Chapter 503 - 342

Chapter 344: Ten Thousand Thunderbolts, Nine Heavens Tornado!The sea was burning.Centered on the sea where Luffy and Kaido were fighting, the seawater for ten nautical miles in all directions had boiled.A thick fog formed by steam enveloped the entire area, making it impossible to see anything beyond a hundred meters.Within the fog, flashes of crimson-gold or black-purple light erupted from time to time, each accompanied by a roar loud enough to shake the seabed.BOOM!!!!!Luffy's figure was sent flying backward out of the fog, his feet plowing two hundred-meter-long channels across the sea surface.Luffy steadied himself by stepping on lightning, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and grinned:"Not bad, Kaido! That was a solid hit!"The thick fog was torn apart by a giant dragon claw.Kaido's Azure Dragon form coiled in mid-air. Dozens of scales on his dragon belly were scorched black and had fallen off, revealing the bright red flesh beneath.But the wound was healing at a visible speed.The awakening of the Mythical Zoan Type Azure Dragon Fruit granted Kaido a nearly immortal recovery ability. As long as it wasn't a fatal injury, it would heal quickly."Straw Hat..."Kaido's dragon eyes locked onto Luffy,"Your attacks are still not enough!"Before the words faded, his dragon tail swept across again.This time, Luffy didn't block it head-on.Lightning exploded beneath his feet, and his figure vanished instantly.The path swept by the dragon tail became a vacuum, the sea surface split open by the residual force into a fifty-meter-deep canyon, but Luffy had already appeared above Kaido's head.He clasped his hands together, raising them high above his head.Crimson-gold lightning and gold-red flames gathered and compressed on his fists, forming a three-meter-diameter black-gold energy sphere. On the sphere's surface, black-red Haoshokupatterns pulsed like blood vessels."Thunder-Fire Overlord's Hammer!!!!"He brought his fists down.The energy sphere shot straight towards Kaido's dragon head.Kaido neither dodged nor evaded. He opened his dragon maw, and deep within his throat, black-purple energy gathered once more!!ROAR——!!!!Dragon's Roar!!!The energy sphere and the sonic wave collided.They stalemated for just one second.Then... the energy sphere was violently shattered by the sonic wave.The black-gold flames and lightning scattered into a sky full of light rain, falling onto the sea surface, each drop exploding into a small spark.The sonic wave continued upward, blasting towards Luffy.Luffy's pupils constricted, and he crossed his arms to guard in front of him.THUD!!!!He was struck by the sonic wave, his entire body sent flying skyward like a cannonball, instantly piercing through the cloud layer and disappearing beyond the horizon.Kaido did not pursue.He coiled above the sea surface, closed his dragon mouth, his dragon eyes fixed intently on the direction Luffy had vanished, panting... Three seconds later.The cloud layer was torn open.Luffy was back!!!The crimson-gold lightning battle markings on his body's surface had dimmed somewhat, and there was more blood at the corner of his mouth, but the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter."Excellent!!"Luffy adjusted his posture mid-air, laughing loudly as he said,"Now this is more like it!! Kaido!! Keep going!!!""As you wish!!!"Kaido's dragon form expanded once more.Black-purple flame clouds sprayed from between his scales, gathering beneath him to form a solid platform.The eight-meter-tall half-dragon man hovered in mid-air, hassaikai gripped in his hand, the spikes on the Spiked Club flashing with dangerous electricity.The two stared at each other across the distance.Five hundred meters apart.The sea surface below them calmed.Then... two figures collided in the air.No flashy moves, no complex tactics, just the purest collision of strength against strength, Hakiagainst Haki.Every time fist and club clashed, a visible shockwave erupted. Wherever the shockwave passed, the sea surface was pressed into a hundred-meter-wide pit, the seawater at the center directly evaporating.BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!!!The frequency of the clashes grew faster and faster.Their figures had already blurred into two entangled masses of light.Crimson-gold and black-purple intertwined, trailing countless afterimages in the air. Each time the afterimages intersected, an energy storm exploded.The seawater was churned into utter chaos.The clouds in the sky were long gone.Not blown away, but directly evaporated. Centered on the point where the two fought, the sky within a twenty-kilometer radius... was so clean you could see the stars.The one hundred and thirty-seventh collision!Luffy's fist smashed into Kaido's face.Kaido's Spiked Club swept across Luffy's waist.Both were sent flying backward simultaneously.Kaido's head was knocked back by that punch, a fine crack appearing on his dragon horn. He shook his head, the ferocity in his eyes growing heavier."Straw Hat..."Kaido licked the blood from the corner of his mouth,"You are the first pirate to witness my awakened power!""Then I'm quite honored."Luffy grinned, smiling brilliantly,"But, this is just the warm-up.""Warm-up?"Kaido also laughed, his face twisting with the laughter,"Fine! Then let the warm-up end-"He gripped hassaikai tightly with both hands, raising it overhead.Black-purple Haoshoku surged from his entire body towards the Spiked Club. The spikes on the club's surface lit up one by one with violet-black electricity."Straw Hat, catch this-"Kaido's voice became deep and powerful."This blow, forged through forty years of my battles-""Killing countless strong ones...""Crushing countless kingdoms...""Only then tempered...""The ultimate...""Advanced Armament Haki Ultimate Art!!!!!"hassaikai slowly descended.The movement was slow, so slow that Luffy could see every inch of the club's trajectory.But Luffy's Observation Haki was screaming warnings... Can't dodge! Won't dodge!Then... don't dodge!Luffy took a deep breath.His chest swelled to its limit. The crimson-gold battle markings on his body's surface lit up again, even brighter than before.He also clasped his fists, crossing them before his chest, then slowly pulled them apart!!His left fist was wreathed in black lightning, his right fist in golden flames.His arms drew a circle before his chest. Black and gold intertwined, forming a rotating Taiji diagram."Kaido..."Luffy's voice was calm, yet carrying a power that could pierce the soul."You catch this too!!""This punch, is what I've learned since setting sail from the East Blue...""Meeting countless comrades...""Overcoming countless desperate situations...""Betting all my dreams...""Only then comprehended...""My——""Way of the Pirate!!!!!"Crimson-gold electric arcs sprayed from between Luffy's fists. Black lightning and golden flames spiraled around each other, like the double helix structure of DNA?!And Kaido's blow finally fell.hassaikai split the air.Where the club passed, time itself seemed to slow, light twisted into bizarre shapes.Club and fist.In the sky above the sea, thirty nautical miles east of Dressrosa... collided——!!!Everyone on the island of Dressrosa felt their hearts stop in that moment.On the sea surface, at the collision's epicenter.A 360-degree ring-shaped tsunami erupted.The first wave crest was already over a hundred meters high. The second, the third followed behind. Three colossal waves, like moving mountain ranges, rolled towards Dressrosa, towards more distant seas, towards the entire world... West of Dressrosa, twenty nautical miles away.The thousand sunny was tossed about on the sea like a sieve.The entire ship was thrown up, dropped down, spun around, like a leaf in a storm.The lawn on the deck was soaked, the orange tree's leaves scattered everywhere. Uta's half-drunk cold beverage spilled on the deck, the cup rolling into the sea."Franky——!!!"Jinbe's rough roar came from the wheelhouse,"Port side thirty degrees! Quick!!!""Super-understood!!!"Franky was in the engine room at the stern, his hands flying as he operated various levers and buttons.The sunny's helm spun wildly in Jinbe's hands, dodging wave after ten-meter-high wave."What in the world... is this..."Uta clung tightly to the rope of the main mast, her red and white hair flying wildly in the wind.Her face was pale, a primal fear of calamity-level power. She felt like crying o(╥﹏╥)o.She wasn't unfamiliar with strong individuals.Within the Red Hair Pirates, Shanks, Beckman, Yasopp, each was a monster capable of holding their own.Uta herself was a user of the Uta Uta no Mi, capable of creating a musical world.But the scene before her eyes:In the distance where the sea met the sky, that ball of blinding white light visible even from twenty nautical miles away;Those three ring-shaped tsunamis slowly rising like walls of the world, over a hundred meters high;And the lingering Haoshoku waves permeating the air, stinging the skin, tightening the chest... This had already transcended the realm of a battle between strong individuals."That's... Kaido."Yamato's voice sounded beside Uta.She didn't know when she had also come under the main mast, gripping her Spiked Club takerutightly with both hands.Yamato looked up at the distant white light, her expression complex... there was fear, worry, but more than that, a sense of... relief?"Kaido?"Uta turned her head."Who is that?""My... father."When Yamato said this word, her voice was a bit dry."The Governor of the Beasts Pirates, one of the Four Emperors known as the world's strongest creature."Uta blinked:"A Four Emperor? Like Shanks?""Mhm."Yamato nodded, her gaze turning back to the distance."But Kaido is different from Shanks. He's violent, cruel, obsessed with war and destruction... a true monster."She paused, her voice lowering."Three months ago, Luffy defeated him on Onigashima..."Yamato tightened her grip on the Spiked Club."And now... he's recovered. And it seems... he's stronger than he was on Onigashima."Uta was silent for a few seconds.She looked at the distant white light, then at the heavy expression on Yamato's face, and suddenly smiled."Are you worried about Luffy?"Yamato was taken aback:"Of course! That's Kaido! And judging by this commotion, Luffy must be fighting Kaido one-on-one! He...""Luffy is strong."Uta interrupted her, smiling brightly with a blind yet unshakably firm trust."Although I've only known him for a few months, I know... all difficulties will be solved by Luffy. All enemies will be punched away by Luffy."She let go of the rope and spread her arms wide, as if to embrace the distant storm."Because Luffy... is the man who will become the Pirate King!"Yamato stared blankly at Uta.This pink-and-white-haired girl, who looked even younger than herself, physically frail, standing at the edge of this disaster-like battlefield, was laughing so carefreely, so... trusting of Luffy."You..."Yamato's mouth twitched, and finally she also revealed a smile."You're right."Yeah.What's the use of worrying?That idiot Luffy has always been like this.No matter who the opponent is, no matter how desperate the situation, he'll charge forward with a grin and punch his way through.As his crewmate, what you should do isn't worry.It's believe."Franky!!!"Yamato suddenly roared towards the stern."Can the sunny get any closer?!""Huh?!"Franky stuck his head out of the engine room."Yamato! Are you crazy?! Going over now will get us swallowed by the tsunami, SUPER!!!""Not now!"Yamato pointed at the distant white light."After the clash ends! After the tsunami passes! I want to see it with my own eyes... the moment Luffy punches Kaido away!"Franky was stunned.Jinbe in the cockpit also heard. He was silent for two seconds before speaking gravely:"Yamato, I understand how you feel. But-"He didn't finish his sentence.The light sphere that had covered dozens of nautical miles shrank into a point within seconds, then completely vanished.Immediately after, the three ring-shaped tsunamis had surged to within five nautical miles of Dressrosa. The waves looked even more terrifying up close.But Jinbe wasn't looking at the tsunami.His gaze was fixed on the sea that was revealed again after the white light disappeared.The thick fog was being blown away by the wind.It was faintly visible,Two figures, suspended in the air above the sea.A hundred meters apart.Motionless... The thick fog slowly dissipated.The scene on the sea surface gradually became clear.Luffy was suspended to the east.The red vest on his body was torn to shreds. His straw hat was tied tightly behind his head. The black hair on his forehead was damp with sweat, sticking to his skin.His chest was heaving violently, each breath exhaling white steam mixed with electric sparks.Kaido was suspended to the west.In his human-beast form, the clothes on his upper body were completely shattered, revealing his powerful body covered in scars.The cracks on his dragon horns extended to the roots. A large patch of scales had fallen off his left cheek. Dragon blood flowed down his face.Kaido was also panting.The ferocity in his dragon eyes hadn't diminished, but there was an additional trace of... an indescribable feeling?No, it was excitement."Straw Hat..."Kaido's voice was a bit hoarse, yet carrying an irrepressible excitement."That punch just now... what's its name?"Luffy grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth."Haven't thought of a name yet, came up with it on the spot."He answered honestly.Kaido was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild laughter."Guhahahaha!!! Came up with it on the spot?! Good! Good!! My forty years of honing this strike, and you blocked it with a punch you thought up on the spot!!!"The laughter echoed over the sea.But as he laughed, Kaido's voice gradually grew low and deep.He stared at Luffy, the light in his dragon eyes becoming complex."Straw Hat, you know..."Kaido spoke slowly."For these forty years, I've been searching... for someone who can truly kill me."Luffy didn't speak, just looked at him."Roger died, Whitebeard died, Golden Lion died too... that crazy woman Linlin only knows how to fight me for territory."Kaido's voice held a strange weariness."The Marines? Hah, those trash can't even break my defense. The Shichibukai? Even worse garbage."He raised his hassaikai, pointing it at Luffy."But you're different.""Three months ago, on Onigashima, you made me feel a long-lost threat of death. Even though you weren't strong enough then, that potential... that reckless drive..."Kaido's dragon eyes narrowed slightly."So I gave you three months. I wanted to see how far you could grow."He paused, then said word by word:"Now, I've seen it."The sea wind howled.The sea surface between the two, due to the aftermath of the clash, was still churning with muddy foam."Kaido." Luffy suddenly spoke."Hmm?""That alliance you mentioned earlier..."Luffy tilted his head. "Were you serious?"Kaido was silent for two seconds."Half serious, half testing."He said frankly."If you had agreed, it would have meant you were just another power-seeking mortal. Then I would have killed you on the spot... because a you like that isn't worthy of standing beside me.""And if I refused?""Then you'd also have to die here."Kaido's voice suddenly turned cold."Because those who refuse me only have two outcomes... submit, or die."Luffy laughed.He laughed very happily."That's perfect."He clenched his fist, the mangled knuckles making a creaking sound."I didn't plan on letting you walk away alive either."Kaido's dragon eyes contracted.Luffy spread his arms to the sides. Crimson-gold lightning erupted from every pore on his body, weaving into a massive thunder net a kilometer in diameter in the air.Every node of the thunder net pulsed and rotated, forming countless tiny vortexes like black holes."Thunder Prison Myriad Calamities!!!"At the same time, Kaido's dragon form expanded once more.A kilometer-long giant dragon coiled in the sky. Black-purple flame clouds surged from under every scale, forming nine rotating flame cloud tornadoes around him."Azure Dragon·Dominion·Nine Heavens Ascension!!!!!"The thunder net and the tornadoes collided in the air... On the sea surface, the sunny."COVER YOUR EARS—!!!" Jinbe roared.But it was already too late.Uta was the first to fall.She knelt on the deck, hands desperately covering her ears, but blood still seeped from between her fingers.As a user of the Uta Uta no Mi, her hearing was naturally more sensitive than an ordinary person's. Under this level of soul shock, she was injured the most severely.Yamato barely remained standing, but her face was deathly pale. Her Spiked Club slipped from her hand and clattered onto the deck.Franky was thrown out of the engine room, sparks flying from the surface of his mechanical body.All the strings on Brook's violin bow snapped.The Fishman race's robust physique and years of combat experience allowed Jinbe to remain conscious. But he also felt dizzy and disoriented, the scene before his eyes wavering."Luffy..."Jinbe gritted his teeth, gripping the ship's wheel tightly."You brat... just what kind of monster are you fighting..."