"Áo wū!!!"
The combined attacks of Rowen and Kizaru were on a completely different level than what Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit could ever achieve. Under the effect of "speed equals power," the damage inflicted by the two working in tandem far surpassed even the Super Electromagnetic Cannon.
Not to mention, the thunder in their assault was ferocious to the extreme. That devastating, terrifying force spread out in all directions, roaring forth with the sheer wildness of annihilation.
Under Smoker's stunned gaze, Kaido's scale armor on his chin cracked with a ka-cha! as blood spurted out.
Kaido couldn't help but let out a pained howl. His massive body, hundreds of meters tall, was flung into the air at a speed visible to the naked eye. This wasn't him flying by his own power, he was simply blasted away.
In the explosion of lightning and golden light, Kaido opened his mouth and spewed a mouthful of thick, clotted blood.
Countless soldiers stared on in utter shock. The opponent whom they couldn't even scratch, no matter how hard they tried… had been blown away?! The impact shook them to the core.
"What are you standing around for?! Move!"
After landing a hit, Rowen didn't drop his guard. This level of damage wasn't even significant to him, let alone to Kaido.
He turned and shouted at the dumbfounded Smoker, then addressed Mozambia.
"Your biological radar should be able to detect any living thing in the sea within thirty nautical miles. I want you to escort them out! Be careful, there are still enemies in the direction we came from. Don't get surrounded."
"I... Yes!!"
Mozambia froze for a moment, then nodded unwillingly, his face full of frustration.
The gap in level… was just too great!
The battlefield rule that "soldiers fight soldiers, generals fight generals" wasn't some unwritten courtesy, it was because of the insurmountable chasm between high-level and low-level combat power.
Mozambia knew he couldn't intervene in the battle between an Admiral and Kaido, so he decisively nodded. His arm ejected a grappling claw, hooked Smoker, and flew toward the battleship.
Only then did Smoker snap out of it. He turned to look back at their Admiral still locked in fierce combat with Kaido in midair and clenched his teeth.
"I have to get this thing back!"
He suddenly understood something: how did Rowen and Kizaru, who should've taken dozens of hours to reach the rendezvous point, show up here now?
The answer was actually simple.
They'd pushed their bodies to the absolute limit, unleashing their maximum speed.
For Rowen and Kizaru, crossing the sea wasn't much harder than Aokiji taking a bike ride. They barely even considered stamina consumption...
But even that wasn't their true top speed.
As long as they weren't afraid of burning through energy, both of them could burst into unimaginable velocity!
However, the price of doing so was that their stamina would take a huge hit! Rowen and Kizaru right now were definitely not at full strength!
To take on Kaido head-on while exhausted, just how risky was that?!
If they hadn't fought side-by-side, it would've been suicide!
So... to honor their effort and trust, Smoker vowed: he would absolutely get the package back!
Hot Breath!
Whoosh...
BOOM!!
A pillar of crimson fire plunged from the sky, vaporizing the sea into a massive pit several hundred meters wide. Amid the raging heat, Kizaru turned into particles of light, shooting toward Kaido like a missile. Crossing his arms, his entire body burst into dazzling golden light.
Yasakani no Magatama!
Xiū Xiū Xiū! Xiū Xiū!
A dense golden rain of light bullets poured down like a storm. Each one was powerful enough to blow up a battleship, a truly terrifying assault.
However, when these attacks landed on the cyan-black scale armor covering Kaido, they were like soap bubbles. No matter how many hit, all they did was shatter themselves without effect.
"What a scary, scary defense… No matter how many times I see it, it's always like this."
Kizaru dodged Kaido's sweeping tail with a flicker of light, his wrinkled face puckering into a lewd expression.
But those eyes were gleaming with a chilling light, intensely unnerving.
"You dragged me from my relaxing vacation of sipping tea and reading newspapers just to risk my life. Rowen, how do you plan to compensate me for that?"
Smoker had guessed correctly: to accelerate their arrival at the scene, both Rowen and Kizaru had pushed themselves to their limits.
This was about the Road Poneglyph. Unless Rowen had a way to destroy it, there was no way they could allow it to fall into pirate hands.
He might not care about the secret of ONE PIECE itself, but he did care about the chaos that would ensue if someone else found it.
Those who hadn't outgrown their obsession with petty desires still placed immense value on the legendary treasure.
So, before setting out, the two of them had been crystal clear about their mission:
Stop Kaido from seizing the Road Poneglyph.
And nothing more…
But clearly, Kaido wasn't going to let go so easily. The battle might drag on until Marine HQ's full forces arrived, leading to yet another great war.
If that happened, the time frame would be far too long.
Even for the two of them… there could be a real risk of death.
At this, Rowen gave Kizaru a sidelong glance.
"The fall of Gold City left the New World with a bunch of bored rich folks. I've been thinking about a reconstruction plan… but I can't clone myself, so it's been on hold."
"I think Vice Admiral Chaton is the best man for the job… Besides, even the Fleet Admiral can't stop us from making a little extra money as long as it's within the bounds of Justice."
"No, no, no, Chaton could never take on something like this!"
Kizaru's eyes lit up. "The interests of the New World's nations are all tangled and complicated. If Gold Emperor hadn't been rich, he wouldn't have lasted a day."
"Chaton has no money, no people, and his power's so-so at best. Not to mention, he's kind of sleazy-looking… Why not leave it to me?"
'Where do you get the nerve to call someone else sleazy-looking?!'
Rowen stared at Kizaru's wrinkled, chrysanthemum-like old face, visibly shocked.
"…Let me think about it. You are the Chief of Scientific Force, a very busy man."
"I'll hand in my resignation to Akainu immediately! Anyway, Vegapunk's experiment is nearing its final phase, whether I'm there or not doesn't matter."
As he spoke, a sly grin spread across Kizaru's aged face. He raised his hand.
"Well then… deal?"
Rowen met his gaze with mutual understanding and gave a high-five.
Clap!
"Deal!"
"You two… who the hell do you think you're underestimating?!"
Having heard their whole conversation, Kaido snorted hot air through his nostrils, his fury surging.
"Go die!!!"
Hot Breath!
"Same move over and over… Don't you have any variety, Kaido?"
Rowen was just about to make his move when suddenly, a powerful surge of elemental energy swept over from beside him. The golden particles surrounding Kizaru seemed to ignite, forming a dazzling golden blaze that dyed the surrounding air in radiant brilliance.
Buzz!!
A deafening sound left heads ringing as eight-sided prisms materialized out of thin air. Golden light converged into them, crackling with fearsome power.
The overwhelming force of Awakening rapidly spread through the air, and Rowen even felt like the lightning within his own body had come to a standstill, an illusion, but a terrifying one.
The ability to interfere with his Devil Fruit powers could only mean one thing: the second stage of Devil Fruit Awakening, an advanced fusion-level force!
Looking at the now-serious Kizaru in stunned silence, Rowen twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered inwardly:
MMP!
So all this time, it was just that your paycheck wasn't high enough, huh?!!!
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻)
"Don't look at me like that. It's simple, do the work you're paid for. That's universal logic."
Kizaru said in his signature slow drawl, then grinned.
"As long as the pay is doubled, even a Yonko's getting wrecked! That's my life motto, y'know."
With that, Kizaru suddenly transformed into a pillar of golden light and shot forward to meet Kaido's Hot Breath head-on.
Heavenly Yasakani Spear!
Rowen: "..."
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 90 chapters on my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395