A cold sea mist churned, enveloping the entire expanse. The two ships suddenly faced off, the atmosphere plunging to the freezing point and catching both sides off guard.
Borsalino raised her eyes, locking onto the burly figure at the bow of the opposing vessel: Ochoku, a remnant of the Rocks Pirates. In the original series, he had only appeared as a blurry silhouette. Seeing him in person, his aura was terrifying; he was a true veteran powerhouse, every bit the former Rocks officer.
Zephyr stepped forward to the bow, his cloak fluttering wildly in the sea breeze as his cold gaze locked onto Ochoku.
"Ochoku, today I am sending you straight to Impel Down."
Ochoku's expression twisted into a ferocious sneer.
"Black Arm Zephyr, the outcome is far from decided. Come! Let me see how much stronger you have become!"
Despite his fierce bravado, Ochoku was cursing frantically inside. Damn it, of all people to run into, it had to be Zephyr.
A battle was about to erupt, yet Borsalino frowned slightly, sensing something amiss.
Why does Ochoku seem so weak?
He was clad in shattered armor, his body crisscrossed with gaping, bloody wounds both old and new. His breath was ragged and uneven. Though he maintained a formidable stance, he was clearly a paper tiger, exhausted and severely battered. Moreover, as a veteran pirate of the New World, why had he fled to the Paradise section of the Grand Line to hide?
She glanced toward Zephyr, who returned a subtle, knowing look. Evidently, the perceptive Admiral had noticed the anomaly as well.
Still, Ochoku had to be captured. He was a ruthless threat, unlike unusual figures like the Roger Pirates. Ochoku was a true monster, guilty of endless burning, pillaging, and slaughter.
"Borsalino! Lead the team to clear out the remaining pirates, and stay on high alert!"
"Yes, sir!"
The moment the order was issued, Zephyr lunged forward. Dense, jet black Armament Haki instantly enveloped his fists, gleaming with a heavy metallic shine. Carrying colossal force, he launched a devastating punch straight toward Ochoku.
"You are courting death!"
Ochoku roared, meeting the strike head on. The power of the Riki Riki no Mi flared, subtly distorting the air around him as he condensed immense physical force into his fists. A pale, blood colored Haki coated his palms, his muscles swelling exponentially as his strength surged layer upon layer to clash against Zephyr's iron fist.
Boom!
An earth shattering collision unleashed a violent shockwave, churning the sea into massive swells. The already battered pirate vessel could not bear the force; large sections of the deck caved in, and the entire ship shuddered violently, on the brink of falling apart.
Brutal close quarters combat between the two powerhouses commenced. There were no flashy techniques, only pure brawn and Haki colliding in brutal, fist to flesh exchanges. Every punch Zephyr threw was remarkably seasoned, relentlessly targeting Ochoku's weak points as the pressure of his strikes shattered the air.
Relying on the immense strength amplification of the Riki Riki no Mi, Ochoku pushed his body past its limits. He continually deflected portions of the impact while reinforcing his blows, proving surprisingly resilient as he stubbornly held his ground against Zephyr's relentless onslaught.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy detonations echoed continuously across the misty waters, black lightning dancing around their clashing fists. Ochoku's mastery of the Riki Riki no Mi was vastly superior to how Jesus Burgess would use it in the future, yet Zephyr in his prime was simply overwhelming. He suppressed Ochoku across every metric, from Haki and hand to hand combat to battle experience, steadily forcing the pirate back.
Ochoku pushed his Devil Fruit power to its absolute limit, squeezing out every drop of energy. His old wounds tore open repeatedly, blood spattering as fractures spread across his body. Armor fragments flew in all directions as he barely clung to survival, forced backward step by step.
Meanwhile, the boarding action began. Borsalino led her squad onto the enemy ship to eliminate the remaining crew. As she fought, her suspicions deepened. Though Ochoku's men looked fierce, not a single one possessed Haki. The entire crew relied solely on basic swordplay and crude physical strength. Were these really New World pirates? With such low caliber skill, they barely belonged in Paradise.
Borsalino did not even need to remove her Seastone handcuffs. She unsheathed Qingyue, its pale blade reflecting the dim light of the sea mist. A thin stream of condensed, pitch black Armament Haki wrapped around the steel, maximizing its edge. After nearly ten days of brutal training and Zephyr's guidance, she could now coat her hands and weapon in Haki that carried a firm, metallic luster.
Several pirates lunged with their sabers. Borsalino's figure swayed gracefully.
Swoosh!
A cold flash of steel gleamed and vanished in a heartbeat. Her Haki infused slash sheared clean through their weapons and slit their throats with surgical precision. The pirates collapsed without a sound. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Sidestep, pivot, slash, execute.
Her movements were minimalist and precise, devoid of unnecessary flair. Relying purely on swordsmanship, martial arts, and Haki, she carved through the pirate horde. Wherever her blade swung, bodies fell. Standing amidst the ruined deck, her tall silhouette and flowing black hair looked cold and breathtaking.
By now, the main duel was drawing to a close.
The weakened Ochoku, despite his Devil Fruit's raw physical boosts, could not bridge the chasm in strength. After several minutes of brutal exchange, Zephyr delivered a crushing iron fist directly to his chest.
Crack!
The armor on Ochoku's torso shattered into splinters. Covered in blood and his stamina depleted, the giant could no longer support his own weight, collapsing heavily onto the deck with exhaustion and despair in his eyes.
The victor was decided. The Marines erupted into cheers, shouting praises for Admiral Zephyr.
But right at that moment, the entire mist fell deathly silent, as though suppressed by an invisible force.
A suffocating aura, far more terrifying than anything before, seeped out from the depths of the fog. A domineering presence smothered the sea.
The mist parted, revealing a colossal, pitch black warship as it glided forward. Its hull was clad in heavy steel armor, the gunwales bristling with jagged spikes. At the center of its massive sail hung a terrifying Jolly Roger: a horned skull whose hollow sockets radiated a chill that threatened to swallow everything alive.
It was the flag of the Beasts Pirates.
At the highest point of the bow stood a towering, seven meter tall figure. Bronze skin crisscrossed with battle scars, black hair whipping wildly in the wind, and pitch black dragon horns curving from his forehead. His slit pupils looked down with cold indifference as a tyrannical Conqueror's Haki rolled over the sea. A spiked kanabo hung at his waist, radiating lethal majesty.
The future Emperor, Kaido of the Beasts, had arrived.
Standing silently beside him was King the Conflagration. Pitch black wings rested against his back, a sleek leather suit and mask concealing his features, leaving only cold, unfeeling eyes visible.
The two looked down at the scene below.
Suddenly, Kaido burst into a wild, booming laugh.
"Hahaha! I was wondering who made all this noise! Zephyr, is it? Interesting. Today is my lucky day!"
Borsalino gripped the hilt of her sword.
Following the collapse of the Rocks Pirates, titans had emerged across the ocean. Aside from the absolute pinnacle trio, Gol D. Roger, Edward Newgate, and Golden Lion Shiki, the one who had risen the fastest and evolved most terrifyingly was Kaido.
The Mythical Zoan Fish Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, had completely transformed his combat prowess. By now, his strength and reputation were rapidly approaching those of Big Mom, cementing his standing among the top powerhouses of the world.
His bounty sat at 1.8 billion Berries, an astronomical sum in this era before the Great Pirate Era. Over the past several years, the Azure Dragon fruit had granted Kaido an incredible surge in physical toughness, endurance, and sheer destructive power. Combined with his naturally monstrous physique, it was nothing short of a complete rebirth.
Collapsed on the deck, Ochoku's eyes turned blood red as he glared at the figure above. Unfathomable hatred burned within him.
It was Kaido who had personally destroyed his fleet, slaughtered his elite officers, shattered his ambitions, and driven him out of the New World.
That overwhelming hatred shattered his remaining sanity. Kaido! He was the source of all my ruin!
Back during the Rocks era, when Ochoku was a famed commander, Kaido was nothing more than an apprentice running errands for the true monsters on the ship. Yet now, the tides had turned. That brat had grown into a tyrant ruling the seas, while Ochoku had been reduced to a battered, fleeing wreck.
Rage, humiliation, and desperation intertwined, igniting the dying embers of Ochoku's strength. His broken body suddenly erupted with terrifying vitality.
"Aaaah!"
Ochoku bellowed to the heavens, unleashing every ounce of power left in the Riki Riki no Mi. Monstrous force surged through his frame as his muscles, bones, and blood vessels swelled under extreme strain. Sonic booms shattered the air around him as he funneled all his remaining Haki into his fists, his body inflating to nearly twice its original size.
Veins bulged like ropes across his skin as a crushing aura erupted, briefly restoring him to his peak.
Before the shocked eyes of Zephyr and Borsalino, Ochoku kicked off the shattered deck, launching himself into the air like a cannonball. Fueled by suicidal rage, he charged straight at Kaido. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
"Kaido!"
Standing at the bow, Kaido did not flinch. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed maniacally, his voice echoing across the mist.
"Hahaha! A washed up relic still dares to bare his fangs at me?"
"I was going to spare your life if you submitted! But since you choose death, I will gladly grant it!"
A terrifying glint flashed in Kaido's eyes as he drew the heavy kanabo from his waist.
Dense layers of jet black Armament Haki wrapped around the spikes, while crimson streaks of Conqueror's Haki crackled like black lightning along the metal, summoning wild winds and thunder.
"Thunder Bagua!"
The iron club swung with world shattering speed, striking down like an apocalyptic thunderbolt against the incoming Ochoku.
In that instant, the sky changed color, and the roaring sea fell dead silent.
Ochoku's desperate surge was nothing more than a fleeting candle flame.
Against Kaido's Thunder Bagua, his overloaded physical strength and Haki defense collapsed in less than two seconds.
Bang!
The spiked club struck home with unrivaled force, crushing Ochoku's chest.
Spraying a cloud of blood, the former Rocks commander flew backward like a broken kite, hurtling through the air before plunging into the cold, deep ocean.
The sea churned once, then swallowed him whole.
The era of Ochoku had officially come to an end. Silence descended upon the sea once more.
The Marines stood frozen in utter shock at the brutal display.
Zephyr's expression turned gravely serious.
"Kaido has grown this powerful..."
Reaching into his coat, Zephyr pulled out a specially made Seastone key and tossed it to Borsalino, his voice grim.
"Unlock your cuffs."
Borsalino caught the key in midair, her fingers turning it with practiced ease.
The lock clicked open, and the heavy Seastone handcuffs tumbled onto the deck.
The debilitating weakness dissolved instantly. Her Glint Glint Fruit powers surged back through her veins, a faint golden radiance shimmering beneath her skin. If anything, her control felt sharper and more potent than before, eager to unleash itself.
She looked up.
At the bow of the black ship, Kaido grinned down at them, his eyes brimming with wild excitement.
Zephyr's voice was low and heavy as he spoke.
"The real battle has just begun."