Ghost Qi: Human Path

"Come on, Kaido. Let me see the strength of the strongest creature on land, sea, and air."

Without needing to cover the Vice Admirals, Lin Qi shrank himself back down to two meters.

Otherwise, the two blades, Dragon Abyss and Heart Crossing, would have looked like toys in his hands.

"Worororo, is this also the ability of your Devil Fruit? Thunder Bagua!"

Kaido, who had been genial just a moment ago, suddenly erupted into action, swinging his Spiked Club down with lightning crackling around it.

Bang!

Lin Qi raised his two long blades and blocked the Spiked Club, sending sparks flying.

"Hahaha, good block!" Kaido said delightedly. "Queen, watch carefully. This is a man's romance. Learn something."

Queen's chubby face sagged. Boss Kaido, do you think everyone can compare to you in strength?

It's not like you don't know how freakish your strength is.

Kaido could not remember how long it had been since he had encountered someone capable of taking his "greeting."

His fighting spirit ignited. He switched to gripping the Spiked Club with both hands and relentlessly launched cross-shaped swings.

"Greed, Delusion, Wrath? Army Breaker."

"What tremendous strength!"

Kaido's strength was unlike anything Lin Qi had ever seen. Even Kizaru could not compare.

Kaido's arms bulged with veins as he exerted force with both hands. Lin Qi could no longer hold on and was blasted away.

"Pfft—"

The immense force traveled through his weapons, making Lin Qi spit out blood, though he healed in an instant.

He stepped through the air with Geppo and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, staring gravely at Kaido below.

One of the Four Emperors, Kaido truly lived up to his name.

"Brat, did that hit scare you out of coming down? Want me to come up there and find you?" Kaido taunted, resting the Spiked Club on his shoulder.

"It would be impolite not to return the favor. I've received your greeting. Now, taste mine."

"Bzzz—"

The blades Dragon Abyss and Heart Crossing visibly turned black.

They were coated in thick Armament Haki.

The two swords overlapped before him, and blue-red flames ignited around Lin Qi.

Behind him, several evil ghosts appeared.

They too held phantom versions of Dragon Abyss and Heart Crossing.

"Samsara Birth and Death, All Things Cycle, Asura Sentient."

"Pass a Cycle of Time, Awaken Infinite Brahma Light."

"Yama Is Not My Will, I Originally Face the Mortal World."

With every word Lin Qi uttered, the Ghost Qi surrounding the blades grew denser.

When his words ended, the black dragon on Dragon Abyss's hilt seemed to come alive, its eyes glowing red.

"Jiejiejiejie."

Heart Crossing let out a cold, arrogant laugh that sent chills down everyone's spine.

The ghosts behind him raised their long blades in unison with Lin Qi.

"Ghost Qi: Human Path!"

Lin Qi brought his blade down, and the air seemed to freeze solid.

The pirates aboard the ship felt as though they had fallen into an ice pit, frozen in place and unable to move.

As if moving even a little would mean death.

The stronger someone was, the more clearly they could sense Lin Qi's power at that moment.

"Help! He's killing a dragon! Boss Kaido, save me!"

Queen sprinted on his thick legs and hid behind Kaido.

"Rumble—"

A blade aura thousands of meters long descended, cleaving even the sea open with a ravine-like gash.

The gale howled, as though it would cut down every enemy standing in its way.

"Queen, hold on tight."

Kaido could no longer laugh. Transforming into his Dragon form, he grabbed Queen and flew into the sky.

They were over the sea. He had no intention of getting smashed into it.

Boom!

Kaido and Queen escaped disaster, but the blade aura was too fast. Kaido's enormous Dragon form was inevitably caught in it.

Blood poured from the sky as if it cost nothing.

"Boss Kaido, you're hurt!" Queen cried in shock.

He could not remember the last time he had seen Boss Kaido injured.

"Shut up. What does a little wound like this amount to?"

Sure enough, the wound on Kaido's tail had healed within seconds.

That was the terror of a top-tier Mythical Zoan.

Back then, the Marines had needed a full month of continuous relay battles to take down Red Count.

If he had possessed a Mythical Zoan, that time would have been extended by at least several times.

Fighting nonstop for months without food, water, or sleep was something no one but a Mythical Zoan user could achieve.

"Ahhh!"

"Save me, Lord Kaido..."

Rumble—

However, the pirates aboard the Pirate Ship were not so fortunate.

Ship and men alike were shattered by the brilliant blade radiance.

Over a thousand elite pirates died beneath that single strike.

Not even their weapons remained. Everything was annihilated, reduced to black ash.

Ghost Qi—the newest power Lin Qi had comprehended.

It could stack with Armament Haki and swordsmanship, unleashing unimaginable power.

For his first attempt, he was quite satisfied with its current might.

"You damned brat, my men!" Kaido threw back his head and roared in fury.

"If you don't want to die, follow me. Otherwise, I'll catch up to those Marines and kill them all right now."

Leaving behind that threat, Kaido ignored Lin Qi, grabbed Queen, and flew into the distance.

"Going back on your word will damage the dignity of a Four Emperor, won't it?"

"What kind of bullshit are you saying? I'm a Pirate. Hurry up and follow."

Lin Qi's face darkened. For Sister Gion's sake, and for the safety of the ten thousand Marines, he had no choice but to follow.

Though it was mainly for Sister Gion. Whether those ten thousand Marines lived or died did not matter much to him.

He, Lin Qi, believed in Pure Love. Every woman he had was his true love!

Just like a certain man named Duan Zhengchun.

Being willing to risk their lives for one another was the kind of love countless people pursued their entire lives.

Sister Momousagi had treated him well. How could he abandon her?

Kaido and Lin Qi landed one after another on a small island, using it as their battlefield.

This time, Queen had learned his lesson. Knowing that mortals suffered when immortals fought, he hid far away by himself and secretly watched through a telescope.

Thinking of his fallen subordinates, Kaido gloomily pulled out the liquor flask at his waist and began drinking deeply.

Gulp, gulp.

Pirates were easy to find, but such a large Pirate Ship was rare even among pirates.

"Wuwuwuwu, my men..."

After several mouthfuls of strong liquor, Kaido began crying without warning, huge tears plopping onto the ground.

He looked... somewhat pitiful?

There were even more black lines on Lin Qi's forehead. What was Kaido doing?

Even if a dignified Four Emperor was upset, surely he would not cry, right?

In the distance, Queen stomped his foot. "It's over. Boss Kaido is getting drunk again."

Queen knew well that when Kaido was in a good mood, he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

But when he was in a bad mood, one cup was enough to get him drunk.

Drunken Kaido was the most terrifying.

When he got vicious, he would even kill himself. Was that not terrifying?

He would jump down from Skypiea to try to kill himself for fun.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Kaido shifted into his Human-Beast Form, growing much taller.

Not only that, his strength, speed, and physical abilities surged dramatically.

Thunder Bagua!

One swing of the Spiked Club smashed Lin Qi deep into the ground.

"Brat, are you dead?" Kaido shouted from the mouth of the crater.

"You could die, and I still wouldn't."

Lin Qi, likewise transformed into Beast Form, shot up to seven meters tall and leaped out of the crater.

But while this allowed his physical abilities to contend with Kaido's to some extent, he could no longer use his two long blades.

Fortunately, Lin Qi manipulated Electromagnetic Force to pull iron sand from deep within the island.

He kneaded it together into a crude Spiked Club that somewhat resembled Kaido's.

Though crude and rather ugly, its quality was beyond question.

Lin Qi tempered it with lightning. Its hardness was decent, comparable to refined steel.