Conqueror's Haki! Who Doesn't Have That?

At that very moment,

three of the world's strongest fighters were locked in battle.

The clash was nothing short of earth-shaking.

Every elite Marine present stared in disbelief.

And yet,

after hundreds of exchanges, Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, had held his own against two Marine legends. He had not suffered so much as a scratch.

"No wonder he's called the Strongest Creature on land, sea, and air. Such formidable defense is truly rare!" Even the proud Empress Hancock was astonished.

So this is the true strength of an emperor of the sea? Even the World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, found himself wondering. His gaze sharpened in an instant, his eyes keen as a hawk's.

At last,

a violent clash sent all three fighters apart.

"Hahahahaha!"

"I told you! You two relics of a bygone era are no threat to me!"

"Well? Want to keep going, Garp? Sengoku?"

Unscathed, Kaido raised his spiked club and threw back his head with a roar, his voice brimming with arrogance.

Vice Admiral Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku exchanged a glance. Neither was injured, but they both knew that continuing to fight Kaido would get them nowhere.

"Sengoku!"

Garp hesitated, as though he wanted to say something.

Just then,

Roya stepped forward. Using Soru and Geppo from the Navy Six Powers, he swiftly reached Garp and Sengoku.

"Vice Admiral Garp! Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

"You two take a breather. Let me give it a try!"

Roya volunteered with a confident smile.

"Roya, don't be reckless. Fall back. That's Kaido, one of the Four Emperors. You can't beat him," Fleet Admiral Sengoku objected at once.

After what had happened with Blackbeard Teach, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Jack the Drought, Sengoku acknowledged Roya's strength.

But as he had said, the man before them was Kaido, one of the Four Emperors!

The Strongest Creature on land, sea, and air!

A monster whom Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp together could not even scratch!

As Marshal of Marine Headquarters, Sengoku could not simply stand by and let a young Marine with so much potential come to harm.

But then,

Garp said something unexpected. "Sengoku, let him try!"

"Garp! You—"

Sengoku was angry at first, but when he saw the resolve in Garp's eyes, he could only nod in agreement.

"Roya!"

"You can test his strength!"

"But don't push yourself too far, understand?"

Garp gave him that warning.

"Got it, Vice Admiral Garp!" Roya replied with a smile, then strode forward.

Seeing his confidence,

everyone present froze and began talking among themselves.

"Who is that guy? Does he have a death wish?"

"Look at his rank! He's only a Rear Admiral! That's Kaido, one of the Four Emperors. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp couldn't budge him together. Is he trying to get himself killed?"

The Shichibukai Dracule Mihawk, Empress Hancock, and Bartholomew Kuma watched Roya in silence.

Only Blackbeard Teach looked grim when he saw Roya prepare to fight.

"Roya... so you're finally making your move?" Blackbeard Teach muttered.

After all, Blackbeard Teach had felt both Roya's and Kaido's power firsthand. He knew better than anyone what they were capable of.

"Hahahahaha."

"Have you Marines run out of people?"

"You're sending out a little brat like this?"

"Brat, tell me your name. Then tell me how you want to die."

Kaido laughed contemptuously as Roya approached, not taking him seriously in the slightest.

"Kaido!"

"You came here looking for me, didn't you?"

"Well, here I am!"

Roya sneered.

"You're Roya? The one who captured Doflamingo and Jack?" Kaido's expression changed instantly. As his fury surged, the ground beneath him cracked.

Kaido had come here

because Roya had arrested Donquixote Doflamingo and Jack the Drought. Now that the man responsible had appeared, Kaido flew into a rage.

Then,

Boom!

Kaido unleashed a wave of Conqueror's Haki that bore down on Roya like a shroud of darkness. Fueled by rage, he had pushed it to its limit.

As Kaido's violent Conqueror's Haki swept outward, countless Marines could no longer withstand it and collapsed!

"Just what I wanted!"

With a sneer, Roya snapped his head up and unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki.

Unlike Kaido's, Roya's Conqueror's Haki carried the blood-red aura of slaughter. It was no weaker than Kaido's.

The two violent waves of Conqueror's Haki collided furiously, evenly matched. Power spilled outward in a magnificent, overwhelming display!

"Those two waves of Conqueror's Haki... it's like a slaughterhouse!" Empress Hancock was the first to voice her shock.

Even the Vice Admirals and the other Shichibukai broke out in a cold sweat. They could clearly feel the savage force of Kaido's Conqueror's Haki.

The Three Admirals, Sengoku, and Garp also wore grave expressions.

To everyone watching, Roya and Kaido looked like two dark demon kings risen from hell, terrifying beyond measure.

"That kid Roya seems even stronger than he was a while ago," Garp remarked.

The two waves of Haki, like a slaughterhouse made real, took a long while to dissipate. Traces of their Conqueror's Haki still lingered in the air.

Yet Roya and Kaido remained completely unscathed!

"You have Conqueror's Haki too?"

"Do you want to be a king as well? You?"

"This world doesn't need so many kings!"

Kaido's furious roar rang across the sky like a dragon's bellow.

The next second,

Kaido gripped his spiked club and charged. His violent Conqueror's Haki already coated the weapon as he brought it down toward Roya's head.

Roya sneered again.

Facing the frenzied Kaido, he showed no sign of panic. He swiftly drew his sword.

And likewise,

Roya, who had trained his Conqueror's Haki to a high level, could now project it and coat his weapon with it.

Clang!

Boom...

Sword and spiked club collided with a sharp, heavy crack.

Then,

the entire plaza at Marineford began to shake as though an earthquake had struck. The two coatings of Conqueror's Haki clashed, their force dozens of times greater than the auras they had unleashed moments before.