Hearing Lin Ye's words, King's face beneath his mask darkened further.
The pain of having his wings severed, the fury in his heart, and the indignation of being toyed with twisted his features.
He ripped off his mask and hood in one motion, rose to his feet, and glared at Lin Ye with bloodshot eyes.
"You think I'm no match for you just because I can't fly?"
Hearing King say that, Lin Ye halted mid-step and raised a brow at the figure whose body had once again erupted in flames.
"Then show me what you've got. Moria and Kaido probably haven't run into each other yet, so we still have some time."
Lin Ye spoke with a smile, without any killing intent or threat in his words.
Yet King's pupils contracted at those words.
"Moria? You're Gecko Moria's subordinate? No... how can you be this strong?"
King's contracted pupils suddenly widened as he stared at Lin Ye in shock.
If this guy was someone from Moria's ship, and even he was this strong, then just how strong was Gecko Moria?
Could Mr. Kaido really defeat Gecko Moria?
Lin Ye had not expected what King was thinking.
"More or less. I've been on Moria's ship for a year now, so calling me one of his crew wouldn't be wrong."
Lin Ye nodded.
The fighting spirit around King vanished in an instant.
No, he had to report this information to Mr. Kaido as soon as possible.
Moria's crew could not be underestimated.
As King pondered this, Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted from afar.
"It's Mr. Kaido's Haki!"
Sensing that Haki, King abruptly turned toward its source.
The Haki had erupted from there.
Ringo.
Lin Ye naturally sensed the burst of Haki as well and looked in that direction.
Looks like there was no need to ask for directions.
"You bastard..."
King turned back again, fighting spirit surging from him once more.
King did not know how strong Moria was, but he had just experienced how strong the man before him was.
He absolutely could not let him go over there.
If he did, it would undoubtedly be disadvantageous to Mr. Kaido's battle.
If Moria was stronger than the man before him, Mr. Kaido would likely have to go all out to deal with him.
Lin Ye withdrew his gaze and looked at King, whose fighting spirit had returned.
There was no time. He had to get there quickly.
Otherwise, he would miss this grand show.
If he arrived too late, those people fighting there would have died for nothing.
With that thought, Lin Ye gripped his sword with both hands, his eyes locking onto King.
"You're not weak. If you hadn't met me today, you might have become a major figure someday. But today, you'll die here."
King's expression turned solemn. He too gripped his sword with both hands, Armament Haki coating the massive blade as the flames around his body flowed into it.
Flames blazed, turning the blade in his hands crimson.
Dripping flames fell onto the ground and melted it.
Imperial Flame Dragon!
Pulling the sword back with both hands, King shot forward and unleashed this accumulated strike.
The Flying Slash transformed into a blazing fire dragon and flew toward Lin Ye, reaching him in the blink of an eye.
Lin Ye stomped forward with his right foot. Black lightning burst from the Black Blade in his two-handed grip as he met the incoming fire dragon head-on with a slash coated in Two-Color Haki.
Divine Departure!
Boom!
The two slashes collided with a deafening explosion.
The enormous fire dragon was cleaved in two, while the force of the slash remained undiminished as it flew toward King, who had unleashed the fire dragon.
King's eyes filled with terror as he desperately tried to move his body out of the way.
But that strike just now had been his full power.
After unleashing it, he had no time to pull back his strength and react otherwise.
The slash fell.
Boom!
King's body was sent flying, and the direction he flew was Ringo.
Lin Ye had not held back with that strike.
King's body streaked across the sky, leaving an afterimage behind.
The ground beneath Lin Ye's feet exploded. Amid continuous sonic booms, Lin Ye chased after the flying King toward the battlefield in Ringo.
Ringo.
Two Giants faced each other, one holding a spiked club and the other a greatsword.
Behind them, weapon-wielding pirates stared at the opposing side with cruel, fanatical gazes.
Conqueror's Haki surged from Kaido as he fixed his eyes on Moria, who stood not far away.
"You bastard, you actually dared to come!"
Kaido's eyes were bloodshot, and the scent of alcohol covered his body.
"Hey hee hee hee! Kaido, I've crossed the Grand Line. How long have you been hiding away in Wano Country?"
Moria threw back his head and laughed wildly, then brought the long sword in his hand down at Kaido's head.
"Men! Kill every last one of them!"
After slashing out, Moria shouted in a shrill voice through his laughter.
Kaido swung his spiked club and blocked the descending blade, then laughed toward the sky as well.
"Kill them all!"
With orders from both captains, the two groups of pirates crashed into each other.
The clash of weapons and screams immediately rang out.
The spiked club and long sword, both coated in Armament Haki, struck each other with piercing collisions between the two Giant-like figures.
Slaughter never dragged on.
When pirates of this era collided, it was either kill or be killed.
Their massive bodies moved with astonishing speed.
Moria, who had not yet become a fat shut-in and was at the peak of his strength, was indeed no weakling.
At least while Kaido was not going all out, he did not fall behind.
Their battle affected quite a few pirates.
Boom!
The spiked club smashed down on Moria's head, directly blowing apart Moria's massive body.
A long sword coated in Armament Haki emerged from the shadow behind Kaido.
Bang!
The blade struck Kaido's back, only to be blocked by the Armament Haki covering it.
Kaido staggered forward several steps, then abruptly turned to stare at Moria, who had emerged from the shadows.
"A Devil Fruit user!"
Kaido narrowed his eyes as he sized up Moria.
Though he had not hurt Kaido, Moria was clearly quite pleased with himself.
"Hey hee hee hee! The Shadow-Shadow Fruit! As long as there are shadows, I'm invincible."
Moria giggled as his figure melded into the shadows again.
Using the shadows of the many pirates across the battlefield to move, he reappeared in front of Kaido.
Kaido gave a cold laugh.
"Interesting. Then die. Thunder Bagua!"
Boom!
Watching the spiked club swing toward him, Moria raised his sword to block it as he had before.
But only when his blade collided with the spiked club did he realize something was wrong with this attack.
Black lightning erupted.
Moria's arms went limp as he held his sword with both hands, and he could only watch as Kaido's spiked club reached his face.
Boom!
Moria was struck squarely in the face by the club, his massive body flying out of the battlefield.
Kaido laughed loudly as Conqueror's Haki violently erupted from his body, and the battlefield instantly grew much quieter.
Large numbers of pirates rolled their eyes back and collapsed unconscious.
Kaido, with Conqueror's Haki bursting from him, started walking toward Moria. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a black dot flying in from afar, heading straight toward him.
Kaido narrowed his eyes and was about to swing his club when he realized that the black dot looked strangely familiar.
This thing looked like something he had seen somewhere before.
Before you continue