Fighting a true powerhouse completely ignited Kaido's obsession with battle.
"Oden, when it comes to swordsmanship, I know a thing or two myself. Let's see which of us is stronger!"
He swung his iron club.
Whoosh!
"Whistling Arrow!"
A cylindrical slash flashed through the air and shot straight toward Kozuki Oden.
Oden's expression changed, shock flickering in his eyes.
"This guy knows swordsmanship too?!"
He crossed his twin blades to block.
Clang!
He was shoved backward dozens of meters, his feet carving two deep trenches into the ground.
Kaido threw his head back and laughed.
"Worororo! Who says only you samurai know swordsmanship?"
"Once you grasp a few simple tricks and have enough strength, creating slashes is easy, isn't it?"
The bulging veins in his arm throbbed as blood surged beneath them with a roar like distant thunder.
"Adamantine Arrow!"
Another blast of club-force shot out like a flying slash, and this one was even stronger than the last.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Paradise Waterfall!"
Wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, a cold gleam flashed through the air like a meteor vanishing in an instant.
Boom!
The club-force Kaido launched exploded apart. The shockwave shattered and rained down like artillery shells, detonating against the ground.
The battle grew increasingly intense.
Ashura Doji froze for a moment, then muttered, "When did Kaido learn a move like that?"
Chinjao looked curious. He had always thought Kaido was the pure power type.
His kanabo had always been used the same way before, wide swings, overwhelming force, brutally direct attacks.
Tengetsu Ares explained, "Kaido has trained with me for a long time. We've cultivated and sparred together for years. Things like the Six Powers and swordsmanship were never hard for him to learn."
"What he lacks now is more time and more battle experience. In the future, he won't be inferior to any of the top monsters currently ruling the seas."
"I see now." Ashura Doji understood.
Vista looked at Kaido with fresh admiration.
"I didn't expect Kaido's swordsmanship to be this strong. The power behind those attacks is incredible..."
"Gurarara..." Whitebeard laughed. "As long as your strength is great enough, no technique can be underestimated!"
"If Ares were the one using those slashes, even a Great Swordsman would have to take them seriously. One mistake, and they'd lose."
Jozu immediately lit up.
"I'm going to train my strength harder too. One day, I'll be like Ares and Kaido!"
Whitebeard wore a warm, fatherly smile.
"Then you'll need to put in effort a hundred times, even a thousand times greater than normal."
Then he changed the subject.
"Oden's techniques are impressive though. I didn't expect him to have mastered... Haki infusion."
Ares nodded.
"That should be a method passed down in Wano since ancient times."
Wano had a long history and a deep foundation. Strong figures had risen here for generations, and Oden had already mastered Haki infusion before ever setting sail.
That was something incredibly rare in the outside world.
There was even a chance this method dated all the way back to Joy Boy.
Chinjao frowned in confusion.
"What is Haki infusion?"
Ares explained it to him.
After hearing the effects of it, Chinjao's face lit up with excitement.
"Ares, can you teach me that technique too?"
He was, after all, a pirate with the qualities of a king.
"Of course."
Ares smiled. Chinjao might already be around forty, but people in the One Piece world couldn't be judged by normal standards.
Even continuing to grow stronger into his fifties or sixties was entirely possible.
Thinking about age made Ares suddenly think of Pure Gold, the treasure that could slow aging and extend lifespan.
He thought to himself, "That thing isn't suitable for young people, but for someone like Chinjao, who's close to reaching the peak of his body, it's perfect. Once his strength hits its limit in another ten years or so, he can wear Pure Gold..."
"That way he can preserve his physical prime and lengthen his lifespan!"
Ares quietly stored that thought away. It still wasn't time to search for Island-Eater yet.
Once Wano opened its borders and he finished handling several matters, then he could start considering another voyage.
The battle on the field remained deadlocked.
Sukiyaki's expression eased slightly, the huge stone in his heart finally loosening.
"If things continue at this pace, Oden should be able to last the full three hours."
"As long as we get one draw, the number of people Ares can use should be limited."
While keeping his eyes on the battlefield, he occasionally glanced toward Ares's side, marking down every suspicious figure.
Slarda, Chinjao, Ashura Doji, Whitebeard. Those were the ones who stood out. The others were not worth worrying about.
As long as they could hold the line in the first three matches, Sukiyaki believed Ares could not possibly have multiple subordinates as strong as Kaido.
His chances of winning were high.
Shimotsuki Yasuie, who had been arranged as the second fighter for Wano's side, felt that the situation was still stable for now. His gaze settled on Chinjao, whose pointed cone head made him easy to identify.
"That man is Chinjao. He doesn't look like someone who can be defeated easily..."
"I have to say... Why are all the people around Ares so massive?"
Chinjao stood over five meters tall, about the same as Ares.
Whitebeard was 666 centimeters tall, while Slarda and Ashura Doji were also towering men. Altogether, Ares's side looked like a gathering of monstrous giants.
Standing behind Yasuie, Kurozumi Orochi felt uneasy and grumbled inwardly, "Ares's men aren't going to lose, are they?"
"If they lose, then they'll have to honor the agreement and leave Wano. If that happens, my whole plan is finished!"
Just then, the battle on the field suddenly shifted.
Kaido grinned.
"Worororo! Oden, playtime is over."
As he spoke, dense, thick fur spread over his dark skin. New arms burst from his back.
Four faces emerged from his head.
The sudden transformation made Oden's face change drastically, and he blurted out in shock,
"This... This is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit?!"
Cold sweat instantly began sliding down from his temples.
The spectators erupted into screams of shock.
The crowd exploded into uproar.
"That guy has eight arms. How did he turn into a monster?!"
"Oi, oi! There's no way Oden can stop that thing now, right?!"
"No wonder Ares sent this Kaido guy out first. He's terrifying!"
"Even a monster like that is under Ares's command. No wonder he beat Kozuki Oden so easily!"
The noise spread like wildfire.
Sukiyaki's face turned pale with panic.
"That man... That man is a Mythical Zoan user too? This is bad... How can this be? Why would such a rare Devil Fruit appear in his hands?!"
Shimotsuki Yasuie's face darkened.
"This is bad. Kaido has been hiding his power this whole time!"
Shimotsuki Ushimaru looked tense, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Kaido was already suppressing Oden without using his ability. Now that he's added his Devil Fruit power, Oden..."
"Oden... probably won't be able to hold on!"
The situation had turned sharply for the worse, and every one of them grew more nervous by the second.
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