A Single Slash Shattered God's Knights' Dream, My Friend, I Was Just Passing By

Whitebeard tilted his head slightly, glanced at the spirited Rocks beside him, and asked in a low voice, "Are they the mysterious organization from the World Government you mentioned?"

"Hehehehaha... who knows?" Rocks replied casually, his gaze fixed on the three figures along the shoreline, his tone carrying the indifference of someone who simply did not care who they were.

Saint Garling and the other two did not advance any farther. Instead, they stopped several dozen meters from the shore.

The sea breeze passed between them, stirring the hems of their cloaks and revealing their high boots.

The captain of the Rocks Pirates?

Saint Garling's gaze settled on the figure standing atop the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon's head.

The Marines had assessed him as "extremely dangerous," but now that he saw him in person, he was merely a "human" somewhat stronger than ordinary people.

But what about them?

They were gods.

Gods with immortal bodies.

Beings humanity could never defeat.

"Hey," Rocks, standing on the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon's forehead, suddenly called toward the shore. "You rats too ashamed to show yourselves, is that idiot brat on my ship doing all right?"

After a pause, the corner of Rocks's mouth curled upward. "If he isn't, then neither will you be."

"Damn commoners!!"

"Damn insects!!"

The two members of God's Knights beside Saint Garling had their faces instantly twist upon hearing the words "rats too ashamed to show themselves," fury exploding in their eyes.

Who were they?

They were the descendants of the Creator, beings bestowed with the title of "gods," beings no one in this world was permitted to insult.

Whoosh!

The two figures vanished from Saint Garling's side almost simultaneously.

When they reappeared, they were already rushing from the left and right toward the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon on the sea, their weapons coated in Haki as they charged at Rocks.

Saint Garling did not stop them. He merely stood where he was, his gaze beneath the cloak calmly watching the battlefield ahead.

Rocks watched the two figures pounce toward him, his expression still calm. He even had the leisure to say to Whitebeard, "See? These guys are sensitive. Say anything bad about them, and they get worked up."

"But..."

Rocks's expression suddenly turned serious. He gripped the hilt of his blade, and as the Haki-coated sword left its sheath, it gave off a low hum while dark-red arcs of electricity flickered along its length.

Whoosh!

In almost an instant, his figure vanished from the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon's forehead.

When he appeared again, he was already in midair, facing the two members of God's Knights head-on.

Crackle!

Dark-red electric arcs burst from Rocks's blade. He looked at the two of them and said coldly, "Rats should crawl back into their holes."

As the words fell, he swung his sword.

Hummm!

A sword cry tore through the air and erupted into a piercing shriek.

An unimaginably terrifying sword-energy shockwave burst from the blade, carrying the crushing might of Conqueror's Haki as though it would split the entire sky in two.

The two members of God's Knights reacted swiftly as well. They swung their weapons at the same time, attempting to receive the attack head-on.

Bang!

A muffled explosion thundered through the air.

Rocks's sword-energy shockwave was like an unstoppable torrent, instantly knocking their weapons from their hands.

The moment their weapons slipped free, genuine terror appeared on their faces for the first time.

"No!"

A cry of "No!" rang out across the sky.

The sword-energy shockwave crashed directly into them. Dark-red electric arcs leaped wildly across their bodies, gnawing at them without pause.

Their bodies flew backward at high speed, like two fallen leaves swept up by a gale.

The next second, the sword energy sliced through their abdomens, cutting their bodies in half. Their upper and lower halves separated in midair, four chunks of flesh falling to the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

Rustle, rustle, rustle~~

After the commotion, laughter pierced through the dust.

"Hehehe,"

"Hehehehahahaha,"

On the ground, the two members of God's Knights lay beside the other halves of their bodies and laughed quietly.

The attack was powerful, but so what?

They possessed immortal bodies. They would not die.

But soon, their smiles froze.

Rocks's Conqueror's Haki pressed down upon them like an invisible tide. That suppression from the depths of their souls seemed to lock their "immortal bodies" in place, preventing their severed halves from rejoining.

"Urgh."

Rocks descended from the air, his feet touching the ground. He slowly walked up to them, looking down at the two halves of their still-twitching bodies.

"What are you laughing about? What is so funny?"

"Insect!"

One of the members of God's Knights gritted his teeth and forced out a hoarse insult from deep in his throat.

"I don't like hearing that." Rocks's voice turned cold as he slightly raised the hand holding his sword.

Just then, a fierce blast of wind pressure closed in from the side.

Saint Garling finally could not remain still. Gripping his longsword, he shot toward Rocks like an arrow released from a bowstring.

His blade drew a frigid arc through the air, aimed directly at Rocks's neck.

But before he could arrive, another figure had already descended from the sky.

Whitebeard swung his naginata. An attack carrying the combined power of Conqueror's Haki and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, accompanied by dark-red electric arcs and an overwhelming force, came cleaving down at Saint Garling head-on.

Saint Garling's pupils suddenly contracted. He instantly abandoned his attack on Rocks and raised his blade horizontally before himself.

Bang!

A muffled explosion erupted between them.

The ground beneath Saint Garling instantly shattered, spiderweb-like cracks spreading in every direction.

His weapon bent slightly under the tremendous impact, and his knees buckled as his entire body was forced downward.

Aah!!

Saint Garling roared, power surging continuously from within his body as his legs slowly straightened under the crushing pressure.

Hah!

Whitebeard immediately roared as well, increasing his own strength in tandem.

The dark-red electric arcs around the naginata swelled another degree, and the crushing force intensified once again.

Boom!

Saint Garling's knees slammed back down, this time sinking deeper and heavier than before.

The impact shattered the ground again, and fragments of stone shot outward like bullets.

After Whitebeard joined the battle, Ron quickly landed on the island and went searching for Kaido.

Meanwhile, on Kaido's side.

Amid the ruins, the blonde woman lay among shattered stone slabs and rubble.

The face Kaido had flattened with a single strike of his club was slowly recovering at a visible rate. Her sunken eye sockets began to swell back into shape, broken bones crackled, and her distorted features gradually returned to their original positions.

Black smoke coiled up from the surface of her skin like a dark adhesive mending cracks.

"Unforgivable..."

Her voice squeezed out from a throat that had yet to fully recover, hoarse and twisted, carrying the venomous resentment of something crawling up from the depths of hell.

"Absolutely unforgivable..."

She slowly raised a hand, her five fingers digging into the broken stones on the ground as her nails scraped harshly against the rock.

"Damn insect!" The blonde woman's voice suddenly rose, shrill with the hysteria of someone completely enraged. "How dare you... how dare you!!"

"Huff, huff, huff~~~~"

After unleashing a fierce barrage of attacks against the transformed Golden Giant Buddha, Kaido stood amid the ruins, panting heavily.

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound. He turned toward the blonde woman's position, and shock appeared on his face.

"What the hell? Her face got smashed flat, and she's still not dead?"