BAM!
Kaido stepped forward and charged straight toward Admiral Vixon.
"Oh?"
Vixon raised an eyebrow, amused. They were seriously sending just one man to face him?
And judging by Arthur's demeanor, he wasn't planning to retreat—he was preparing something else entirely.
"Hehehe..."
With a smirk, Vixon moved in to meet Kaido head-on.
"Lionheart!"
"Thunder Bagua!"
The battle ignited instantly.
But it was a one-sided slaughter.
Kaido was completely outclassed.
While Arthur had managed to keep up with Vixon thanks to his enhanced instincts, Kaido wasn't at that level yet. He was getting tossed around like a ragdoll—crushed under the weight of pure power.
---
Arthur stood still, watching the fight unfold. Even as pirates began gathering around him, he paid them no mind.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
Then, suddenly—Arthur's aura flared like a storm.
A terrifying surge of power rippled through the battlefield.
Even the strongest present felt it.
It wasn't fatal—but it was threatening.
Their instincts screamed: danger.
—
"EX—
CALIBURRRRRRR—!!!!"
SHING—!!
With Arthur's thunderous roar, a golden light exploded across the battlefield like a tidal wave. The beam surged forward, swallowing Kaido, Vixon, the Marines—and the entire G-1 base.
"What the hell!?"
Kaido cursed as he leapt away. "Damn you, Arthur! You trying to bury me?!"
He retreated fast enough to dodge the blast.
But Vixon couldn't move.
Behind him stood his fellow Marines. Behind them—G-1 Base. This wasn't just a battlefield. This was the face of Marine authority in the New World.
If Vixon retreated here—if he flinched—the consequences would be unthinkable.
"You brat…"
Vixon's expression darkened. He hadn't expected this troublesome rookie to unleash something so destructive.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
With a furious roar, his body began to transform before their eyes—into a hulking hybrid beast.
His silhouette shifted.
Half-man. Half-lion.
A mythical predator with monstrous strength.
A surge of primal energy erupted from his massive frame.
Wind. Rain. Thunder. Lightning.
The four elements spiraled around him, warping the air.
Zoan-Type: Mythical Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Maahes.
In ancient myth, Maahes was a lion-headed god—said to command the elements of storm and sky. In this hybrid form, each of Vixon's four paws could wield one elemental force.
Unlike Logia users, who generate and control elements freely...
Mythical Zoans don't manipulate elements—but they can manifest them through their divine physiology. Just like the Ice Dragon could breathe frost, and the Azure Dragon could unleash flames, gales, and thunder—
Maahes could summon the storm.
---
"Lion King!"
Vixon let out a deafening roar as he summoned all four elements—wind, rain, thunder, lightning—into a single, spiraling core.
A compressed blast of blue, green, violet, and black energy tore toward Arthur.
BOOOOM!!!
The collision of Vixon's elemental blast and Arthur's Excalibur erupted into a cataclysm.
The entire battlefield was swallowed whole by the shockwave.
"Hngh!"
Arthur grunted as he was forced backward, his boots digging furrows in the dirt.
He didn't try to resist.
He couldn't.
That blast had drained him. His mana was spent. Pushing forward any more would've meant certain death.
Three minutes of charge time—burning through every ounce of his magic.
This Excalibur blast... that was all he had.
But it was enough.
Even though Vixon had blocked most of the damage, the aftershock alone was enough to devastate G-1.
"Holy shit…"
Kaido stumbled up beside him, eyes wide. "Arthur, The hell was that attack?!"
"Hahaha…"
Arthur gave a weary grin. "I wouldn't have used that if Captain Rocks wasn't paying me so damn well."
Excalibur.
The ultimate attack of the Sword of Promised Victory—fully unsealed, bearing all thirteen layers of power.
Arthur had no idea how powerful it could become.
But even in its current state... it was barely within his ability to wield.
His body screamed from the strain.
The 10% awakening of his Red Dragon bloodline gave him just enough magic to unleash one shot.
Any more?
He'd drop dead.
You think it's easy tossing around Excalibur blasts like a certain King of Knights?
Think again.
That woman had the magic reserves of a living myth.
Arthur was barely scratching the surface.
(Ps: He was referring to saber(?))
"Kyehahahahaha!"
Shiki roared with laughter. "Damn good, Arthur brat!"
Arthur didn't reply.
---
"Sea Quake!"
Whitebeard struck the ground, sending shockwaves through Zephyr and Sengoku. "Shiki, our objective's complete. Time to leave."
"Agreed."
"All hands!"
"Retreat!!"
"ROOOAAAR!!"
Shiki spun around and bellowed the command.
He was in charge of this operation—and the moment he gave the word, every pirate moved like clockwork.
Organized. Efficient.
Even the Marines couldn't pursue them fast enough.
"Gonna run? WHERE!!"
"Lionheart!"
"Wave Slash!"