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Pff…
Huā Lā La!!
Brilliant golden light clashed with the blazing breath of fire, yet no explosion followed. Instead, like a hot knife slicing through butter, it tore the Hot Breath Fire Pillar apart.
The golden brilliance streaked across the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye, demonstrating to the world the true meaning of speed.
Under Rowen's utterly shocked gaze, the golden beam pierced into the cyan Divine Dragon's mouth, Paulie, then shot out the other side, leaving a misty jet of blood in its wake.
In that instant, Kaido's eyes widened in disbelief.
Then he began thrashing his massive body wildly, letting out agonized howls.
"Áo wū… Áo wū!!"
The sudden storm of wind forced Rowen to retreat a few steps, just to avoid being swept into Kaido's frenzy. Droplets of blood, each the size of an average human, rained from the sky and splattered on the sea below, quickly dyeing the waters red.
Huff…
"Damn… that was tough as hell!"
Light particles coalesced into a humanoid form beside him, Kizaru exhaled slightly, wiping his right foot against the left leg of his pants, clearly in pain.
Then, staring at the incredulous Rowen, he said:
"Kaido's Azure Dragon form has seven weaknesses, not true weak points, per se, but places where his defense is thinnest…"
"They are: the scale armor on his brow, the roof of his mouth, the scale armor over the left atrium, and the joints connecting all four claws to his body. Compared to the rest of him, those spots are more vulnerable. Attacking them can effectively disrupt his rhythm."
"These are structural flaws inherent to the Azure Dragon form, a mythical beast that bestows great power… but not without drawbacks."
It's like how a fractured coccyx can render a human unable to walk, or how 'Drought' Jack, in his mammoth form, couldn't scratch his own back. These are flaws in biological design, natural weaknesses.
Zoan-type fruits, often jokingly called the "weakest class," are known for granting physical boosts while also carrying inherent limitations.
But…
"I get the logic, what I want to know is, how do you know this?"
That Kaido has vulnerable points isn't surprising, eyes are weak spots in all creatures. No matter how powerful he is, could he really block a Super Electromagnetic Cannon with his eyeballs?
But to know exactly where Kaido's weak points are in his Azure Dragon form…
Why?
"Well, let's just say that back then, Vegapunk tried everything to breach Kaido's defense in order to get his blood for research."
Kizaru shook his head, clearly recalling some unpleasant memories, and avoided elaborating. Then he looked seriously at Rowen and reminded him:
"This is exclusive intel, don't forget to pay up!"
"You'd better worry about what Fleet Admiral will do to you if he finds out you withheld this, Senior Borsalino."
Rowen replied, deadpan. Then he took a step forward, closing the distance until he stood right at the center of Kaido's flailing head.
"So this is it… the weak point?"
Thanks to Kizaru's tip, Rowen noticed a scale here that was clearly different from the rest of Kaido's armor.
Among the palm-sized cyan scales covering Kaido's body like human faces, this one stood out, smaller, paler, only about the size of a hand.
And on that scale, Rowen could see a twisted scar, proof that someone had once targeted this exact spot long ago.
"This size and width… seems familiar?"
With one hand, he summoned the Thunder Dragon Crescent-Sided Halberd, gripping it firmly as a wide grin spread across his face.
"'Thunderous Sword Hero' Hughes Moore?"
That legendary, near-forgotten sword master, the previous wielder of the halberd and the one who imbued it with the Thunder Cloud Dragon pattern, the same force that Rowen now uses to enhance his internal lightning attacks, embodied in his weapon: Thunder Cloud, the Dragon-Forged Blade.
"Hmm?!!"
Feeling a faint tingling on his brow, Kaido's eyes flew open in pain. His gaze locked onto the dark halberd, now flickering with violent electric arcs. His expression was a mix of rage and fear.
Awakening Technique · God's Cry · Thunderfall Guns!
Boom… Bang rumble rumble!
A thunderbolt towering into the heavens came crashing down, caught firmly in Rowen's palm. But this time, the lightning didn't just take vague form as usual, it wrapped tightly around the Thunder Dragon Crescent-Sided Halberd, imbuing it with a cutting edge that seemed endless.
Zzzk!!
Without a shred of hesitation, the moment the attack stabilized in his hands, Rowen hurled it decisively.
CRACK-KA!!
With an earth-shaking thunderclap, the lightning halberd transformed into a blazing arc across the sky, electric branches scattering wildly as it streaked forward, and pierced directly into Kaido's skull.
CRACKLE…
In that moment, Rowen clearly heard something break, a sound that chilled the spine.
"Áo wū!!"
Overwhelmed by searing pain, Kaido's eyes turned bloodshot as he screamed in agony.
His massive body twisted, sending out hurricane-force gales, like a titanic serpent coiling and thrashing through the sky. The air exploded with snap-crackling bursts.
From a safe distance, Kizaru flashed away to avoid the aftermath. He glanced up at Rowen above and clicked his tongue, visibly startled.
"As expected of the Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit)… Even if it's the weakest point in Kaido's defenses, normal attacks shouldn't be able to leave a mark at all…"
Just like his earlier strike, Spear of Heaven's Will, which only barely managed to pierce Kaido's upper jaw, and that was with the full motivation of money behind it, pushing its power to the limit.
"But this kind of destructive force… I doubt anyone else could match it."
Kizaru shivered inwardly at the thought.
To be sure, in terms of speed, he didn't lose out to Rowen, he might even surpass him under the right conditions. But this raw destructive power… was completely outside the Glint-Glint Fruit's scope.
Light particles, unless condensed to extreme levels, don't even carry killing power. But lightning, by its very nature, has devastating offensive capabilities!
"So it really is a weak spot!"
Rowen lit up with joy.
Back during the G-5 incident years ago, he had used the Super Electromagnetic Cannon mounted on Ark Maxim, with the Thunder Cloud Sword as the projectile, gathering every ounce of his electric power into one strike. Even then, it only barely cracked Kaido's flesh, his sturdy skull stopped it cold.
But this time, entirely using his own strength, he actually shattered Kaido's bone!
Faintly, Rowen could even see a splash of thick crimson-white fluid bursting forth, a sight so grotesque it was horrifying to dwell on.
And yet, even after suffering such a grievous wound, Kaido didn't fall into a dying state like a normal creature.
"KIZARU!!!"
Kaido had clearly heard Kizaru's earlier comment, and now knew why Rowen's attack had been so devastating.
Immediately, an unbearably savage aura exploded from him. A heavy wave of Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) spread through the void. The sky darkened in an instant, and the pressure it brought weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
Even from tens of kilometers away, that pressure still made the soul tremble.
"This is bad!"
Kizaru's voice was calm, but his expression had turned grave. Golden light particles scattered in the wind, and the next second, a terrifying pillar of force tore through the space he had just vacated.
SPLURT!
But even if you dodge one attack, you can't dodge forever. Just as he was about to completely exit the danger zone, Kizaru suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and shot out from the void.
BOOM RUMBLE!!
The impact struck the ocean, instantly boiling the seawater. Towering waves like mountain ranges, over a thousand meters high, surged into existence.
It was hard to believe this chaos came from just a single punch.
Aboard the battleship rapidly fleeing the scene, Smoker's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the golden flash sent flying across the sky. His expression was completely frozen.
"Impossible… He clearly used elementalization to dodge!"
Aside from elemental counters or Seastone, no physical attack should work on Logia users.
A fist wind?
That's still physical damage!
"No, it's more than that!"
Standing at the bow, Mozambia's visor flickered with rapidly updating data. Moments later, he inhaled sharply, and the furnace within his body shuddered in warning.
"What Kaido just launched wasn't just an air cannonball, it was Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki)!"
"He didn't even need a medium?!"
Smoker's eyes widened in confusion.
"And at that speed and that range?!"
They all knew that Armament Haki could be projected outside the body at their level, that wasn't the issue.
But it always required a medium: a bullet, an arrow…
Yet Kaido had managed to launch Haki barehanded, without any medium, and still maintained that incredible speed and range.
That… simply defied logic!
(End of Chapter)