Ultimate Taijutsu, Eight Gates!!!

"Whoosh!"

Ron suddenly slammed on the brakes, his feet plowing two shallow furrows into the ground as gravel and dust surged to either side.

Kaido froze for a moment, then hurriedly stopped as well, coming to a halt beside Ron.

His curious gaze fell on Ron as he immediately asked, "Why'd you stop? Aren't we chasing them?"

After a pause, he quickly added, "If you're not chasing them, lend me your power and I'll give it a try."

Ron turned his head toward Kaido. Instead of answering his question, he asked, "Kaido... have you ever seen Ultimate Taijutsu?"

"Of course I have." Kaido nodded, answering casually while keeping his eyes fixed on Ron. "Lend me your power first."

Kaido's completely off-script response made Ron's mind stall for a moment, but he quickly continued, "No. In this world, I'm the only one who knows Ultimate Taijutsu."

"So that's how it is." Kaido nodded again, his expression unchanged. "Can you lend me your power now?"

"..."

Ron fell silent. What happened to the Intern Alliance's tacit understanding? You can't follow a single line of conversation, and all you can think about is borrowing power? Were you an ATM in your past life?

"No."

Ron answered irritably, then took a deep breath.

Although the memories of how to use the Eight Gates were already as clear in his mind as if they had been carved into his bones.

When he was truly about to use it for the first time, he still felt an indescribable trace of tension.

"What? We're interns of the Intern Alliance, bonded like brothers! Isn't it a little stingy not to lend it to me?" The moment Kaido heard Ron refuse, he immediately began pestering him.

Ron ignored him. He slowly lowered his center of gravity, feeling the power within his body rise along his spine, like a sleeping river beginning to awaken.

"Seventh Gate of Wonder, open!"

The instant his quiet shout fell, a layer of blue steam erupted from Ron's body.

Unlike other powers, this was energy released by the burning of the body itself—scorching, violent, and carrying a visible sense of oppression.

A terrifying shockwave centered on Ron instantly spread outward in every direction.

Kaido was the closest. Before he could even react to what had happened, he only heard Ron shout something about "opening," then was violently blasted away by an enormous shockwave.

After rolling across the ground several times, he quickly scrambled to his feet and stared blankly at Ron.

Blue steam now coiled around Ron's body, and his hair floated upward.

"What... just happened?" Kaido muttered under his breath, raising one hand before his face to block the lingering shockwave blowing toward him.

What he could be sure of was that this power was neither a Devil Fruit ability nor Haki.

It was unfamiliar and primal, carrying a sense of dissonance that did not belong to this world, like something forcibly dragged in from another dimension.

"Ultimate Taijutsu?"

Having come back to his senses, Kaido finally remembered what Ron had said earlier.

The words "I'm the only one who knows it in this world" echoed through his mind.

"I'm going on ahead."

Ron's voice came from within the steam.

As soon as he spoke, Kaido heard a bang, and Ron's figure had already turned into a streak of blue-white light, racing in the direction Roger and Rayleigh were fleeing.

It kicked up a long, rolling dragon of earth along the path of pursuit.

Kaido simply stood there in a daze, watching the blue-white figure rapidly shrink into the distance before finally vanishing into the dust far away.

He did not chase after him.

Nor did he remain fixated on borrowing power.

He stood there, staring steadily in the direction Ron had vanished, a rare, almost thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

"Ron..." Kaido murmured. "Just how many trump cards do you have?"

Ahead, Roger and Rayleigh were still running for their lives.

The two figures darted rapidly through the rolling terrain, with Rocks pursuing them relentlessly from behind.

"This is really terrible..." Rayleigh complained as he ran. It would have been one thing if they had failed to bring Annika back, but now even their ship had been stolen, and they had no choice but to flee.

"Hahahaha~~~" Roger remained as optimistic as ever, even having the energy to laugh. "It's not that terrible. After all, only Rocks caught up with us."

At the very instant those words left his mouth, the expressions of Roger, Rayleigh, and even Rocks behind them changed almost simultaneously.

Their Observation Haki had all foreseen it: an energy presence that made their hearts tremble was rapidly approaching from behind at a speed far beyond reason.

"What the hell?" Rocks abruptly stopped, turning his body slightly as he looked behind him.

At the instant he turned his head.

"Whoosh~~!"

A fierce gust of wind howled past his side.

At the same time, Roger and Rayleigh's Observation Haki had already predicted the arrival of danger.

The two of them almost simultaneously assumed defensive stances.

"Whoosh~~!"

In barely the blink of an eye, a blue-white figure had arrived before them.

"Ron?!"

Rayleigh and Roger cried out at the same time.

Ron did not answer. His body twisted slightly, his right fist already charged with power. Wrapped in blue steam, it shot straight for Roger's face without the slightest hesitation.

Roger reacted swiftly, instantly crossing his arms to block.

Boom!

A muffled explosion erupted as a force far beyond his expectations flooded into his arms.

His body flew backward like a stone launched from a slingshot.

Rayleigh reacted with extreme speed. The moment Ron attacked Roger, he instantly shifted from defense to offense, Haki coiling around the long blade in his hand as he slashed fiercely at Ron.

"Whoosh~~!"

Another sonic boom rang out.

Rayleigh's blade cut through empty air.

Ron had vanished from where he stood in that instant, leaving behind only a ring of spreading blue steam.

Rayleigh's blade fell straight to the ground.

Boom!

The ground instantly split open with an enormous sword scar, and thick smoke roared upward from its center.

Guided by his Observation Haki, Rayleigh suddenly turned his head. At his side—

Ron's kick came flying in.

Rayleigh shifted from attack to defense once more.

But... he was too slow.

Bang!

Ron's kick struck Rayleigh, and he immediately felt as if his internal organs had been violently churned, his chest tightening sharply.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth. Then, under the massive impact, his body was sent violently flying backward.

Ron landed on the ground, blue-white steam slowly swirling around him.

"Ron?" Rocks wore an expression of disbelief. At first, he had thought some kind of energy shockwave had been fired.