!"
"Isn't this far enough?" Saín, who had temporarily set aside his grievances with Judge in his excitement for this battle, grumbled discontentedly, "We're already hundreds of meters away!"
"Hundreds of meters?" Bullet snorted.
"For Boss and Mr. Kaido," King said with a smile, "even retreating several kilometers wouldn't be nearly enough!"
The little white-haired girl happily waved her chubby arms, Yamato's soft little face full of joyful smiles. "Brother Roa!" Though less than two years old, the child was extraordinarily gifted but understood nothing. She was simply instinctively cheering for Roa.
The person holding her was Kozuki Toki. Although she was twenty-six years old, and among all the Calamity Company executives, only Dylan was younger, Toki was still an unmarried maiden and had no idea how to take care of a child. So, when Roa unceremoniously shoved the child into her arms and told her to look after her, Toki was caught completely off guard. Especially since this little girl's strength was somewhat exaggerated! She just happily wriggled her body, yet Toki found it difficult to handle.
However, at this moment, Toki's gaze couldn't help but be drawn to the two figures in the arena. This man named Kaido was the one Roa came to find, wasn't he? Weren't they comrades? But why were they fighting? Toki didn't understand, so she could only watch.
Unlike her, Teach, not far away, had eyes filled with excitement. Roa and Kaido! A battle between the former Rocks Pirates apprentices! How exciting!
So, amidst everyone's anticipation.
Roa slightly twisted his neck. "Alright then, Brother Kaido, let's make this quick."
"Thunder Bagua!"
Without hesitation, Kaido's massive body transformed into wind and thunder. His iron club, wreathed in thick black lightning, struck directly at Roa's head.
Then.
Roa raised the corner of his mouth, lifting his right hand. His palm was already pitch black, and equally thick black Haki lightning sparked from it. He pushed his hand forward.
BOOM!!
The world seemed to freeze at this moment, then was torn to shreds by violent power! The atmosphere screamed! The black iron club and the black palm collided through the air! Space itself seemed to twist. Two terrifying forces, capable of shaking heaven and earth, wildly squeezed and crushed each other. A tiny black point appeared in the center, and streaks of black Haki lightning immediately shot into the sky. Above the firmament, thick clouds were instantly shattered by the furious Haki lightning, revealing a colossal void! On the ground, the spectators felt the very earth beneath their feet tremble!
The invisible air, compressed to its limit, suddenly exploded, transforming into an overwhelming wave of destructive force, crashing down like a colossal tsunami!
"WAAAHHHH—!"
The Beast Pirates screamed, like withered leaves in a gale, being instantly swept away and carried off in swathes by the destructive shockwave. Their voices were drowned out by the deafening roar. Only experts like Saín and Hanafuzaki managed to keep their footing.
The Calamity Company's side was fine. Dylan raised both hands, and his spreading Haki formed an invisible barrier, blocking the oncoming storm. He was a master of Armament Haki, having long since mastered flowing Armament Haki, and was now very close to internal destruction Haki. Such a shockwave was naturally not difficult for him to block.
"This!" Toki's face was pale. Although she possessed the great power of time travel, she herself was not skilled in combat. What was unfolding before her eyes was simply a mythical battle! The earth shattered, the sky wailed! Roa, so young, yet possessed such power?
The roar suddenly ceased. The two intensely clashing figures simultaneously retreated.
Kaido's expression was somewhat displeased. "Conqueror's Haki coating! So you finally learned it?" No wonder he could escape from that Newgate fellow unscathed! This brat was only fifteen years old! That bastard Rocks was far from this level at that age!
"After all, I've been training for so long," Roa said with a smirk. "Not bad, right?"
"FAR FROM IT!!" Kaido's enraged roar shattered the air like thunder. Before his words even finished, his body, like an ancient beast, tore through the air, carrying an even fiercer and more violent aura than before, and shot towards Roa again!
"And why aren't you drawing your sword!!" Amidst the roar, his massive figure suddenly leaped into the air. The iron club in his hand, wreathed in black lightning, descended like divine punishment, striking down with a terrifying force that threatened to smash the entire island into the abyss!
"Descent of the Three Worlds: Ragnarok!!" The trajectory of the iron club's swing seemed to scorch and twist space itself!
"Of course, it's because..." Facing this seemingly world-shattering, decisive blow, the smile on Roa's face did not diminish in the slightest. He didn't even move his feet; he simply casually swung his right fist slowly towards the black iron club descending upon him!
"Brother Kaido, you haven't used your ability yet either." The moment his words fell, a massive surge of Haki roared out from his body like a bursting floodgate! This invisible Haki, under the dominion of his willpower, instantly solidified, forming a colossal, incomparable fist that seemed forged from boiling black lightning!
RUMBLE—!!!
The black, world-ending iron club and that equally black, yet terrifying, heavy fist containing a completely different will, clashed head-on in mid-air at the last moment!
Visible shockwaves instantly spread, and wherever they passed, the earth cracked and collapsed like a fragile eggshell! Violent air currents mixed with exploding black Haki lightning, like invisible heavy hammers, violently slammed in all directions!
The good news was that this time, the Beast Pirates who had just been blown away hadn't had time to return, so they escaped unharmed. At the same time, Kaido, like a descending demon god, was forcibly pushed back by Roa's Haki-infused heavy punch.
His face grew increasingly grim. "Wang Zhi's technique?"
Roa leisurely retracted his fist, unspent Haki electrical arcs still dancing on his fingertips. His smile deepened. "Quite interesting, isn't it? A direct teaching from Uncle Wang Zhi."
"Alright, Brother Kaido, time to get serious."
"You damn brat!" A deafening roar tore through the air!
Tough, sharp blue dragon scales rapidly grew from beneath Kaido's skin as if alive!
CRACK!
Amidst the bone-snapping sounds, his body swelled another size in a flash. In the blink of an eye, the majestic Dragon-Human had descended!
The ground beneath the dragon-humanized Kaido's feet exploded, his figure transforming into a blue-black lightning bolt that tore through space, launching forward again with terrifying speed several times greater than before!
"Gundari: Dragon Twister!"
Fast!
The heavy iron club, Hassaikai, conjured countless illusions, seemingly intending to crush Roa into paste in an instant. But.
Roa roared, slamming his fists forward with all his might. Streaks of black Haki arms formed, wildly swinging forward, crashing against Kaido's iron club.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
As if instantly changing scenes, the passionate clash once again shook heaven and earth! With every collision of fist and iron club, a burst of black lightning erupted!
"Such power!!" Teach's eyes gleamed intensely. Just the aftershocks made him feel like he was being torn apart! True power, this was it!
"You damn brat, don't look down on me!!" Kaido's rage erupted like a volcano, molten violence burning in his eyes! But his roar couldn't mask the roar of the iron club in his hand. "Roaring Thunder Bagua!!" The iron club cut through the air, leaving a twisted trajectory in its wake. As black lightning pulsed, space itself seemed to rip apart!
"Haha!" Roa laughed unrestrainedly, finally drawing his sword.
The moment the crimson blade was unsheathed, a rich scent of blood instantly spread. On the blade, crimson lightning danced. Roa gripped the sword with both hands, swinging it with all his might. The bloodlust released by Tiger Soul and the Haki wrapped around the blade merged, then were instantly "thrown" out.
A massive shockwave, condensed to the extreme, crimson as blood, and wreathed in red lightning at its edges, roared forth from Tiger Soul's blade like a released flood of sanguine energy! The iron club and the shockwave collided with a crash.
The earth was instantly pulverized. The nearby palace trembled violently, and the surrounding buildings crumbled into dust in an instant, like sandcastles hit by a wave.
"Ugh!!" Amidst the deafening roar, Kaido's mountainous, tough dragon-human body was actually blasted off the ground and sent flying backward by this terrifying shockwave, a fusion of bloodlust and Conqueror's Haki!
His dragon eyes widened, filled with shock and unwillingness. "This is... that bastard Rocks's sword skill?"
"After learning Conqueror's Haki coating, I can finally use it too!" Roa lightly twisted his wrist, casually slinging his beloved sword Tiger Soul over his shoulder. The crimson blade reflected the brilliant smile on his face, his tone relaxed. "Not bad, right?"
Rocks' fighting style was quite broad and expansive. His sword skill was simply a crude and violent method of projecting Haki with his sword. It had a similar principle to Roger's Divine Departure, but it was even more wild and unrestrained. Rather than swinging a sword, it was more like firing a cannon!
Hearing the name Rocks, Teach's eyes held a strange glint. That guy's technique? Indeed, Roa is the disciple he acknowledged!
Meanwhile, Kaido's face was incredibly grim. Had that brat Roa become this strong already? Even without using his ability, he was already somewhat helpless!
Taking a deep breath, Kaido suddenly grabbed his sake gourd and began to guzzle.
"Why is he suddenly drinking?" Teach was utterly confused. He didn't understand, but the two Beast Pirates executives did.
"He's become this strong!" Hanafuzaki's voice was extremely solemn. "Lord Roa hasn't even used his ability yet!" Brother Kaido drinking meant he was truly getting serious! And at this moment, his opponent, Roa, renowned for his calamitous abilities, was still in his human form!
As expected of the pirate with the fourth-highest bounty in the world! Stronger than Brother Kaido, and not just by a little!
"Drunken Slaughter!" The flush on Kaido's face deepened, his eyes filled with madness. His body expanded further, and the color of his scales became even darker. The ground beneath his feet crumbled in an instant; he transformed into a dazzling meteor! The dense Haki on his black iron club now even shone with a brilliant light! Thick Haki lightning radiated everywhere, shattering the earth and churning the air!
"Great Full Impact: Thunder Bagua!!" The iron club came crashing down.
Roa's smirk grew wider. He suddenly tightened his grip on his beloved sword's hilt. With Haki fully infused, the shockwaves of the Eight Impact Fist also adhered to it! The lightning that had been dancing on the crimson blade instantly converged into the blade itself. The entire sword glowed with a dazzling red light! It seemed to transform into a light sword! And the moment he swung his sword, the red light on the blade intensified, spiraling out like a rocket's exhaust plume.
"Tiger's Roar!"
BOOM!!
The red wave transformed into a light cannon, instantly colliding with Kaido. Heaven and earth lost their color at this instant. A torrent of red light roared forth, but it struck Kaido, a steadfast reef, and was forced to explode into branching streams.
But.
"Ugh!!!" Kaido gritted his teeth, his bulging muscular arms trembling continuously. How could his power be this great?! This brat, his Conqueror's Haki is stronger than mine!
BOOM!!
The intensely clashing Haki finally exploded, transforming into a sweeping, circular shockwave. This time, even Dylan and the others found it hard to resist, being forced back repeatedly.
"Whoa!" Saín cried out, being directly blown away. I really should have retreated further! How could human combat be exaggerated to this extent?! Hanafuzaki also staggered backward continuously, completely unable to resist.
The palace not far away finally succumbed to the immense pressure, collapsing with a rumble.
WHOOSH!
A dark figure flew out, smashing a large hole directly into the already crumbling palace.
"Hoo—" Roa, who had flown backward, his feet dragging two deep trails on the ground, slowly exhaled. His crimson sword pointed diagonally downwards. "Now, my Haki is stronger too."
The strength of Conqueror's Haki comes from the wielder's power. So, naturally, Roa's Conqueror's Haki was stronger than Kaido's. Although his technique was much more immature, the sheer power advantage was enough to give him the upper hand.
WHOOSH!
A strong blast of hot wind suddenly struck him. A massive fiery dragon ascended from the ruins of the castle, baring its fangs and claws, and charged directly at Roa.
"Flame Bagua!!" Finally, his ultimate move.
"Then, this is where it ends! I'm getting serious too!"
Black fur finally grew from Roa's body. His wide wings suddenly vibrated, and Roa instantly shot into the sky. That's Roa's ability?
Toki, a little disheveled, struggled to hold the little girl in her arms, who was smiling even more happily. Yet, her eyes were fixed on Roa, who was soaring upwards.
A tiger? Dragon and tiger? What that samurai mentioned earlier!
Equally excited was Teach. Roa! Let me see your power!
"Tiger Devour!" Roa laughed heartily.
Red light emanated from the surface of Tiger Soul, instantly transforming into a colossal greatsword hundreds of meters long! Lightning, fire, strong winds! Various elements wrapped around it! Roa held the sword, and compared to it, he was as small as a speck of dust that could be swept away by the wind at any moment.
Yet, this "speck of dust" swung the hilt lightly. The sky-obscuring greatsword moved without any resistance, so fast that it tore through the air! There was not even the sound of wind in his ears; he only caught a glimpse of a crimson afterimage slicing across the sky, so fast that it caused a tearing pain in his vision, as if it wasn't the sword moving, but the entire sky being forcibly split in half by this red light!
BOOM!!
The greatsword heavily struck the head of the black fiery dragon. Black and crimson lightning instantly filled the sky, spreading out into a black and red spiderweb across the firmament! Even as the Haki lightning struck the ground, the earth was blasted with one massive hole after another.
Then.
CRACK!
A clear sound of something breaking. The incredibly tough outer shell of the fiery dragon, which had been covered in Haki, was cleaved open.
Kaido only felt a flash of red light before his eyes; the massive crimson blade had stopped right before his head.
"The outcome is decided, Brother Kaido."
Kaido's pupils trembled. The gap... had it grown this large already?