"Thunderfall!!"
Terrifying purple lightning crashed down from the heavens, carrying an aura of utter destruction as it headed straight for the massive skull in Hachinosu.
BOOM—
In just an instant, the enormous skull exploded, shattering into countless fragments that scattered everywhere.
The terrifying purple lightning dissolved into fine serpentine bolts spreading across the entire Hachinosu. Countless pirates, the moment they touched this lightning, went rigid, eyes rolling back white, wisps of burnt smoke rising from their bodies as they collapsed directly to the ground.
Of the remaining pirates not electrocuted, the vast majority now wore expressions of sheer terror, looking around frantically in disbelief.
"Wh-What happened?!"
"Why is lightning striking down?!"
But before anyone could answer him, another incredibly oppressive aura spread out from a certain direction.
Instantly, countless pirates turned their gaze toward that direction.
Yet a large portion of these pirates, the moment this oppressive force washed over them, instantly lost consciousness, only a single thought remaining in their minds:
Where did such powerful Conqueror's Haki come from?!
Many pirates, already in terrible condition after enduring the lightning strike, how could they possibly resist this surge of powerful Conqueror's Haki?
Kyle stood in the middle of a street, arms spread wide, releasing his Conqueror's Haki without restraint.
Before long, an equally powerful Conqueror's Haki surged forth from the rubble ahead. Countless fragments of stone instantly blasted apart as a figure slowly emerged.
It was Wang Zhi, abnormally long in every aspect of his build.
"Heh~ Seems everyone who was on Rocks' ship has Conqueror's Haki."
Kyle said softly.
"Who are you?!"
Wang Zhi's gaze had been fixed on Kyle since he emerged, glaring at him intensely, killing intent thick in his eyes.
"Marine Rear Admiral, Kyle."
Kyle spoke calmly.
"A Marine?!"
Wang Zhi's eyes narrowed as he rapidly scanned his surroundings.
"No need to look. There aren't any other Marines on this island yet."
Kyle stated flatly.
Hearing this, Wang Zhi fixed his gaze back on Kyle, a cruel grin spreading across his face.
"Brat, you've got some nerve!!"
"Daring to charge into my Hachinosu all by yourself?"
"If it were that old bastard Garp doing this, fine—but what gives you the audacity?!"
"If Whitebeard or Rocks were on this island, then yes, I wouldn't dare come. But with only you, Wang Zhi, here—then I do have that courage."
!!
His words made Wang Zhi's pupils suddenly constrict, his stare boring into Kyle.
"You brat even know about Captain Rocks? Seems your position in the Marines isn't low!!"
"Just a small fry."
"I admit my strength really isn't as good as Captain Rocks', nor as good as Whitebeard's, but..."
"I was still a executive on the Rocks Pirates, brat. You're too arrogant. Don't think that just because you've awakened Conqueror's Haki you can come looking for trouble with me!!"
As he spoke, the Conqueror's Haki Wang Zhi emanated intensified another level, bearing down ruthlessly on Kyle.
Yet Kyle's expression didn't change in the slightest as he spoke calmly:
"So what if I'm being arrogant? What are you gonna do about it?"
BOOM—
Kyle likewise erupted with even stronger Conqueror's Haki, clashing and colliding continuously with Wang Zhi's.
The resulting shockwaves formed fierce gales, scattering surrounding objects in disarray.
Even the nearby buildings developed cracks upon cracks under this terrifying clash of Conqueror's Haki, red-black lightning flashing continuously around them.
!!
Wang Zhi's pupils contracted sharply, his gaze toward Kyle tinged with disbelief.
This brat...
Why is his Conqueror's Haki so strong? Even a bit stronger than mine.
In that moment, Wang Zhi set aside his contempt for Kyle.
Those with great strength don't necessarily possess powerful Conqueror's Haki, but those with powerful Conqueror's Haki are absolutely never weak.
"Seems you really aren't some brat who came looking for trouble with me on a reckless impulse."
"But I'll still teach you—you're far too confident, brat!!"
As he finished speaking, Wang Zhi's form shot forward instantly, rushing at breakneck speed toward Kyle. His velocity carved a wake through the air, and in the blink of an eye he was before Kyle, fist descending with tremendous force.
Their battle erupted instantly.
Kyle didn't hesitate, meeting him with a punch of his own.
BOOM—
The instant their fists collided, a terrifying shockwave erupted, spreading outward in all directions.
Both men stepped back a pace, then almost simultaneously surged forward again, another punch colliding.
They exchanged blows, one after another; wave after wave of residual force spread continuously; a chain of tremors resonated through the air.
On Hachinosu, countless pirates stared in terror toward the direction of the battle, their bodies trembling faintly.
"What kind of terrifying fight is this?!"
"Who exactly is fighting Captain Wang Zhi?!"
These pirates hadn't seen Wang Zhi engaged in such an intense battle with anyone else in who knew how long.
In the vast majority of past encounters, opponents they themselves found incredibly troublesome were instantly defeated the moment they faced Wang Zhi.
There were almost no pirates who could last more than a few exchanges against Wang Zhi, let alone fight this fiercely.
Not a single pirate dared approach now—that would be suicide, and they weren't stupid.
With strength like theirs, even a stray attack could probably send them to the bottom of the sea.
Elsewhere, a Marine battleship off the coast of Hachinosu sped rapidly toward the island.
The flame jets at its rear were operating once more.
On the deck, everyone was now visibly excited, eagerly anticipating the coming battle.
Though they hadn't received any clear signal from Kyle, that purple lightning strike was, in their eyes, the symbol that battle had commenced.
Since Kyle was already fighting, didn't that mean they could head in and join the fray?
At Hachinosu's port, a group of pirates were likewise staring toward the island's interior.
They'd naturally sensed the battle fluctuations from within. One after another, they exchanged bewildered glances, having no idea what was happening inside.
It had left them all with no mood to keep watch over the sea.
In their view, nothing unusual ever happened normally—how could anything go wrong today?
Suddenly, a bead of sweat traced down one pirate's forehead. He wiped it away instinctively, a flicker of confusion in his eyes, and looked at his nearby companions:
"Hey... say, are you guys feeling a bit hot?!"
"Huh?! You feel it too?"
"Yeah, I think it's getting hotter, and it seems like it's coming from behind?"
In unison, they all turned their heads—
The next second, their pupils flew wide open. What filled their vision was an inferno of raging flames...
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━