Chapter 502 - 341

AI Model: deepseek-chatChapter 343: Kaido's Invitation! An Alliance to Overturn the World!"Wororororororo!!!"Kaido suddenly burst into wild laughter, his dragon body trembling with the sound."Straw Hat! Straw Hat! You really are... you really are the best!!!"Luffy tilted his head: "Huh?""Three months ago on Onigashima, you were just touching the threshold!"Kaido's voice was full of excitement."But now! Now you've truly crossed over! Just like me! Just like Roger, Whitebeard, Garp, Rocks! A Conqueror standing at the summit of all pirates!"Luffy blinked: "So?""So-"A dangerous light flashed in Kaido's dragon eyes."Become my ally!"The moment these words left his mouth, everyone watching below was stunned.King's wings froze mid-air.Katakuri's scarf stopped fluttering.Sabo frowned.Kid spat:"Pah! An alliance? What a joke!"In the ruins of the colosseum, Zoro propped himself up with his sword, his single eye full of disdain:"Has that dragon lost his mind?"Sanji blew out a smoke ring:"Probably got beaten silly."Luffy's reaction in the sky was even more direct.He dug at his ear, wearing an expression that said "say that again":"Hah? Alliance?""Correct!"Kaido's voice boomed like thunder,"I acknowledge your strength, Straw Hat! You are qualified to stand as my equal!""If we join forces... the Beasts Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates alliance! With the power of the two of us, plus those monster-level crewmates on your ship..."An irrepressible fanaticism flashed in the dragon eyes."...it would be enough to overturn this world!! Overthrow the World Government! Drag the Celestial Dragons down from Mary Geoise! Rewrite the rules of this world!!"Kaido's voice grew louder and louder,"What do you say, Straw Hat! Compared to your childish dream of becoming Pirate King, this is the true-""No."Luffy interrupted him.Direct and decisive, without a second thought.Kaido's voice suddenly stopped.The air fell silent."You said... what?"Kaido's voice dropped low."I said no."Luffy repeated, the smile gone from his face, replaced by a calm, yet unyielding seriousness."My dream is to become the Pirate King, not to overthrow the World Government... although those Celestial Dragons are really annoying."He raised a finger and pointed at Kaido."And, Kaido, you've got one thing wrong."Luffy's voice echoed clearly across the sky."I'm not here to ally with you... I'm here to beat you up."He paused, then added:"Because, you hurt my friends."The words were spoken softly, but the weight behind them was heavier than any previous clash of Haoshoku.Kaido fell silent for three seconds.Then-"Worororororo!!!"He erupted into even more maniacal laughter, his dragon body writhing in the air, the laughter scattering the clouds."Good! Good! Good!!!"Kaido said 'good' three times in a row. The last trace of intention to recruit in his dragon eyes vanished, leaving only pure, brutal intent to tear his opponent apart."In that case... then I'll crush you completely right here!!!""Suits me fine."Luffy grinned, reassuming his fighting stance.But the next second, he glanced down at Dressrosa below.The city was already battered and broken by the shockwaves of their clash, many buildings were on fire, and citizens were fleeing in terror. If they continued fighting here, the entire island would sink.Luffy frowned.He wanted a satisfying fight, but that didn't mean dragging an entire island's population down with him."Hey, Kaido."Luffy suddenly spoke up."What, having regrets?" Kaido sneered."No."Luffy pointed towards the sea to the east."This place is too small, it's no fun to fight here. Let's go over there... the sea is wide open, we can go all out."Kaido looked in the direction Luffy pointed.It was a stretch of sea east of Dressrosa, far from any shipping routes, with no islands, only endless water."Choosing your own grave?"Kaido scoffed,"As you wish!""Then-"Luffy took a deep breath, and the crimson-gold lightning on his body suddenly exploded.He transformed into a pillar of crimson-gold lightning, shooting explosively towards the eastern sea.He was so fast he left a continuous ring of sonic booms in his wake."Trying to run?!"Kaido roared, his Azure Dragon body undulating. Black-purple flame clouds surged beneath him, and his massive dragon form chased after Luffy at an absurdly fast speed.A gold and a purple streak of light shot across the sky, turning into two tiny dots on the horizon in the blink of an eye... An eerie quiet fell over the colosseum ruins.The two figures in the sky were no longer visible, but the residual pressure of their Haoshoku still pricked everyone's skin.Black-purple and crimson-gold fragments of Hakidrifted down like snowflakes, causing small-scale static explosions when they touched the ground.King's black wings trembled slightly behind him. Beneath his mask, his pupils reflected the two slowly fading contrails in the eastern sky."Lord Kaido..."King muttered to himself,"Finally... he's found an opponent who can make him go all out."As a Great Sign of the Beasts Pirates, King had followed Kaido in battle for decades.He had seen Kaido clash Haoshoku with Whitebeard, seen Kaido fight BIG·MOM for three days and nights, seen Kaido challenge Marinefordalone... but never, like just now, had Lord Kaidobeen suppressed in a pure Haki collision."Monster."King spat out the word, his tone complex.Not far away, Katakuri slowly withdrew his gaze.His Observation Haki had already captured too much information during that brief confrontation."If Mama knew..."Katakuri paused, then shook his head,"No, she probably already knows."BIG·MOM's intelligence network spanned the New World. An incident of this magnitude in Dressrosawas impossible for Totto Land to miss.It went without saying what kind of waves today's clash between these two would stir up in the New World."Katakuri."Perospero beside him spoke up, his voice trembling, his candy cane staff nearly slipping from his grasp,"Should we... should we retreat? This place is too dangerous perorin..."Katakuri glanced at him but said nothing.However, the meaning in his eyes was clear:Leaving now would be tantamount to declaring to the whole world that the Big Mom Pirates were scared!!!Perospero shrank his neck, not daring to speak further.On a pile of rubble in the center of the colosseum, Zoro finally managed to stand up, leaning on wado ichimonji. He was covered in wounds, the gash on his left shoulder deep enough to see bone, but the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter."See that, Mosshead."Sanji walked over, dragging his recently-healed broken right leg, a freshly lit cigarette in his mouth,"That idiot Captain has run ahead again.""Yeah."Zoro grunted, tightening his grip on the hilt,"So we have to catch up quickly.""Before that-"Sanji looked at the wounds on Zoro's body,"Don't you die here first.""You're the one... if your leg's broken, lie down and behave, Curly Eyebrows."Zoro glanced at Sanji's right leg, which was still oozing blood."Who said my leg's broken?! This is a strategic injury!""Oh? And who was it that got swatted away by that dragon's tail just now?""You-!"The two habitually started bickering, but their voices were weak.Just exchanging a couple of blows with Kaido had nearly drained their stamina, and their injuries were severe enough to make them pass out at any moment."Zoro! Sanji!"Nami's voice came from the other side of the ruins.She and Robin hurried over, weaving through the collapsed pillars.Nami held a medical kit, while Robin used her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to sprout several hands from the rubble, clearing a path."You two idiots!"Nami's eyes were red as she rushed up to them,"You're so badly injured and still acting tough!"She deftly opened the medical kit, first disinfecting, medicating, and bandaging the wound on Zoro's shoulder.Her movements were practiced to a heartbreaking degree. After sailing the Grand Line for so long, Nami's experience in treating wounds was almost on par with a professional doctor's.Robin crouched beside Sanji, checking the fracture in his right leg: "Both the tibia and fibula are cracked, they need immobilization! Chopper isn't here, I can only provide emergency treatment!""Thank you, Sister Robin."Sanji, for once, didn't act love-struck, but sincerely thanked her.Robin smiled, using hands sprouted by her Fruit to gather some wooden planks and began making a splint for Sanji's leg.Elsewhere, Sabo emerged, shielding Rebecca.He glanced towards Zoro and Sanji, then looked up at the eastern sky, his brow deeply furrowed."Mr. Sabo..."Rebecca asked quietly,"Lord Luffy... he... will he be okay?"Sabo paused for a few seconds, then showed a gentle smile:"Don't worry. That Kid is much stronger than we imagine."He paused, then added:"Besides, he's not alone now."Rebecca nodded, not fully understanding.Just then, a chaotic commotion arose from the outskirts of the colosseum ruins.One of the Revolutionary Army's long-fought goals was to liberate countries oppressed by tyranny.The liberation of Dressrosa was now within reach, but this liberation... was triggered by a chain reaction set off by pirates."The times truly are changing..." Sabo muttered to himself."I should leave too. This place will become a battlefield soon.""But Father, he-""Mr. Kyros has his own battle to fight."Sabo looked seriously at Rebecca,"And you, Princess Rebecca, what you should do most now is survive. That's the task Luffyentrusted to me."Hearing Luffy's name, Rebecca bit her lip, but finally nodded firmly.The two headed towards another exit of the colosseum.As they passed by Zoro and the others, Sabostopped and said to Nami and Robin:"Everyone from the Straw Hat Pirates, I suggest you leave Dressrosa as soon as possible! The chaos on this island has only just begun!"Nami's bandaging hands paused. She looked up at Sabo:"What about you?""I still have some things to investigate."Sabo smiled,"About Donquixote Doflamingo's conspiracy, and the deeper goals of CP0. Also-"He looked towards the eastern sea."I want to see Luffy and Kaido's decisive battle with my own eyes."With that, Sabo led Rebecca away, disappearing into the shadows of the ruins.Nami withdrew her gaze and continued bandaging Zoro.When the last bandage was tied, she stood up, brushing the dust from her hands."There, you won't die for now."Nami put her hands on her hips, her tone returning to its usual assertiveness,"Now, you two injured guys stay put and wait for Chopper and Usopp to regroup with us. Then-"She looked at Robin.Robin understood, nodded, and took out a den den mushi to start making contact.And at this moment, in the sea thirty nautical miles east of Dressrosa!!!The real storm was only just beginning...