"Hey, Kaido!"
"Hey! What the hell are you doing? Is this a place to take a nap?! You bastard!!!"
Charlotte Linlin's voice kept reaching Kaido's ears.
On the ice, Kaido was lying in a pit with his limbs spread wide. Do not misunderstand—the extra point was his dragon tail in hybrid form.
At this moment, there was a cross-shaped wound on Kaido's chest. His scales were shattered, the wound was deep enough to see bone, and blood was still flowing.
At the same time, because he had taken both Ikoku and Yasotakeru head-on in a rush, Kaido's consciousness had briefly drifted away. His vision had gone black, and his head was buzzing.
After Charlotte Linlin's furious, disappointed scolding kept entering his ears, Kaido suddenly sat upright. As his mind cleared, cold sweat broke out across his body, and he began breathing heavily.
"Hah… hah…" Kaido sat up, covering the wound on his chest with one hand. Feeling the slick blood and the constant stabbing pain, he swallowed and said, "I thought I was dead…"
And that's a classic cheat-death revival!
"Useless! Do you not call yourself the strongest creature? And this is enough to knock you stupid?" Charlotte Linlin cursed unhappily.
This bastard had stolen her Azure Dragon Fruit and run away back in God Valley, then started bragging that he was the strongest creature because he had eaten the strongest Mythical Zoan Fruit.
But thinking carefully, ever since he left the West Blue, this guy had fought again and again, lost again and again, and basically had not won at all.
First, Zephyr beat him.
Then Garp beat him.
Now Valthior was beating him too.
He had been beaten until he almost lost consciousness, yet he still had the nerve to call himself the strongest creature?
Kaido took a deep breath. The power of his Mythical Zoan kept activating, and combined with his strong control over his own body—something similar to Life Return—the flesh around his wound tightly pressed back together. Then scales quickly grew over it, as if forcibly stitching the injury shut and making it "heal."
After that, Kaido stood up, grabbed Hassaikai from the ground, and cursed, "Stop nagging over there. I was just careless and fell for his trick. I am fine, aren't I?"
Kaido calling himself the strongest creature was not exactly too arrogant.
At least, he had taken Ikoku and Yasotakeru head-on. Although he was injured, he did not seem to be in serious trouble.
That alone was something ordinary people could never do.
"You had better be fine!" Charlotte Linlin glared at Kaido. Then she looked again at Valthior in the distance and said in a deep voice, "According to my intelligence network, back on Savila Island, Valthior's Conqueror's Haki even suppressed Garp's for a time… I originally did not believe it…"
Kaido's attention was also fixed on Valthior now.
He felt that steadily rising aura. The powerful Conqueror's Haki had already begun affecting real matter. The ice around Valthior was being crushed by the pressure spilling from his Haki.
And that surging, violent presence blew from his body like a storm.
When it brushed against Kaido's face, he could faintly feel a sharp pain, like Haki stabbing into his body.
That made Kaido instantly remember the scene of Garp pinning him to the ground and beating him back then.
The same kind of Conqueror's Haki…
But perhaps, just as the rumors said, Valthior's Conqueror's Haki might not last as long—but in terms of explosive power, it could be called unmatched across the seas.
Where had that specific rumor originated from again? Ah, right—it came out of the Roger Pirates.
Rayleigh, known as the right hand of the Pirate King, had publicly admitted that in terms of explosive force, his Conqueror's Haki could not compare to Valthior's.
Roger also seemed to have once said that if Valthior was given a few more years, the strength of his Conqueror's Haki would be unmatched.
No one had truly verified whether Roger and Rayleigh had really said such things.
Even if they had, Kaido had not believed them at all before.
But now, feeling Valthior's terrifying Conqueror's Haki swelling like a demon from hell, Kaido believed it.
This was not Susanoo.
Valthior was not using that power right now.
But whether it was Charlotte Linlin or Kaido, both of them seemed to faintly see a majestic, violent, and ferocious icy beast taking shape behind Valthior.
The beast's gaze locked firmly onto the two of them, as if it might come alive from the Conqueror's Haki at any moment and swallow them whole.
At the same time, the already bone-chilling wind seemed able to blow even deeper into their bones.
It was not an illusion.
The temperature was still falling.
When Kaido came back to his senses, he suddenly discovered that at some unknown point, a faint layer of frost crystals had formed on his sideburns, eyebrows, and beard.
This discovery shattered Kaido's pride.
A sharp sting pierced his heart. Immediately, Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body and shattered the frost. His already hybrid body swelled even larger. His muscles surged, and his frame became even more powerful. As he stepped forward, he roared, "It is just some ice beast I have never even heard of! When it comes to abilities, my Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon is the strongest! What do you have to compare with me!?"
Standing beside him, Charlotte Linlin felt a wave of bewilderment.
No, wait, brother... the guy didn't even say he wanted to compare fruits with you? Why are you suddenly bringing this up?
Did anyone say his ice beast is stronger than your Azure Dragon?
Why are you getting worked up?
However, seeing Kaido suddenly go wild with fighting spirit and look incredibly fierce, Charlotte Linlin naturally would not dampen his momentum. She stayed silent and pretended she had not heard anything.
In the distance, Valthior was also stunned for a moment. He carefully thought back.
Did I say anything about the Azure Dragon? Did this guy take the wrong medicine?
But…
What did he have to compare with Kaido?
The wild smile on Valthior's face widened. When the Conqueror's Haki behind him fully condensed into the phantom of the ice beast, he said, "Mythical Zoan? True. In terms of strength, your Azure Dragon power is indeed extraordinary. It is one of the strongest powers on the sea. But Kaido—has no one ever told you?"
At this point, Valthior's tone slowed. His brow rose slightly, showing absolute confidence.
"In this world, powerful abilities are endless—but only Haki stands above all!"
The instant his voice fell, Valthior pushed off with his feet. The thick ice beneath him shattered on the spot.
His figure charged toward Kaido and Charlotte Linlin like a peerless beast.
Behind him, the phantom of the ice beast followed. His wild Conqueror's Haki was no longer restrained. It turned into a tidal wave that covered the sky.
That Conqueror's Haki, rushing in like a collapsing mountain, instantly enveloped Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
Charlotte Linlin was older than Kaido and had seen more.
Especially back then on Cake Island—first, she had been ganged up on by the Roger Pirates. After the Roger Pirates fled, she had then been ganged up on by the Five Elders and Harald.
It could be said that she had rich experience and had seen countless great scenes.
So even though Valthior's Conqueror's Haki was surging fiercely at this moment, Charlotte Linlin could still keep her mind steady. While feeling this tremendous pressure, her fighting spirit and strength kept rising from within.
"Soul Pocus!!!" Charlotte Linlin bellowed.
Along with her roar, far in the distance, the Queen Mama Chanter instantly lost its vitality. The soul power of the Homie was directly extracted and poured into Charlotte Linlin's body.
It was not only that ship.
All the Homies she had brought had their soul power taken at this moment, leaving only Napoleon, Zeus, and Prometheus.
Many pirate underlings from Totto Land also had their souls taken. These people naturally feared Charlotte Linlin's terrifying power. The moment they heard the Soul Pocus, everything was stripped away from them.
This was not as absurd as back on Cake Island, where she had absorbed massive amounts of soul power and rapidly pushed her combat power beyond its limits.
But in this moment, Charlotte Linlin's strength was still climbing rapidly. Her reaction speed, physical power, defense, stamina, healing ability, and overall combat strength were all rising at high speed.
There were no flashy techniques now.
Only pure Haki wrapped around the Emperor Sword.
Then, facing Valthior's terrifying charge, Charlotte Linlin stepped forward with firm resolve.
Compared to her, the twenty-nine-year-old Kaido was, in this moment, forcibly shaken by Valthior's terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
Speaking of Kaido, although he was already very impressive, after entering the pirate world, he had always followed Rocks and fought favorable battles. His crew had been filled with big shots. As an apprentice, he had only needed to follow along and had never faced much pressure.
God Valley had been his first defeat.
After fleeing, he had then spent several years losing again and again.
His strength had only started growing rapidly during that period.
It could be said that Kaido was truly someone with terrifying growth potential. Every failure became nourishment for him and made him stronger.
In the original story, he had challenged the Four Emperors and Marine Headquarters alone eighteen times. Because he fought alone, he had never won. But because he kept fighting after every defeat and kept growing, he gained the titles of "strongest creature" and "strongest in a one-on-one fight."
He was a top powerhouse who had walked out from defeat.
And now, in this moment, he seemed to foresee his own defeat again.
"Rocks…"
Feeling that overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, Kaido's mind faltered. For an instant, he seemed to see Rocks—the powerful man he had once admired most—walking toward him.
Intense fear instantly spread through his heart.
When Charlotte Linlin stepped forward to charge, Kaido involuntarily retreated half a step.
And in that moment, Valthior saw Kaido's half-step retreat. Anger rose in his eyes, and he roared, "Kaido! I will never tolerate an act of cowardice!!!"
The battleaxe in his grasp radiated a blinding luster as the YasotakeruAttack cleaved through the air!
That single roar seemed to snap Kaido out of his trance. He froze slightly at first. Then an enormous sense of shame crushed the fear itself. His whole body trembled, and he stepped forward, following Charlotte Linlin's pace as he roared, "Come on then!!! Wisdom King: Daiitoku: Thunder Bagua!!!"
At this moment, Kaido faced his fear directly.
At this moment, Kaido's Conqueror's Haki broke through his current limits.
Charlotte Linlin struck first. She swung the Emperor Sword and met the battle axe head-on.
With a boom, Merciless chopped hard onto the Emperor Sword.
The Conqueror's Haki of the two exploded on the spot. As the surging air wave turned into a ring-shaped shockwave and spread outward, the Emperor Sword let out a cry and shattered directly into countless fragments.
Just as Valthior's strike broke the Emperor Sword and the sharp axe blade was about to land on Charlotte Linlin's shoulder, Kaido's Hassaikai arrived with the force of Thunder Bagua and caught the battle axe.
In an instant, both of Kaido's hands strained under the force. The scales on his palms burst apart, and blood splashed out.
"I will never be afraid of you, Valthior!!!"
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