The moment Shiki's full-power attack was about to be unleashed, the entire world blurred into a distorted white under its pressure. Only a single slash, spanning the world, cut through the void.
Swish!
In Shiki's wide eyes, an invisible force cut through everything.
In his Observation Haki perception, everything in the path of this force—whether air, Haki, or Devil Fruit abilities—was severed one by one.
The ease with which it was done made cutting tofu seem difficult.
What level of slash was this?
Shiki's soul nearly fled his body. As a top-tier great swordsman himself, he knew how incredibly difficult it was to achieve a single strike like Renji's.
This young kid had actually reached a level that all great swordsmen spend their entire lives trying to reach: a slash that severs everything.
As his final thought surfaced, Shiki's life force drained away at an unimaginable speed.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the selection! Heavenly Six Eyes upgraded to Lv. 8! Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue upgraded to Lv. 8!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully slaying the peak pirate Shiki! Obtained Proof of the Strongest * 1!]
"What a pity. He hasn't been very active since his escape from prison, so I couldn't even add to his bounty." Renji said with a hint of regret.
Shiki had been completely off the radar since escaping Impel Down, no one knew his whereabouts. His only public appearance was at this grand arena competition.
It was unknown what he had been plotting all these years, but now it no longer mattered.
Renji expressed no concern for a man who had been cut in half.
He wasn't really bothered by the lack of Bounty points. Being able to upgrade both Heavenly Six Eyes and Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue to Lv. 8 simultaneously was already an unexpected bonus.
"Not bad, Shiki."
Renji looked at Shi not far in front of him with a satisfied smile. Shiki's expression was frozen, still showing disbelief until the very end. But that was understandable.
One second he had just unleashed his supremely confident ultimate move, and the next he was dead without even seeing the attack being launched?
Shiki didn't believe it, but it didn't change the fact of his death.
A slash that severed the world itself, its terrifying lethality was undeniable.
After Lv. 9 Dismantle broke through it's limits thanks to Lv. 9 Limit Break, it even severed Shiki's connection to this world, cutting off his life force, and everything he possessed.
Rumble... Rumble...
With Shiki's death, the cataclysmic attack that was about to be unleashed was not released, quietly dissipating.
However, due to the abilities of the Float-Float Fruit, the giant island that had risen, and the terrifying destructive storm at sea, had already formed. So even with the death of the ability user, this apocalyptic scene did not disappear.
Instead, because of Shiki's death and the Float-Float Fruit ability being uncontrolled, the terrifying destructive storm began to gradually spiral out of control.
And then a sudden sensation of weightlessness came over them. The entire giant island, which had ascended to high altitude, began to plummet at an astonishing speed.
"Governor Kaido! What's happening now?" King, transformed into an ancient Pteranodon, flew in mid-air, his clear black and white eyes revealing both clarity and foolishness.
Countless storm-blown debris rained down furiously, but Kaido didn't dodge. Due to his immensely powerful physique, even though these sharp stones striked him, they couldn't even scratch his skin.
"This feeling... a powerful aura disappeared instantly. It's like... he died." Kaido's brows furrowed.
In this apocalyptic scene, he stood firm on the field like an immovable deity, exuding an incredibly powerful aura.
His eyes swept in one direction, seemingly seeing through layers of rock walls to what was happening in another arena battle zone.
"Something's wrong... it feels like something is coming."
Kaido's Observation Haki was exceptionally keen.
In the direction Kaido was looking, Renji slowly raised his arm, his hand gradually tightening its grip on Kurai.
Under the shocked gazes of everyone in the arena, an incomparably terrifying Conqueror's Haki condensed upon it.
"What in the world is happening?!"
"Has everyone gone mad? This island is falling, and they're still fighting!? Can't anyone pause the match and care about whether we live or die?!"
"Did that world-renowned Golden Lion, who supposedly once fought Pirate King Roger and the strongest man Whitebeard to a standstill, just die like that?!"
"It was too sudden, wasn't it? Just cut in half by one sword? It's practically the same way Whitebeard died back then."
"What is he going to do? Is he still going to attack? I surrender, I give up! Can you spare my life?!"
Ignoring the clamor in the surrounding arena, Renji stood proudly on the field like a god of war amidst countless fierce gales. Red lightning condensed into a solid form, erupting with an aura that seemed to suppress everything in the world.
"Clear the way for me, Pizarro!" Renji's words fell coldly.
Pizarro, who had been observing from the shadows of the island, immediately activated his Isle-Isle Fruit ability, merging his body with the giant island.
Immediately, under Pizarro's control, the previous giant arenas began to undergo violent tremors and changes.
Walls separated autonomously like living entities, gradually forming a straight passage.
Boom!
In the other arena, Kaido's brows furrowed even more deeply. He could feel an aura even stronger than before brewing.
"Governor Kaido, is that... Conqueror's Haki?!"
The giant ancient Pteranodon, completely black, looked up at the sky in disbelief.
A crimson lightning danced and intertwined into a forest of Haki. With just a slight leakage of Conqueror's Haki, only a few people on the entire island could still remain conscious. The rest all foamed at the mouth and fainted.
Even King, one of the Three All-Stars with a bounty of over 1 billion Berries, felt a deep fear under this Conqueror's Haki. Even his ancient Pteranodon form shrunk by half.
King's face was filled with horror as he shouted in disbelief, "What's going on? My Devil Fruit ability, is it being suppressed?!"
"This level of Conqueror's Haki, could it be Red Hair Shanks?!" King was furious and shocked.
"Worororororo!"
In this situation, Kaido actually threw his head back and laughed wildly. Purple-black lightning crackled and exploded around his muscular body. Violent Conqueror's Haki poured out, furiously sweeping across the ground, cracking the hard earth.
"Is it you?!"
"Renji!!!"
His eyes emitted an extremely fierce glint. Under Kaido's expectant gaze, the arena wall slowly opened, and a crimson light flashed, engulfing everything.
"Long time no see, Kaido."