Chapter 495 - 334

Chapter 335: The Azure Dragon Covers the Sky!"Rumble!!"A heart-pounding roar came from deep within the sea of clouds, as if countless giant Beasts were rolling and roaring inside.Then, streaks of pale lightning mixed with ominous black and purple, like frenzied giant pythons, crazily darted, tore, and exploded amidst the thick cloud layers!Every flash of lightning illuminated the ground below with a ghastly white, while also outlining the suffocating silhouette of the unimaginably massive shadow looming behind the clouds!But what arrived even before the sights and sounds was the sensation.A pressure, as if the entire sky was about to collapse, descended without warning!It wasn't aimed at any single person, but was like an invisible tsunami, covering the entire island of Dressrosa and its surrounding waters!This is... Conqueror's Haki!And it was a Haoshoku of such unfathomable intensity and vast range that it enveloped the entire island!Outside the Colosseum, the angry crowd surging toward the Kings Plateau bore the brunt of it!Kyros, charging at the very front, suddenly felt his heart tighten as if gripped by an invisible giant hand; his breathing became difficult, and he stumbled!Behind him, the citizens ignited by hatred and hope had their eyes roll back in large numbers, foaming at the mouth, and falling silently to the ground into a deep coma!Looking across, the several main roads leading to the Kings Plateau were densely packed with fallen, unconscious people.Inside the Colosseum, people were equally unable to escape.The remaining ordinary people and low-level pirates in the audience stands were struck as if by an invisible heavy hammer to the back of their heads, instantly falling in large numbers, their lives or deaths unknown.In the arena, the reactions of the various powerhouses differed:A transparent barrier instantly appeared around Bartolomeo's body, protecting him within, but slight ripples actually appeared on the surface of the barrier!He himself was half-kneeling on the ground, veins bulging on his forehead, clearly struggling immensely to resist.Had Sabo not protected Rebecca with his own Haki beforehand, she likely would have fainted directly.Even so, she felt dizzy, her limbs cold, and she was almost unable to hold the sword and shield in her hands.King looked up at the sky, the gaze beneath his mask revealing a complex mix of awe, fanaticism, and anticipation.The speed of the mochi flowing around Katakuri's body slowed significantly; he slightly lowered his center of gravity, his expression beneath the scarf becoming extremely solemn."This Haoshoku... is ridiculously strong! And it's filled with violence, madness, and an overbearing aura of supremacy!""It's that guy... He really did come!"Sabo held Rebecca even tighter, as white vibration ripples rose around him, weaving into a layer of defense that isolated that terrifying pressure.His face was incredibly serious, his eyes fixed on the churning thunderclouds in the sky."Kaido... one of the world's strongest creatures... Why would he appear here at this time? For the Tremor-Tremor Fruit? Or..."The moment the pressure descended, Zoro's aura, which had been slightly withered due to exhaustion, suddenly became sharp once again!He stood up straight, his short green hair dancing wildly in the suddenly violent hurricane.The wado ichimonji in his hand seemed to sense its master's fighting spirit, letting out a faint, excited hum within its scabbard.He slowly raised his head, his golden pupils reflecting the black-purple lightning dancing in the sky; far from showing any fear, a fierce fighting spirit burned to the extreme!Red-gold electricity faintly sparked from his body again uncontrollably, forming a subtle confrontation with the black-purple destructive lightning in the sky!"He's here... the real 'monster'!"As if responding to the reactions of the powerhouses on the ground, the churning thunderclouds and black-purple electricity in the sky reached their most violent peak!"Wororororo...!!!"A dull laugh exploded simultaneously with billions of lightning bolts, arrogantly rolling over the sky of all Dressrosa!The physical sound waves formed by the voice even caused the low-altitude clouds to churn and disperse!Amidst this deafening laughter, the central area where the black-purple lightning was densest and the clouds were thickest was torn open by an unimaginable brute force, creating a massive rift several kilometers long!Behind the rift were a pair of vertical pupils like two dark-gold suns!Cold, indifferent, looking down upon all living things like a deity observing an ant colony.Then, the owner of these dragon eyes slowly poked its head out from the rift in the thunderclouds.A head comparable in size to a mountain peak!Covered in thick blue-black scales, the edges of the scales shimmered with a cold, hard metallic luster under the reflection of the jumping black-purple lightning.Two giant dragon horns curved toward the sky atop its head, entwined with terrifying, crackling electricity.The mere appearance of this head brought such visual impact and mental shock that it was enough to make anyone with a weak mind completely break down!However, this was only the beginning.As the dragon head emerged, the dragon body behind it—so massive it defied verbal description—also slowly slithered out from the depths of the thunderclouds!Stretching for who knows how many kilometers! Truly covering the sky and blotting out the sun!The blue-black dragon body was faintly visible amidst the clouds and lightning; every slight twist caused the winds and clouds to change color and the thunder to roar wildly!Four giant dragon claws, seemingly capable of crushing mountains, stretched out beneath the clouds, their tips flashing with cold light.Most notably, at the neck of this terrifying dragon head, a circle of black Flame Clouds, constantly rotating and rising like the fires of hell, was clearly visible!Zoan Type · Fish-Fish Fruit · Mythical Zoan Type · Azure Dragon Form — Awakened!One of the Four Emperors of the New World, known as the "World's Strongest Creature"... "Beasts" Kaido!!!!His dragon body perched above the night sky of Dressrosa, as if the entire sky had become his territory.The black-purple Conqueror's Haki was like a physical tide, washing over the land and living beings below in waves with his breathing.All light seemed to be swallowed by him, and the world fell into a terrifying domain of interwoven thunder and darkness ruled by him."What a... blood-boiling scene!!"The dark-gold dragon eyes swept over the Colosseum below, which looked like a toy model, like searchlights.His gaze paused slightly on King, and a flash of hard-to-detect surprise crossed his eyes as it passed over Sabo,Finally, it locked onto the green-haired swordsman—the only one who dared to point his blade toward the heavens, his eyes burning with red-gold fighting spirit."King."Kaido's voice boomed down."Present! Governor-General Kaido!"King immediately responded respectfully, his voice carrying an irrepressible excitement."You are here."Kaido's dragon eyes turned slightly,"Then... 'Straw Hat' Luffy, that reckless, audacious brat, where... is he now?"King answered without hesitation:"This subordinate does not know his exact location! But it is certain that the main force of the Straw Hat crew is currently on this island!""The Revolutionary Army's 'Flame Emperor' Sabo, who ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and the swordsman who defeated the CP0 Chief, Roronoa Zoro, are all Straw Hat Luffy's comrades!""Wororororo..."A heavier aura of violence entered Kaido's laughter,"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit... was it eaten by that brat from the Revolutionary Army? That old fellow Whitebeard's power has found quite a decent successor..."His words seemed to show some interest in the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but then, a sky-toppling, almost physical murderous intent and rage suddenly erupted from those dark-gold dragon eyes!The Conqueror's Haki enveloping the entire island suddenly intensified!The black-purple lightning in the sky darted crazily, like an extension of his angry emotions!"—However! I didn't personally come here today for that broken fruit someone already took a bite out of!"The dragon body lurched violently in the clouds, causing wild winds to howl and buildings to tremble below!"Three months ago!! On my Onigashima!!!"His voice was like the roar of a wounded beast, filled with the fury of being humiliated."That rubber bastard..."The dragon eyes stared fixedly below, as if trying to find that figure wearing a straw hat through the buildings."—He actually dared! To abduct my'son' Yamato!!!""Such a humiliating disgrace—!!"The dragon mouth opened wide, and within it, a purple-red light of destruction, so hot it twisted the air in front into a vortex, began to rapidly converge!The terrifying energy fluctuations caused everyone's expression in the Colosseum to change drastically!The terrifying dragon pressure and murderous intent pressed down like the sky collapsing!...On the ruins of the Colosseum, that green figure moved.Zoro took a step forward.Just one step.Yet it seemed to shatter the invisible shackles known as the "Emperor's Pressure" that loomed over everyone's hearts.The violent hurricane blew his robes tight against his body, flapping loudly, but it couldn't make him waver in the slightest.He slowly raised his head, red-gold electricity darting crazily, as he stared back without flinching into that pair of mountain-like dark-gold dragon eyes in the sky.The wado ichimonji in his hand seemed to sense its master's boiling fighting spirit and resolve, letting out a clear and impassioned ring!"Hey, big earthworm."He raised his arm, the hilt of the wado ichimonjiresting against his shoulder, the snow-bright blade pointing straight at that terrifying Azure Dragonhead in the sky!The red-gold Haki, no longer concealed, rose from his body like burning flames, coiling around the blade and making it glow like a divine artifact from myth!"Want to see our Captain?"He grinned, revealing a row of ivory-white teeth; that smile was wild, unrestrained, and filled with the pride of a swordsman and the excitement of challenging the strong."Sure."Above the blade, the red-gold electricity suddenly surged!A sharp, peerless intent to "sever," in no way inferior to the dragon's pressure, soared into the sky!"First ask the sword in my hand—""—if it agrees!!!"In terms of size, he was as small as a speck of dust.In the clash of auras, they were actually evenly matched!At this moment, the air completely solidified, on the verge of exploding!Kaido's giant dragon eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of surprise appearing within them, which was then replaced by even more intense interest and murderous intent."Oh? Quite the guts, green-haired brat..."Inside the dragon's mouth, that mass of purple-red destructive energy had condensed to the limit, its light so blinding it turned the surrounding night into an eerie purple-red!"I've heard of you, 'pirate hunter' Roronoa Zoro... It seems you are much more 'interesting' than described in King's report...""Then—"The dragon head tilted back slightly, making the preparatory motion for a breath attack; the terrifying energy fluctuations caused the ground below to tremble slightly!"—let me use this 'Heat Breath' to test if your sword is actually hard enough!!!"BOOM—!!!!In the next instant, the purple-red destructive breath, enough to instantly vaporize steel and evaporate lakes and seas,shot down like a light of punishment from a god, from that hideous dragon mouth toward the center of the Colosseum, toward that green figure pointing his sword to the heavens!!!Destruction, descended!