Kaido's Resolve

The damaged pirate ship rocked violently amid the waves, its hull creaking and groaning.

Several sections of the deck had collapsed, the planks charred and curled, while cannon fire and crushing punches had torn savage gashes into the ship's sides.

Splintered wood, broken ropes, and pirate wreckage blasted away by Zephyr's fists rose and fell with the waves, like a silent graveyard.

Kaido knelt on one knee in the middle of the deck, breathing heavily.

Only by driving his massive spiked club deep into the planks could he barely steady his swaying body.

Bruises from Armament Haki's crushing force still marked his shoulders, and his bones throbbed with intense pain.

He slowly raised his head.

Above, the dark clouds had been forcibly torn apart, thunder and tremors intertwining into a scene of destruction beyond nature itself.

White cracks spread through the clouds, as if the sky itself were collapsing.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down—

Rock descended from the sky with Lightning Blade in hand, colliding head-on with Whitebeard's vibrating blade.

The thunderous blast swept across heaven and earth. Sea and sky seemed to split in two as a distant barren island abruptly sank, its rock layers collapsing while seawater surged backward.

Kaido's pupils suddenly contracted. His Adam's apple bobbed as he rasped in a voice so low it was nearly inaudible, "So this is... the true strength of monsters at the pinnacle..."

There was neither anger nor resentment in his tone.

Only naked shock, and a clearly emerging sense of—powerlessness.

His gaze slowly shifted, settling on the young figure wrapped in lightning.

Blue-white bolts streaked through the air as Rock refused to yield, clashing directly with Whitebeard and even forcing that monstrous man to unleash Conqueror's Haki!

Kaido's eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at that figure. "Rock..."

He gripped his spiked club so tightly that his knuckles turned white. A certain obsession quietly took shape in his heart. I've got to get my hands on a legendary Devil Fruit...

"Otherwise, I'll never catch up to these monsters!!!"

Buckin held onto the tilted railing, her entire face pale in the lightning's glow.

After a brief daze, she suddenly snapped back to her senses and nearly roared, "What are you idiots standing around for?! Get us over there, now!!!"

The surviving pirates woke as if from a dream. Scrambling and crawling, they pulled the ropes taut, adjusted the ship's course, and nervously shifted toward the edge of the battlefield.

Buckin looked back and saw the inescapable "devil" still hot on their heels.

The battle-damaged warship cut through the waves, like an injured steel beast that had only grown more ferocious.

On its deck, Armament Haki surged over Zephyr's entire body, his killing intent nearly solidifying into substance.

Buckin's eyelids twitched wildly as she shouted herself hoarse, "Damn it!! Did Zephyr eat explosives today?!"

"Isn't he supposed to be No-Kill?! What the hell is with punching a whole crowd of pirates to death!!!"

Remembering the merciless punch Zephyr had thrown when he charged aboard earlier, a chill ran down her spine and even her calves went weak.

Kaido shuddered involuntarily as well, images flashing through his mind of Zephyr grabbing him by the head and smashing him into the deck again and again.

If Buckin had not released that poisonous mist in time to cover him, he knew perfectly well—he might have already sunk beneath the sea.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The Marine warship was equally battered, smoke still drifting from its cannons.

The deck was covered in cracks and bloodstains, yet no one retreated.

Standing at the bow, Zephyr looked at the split barren island in the distance and the twisted sky, then took a deep breath.

"Destructive power on the level of a natural disaster..." His voice was low, unable to hide his shock.

His gaze fell upon Rock, who was battling Whitebeard in midair. "Rock... just how strong will you become..."

The next second, Zephyr abruptly reined in his emotions, and his eyes turned cold once more.

"Close in!!"

"Don't let that pirate ship get away!!!"

The order fell. The warship's engines roared, its bow cleaving through the waves as it gave chase at full speed.

The fleeing pirate ship pitched violently through the waves, its hull groaning under the strain.

On deck, Kaido and Buckin were practically roaring into each other's faces, their voices shredded by the sea wind.

Veins bulged on Buckin's forehead as she cursed furiously, "Damn it!! Why the hell was it you who came?!"

"If it had been anyone else, I would've turned around and taken them down already!!!"

Kaido glared with his bull-like eyes and roared back, spittle flying, "How the hell was I supposed to know you sent the message?!"

"I thought something happened to Big Brother Newgate, so I rushed over here!!!"

As they screamed at each other, they still had to cling desperately to the ship to avoid being thrown into the sea by the violent rocking.

Yet amid their argument, the ship unknowingly drew closer and closer to that barren island.

In truth, today was the day the Rocks Pirates had planned to hijack the International Charity Alliance Temple, Fotocoloni.

The division of labor had long been settled, and Newgate's fleet had set out first as the vanguard.

But no one had expected him to run head-on into Zephyr and Rock during the voyage.

Thus, a battle that should never have happened erupted upon the sea.

Relying on instincts nearly as sharp as a beast's, Buckin sent out a call for help at once.

But the other members of the Rocks Pirates were either busy with their own affairs or simply too lazy to care.

—Newgate?

—Whitebeard?

—In trouble?

What kind of joke was that???

Only one person believed it.

Only Kaido, that hulking brute who was "so simple he was almost stupid," truly believed that Newgate might be facing a life-or-death crisis.

So, without giving it another thought, he led his fleet in a mad dash all the way here.

But what greeted him was not a companion in need of rescue, but Zephyr's killing intent, so intense it had nearly become tangible.

Only when Iron Fist struck his body did Kaido finally understand what the Marines' "Black Arm" truly meant.

If Buckin had not reacted so quickly and forcibly unleashed poisonous mist amid the chaos to stop the Marines, the two of them might truly have died in these waters today.

At that thought, Kaido's fury was gradually replaced by a chill.

Just then, another earth-shaking boom came from the direction of the barren island ahead.

Lightning pierced the clouds, and the ground seemed to split apart from within. The outline of the entire island visibly collapsed by another section in the distance.

Kaido suddenly raised his head, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints. "Hey... Buckin..."

"That island up ahead... isn't it about to blow apart?!"

Buckin's throat tightened. She instinctively swallowed, her voice dry. "D-Damn it..."

"What kind of insane level are those two fighting at!!!"

The shattered barren island no longer resembled its original shape.

The mountains had collapsed into slanted broken faces, while the rock layers had been repeatedly shattered and overturned, as if countless invisible giant hands had torn them apart.

Massive cracks crisscrossed the island, spewing steam from their depths. Lightning fire and the embers left behind by the tremors raged on as the entire island groaned beneath a low rumble.

Newgate and Rock stood facing each other.

Whitebeard's chest was covered in charred, cracked wounds, and pale marks from Thunder's scorching heat remained on muscles as hard as steel.

The cape that symbolized his majesty had long since been torn apart, leaving only a few strips snapping wildly in the gale;

Rock's Lightning Armor flickered repeatedly between dimness and renewal. Arcs of electricity danced across his shoulders and back, while the blood that had just spilled from his wounds was instantly vaporized by the searing lightning, turning into wisps of white mist around him.

At that moment, their Observation Haki stirred almost simultaneously.

Newgate raised an eyebrow, his gaze unconsciously sweeping toward the distant sea.

His pirate ship was being pursued so fiercely it was nearly falling apart. Its hull was warped and its masts leaned crookedly, while the warship behind it clung close like a beast that had sunk its fangs into prey, allowing no room to breathe.

"Gurarara..."

Rock noticed it all as well.

Instead, he grinned, wild and arrogant, as lightning flashed through the depths of his pupils.

"Hey—"

Thunder abruptly stretched out from his palm.

In an instant, the Lightning Blade collapsed and reforged. Its electric light was forcibly compressed into a straight, sharp edge, transforming into a Lightning Spear that stood tall enough to pierce the heavens.

"What are you looking at?!"

"Boom—!!!"

Lightning Flash!

Rock transformed into lightning that tore through space, charging forward with the Lightning Spear in a direct thrust. Lightning Roar rang out like divine punishment, forcibly ripping open the air!

Newgate's pupils abruptly contracted, and he raised Murakumogiri across his body almost by reflex.

"Clang—!!!!"

The Lightning Spear slammed brutally into the blade!

Tremors, thunder, sparks, and electric arcs exploded between them at once. Blinding white light instantly swallowed their vision, while a savage shockwave sent all the remaining rocks flying!

A low roar rose from Newgate's throat as he stomped violently against the ground—

"Air Quake!!!"

An invisible tremor suddenly erupted where he stood, like a wall expanding in reverse and forcibly blasting Rock away!

The Lightning Spear shattered on the spot, scattering lightning in every direction.

Rock flipped through the air to bleed off the force before landing heavily. His feet carved two deep trenches into the ground, and the electric current crushed loose stones into powder.

Before the dust could settle, the two men stood firm again, their eyes meeting.

Killing intent, fighting spirit, and the desire to determine a victor faced off silently in the air.

Then the earth beneath their feet suddenly shook violently.

The cracks expanded madly, huge sections along the island's edge collapsed, and seawater poured in from every direction with deafening force.

—This barren island would not hold out much longer.