Previously on:
After surviving Kaido's audience and demonstrating his Stormfire Mode, Alex now faced the reality of Kaido's empire. The New World was unforgiving, and every step forward demanded cunning, instinct, and raw power. The first strike would determine how he was perceived — not as a fledgling, but as a rising force.
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The corridors of Onigashima twisted like the spine of a great beast. Shadows fell across broken stone floors, their edges jagged from the residual tremors of the banquet hall explosion. Alex moved cautiously, boots clinking against the metal-studded pathways, every sense stretched to the limit. The air was thick, humid, smelling faintly of ash and sweat — the perfume of pirates who had long ruled this island without challenge.
Every shadow could conceal death, he thought, flexing his hands as small arcs of electricity danced across his knuckles. Every step… must count.
Ahead, a massive hall opened like a maw into the island's industrial heart. Steam hissed from pipes, and the distant rumble of heavy machinery echoed through the corridors. Alex could sense a presence — not Kaido, but someone significant. The aura was precise, measured, yet potent, a warning in itself.
He rounded the corner, and there it was: the lieutenant. A woman known as Fujin, the Gale Serpent, her Zoan fruit allowing her to transform partially into a serpentine wind dragon. Her Haki was refined and deadly, and the sharp glint of intelligence in her eyes betrayed a combatant who understood both strategy and instinct.
"Ah," she hissed, coiling her body like a whip ready to strike, "so this is the boy who survived the Storm Tempest. Fire and lightning, hmm? Let's see how long that lasts."
Alex stepped forward, storming instinctively with a crackle of lightning. "I'll prove it's enough," he said, fire igniting across his right arm.
The battle began with a burst of motion that blurred perception. Fujin's body twisted midair, wind forming spirals that deflected Alex's flames, while claws enhanced with Haki sliced through the corridor, cutting stone and metal. Alex ducked, lightning lashing outward, arcing along the walls and sending sparks into the air. He tested her defenses, probing for openings with bursts of Stormfire, each attack forcing her to adapt and reveal a fraction of her strategy.
The lieutenant's attacks were not mere offense — they were lessons. Each strike challenged Alex to merge instinct with analysis, reflex with calculation. Fire and lightning became extensions of his thought, coiling around his movements, striking where intuition guided. He jumped, flipped, and slammed the floor with a flaming punch that cracked concrete, forcing Fujin back. Yet she countered with a sudden gust, lifting him off his feet, throwing him into a wall. Pain flared, but he rolled, igniting the floor beneath him in a trap of fire and electricity.
I can't just rely on power, he thought. I need precision… and control.
The corridor became a storm of energy. Sparks ignited the metal railings, flames licked the walls, and the wind howled from Fujin's partial Zoan transformation. Alex's eyes burned with focus; his Stormfire Mode flared at full intensity, the fusion of fire and lightning dancing along his arms, wrapping his legs like serpents coiled for a strike. He struck forward, lightning wrapping around a flaming fist, and smashed into Fujin's torso. She hissed, her wind-formed body twisting, but she didn't collapse.
"Not bad," she said, voice sharp and cutting like the winds she commanded. "But let's see how you handle this."
Fujin leapt high, spinning in the air, generating a tornado that swallowed Alex momentarily. Lightning and fire arced instinctively, shielding him from the brutal gust. He rolled through the wind, landing with a stomp that shattered stone. Sparks from the collision danced across the corridor as he surged forward, combining the explosive force of fire and lightning into a controlled, precise strike that hit her side. She was thrown back, skidding along the floor, but her Haki-infused scales absorbed much of the impact.
Alex's chest heaved, sweat and ash streaking his face. His Stormfire was still raw, wild, but the combat had refined it, each movement increasingly deliberate. I can push this further, he thought, eyes narrowing.
He leapt again, the lightning spiraling around his arms like living snakes, fire blazing along his legs. Fujin twisted midair, summoning a cutting gust that collided with Alex's Stormfire, producing a shockwave that rattled the corridor. Stone and debris flew around them, yet Alex held his stance, his energy now harmonized with instinct.
With a surge of focus, he executed a final maneuver — fire encasing his left arm, lightning racing across his right, and a pulse of combined energy shooting forward in a spiraling arc. The strike hit Fujin directly, sending her crashing through the metal gates of the corridor. She landed heavily, coughing, her body bruised and scorched.
Silence fell. The lieutenant struggled to rise, her serpentine eyes watching Alex with a mixture of respect and disbelief. "You… have power," she admitted, her voice softer, tempered with grudging admiration. "But strength without mastery is fleeting. Remember that."
Alex stepped forward, lowering his hands as the energy subsided. His breathing was heavy, his body battered, but he smiled faintly. I've survived. I've learned. And every fight, every strike… brings me closer to Kaido.
Fujin pushed herself upright, leaning slightly on a wall, and nodded. "I will report this… and Kaido will take note. You're dangerous, boy. Don't forget, the storm is still far from over."
Alex exhaled, feeling the residue of Stormfire pulse gently through his veins. He had taken the first strike against Kaido's empire, survived a lieutenant of considerable skill, and refined his instinctive fusion of fire and lightning. Yet he knew this was only the beginning. Each victory was a lesson, each battle a step closer to the title he sought.
As he walked away, leaving Fujin recovering amid the ruins of the corridor, he allowed himself a moment of reflection. I am learning. I am growing. The New World is vast, brutal, and beautiful — and I will dominate it.