In this enormous colosseum, under the fervent gazes of countless spectators, the final began.
Gatz, serving as the commentator, was also incomparably excited at this moment.
"It's here!!!"
"The final defender is actually that legendary figure! From decades ago, his name shook the seas, the dark cloud hanging over all the world's top monsters, the one who controlled the battle situation during the Summit War two years ago!"
"The man whose bounty reached the absolute peak in history—"
"Orin!!!"
"Although I don't know why Orin-san in front of us looks so young, could this actually be Orin-san's son?!"
"The Pirate King Roger, the revolutionary Dragon, and Orin—their sons…"
Gatz's words grew more and more outrageous, until a bolt of black-and-red lightning struck over, only to be blocked by an invisible spatial force. Only then did cold sweat appear on his face as he shut his mouth and continued commentating on the battle.
At this moment on the field, Azure Orin's face was full of black lines.
Even though it was still himself, being mistaken for his own son—no matter who it was, that would be irritating!!!
And that power enveloping the entire arena seemed to involve space itself. Before actually testing it, Azure Orin wasn't certain whether, with his current full strength, he could break the barrier set up by his peak self.
Azure Orin glanced irritably at the commentator and was just about to turn back when, in the next instant, he lightly shifted his body sideways.
A pitch-black hand shaped like a dragon's claw brushed past him, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.
"Dragon Claw Fist!!!"
Sabo struck directly, trying to seize the initiative, but unfortunately didn't touch him at all, rolling over and landing on the ground.
Azure Orin narrowed his eyes.
"Essentially, Black Gun and I are still the same person. My Observation Haki is not inferior to his at all~"
He slightly crouched, a young man in a military uniform clenching one fist, seemingly mimicking Sabo's previous movement.
"Things like Dragon Claw Fist really are more suitable when used by an actual dragon~"
"Zing—"
Pitch-black, flowing Armament Haki instantly wrapped around Azure Orin's hand as it closed into a dragon claw, directly gripping the steel pipe Sabo was trying to block with.
Almost effortlessly, the supreme-grade steel pipe was crushed into scrap metal and snapped in two.
"Sabo!!!"
Off to the side, Ace hurriedly shouted when he saw this, urgency written all over his face.
"I'll help you!!!"
Ace clenched his fist with one hand, orange-red flames igniting around it, storing power slightly.
"Fire Fist!!!!"
A Fire Fist worth four billion Belly engulfed more than half of the colosseum, the surging flames converging onto Azure Orin's body.
From Ace's perspective, Azure Orin seemed to have anticipated the attack long ago, yet showed no intention of dodging—rather, he seemed to be disdainfully… smiling?
Staring straight into the towering sea of fire as it completely enveloped his body, Azure Orin stood firmly in place.
The flames raged.
Sabo, panting heavily, walked to Ace's side, his expression grave.
"Worthy of being the world's strongest, Orin-san. Even in his younger years, he possesses such terrifying Haki!!!"
Ace also frowned, offering no rebuttal to Sabo's words, because he recalled the old stories his unreliable old man Roger had mentioned while training him over the past two years.
"Orin, huh? That guy is a complete monster…"
"Put it this way—by the age when you reached your current level of Haki, Orin had probably already achieved it at around fifteen years old. Maybe even younger…"
Along with that came the warning.
"...Ace, there are many monsters on this sea~ Some true monsters are existences that even I, in my prime, had to admit I might not be able to defeat. So whether it's for your own sake, or for your mother's…"
"When you encounter them, don't think about winning. First, preserve your own life and the lives of your companions!!!"
And today, Ace finally experienced the oppressive feeling Roger once felt when facing Rocks—the sense of being suppressed by a towering mountain that could not be surpassed by one's own strength, even while living in the same era.
The flames burned fiercely, illuminating everything.
From within them, a figure slowly walked out, flames still seeming to coil around his body.
"Playing with fire in front of a dragon~ feels about the same as soaking in a hot spring…"
From beginning to end, Azure Orin never used his dragon-man form, which also meant he wasn't serious at all—completely treating the two peers opposite him like children.
"Not good…"
Zoro and Kuina were naturally also brushed by the edges of Ace's large-scale Fire Fist earlier.
Zoro looked solemnly at Ace and Sabo, who were facing Azure Orin.
"Even those two would definitely find it extremely difficult to face him…"
"It has to end quickly."
He then looked toward Kuina, who was still within the flames. His Observation Haki sensed that she was unharmed, and he immediately assumed his three-sword stance.
"Sorry, Kuina—my captain is still waiting for me!!!"
Then he entered chanting mode.
"..."
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique·One Great·Three Thousand—"
"Great Thousand Worlds!!!"
A slash at the level of a great swordsman, combined with the power of Haki, shot straight toward Kuina, who was wreathed in flames.
Within the fire, the silhouette transformed silently, slowly becoming a tall figure.
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The figure raised the pitch-black blade of Wado Ichimonji and directly blocked the slash. Despite being pushed backward continuously, she held on.
"What?!"
Zoro hadn't expected that even this move wouldn't take Kuina down.
"I said I'd give you a surprise, Zoro."
The flames gradually dissipated. A pink dragon tail lightly swept through, dispersing the smoke.
Kuina · Dragon-Man Form appeared.
"This is… a dragon?!"
Even Azure Orin couldn't help but glance over at this form, though it was only a flicker of surprise.
After all, although Kuina's strength was decent, she was still more than a step behind true powerhouses.
He had seen before what it truly meant for a woman to possess overwhelming physical strength.
And he himself was about to turn twenty…
Thinking of this, Azure Orin couldn't help but hesitate—how should he deal with it when the time came?
The Azure Dragon Fruit he ate was obtained smoothly precisely because [Black Gun] owed the other party a favor and promised to give her a child twenty years later.
And Linlin had fulfilled her promise, maintaining a youthful and beautiful appearance all these years.
Azure Orin fell into a dilemma.
And what about Orin, who caused all this?
At this moment, he too had fallen into a dilemma, looking at the Mink tribe before him—cat girls, dog-girls, rabbit girls…
"Such a dilemma…"