BOOM!!
A massive crash exploded as the battle between Kaido and Ron officially broke out on the harbor.
Kaido was a man who had lived on the edge of a blade since childhood.
He had fought in countless battles big and small, and in terms of combat experience, he was a seasoned veteran.
As for Ron…
he had spent his first eighteen years living a peaceful life on Earth.
Adding everything together, he had only been in the pirate world for barely over a year.
The moment they clashed, his movements were noticeably clumsier than Kaido’s.
“Hey, newcomer!”
Swinging his spiked club, Kaido felt increasingly annoyed the more they fought: “What’s with all this dodging around?
The path of a true powerhouse isn’t built on running away!”
Ron’s thoughts, however, were completely different.
After all, this was his first time fighting a prominent figure in this world, so being cautious was never a bad idea.
The reason he dodged was to measure just how much power was behind one of Kaido’s swings.
Continuing to dodge was because he was wary of whether Kaido was playing dumb just to set a trap for him.
Looking at it now, the power behind every swing Kaido threw was about the same; he probably wasn’t playing dumb.
In that case!
Whoosh!
Ron suddenly braked hard, planting his feet firmly into the ground to face Kaido head-on.
Kaido paused slightly, then broke into a grin.
A rookie was still a rookie after all; he really couldn’t keep his cool and had been baited out by just a couple lines of trash talk.
“Heh…
take this!”
Before his words finished, Kaido had already coated his spiked club with Armament Haki, swinging it straight toward Ron’s face.
Ron’s movement was almost synchronized with Kaido’s—he likewise coated his weapon with Armament Haki and slashed forward.
BOOM—!
The two weapons slammed violently into each other.
The fierce collision instantly detonated a terrifying shockwave that swept in all directions.
In terms of pure explosive power, backed by his Sage Body, Ron was clearly overpowering Kaido.
After the two terrifying forces collided, Kaido was sent staggering backward by the impact, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the ground.
A clear look of disbelief surfaced on his face.
“You bastard…!” Kaido’s eyes went wide as he shouted in frustration, “You were dodging the whole time just to make me lower my guard?!”
Ron ignored him.
With a flicker of his body, he pressed straight in for a follow-up attack.
Aboard the ship, the crew also realized that they had somewhat underestimated Ron.
It had to be said…
Rocks really had an eagle eye.
“John.”
Stussy walked over to John at an unhurried pace and spoke in a calm, relaxed manner, “I’ll bet a billion that the newcomer wins.”
John looked at her as if she were an idiot and cursed, “What kind of bet is that?”
“Tch, sore loser.”
Throwing out that single line without a care, Stussy turned and walked in Whitebeard’s direction.
Veins popped on John’s forehead from anger.
He raised his voice and yelled at her back, “Me?
A sore loser?
Are you serious, you bastard?
Come, come back here!
I’ll bet two billion the newcomer wins!”
Stussy didn’t pay him the slightest attention.
John’s face turned green with rage: “Stussy!
You bastard!
You’re just making fun of me, aren’t you?!”
On the roof of the ship, Rocks continued sipping the last bit of his fine wine, the corners of his mouth stretching into a grin so wide it looked almost warped: “Wahahahahaha~!
It seems…
this trip wasn’t a total loss after all.”
BANG!
BANG!
With one explosive collision after another ringing out, Kaido’s figure was suppressed and forced backward step by step, his expression growing darker and heavier.
Then, a risky move formed deep in his mind.
Slash!
Ron’s long blade struck Kaido’s body cleanly.
Even with Armament Haki covering him for defense, blood immediately showed on Kaido’s chest.
Ron froze slightly.
Logically speaking, Kaido should have easily dodged that strike.
“You think you’ve won?”
Kaido’s voice sounded in his ears, filled with raw ruthlessness.
“I took a slash from you, but you…
can you take a hit from my club?”
Ron understood instantly.
Seeing that he couldn’t get the upper hand, Kaido planned to trade injury for injury, relying on pure durability to wear him down.
Whoosh!
It seemed like a few seconds had passed, but in reality, it was only the blink of an eye.
Kaido’s spiked club came roaring in, packed with violent force, swinging straight toward Ron.
“Trading injury for injury?” Ron made no move to dodge.
“That’s quite an idea.”
He really wanted to see what kind of expression this man—known in the future as the “Strongest Creature”—would make when his plan completely shattered.
THUD—!!
A heavy, dull boom erupted across the surroundings.
The powerful shockwave kicked up rolling dust and smoke, instantly swallowing the area where the two stood.
Crackle!
The blasted dirt rained down heavily like a downpour, pelting everything in sight.
As the dust gradually cleared…
Kaido’s pupils snapped into pinpricks.
“You bastard…”
White steam was hissing from Ron’s wounded area, and…
it was healing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The credit for this went to his Sage Body.
Beyond granting an endless supply of energy, it provided high-speed regeneration, allowing even fatal wounds to heal in an instant.
At this moment, Kaido’s mindset cracked a little.
Not only did this newcomer have real skill, but he was also a physical monster.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself yet.”
Leaving those words in a calm tone, Ron began testing another ability of his: Tailed Beast Transformation.
In an instant, crimson slit pupils replaced his clear eyes.
An orange-red chakra cloak flared up like raging flames, sending a wave of scorching heat rushing forward.
Within a single breath, his body expanded rapidly, turning massive.
Behind him, tail after tail burst out one by one, thrashing wildly in the air and whipping up howling gusts of wind.
Kaido’s pupils shrank violently once again.
This time, his mindset broke entirely.
Not only was he a physical monster, but he was also a damn Devil Fruit user?
And looking at this posture, it was clearly an absurdly powerful one!
Why?!
Kaido’s face was filled with pure envy, jealousy, and hate.
He suddenly felt that the gap between himself and Ron…
was just down to luck.
The moment the Tailed Beast Transformation came out, most people on the ship became interested.
“Zoan…
Mythical Zoan?”
Linlin stared at Ron’s transformed state and made a guess with keen interest.
“It seems…
to be quite powerful, doesn’t it?” Streusen stood beside Linlin and chimed in.
“Mamamama!” Linlin chuckled lightly.
“Just matching pure basic strength, Kaido was already at a disadvantage.
Now…
that boy is probably going to suffer quite a bit.”
“Hahahaha.” Stussy covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes glinting.
“And here I thought Rocks just brought back a piece of trash…
Who knew there’d be a twist?
Wouldn’t you say so, Newgate?”