Anyone who had made a name for themselves on the seas was no pushover.
By this point, Kaido's Devil Fruit had already awakened, or at least showed signs of awakening.
However, users of Mythical Zoan or Zoan fruits gained tremendous boosts to their vitality and physical strength, on top of the powerful physiques humans in this world naturally possessed.
In short, they were hard to kill.
Especially when their strength was evenly matched.
The reason Kaido would later be called the strongest creature on land was because his vitality was exceptionally powerful.
His hobby was actually suicide, yet he never died.
Lin Ye stroked his chin as he watched Kaido, who had slung his spiked club over his shoulder and was looking over at him.
Kaido might have looked like a brute, but he was actually an extremely cunning pirate.
Suicide?
Lin Ye felt that this guy might have been putting on an act for the whole world to see.
That way, he could display his abilities and earn the awe and prestige of others.
After all, if he truly wanted to die, there were plenty of ways to do it.
Kaido's ultimate move just now had smashed Moria into the ground. It looked like he could not be pulled out anymore.
The shockwave from that move had sent all the surrounding pirates flying, whether they belonged to Kaido or Moria.
Another large wave of transparent bubbles surged toward Lin Ye.
[Blank Trait: 513] [Survival of the Fittest Level 1: You possess an extremely high adaptability to all kinds of harsh environments and natural disasters. Through exposure, you will gradually develop resistance to them.]
He could raise another trait from Level 9 to Level 10.
However, his own physique was not particularly strong.
Strong Physique had only granted him a constitution-type ability from an ordinary pirate. Even at max level, it could not compare to the physiques of the Monsters on these seas.
And he was about to fight Kaido. If Kaido's Devil Fruit ability had awakened, he could control lightning and flames. Lin Ye might not be able to withstand that.
Lin Ye had never intended to disregard life and death for a battle.
Before entering any battle, he only did so when he was confident he would not lose.
If his abilities had not improved before coming here this time, then he would have stayed on the sidelines, taken the benefits when they came, and left.
But Kaido had not yet entered his prime. He was roughly at the threshold of the Kaido who would reach his peak in the future.
It was not as though Lin Ye could not fight him.
Even if he could not kill Kaido, it did not mean he would lose.
Therefore, the trait he had obtained from King was extremely useful.
To a certain extent, this also counted as a type of constitution, and it provided resistance to everything.
Whether he fought Kaido now or faced powerful Logia users in the future, it would be of tremendous use.
[Survival of the Fittest: Level 9] [Blank Trait: 3]
Feeling the changes in his body, Lin Ye nodded inwardly, then looked up at Kaido as he strode over to stand before him.
The two figures, one tall and one short, faced each other.
Before the burly and towering Kaido, Lin Ye, who was only a little over six feet tall, was not particularly conspicuous. Yet his aura was not inferior in the slightest.
The surviving pirates in the distance watched the two of them with trepidation.
Especially those on Moria's side.
So the strongest person on the ship was not Captain Moria, but Captain Lin Ye!
These pirates were numb with shock.
Quite a few of them still remembered what Lin Ye had looked like when he first came aboard.
He had been short and skinny, and the swords in their hands had been taller than him.
The first time they fought pirates, Captain Lin Ye's small figure had charged at the front with a blade in hand.
From then on, they had watched helplessly as Lin Ye grew stronger in battle, becoming stronger and stronger until, in just one year, he became the ship's combat captain.
But now, Captain Lin Ye had actually been hiding his strength.
No wonder Captain Lin Ye had treated the captain that way.
The pirates fell silent.
The pirates on Kaido's side also fell silent.
Because in terms of aura, he was not inferior to Boss Kaido at all.
Even King had died at this guy's hands.
Then the pirates turned their gazes toward the pirates on the other side, gripped their weapons, and charged forward.
Neither Kaido nor Lin Ye was disturbed by anything outside their confrontation.
"Kid, you're strong!"
Kaido carried his spiked club on his shoulder and looked down at Lin Ye as he spoke in a low voice.
"Want to join my crew? If you do, you'll be vice-captain. With you and me working together, we can rule these seas."
Lin Ye froze, looking at Kaido in surprise.
"I killed your subordinate. That guy was your confidant, wasn't he? I also killed Kurozumi Orochi!"
Kaido burst into loud laughter.
"But if they're dead, they're useless. Only the living are useful, and your value far exceeds theirs."
A pirate through and through.
Lin Ye looked at the laughing Kaido, then shook his head.
"If you want me to be vice-captain, you'll have to defeat me first!"
"Kid, I gave you a chance!"
Hearing Lin Ye's words, Kaido knew that Lin Ye had refused. His face immediately darkened, and his voice became filled with killing intent.
"Do you always talk this much nonsense?"
Lin Ye gripped the hilt at his waist and drew the Black Blade, while tossing Yingxue aside.
Looking at the blade that was like a toothpick to him, Kaido's eyes flashed with ferocity as Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body.
A vast amount of Conqueror's Haki pressed down on Lin Ye.
Boom!
Conqueror's Haki that was not inferior to Kaido's erupted from Lin Ye.
Boom!
The Conqueror's Haki around their bodies became visible to the naked eye, like two black shockwaves bearing down on each other.
The collision of their Conqueror's Haki caused both sides, who had only just entered battle, to collapse unconscious to the ground.
The force of their clash shot straight into the sky.
The heavy thunderclouds Kaido had summoned were torn apart by the collision of Conqueror's Haki. Moonlight shone through the shattered clouds and fell upon the battlefield.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Feeling Lin Ye's Conqueror's Haki, Kaido's eyes filled with shock. It was actually no weaker than his own?
Kaido made the first move.
Lightning and Haki coiled around his spiked club. This strike was incredibly fast, even faster than the one he had used against Lin Ye earlier.
And with Lin Ye standing much closer, the Haki-wreathed club had nearly reached Lin Ye's face the instant Kaido spoke.
"Divine Departure!"
Lin Ye struck almost at the same time. The arms holding his sword suddenly swelled by a full circle as the power of Level 7 Mighty Arms and Level 9 Strong Physique poured into the blade.
The coating of Two-Color Haki distorted even the space around the blade.
Boom!
The blade collided with the descending spiked club, yet they did not make contact.
Black lightning erupted completely between the sword and the spiked club, while violent shockwaves spread outward wave after wave.
The ground, the sky, and even the surrounding mountains and terrain were all ripped apart and hurled away by the shockwaves.
Kaido's eyes widened in shock.
That slash?
Was that Roger's slash?
Kaido gritted his teeth and desperately pressed down on the spiked club in his hands, only to realize that it was being forced upward bit by bit.
Boom!
A black slash shot into the sky.
Kaido's massive body was sent flying. The edge of the slash grazed his chest, drawing a string of blood blossoms.
The slash that shot into the sky exploded overhead. In an instant, the whole world seemed to turn dark purple.
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