The battle at the center of God Valley had reached a fever pitch.
Rocks, Roger, and Garp—these three men standing at the pinnacle of their era—their fight had completely transcended all reason. Each collision was like two islands smashing into each other, and every release of Haki made both sky and earth cry out in anguish.
"Divine Departure!"
"Tyrannical Dominion!"
"Galaxy Impact!"
Three different colored streams of Conqueror's Haki lightning twisted and tore through the air, their aftershocks forming tangible storms that leveled everything within several kilometers.
Kyle crouched behind a mountain rock that had been sheared in half, feeling like an ant sitting next to a hurricane's eye, watching three Godzillas duke it out. Sure, it was thrilling, but one wrong move and he'd get blown away to who knows where.
"These three monsters..." Kyle's eyelids twitched as he watched.
Their fighting styles looked deceptively simple—just pure swordsmanship, fists, and Haki techniques taken to their absolute peak. This was what true overwhelming force looked like. No matter how fancy he got with his Wave-Wave Fruit, it seemed pretty powerless against this kind of unreasonable absolute strength.
Just as Kyle was getting absorbed in the spectacle, a streak of black-red Haki lightning suddenly went wild, grazing past the rock he was hiding behind.
BOOM!!!
A small mountain peak about a hundred meters behind him just... vanished. Like it had been erased with a rubber eraser.
"..."
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Kyle's forehead.
This place was getting way too dangerous. If he kept watching, he might not make it out alive.
He decisively abandoned any thoughts of continuing to spectate, creating a shockwave beneath his feet as he prepared to get the hell out of there.
However, just as he was relocating, a series of wild roars and chaotic fighting sounds came from nearby.
Hm? More stragglers?
Kyle looked toward the noise and saw an unusually massive young man with horns growing from his head, wielding a huge spiked club and rampaging through pirates at the edge of the battlefield.
His body was partially covered in blue scales, occasional uncontrolled flames leaked from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes held a savage, crazed look filled with bestial fury.
"Worororo! Get the hell out of my way!"
The young man swung his club once, and a pirate was smashed to pulp along with his sword—absolutely domineering.
Kyle stopped in his tracks, his golden pupils narrowing slightly as he studied the youth.
That signature spiked club, those horns on his head, those half-baked dragon scales...
"So you did end up eating the Fish-Fish Fruit after all..." Kyle rubbed his chin, the corners of his mouth curving upward uncontrollably.
The future "World's Strongest Creature"—Kaido of the Beasts!
Kaido clearly had just eaten the fruit not long ago. His power had surged, but he couldn't fully control it yet. Rather than looking majestic, his half-dragon form looked more like a buff guy with a skin condition, and his club-swinging was all brute force with no technique whatsoever.
Big Mom had kindly looked after Kaido, even giving him the Fish-Fish Fruit, but after the God Valley incident, Kaido just up and disappeared without a word.
Pirate Lesson #1: Loyalty!
Pirate Lesson #2: Ingratitude!
Teacher Kaido was still too naive!
But hey, beating up a future Emperor should be... pretty fun, right?
This whole trip had been a bust anyway—might as well find some entertainment to break even.
"Hey, you with the horns over there, are you some kind of minotaur?" Kyle shouldered his black-gold naginata and swaggered over with a flippant tone. "Your moves are so weak—didn't you eat breakfast?"
Kaido, who had been on his killing spree, froze mid-swing and whipped his head around, fixing his fierce gaze on Kyle.
"What did you say, brat?!"
"I said," Kyle picked at his ear casually, "I'm a pure love warrior—I specialize in cutting down bull-headed bastards!"
"Worororo! You're asking for it!"
Kaido was completely enraged by this nonsensical provocation. Roaring, he charged straight at Kyle, his spiked club tearing through the air as it came crashing down!
Faced with this devastating blow, Kyle didn't dodge or evade—he simply raised his right hand and made a finger gun.
*Pop!*
An invisible compressed shockwave shot out first, precisely hitting Kaido's charging path.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Kaido's feet exploded instantly. The violent airflow made his massive body stumble, and his fully-charged attack veered off course, slamming heavily into empty ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
"What?!" A flash of shock crossed Kaido's eyes.
Before he could react, Kyle's figure had already split into three right in front of him.
"Light Mirage."
Three Kyles, from three different positions, each wearing the same mocking smile with slight variations.
"Which one of me are you gonna hit?"
"Quit playing games!" Kaido roared and, not caring about anything else, swung his club in a horizontal sweep at the phantom in the center.
The spiked club passed right through the illusion without resistance, while the real Kyle had already appeared ghost-like at his side, the handle of his naginata shooting out lightning-fast to strike precisely at Kaido's wrist.
*Buzz—!*
A high-frequency vibration transmitted through the handle. Kaido's club let out a pitiful whine under the strain, his wrist went numb, his grip burned with pain, and that heavy weapon actually flew right out of his hands.
The moment his weapon left his grip, Kaido instinctively sensed danger. He opened his mouth, and a ball of searing flame began gathering in his throat.
"Heat..."
Before he could get out, "Breath," Kyle had already closed in, delivering a clean armament-coated knife-hand strike to the back of his neck.
"Pipe down."
*THWACK!*
The future attack that would make countless strong fighters tremble in fear—the "Heat Breath"—was just slapped right back down, turning into a frustrated hiccup.
Kaido's eyes rolled back, his massive body swayed twice, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, completely unconscious.
From provocation to finish—barely ten seconds total.
Kyle blew on his knife-hand to clear away nonexistent dust, looked down at the unconscious Kaido, and curled his lip. "That's it? The future strongest creature? You've still got a long way to go, buddy!"
He kicked Kaido a couple times. No response.
Kyle's eyes lit up with mischief, and he grinned as an even bolder idea occurred to him.
He crouched down, extended his index finger, and a barely perceptible red glow appeared at the tip.
"Heat Wave Searing Breath."
He focused his infrared waves into an extremely fine beam, like wielding an invisible branding iron, and carefully began his artistic creation on Kaido's broad back.
Smooth lines, exquisite composition—every stroke was filled with soul.
"Magnificent! I really am an artistic genius!" A few seconds later, Kyle withdrew his finger with satisfaction and clapped his hands.
There on Kaido's solid back appeared a perfectly branded, lifelike image—a little turtle with its head tucked in.
"Mm, perfect." Kyle admired his masterpiece and nodded with satisfaction. "Don't mention it—this is art!"
Having finished this task, he shouldered his black-gold naginata and took one last look at the distant battlefield where the fight was still raging earth-shatteringly, and at the future Emperor lying unconscious on the ground.
This trip to God Valley might not have netted him any tangible treasure, but somehow... he'd come out ahead anyway.
Kyle whistled cheerfully, his figure flashed, and he completely vanished from the chaotic battlefield.
Time to go slaughter some Celestial pigs!
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones