Chapter 337: Art is an Explosion
WHOOSH!
A speed even more terrifying than Admiral Kizaru's erupted, and Kaido lost sight of Rhodes in a flash.
"Hmm?"
His fist missed its mark, and Kaido frowned. His Observation Haki wasn't particularly strong, but his fully developed Mythical Zoan Dragon Fruit granted him beastly instincts and combat reflexes far beyond ordinary imagination.
He twisted his waist, instinctively throwing a punch to his side, but still missed!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Rhodes's body shimmered with silver light, as brilliant as the sun—a manifestation of his body being pushed to its absolute limits.
At this moment, his speed was terrifying. He completed several feints in an instant, then spotted an opening and slashed at Kaido's abdomen with his sword.
SLASH!
Blood splattered.
Rhodes's sword easily pierced Kaido's seemingly indestructible skin—skin capable of withstanding heavy artillery fire—and continued penetrating, tearing through flesh and severing muscle.
Even with every inch of Kaido's body infused with Armament Haki, he couldn't withstand this incredible blade.
Though Rhodes had only recently become a Great Swordsman, he was far beyond ordinary practitioners of the art.
Before his breakthrough, his strikes were comparable to Shiki the Golden Lion's.
After his breakthrough, he became even more formidable.
His lightning-infused strikes might not match those of the world's strongest swordsman, Mihawk, but Rhodes believed he could easily surpass most Great Swordsmen—though there were only a handful in the entire world...
CLANG!
The blade sliced through Kaido's flesh and struck his white bones with a metallic ring!
The blade's sharpness erupted, cutting into bone, but its speed and efficiency were far slower than cutting through flesh.
WHOOSH!
He acted decisively, withdrawing his sword and retreating dozens of meters.
The next moment, Kaido's counterattack struck, shattering the air and sending gusts of wind swirling.
"A bone cracked..."
Kaido, experienced with injuries, instantly noticed the change in his body. He smirked, somewhat dissatisfied, and said:
"Runt, are you a woman? Is that all the strength you've got?"
"..."
Rhodes's face darkened slightly, and he almost cursed aloud. Was this Kaido even human?
His bones were unbelievably hard!
They could be used as legendary weapons if extracted!
Rhodes was speechless, but he knew this was normal.
The Navy wouldn't lack Great Swordsmen. Even if they didn't have one currently, they could find one—perhaps not as strong as Rhodes, but not far behind. If Kaido could really be cut so easily, he would've been dismembered and suppressed in various locations long ago.
At that point, even if Kaido remained alive, he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.
"Indeed, there are no wrong epithets, only wrong names. The title 'Immortal' truly fits."
Rhodes pondered, his face remaining indifferent. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly condensed balls of silver lightning.
Spear of the Thunder God!
After compressing and condensing the lightning into Spears of the Thunder God, he didn't immediately launch an attack. The spears alone might pose a threat to someone like Admiral Fujitora, but against Kaido of the Beasts, they probably wouldn't even break through his defenses.
"Armament!"
With a thought, he imbued the Spears of the Thunder God with massive amounts of Armament Haki.
Rhodes's Armament Haki was now far stronger than when he'd fought Garp.
Almost instantly, the dozen or so Spears of the Thunder God were coated in black, like flowing obsidian, radiating a terrifying aura of power.
The dozen jet-black spears hovered above Rhodes's head, their tips pointing directly at Kaido of the Beasts, giving him a chilling feeling of unease.
Kaido knew these obsidian spears were more than sufficient to pierce his defenses and pose a significant threat!
He clenched his fists, ready to blast away the lightning spears at any moment.
He was on high alert—lightning was known for its speed, and he dared not be careless.
To Kaido's surprise, after conjuring the lightning spears, Rhodes didn't use them to attack. Instead, he charged forward and slashed with his sword.
Kaido was caught off guard but had no choice but to parry. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, he was actually quite wary of Rhodes's attack power.
While a strike wouldn't kill him, the resulting injuries would significantly deplete his life force, indirectly consuming his stamina and thus affecting the battle's outcome.
Kaido wasn't afraid of defeat, but he didn't want to lose to a rookie who'd only recently debuted. He, Kaido, had his pride!
CLANG!
Sword and fist clashed, first producing a booming sound, then a shockwave erupted, tearing the earth apart.
Kaido of the Beasts swayed slightly, retreating a few meters. After a brief pause, he suddenly accelerated, intending to charge at Rhodes and unleash a combination attack.
But at that moment, a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, traversing space, leaving sound far behind.
Kaido's formidable combat instincts kicked in. Almost reflexively, he threw a punch, deflecting the lightning spear with a crash.
A sharp pain shot through his fist, and Kaido roughly gauged the spear's penetrative power—enough to pierce skin.
WHOOSH!
Taking advantage of the instant Kaido blocked the lightning spear, Rhodes flashed to Kaido's flank, his sword extending with a five-meter-long brilliant arc, tearing a long gash in Kaido's side.
The sound of cracking bone rang out, and blood spurted forth.
"Die!"
Enraged by the attack, Kaido threw a vicious punch at Rhodes.
Simultaneously, he opened his mouth wide, condensing considerable amounts of heat breath, which he unleashed with a deafening roar.
Rhodes blocked the punch with his sword but was also blasted away by the unexpected heat breath.
While still airborne, he suddenly uttered a single word:
"Go!"
Before Kaido could even congratulate himself on the successful execution of his tactic, his Observation Haki surged violently, detecting several jet-black lightning bolts hurtling through the air, creating circular shockwaves.
He managed to deflect several, but the last one was beyond his control.
THUD!
Sharp pain shot through him, and Kaido staggered back several steps.
The obsidian-like spear had pierced straight through the center of his chest.
Though Kaido hadn't blocked the lightning spear, he'd avoided a fatal strike to the heart.
"Tch."
Kaido muttered, looking down at the spear in his chest, feeling the incredibly powerful electric current emanating from it, causing slight tremors within his body. He then reached out and grabbed the jet-black spear, intending to pull it out.
But Rhodes's technique wasn't so simple.
Long ago, Garp had been caught off guard by the aftermath of this move, and Kaido was no exception.
"Art is an explosion."
With a crisp snap of his fingers, Rhodes activated the technique.
BOOM!
The lightning spear within Kaido's body exploded, the electrical discharge as intense as flames, radiating astonishing energy fluctuations, like a miniature sun bursting open—a cataclysmic event.
The explosion spread, kicking up towering clouds of dust, obscuring Kaido's figure from view.
(End of Chapter)
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