Kaido let out a dismissive snort, but his eyes kept drifting toward Yamato's position.
"Oh? What are you looking at, Kaido?"
Kaido suddenly snapped his head around, only to see a certain lecherous Marine Admiral staring back at him. The Admiral had already extended a finger toward Kaido, and dazzling golden light began to flicker at its tip.
"Tch, you annoying."
Kaido narrowed his eyes, both hands gripping his kanabo as he swung it down toward Kizaru.
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!"
It was obvious Kaido truly detested Kizaru—his opening move was an advanced form of Thunder Bagua.
Kizaru didn't dare take it head-on. His body instantly turned into photons and shot toward the sky. That played right into Kaido's hands—he had been itching to leave this spot anyway. In the next instant, he transformed into a massive dragon and gave chase into the sky.
As the two shot upward, the roar of laser explosions and the bellow of a dragon echoed endlessly. Akainu seized the gap between exchanges with Big Mom to raise both hands toward the sky.
"Meteor Volcano!"
Massive fists of magma shot into the clouds, dyeing the heavens a molten red.
Akainu's attempt to give Kizaru breathing room only served to enrage Kaido. Moments later, Kaido's dragon head burst from the clouds, two steaming jets of hot air snorting from his nostrils. He opened his maw and unleashed countless slicing wind blades toward the ground.
Big Mom's follow-up attack came right after. She commanded Zeus in the sky to release a thick bolt of violet lightning, aimed directly at Akainu.
Faced with the combined assault of two Emperors, Akainu's face didn't show a hint of panic. He slammed both hands onto the ice beneath him and roared:
"Filthy pirates! Don't get too full of yourselves!!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Scorching magma erupted from the ice in several places, clashing with the incoming wind blades and lightning above. The skies instantly filled with blinding flashes, booming thunder, and howling gales.
The Marine coat on Akainu's back was whipped high into the air, the word "Justice" glowing red under the magma's reflection.
But even for him, handling the combined attacks of two Emperors alone was taxing. A few residual strikes broke through the magma and fell toward him. Just then—
A beam of light shot down from above, forming a barrier before Akainu. In the next instant, it condensed into the figure of Kizaru.
There was no trace of lewdness on his face now. Gripping the Ama no Murakumo sword in his hand, he cleaved apart the incoming wind blades, then raised his arm and fired piercing lasers at Big Mom to drive her back.
With the crisis momentarily defused, Kizaru turned his back to Akainu and said quietly,
"Thanks."
He'd been in a dangerous position up in the sky—if not for Akainu's intervention, he might already have been injured.
Akainu, clearly unused to Kizaru's attitude, muttered gruffly,
"All for Justice."
The familiar tone brought a faint smile to Kizaru's lips.
"Yeah… right now, we're doing this for Justice."
...
Elsewhere—
With a heavy thud, Whitebeard collapsed to the ground. He raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes locking fiercely onto Kaito ahead of him.
The Whitebeard Pirates nearby instinctively moved to help their "Pops," but Aokiji blocked them off completely, not letting them advance an inch.
Kaito stood clad in Susanoo's armor, stepping toward Whitebeard one measured pace at a time. The Susanoo blade in his hand gleamed with chilling light.
"Whitebeard, your era is over. Ready to go see Roger?"
"Gurarararara… brat, you sure know how to piss a man off!!!"
Whitebeard slammed his fist into the ice, using the rebound to propel himself straight at Kaito.
But now he was like a moth to a flame. Before he could even get close, a repulsive force blasted him back, forcing another mouthful of blood from his lips.
As he struggled to rise, a swirling black vortex opened beneath his feet. Black tendrils shot out, winding tightly around his body.
Whitebeard's expression shifted.
"This… this is the Dark-Dark Fruit… from Rocks?"
Kaito was already beside him, smiling faintly.
"That's right. Do you like the look of this execution platform?"
Without waiting for a reply, Kaito raised the Susanoo blade, aiming to plunge it into Whitebeard's chest. The entire battlefield froze—every gaze turned toward them.
Was the man known as the World's Strongest about to die here?
Suddenly, a figure appeared before Whitebeard, sword raised to catch the tip of Susanoo's blade. It was none other than the long-missing Red-Haired Shanks.
Clang!
Susanoo's blade stopped against Gryphon's edge. Kaito frowned as he looked at Shanks—because his appearance had changed drastically.
The once-vivid red hair was now pure white. A streak of white marking covered his right eye and trailed downward into his collar.
Shanks's entire presence was different from moments ago—cold to the point of absolute detachment.
His gaze toward Kaito held only disdain. With one hand, he exerted a force several times greater than before, forcing Kaito back.
Then he slowly opened his palm, revealing a white diamond-shaped mark in its center.
Looking at the mark, Shanks's expression betrayed no joy or sorrow. He crouched down, pressing his hand to the darkness that bound Whitebeard.
Immediately, the blackness receded like a tide into the diamond mark. Whitebeard stood up from the ice once more, staring in surprise at the utterly unfamiliar Shanks before him.
"You…"
"Don't ask."
Shanks cut him off, then turned his gaze to Kaito and said coldly,
"Let me end this… with this power."
Kaito studied the Shanks before him—this form wasn't unfamiliar. A strange word left his lips.
"White Kāma."
"!"
For the first time, Shanks's expression changed. He stared at Kaito in disbelief. Seeing his reaction, Kaito knew he'd guessed correctly.
"So you couldn't resist interfering after all… Seems your relationship with him is anything but ordinary."
Shanks fell silent. He didn't ask who Kaito meant by "him"—the strange sensation flooding his body told him there was no time to waste.
White lines of light crept from Shanks's hand, along his arm, and into Gryphon's blade. In the next instant, his figure vanished from before Whitebeard. His speed was now on a completely different level from before.
But before the wielder of the Rinnegan and the Goro Goro no Mi, this was still within Kaito's ability to counter.
Boom!
Susanoo's blade clashed with Gryphon once more, unleashing a violent gale as the ice beneath them exploded, seawater surging upward.
The sky suddenly darkened, lightning crackling in the distance.
The purple light in Kaito's Rinnegan flared brilliantly. He grinned.
"Interesting! Come on then—entertain me, Red-Haired Shanks!!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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