Sun and History, Part One

"Worororororo~ Excellent! Then let me show you my power!"

Without underestimating her just because she was a child, Kaido swung his club at Ra's head the moment he got her answer. It moved so fast that it easily produced a sonic boom.

Ra merely tilted her head slightly and dodged the blow. The delayed gust of wind blew her brilliant golden hair to the other side.

"Observation Haki? Not bad at all!" Kaido could not help but praise her clean, decisive evasion.

But it was not Observation Haki. Ra had merely predicted Kaido's attack trajectory in advance through her incredible dynamic vision and reflexes.

A body forged by a god naturally possessed performance to match.

Kaido's attacks did not stop. One swing followed another, each faster than the last!

The space before him was soon engulfed by bursting air and invisible gales. Any living thing that approached would be torn apart without leaving even bones behind!

My vision alone is gradually having trouble keeping up, and my room to move is being compressed... This guy is clearly so huge, yet his attacks are this swift and meticulous.

Realizing the situation was turning unfavorable, Ra, caught within the storm of attacks, decisively gave up on continuing to dodge. Divine power swiftly gathered in her left hand, forming a long Obelisk. Then, like drawing a sword, she lightly flicked her wrist upward to meet Kaido's descending spiked club.

The Obelisk was exquisite as jade, golden fluorescence glowing from within as countless ancient words flickered faintly across its surface amid Divine Fire—this was a high-density, ultra-high-temperature weapon formed from Ra's compressed divine power.

The tip of the spiked club vaporized and sublimated the instant it touched the Obelisk. Kaido reacted quickly as well, abruptly halting and immediately pulling back his weapon as he retreated.

That was fire?! Could it be the Flame-Flame Fruit, a Logia Type? No, she didn't evade my attack by turning into an element. Is it a Paramecia...

After ruling out the Logia Type, and recalling the defensive barrier she had deployed earlier, Kaido vaguely formed a guess.

Looking at the missing section at the end of his spiked club, then at the golden Obelisk in her hand that effortlessly warped the surrounding air, Kaido did not press forward. Instead, his body changed, transforming into a colossal dragon hundreds of meters long. His massive body coiled and surged as he climbed once more into the high heavens.

This time, with no clouds blocking her view, Ra could clearly see the entirety of his enormous body.

Azure dragon scales reflected a cold, dim gleam beneath the sunlight. His ferocious dragon claws seemed capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks with ease, while his long whiskers stirred without wind. The pair of huge horns that had curved forward before his transformation now looked as though they could rip open the sky itself!

None of the sanctity or majesty of a traditional Eastern dragon could be seen on him. There was only frightening tyranny and savagery—this was a true evil dragon.

"Let me see just how good your flames really are!"

"Heat Breath!"

The evil dragon opened his jaws, releasing a massive blast of flaming breath that shot straight toward Ra, who still stood motionless where she was.

Before the scorching breath even touched the ground, it ignited all the trees around it. Even the sand below showed signs of melting into magma.

"Unfortunately, flames have no effect on me." Ra did not take any defensive stance and simply ignored the searing wave of fire sweeping toward her.

Before his breath attack had ended, Ra, completely unaffected within the flames, hurled the golden Obelisk in her hand forcefully toward Kaido in the sky. Like a laser, it effortlessly pierced through the Heat Breath and shot straight at him.

Having sensed the power of the attack early through Observation Haki, Kaido twisted his body aside to evade it. Yet the heat wave unleashed by the Obelisk's temperature still scorched his dragon scales.

"Hot! Hot! So damn hot!"

Kaido looked at his slightly charred scales, then glanced down at Ra, who stood unharmed amid a field of lava. The excitement in his heart only grew fiercer.

"It actually has this much power! What an incredible brat."

"But since flames are useless, how about this?!"

Kaido opened his massive mouth again. This time, it was not fire that erupted from it, but countless wind blades.

The blades tore sharply through the air, so densely packed that there was no way to avoid them.

"Bad Wind!"

The slashing attack reached the surface in an instant. The razor-sharp wind blades easily carved open the earth as though it were nothing. Countless streams of lava that had yet to cool were blasted into the air, only to be shredded by the attacks that followed.

The southern side of the entire island looked like a chocolate cake fresh from the oven, cut into a complete mess.

Ra stood within it, yet she still did not move a single step.

After carefully calculating the situation and determining that she could not completely avoid this attack by dodging, she decisively chose to gather her power and defend in place.

Her slender, smooth arm rose, and her loose sleeve slipped down to her elbow. Ra lightly made an upward gesture.

As divine power spread beneath her feet, several sturdy Obelisks rose from the ground around her, guarding Ra's body tightly like the most reliable sentinels outside a temple.

These Obelisks were far larger than the one Ra had held before. They were no longer delicate and translucent in appearance, but thick and heavy like true stone. Ancient words were still engraved across their surfaces.

The powerful wind blades slammed fiercely into the stone monuments the next moment, leaving behind marks both deep and shallow.

The descending attacks were as dense as a violent storm, but not one of them could truly break through the Obelisks standing guard around Ra.

Finally, the disaster-like assault gradually came to a halt.

The land was utterly devastated. Beyond the thick black smoke, sparks, and airtight wall of stone monuments, Kaido's Observation Haki could still clearly sense that Ra below was completely unharmed.

"To manage something like this... What an unbelievable monster." Kaido sighed sincerely once more.

Those two attacks had not been his full strength, but they were enough to easily defeat any fighter below the first rank on these seas.

Yet Ra, a little girl who looked barely ten years old, had defended against them so effortlessly. In all his decades, he had never encountered talent and potential like hers.

Noticing that the outside attacks had stopped, Ra waved her hand, and the stone monuments around her turned back into ordinary earth and rock.

The sky overhead was revealed once more. Ra looked up at the figure that blotted out the sky, her expression still unchanged from the start of the battle, as though she had long been certain of victory.

But Ra's situation was far less optimistic than it appeared. Not a speck of dust had touched her since the battle began, yet Kaido's unceasing attacks had in truth consumed an enormous amount of her inner divine power.

After all, like Oshi and Obe lying in the distance, she was still effectively in her infancy. Moreover, the throbbing pain from her separated soul had not yet ended, making it difficult for her to wield such vast amounts of divine power for a prolonged, intense battle.

This body was still far from reaching its theoretical peak in every respect. It needed time to grow.

First "fire," then "wind." The next should be "water" or "lightning," right?

Based on the techniques Kaido had just used and his iconic dragon body, she had roughly guessed the powers he commanded.

Looking up at him, who seemed to have only just finished warming up, Ra silently calculated the consumption and recovery rate of her divine power, reaching a conclusion—she had to end this quickly!

In that case, the next strike must decide the winner, no matter what.

Having made her decision, Ra no longer hesitated. She mobilized every last bit of power remaining in her body. Enormous divine power converged from her limbs and bones into her heart, making her entire body glow faintly. Even her appearance began to draw closer to that of her original figurine.

Centered on her chest, radiant golden patterns appeared across her arms and body, like flowing sunlight.

Her originally brilliant golden hair now seemed to turn into liquid fire. Near her ears, it was pale gold like the morning sun, while toward the tips, the color gradually approached the blazing white of noon.

Her hair danced as countless stardust-like particles of light flickered and shifted within it, trailing dreamlike arcs behind them.

Ra's crimson eyes slowly closed. In their place, a golden eye made of light opened on her forehead, just like the unnamed Pharaoh at full power.

The golden hair ornament that had originally been on only one side became symmetrical, guarding the "sun" on her forehead like wings on either side. Her solar-flare-shaped earrings added even more solemnity to her presence.

In only that brief moment, Ra seemed to have completed a transformation from "human" to "god."

Unfortunately, compared to the figurine's complete form, the divine halo symbolizing the Sun God and the pair of golden wings of The Winged Dragon of Ra that could cover the sky had still not manifested. Even the beautiful yet dignified armor carefully designed by You Ling had only produced half a shoulder guard.

Even so, that glittering golden appearance was enough to make her impossible for anyone to ignore.

The light below shone upon Kaido, reminding him of a certain round-headed Marine Admiral. For once, he even felt a trace of dread.

Yet rather than being alarmed, he was delighted.

Not a Paramecia, but a Mythical Zoan! This is...

At that moment, Kaido resembled a Western evil dragon that had discovered an astonishing treasure, the greed in his eyes nearly taking physical form!

"Excellent! This is incredible! Let me see your limit, brat!"

Kaido transformed in midair directly into his strongest Dragon form. Armament Haki coiled around his spiked club, which came crashing down wrapped in purple lightning. This blow seemed capable of sinking the entire island!

"Thunder—Bagua!"

Sensing the terrifying attack descending at tremendous speed, Ra waved her hand and created countless golden flaming hawks to assault Kaido and buy time. Yet the instant they touched the spiked club, they were shattered.

There's something strange about that spiked club. It could be easily destroyed just now... Did he do something to it?

There was no time to think further. Kaido's strike was impossible to evade, and Ra could feel that she had already been locked onto.

I can only face it head-on!

Divine power boiled within her. The ground beneath Ra's feet began to melt again, while her white dress ignited and transformed into an immortal bird covered in flames.

The bird's beak opened over Ra's chest. Countless streams of divine power underwent fusion in her hands, which were clasped before her chest. Then, energy compressed to the limit became a god's breath and blasted toward Kaido!

"God Blaze Cannon!"