King's pupils contracted sharply.
He sensed the overwhelming force bearing down on him and knew that if this kick landed, he'd truly have no chance of survival.
He lifted his gaze to the sky, once azure but now shrouded in smoke and haze. Yet through it all, he glimpsed a figure locked in fierce combat.
That was Kaido—the one he'd always followed and served faithfully.
Recalling their shared past—the battles fought side by side, the years spent striving for a common goal—a complex mix of emotions surged within him.
Finally, he closed his eyes, a serene smile gracing his lips.
"Kaido-san... King... can no longer help you become the King of the Pirates..."
His voice was soft, barely a whisper, yet it carried a calm finality,
"Forgive me... for failing to continue serving you, for not living to see you ascend to the supreme throne..."
A flicker of disgust crossed Who's-Who's eyes. "Spouting sentimental drivel even at death's door?"
"What a laughable sentiment! Do you think pretty words can change anything now? You're nothing but a failure, and today is your end!"
At this critical juncture, the very air of the battlefield seemed seized by an invisible hand, freezing.
Smoke hung motionless mid-air, no longer drifting; the howling winds fell silent, as if time itself held its breath in the tense atmosphere.
Kaido's massive dragon pupils contracted abruptly, a trace of panic surfacing in their once deep, dark depths.
With the keenness of the sharpest hound, he instantly detected the tangible killing intent radiating from Who's-Who in the distance.
When he saw that Who's-Who, face twisted into a savage snarl, eyes gleaming with madness and cruelty, raising his weapon high to deliver the killing blow to the severely wounded King, the Yonko who shook the New World with his might flew into a rage!
"King—!!!"
Kaido's furious roar shattered the dead silence, the sound like a thunderclap, filled with anger and urgency, echoing across the battlefield for a long time.
He disregarded Whitebeard's Murakumogiri descending upon him like a collapsing mountain!
For in this moment, Kaido's heart held only his dying comrade.
He braced his chest to meet this fatal strike capable of splitting mountains and parting seas!
A tearing sound, like cloth ripping or steel scraping against stone, echoed as the tough chest of the Azure Dragon was instantly split open, revealing a wound deep enough to show bone.
Blood gushed out like a raging waterfall, each drop seeming to carry his fury and resentment, splattering and spraying through the air, dyeing the ground below a deep crimson.
But he paid no heed to the heart-piercing pain, his massive dragon body frantically diving downward!
His dragon claws stretched forward, sharp talons tracing chilling arcs through the air.
He strained with all his might to save that partner who'd followed him since the Rocks era, that comrade who'd weathered countless storms and faced life and death alongside him!
"Hahaha!" Who's-Who threw his head back and laughed, the sound like the mournful cry of a night owl, filled with cruelty and arrogance.
His red hair danced wildly in the wind, each strand seeming to vent his delight.
His eyes sparkled with cruel satisfaction, as if he already saw King fallen miserably at his feet.
"Kaido! I'll let you watch King die right before your eyes!"
His right foot lifted high, golden laser light gathering to its peak at his toes. The radiance was as dazzling as the blazing sun, scorching hot as if it could melt everything.
It seemed he was about to stomp down with this fatal blow, ending King's life.
Kaido's eyes nearly burst from their sockets, bloody tears actually streaming from his dragon eyes!
The bloody tears trailed down his rough cheeks, dripping onto the ground below and punching out small craters.
He accelerated his dive madly, dragon scales sparking from the high-speed friction, but the distance was too far—King's life was like a candle flickering in the wind, about to be extinguished.
Right at this lightning-fast moment, a sudden change occurred!
A white figure flashed out from the clouds like a ghost!
The person wore a sharply pressed white suit, its lines smooth and straight without a single wrinkle, as if it were a perfect piece fresh from the most exquisite tailor.
His face was hidden behind a white mask, revealing only a pair of cold, merciless eyes that exuded a bone-chilling aura.
The long sword in his hand gleamed with a cold light, like the frost of winter, piercingly cold.
Coated in Armament Haki, it thrust toward Kaido's back at a speed barely visible to the naked eye!
"Pfft!"
The sharp blade pierced through Kaido's dragon scales without any resistance.
Those tough scales were as fragile as paper in this moment.
The long sword entered from his back and pierced out through his chest!
Blood spurted out like a fountain, dyeing the white suit a startling scarlet.
The pristine white suit instantly became bloody and horrifying.
"What...?"
Kaido turned his head with difficulty, his dragon pupils reflecting the face of the newcomer.
White suit, white mask—a lackey of the World Government, CP0!
That iconic attire only fueled Kaido's rage further.
He never expected these very individuals would stab him in the back at this critical juncture between life and death.
...
Meanwhile,
A dark figure abruptly materialized on the ground shrouded in killing intent!
Its appearance was unforeseen, yet carried a palpably unnerving pressure.
The figure was shrouded in a black cloak as heavy as the night, concealing his form, only faintly exuding an aura of mystery and danger.
He appeared before Who's-Who like a ghost, his movements so swift that they caught people off guard.
With a flash of his figure, a sharp and powerful whip kick, executed at a near-perfect angle and timing, precisely blocked Who's-Who's right foot!
"Clang!"
The metallic collision echoed like a massive bell ringing across the silent battlefield, causing the surrounding rubble to fly as if given life.
Each piece of debris shot out like an angry bullet, whistling through the air and leaving shallow craters on the ground.
Who's-Who widened his eyes in shock, never expecting that his kick—fast enough to be considered light-speed and capable of surpassing most—would be so effortlessly blocked!
An unprecedented surge of astonishment filled his heart as his gaze locked onto the mysterious figure in the black cloak before him.
And standing in his way was this very cloaked figure, radiating an enigmatic presence!
The cloaked man's frame was massive; though hidden beneath the cloak, the faintly revealed aura made it impossible to underestimate him.
"He isn't someone you can kill, lowly... insect."
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