"King of Hell Descends!"
"One Sword Style—Severance!"
Yamato and Kuina attacked simultaneously.
Both used techniques personally taught by Kuke.
Kuke had been their mentor, guiding them every step of the way.
Their entire growth had been shaped by him.
Belo Betty once again activated her fruit's ability, covering her hands in its power. "Internal Shatter!"
"They're all this strong?"
Even in the midst of battle, Kaido, with his seasoned combat senses, instantly assessed their strength.
His face darkened.
"This isn't just a matter of whether I can block them or not."
"Thunder Bagua!"
Not daring to be careless, Kaido swung his kanabo with full force.
Boom!
Three against one.
Four weapons clashed midair.
Cracks appeared in the sky.
"The sky… split open?"
Pirates looked up in a daze at the shattered heavens.
"They're fighting Kaido head-on… and matching him?"
Marco had seen such apocalyptic clashes before.
But only when Emperor-level fighters clashed did such devastation unfold.
"The Sun and Moon Pirates are completely unrivaled now."
Marco felt chills run down his spine as he watched Yamato and the others.
Facing Kaido's ultimate attack, they had held their ground.
Not a single step back.
The shockwaves blasted across the island.
"This is what a real battle looks like," Ace muttered, shielding himself from the gale of debris.
He watched the fight unfold, fixated on the battle between Kaido and the three women.
And they weren't losing.
Yamato, after seven years of training, had doubled in strength.
Her combat power had now reached around 230,000.
In a one-on-one fight against an Emperor-level opponent, she could last a long time. Even an Emperor would have to pay a price to defeat her.
Kuina, on the other hand, was at 110,000.
Compared to Yamato, she was still weaker.
But in the grand scheme of the world, she was already a monstrous figure.
In swordsmanship, apart from Kuke and Gion in the Sun and Moon Pirates, only Shanks and Mihawk surpassed her.
Whitebeard's Fifth Division Commander, Flower Sword Vista, couldn't compare to Kuina now.
And Kuina had no Devil Fruit.
All of her strength came from herself.
Together, the three had combined combat power exceeding 500,000.
Not far from Kaido's level.
With Kaido hesitant to go all out, the fight had become an even match.
"Conqueror's Clash!"
Yamato, in her hybrid beast form, swung her kanabo, coated in Conqueror's Haki, clashing against Kaido's.
She didn't budge an inch.
"One Sword Style—Sky Dragon Flow!"
Kuina slashed horizontally.
A silver dragon-shaped slash roared forward.
The terrifying battle lasted an entire day and night.
By the end, all three women were breathing heavily.
Kaido looked even worse, his body covered in fresh wounds, blood drying on his skin, with fresh traces at the corner of his lips.
Ace and the others had watched, completely stunned, for the entire day and night.
Ace no longer even thought about stepping in to help.
"Old man, you're not so strong after all."
Yamato taunted once more.
Kaido twitched.
He looked at his insane daughter in exasperation.
Annoyed.
Yet also proud.
He couldn't help but feel proud of Yamato.
"I have to admit, Kuke sure knows how to train people."
Kaido sighed inwardly.
If Yamato had stayed in his crew, there was no way she would have grown this strong.
Technically, she wasn't even twenty-four years old yet.
"Yamato, stop talking," Kuina warned.
Confused, Yamato turned around—
And saw Belo Betty deep in thought, frowning in concentration.
During the battle, Belo Betty had cycled through every technique she had developed from the Op-Op Fruit, repeatedly testing her abilities, refining her understanding.
Now, something had clicked.
She had made a new discovery.
Fearing that this sudden realization might slip away, Belo Betty stood still, lost in thought, right in the middle of the battlefield.
"Old man, let's pause the fight for now."
Yamato and Kuina immediately positioned themselves beside Belo Betty to guard her.
Kaido squinted at them, suspicious.
He didn't understand what was happening.
But he knew it was important.
Casually, he set the Mythical Zoan Daibutsu Fruit on the ground.
Then, the moment Yamato turned away, he bolted.
Fast.
Transforming into a dragon, he shot into the sky, vanishing into the horizon in seconds.
Yamato turned back just in time to see Kaido disappearing into the distance.
She wanted to chase him.
But she didn't dare risk disturbing Belo Betty.
She was the priority.
"He ran?"
The pirates who remained stared in disbelief at Kaido's retreat.
That didn't seem very Emperor-like.
"Strange. He hadn't even lost. Why would he just leave? And he even left the Mythical Zoan Fruit behind?"
"Idiot. The Sun and Moon Pirates didn't even send Kuke himself. Just his officers held off Kaido. If I were him, I'd run too."
"So the Four Emperors aren't all on the same level… The Sun and Moon Pirates are the strongest."
For many rookie pirates, this was an eye-opening experience.
"Ace, meeting Kuke will be even harder than we thought," Sabo sighed.
Ace's grin hadn't faded since yesterday.
"That's what makes it a challenge! Hahaha! As expected of Kuke! I knew it—he is the strongest! If anyone will become the Pirate King, it has to be him!"
He lifted his chin proudly.
"Pirate King? You don't get it," a veteran pirate nearby muttered. "If Kuke had wanted to, he'd have become the Pirate King a long time ago."
Ace's eyes widened.
Was there something he didn't know?
Could the Sun and Moon Pirates be even more terrifying and dominant than he had imagined?
"Can you tell me more about them?"
Ace leaned in toward the old pirate, eager for every detail.
At this point, newspapers could no longer provide reliable information about the Sun and Moon Pirates or Kuke.
Only those who had lived through that era knew the truth.
"If you want to know, I'll tell you," a voice interrupted.
Marco landed in front of Ace.
Compared to the others, Marco knew far more details.
He looked at Ace and said, "I just hope that after hearing this, you can still hold onto your dream."
Ace straightened his back, ears sharp.
"Wait… Did you say that Kuke once defeated Kaido in just a few hours? And that was one of the least shocking things he's ever done?"
"Back then, there was another Emperor—Charlotte Linlin. Now? She's under Kuke's command. She joined the Sun and Moon Pirates!"
"He took down Whitebeard, the man once considered the world's strongest, in just forty minutes?"
Ace felt his throat dry up.
"The Marines and World Government tried everything to stop him, but failed? The ones in charge of the World Government weren't the Three Elder Stars, but the Five Elder Stars—and Kuke killed two of them, reducing their number to three? And Mariejois had to be completely rebuilt?"
Ace's entire perception of the world shattered.
He had thought Kuke was merely on the same level as the other Emperors.
But now he understood.
"The title of Emperor… was the least significant thing about him."
Ace's expression twisted between laughter and tears.
"What kind of dream have I chosen?"
Then he laughed, almost maniacally.
"Heh… Of course. Of course, it had to be me. I chose the biggest dream in the world!"
Like a fool, he grinned.
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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