Getting beaten up makes you stronger?
Is that even reasonable?
That's not reasonable at all!
If it were, then Queen, who was beaten to death by Kaidou-san every single day, should have surpassed him in strength long ago!
So the scene before him was utterly ridiculous.
However...
King suddenly thought of another bastard who had also come seeking a beating and felt a little uncertain.
Especially now, considering that guy had even gained the strength to kill Shiki—even if luck played a part—King couldn't help but feel like he was starting to question reality.
...
"What!?"
Hearing the hooded man's words, Kaidou's eyes flashed with terrifying brutality.
That little brat Daren's Ryusoken was taught by this guy!?
Before he could react, the hooded man smiled again and said with a sigh,
"Daren was right. As long as you come and fight, you'll grow stronger..."
Kaidou froze.
An indescribable rage surged up from his chest, his bloodshot eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
"That brat Daren sent you here!?"
He could no longer suppress the fury within and unleashed all of his power.
Boom!
A colossal, overwhelming aura, carrying the majesty of a higher being, spread endlessly, sweeping through the skies and clouds, making heaven and earth pale.
Zzzzzz!!
Countless black and red bolts of lightning wrapped around Kaidou's massive frame, flickering wildly.
With a sharp glare, Kaidou gripped the kanabō "Hassaikai" with both hands and, roaring in rage, swung it down toward Dragon's head!
Like thunder exploding, the swing, wrapped in black and red lightning, tore through the air and erupted in a deafening roar.
"Horai Hakke!"
In an instant, Dragon's vision was completely swallowed by a black and red storm, and even the air itself seemed to warp.
His heart trembled violently.
It was that strange technique again!
The ability to pierce through the body from a distance!
An attack infused with Conqueror's Haki!
Kaidou had used this move several times before to seriously injure him, each time leaving Dragon needing at least a week of recovery.
Clenching his teeth hard, Dragon moved.
An unprecedented sense of pressure came crashing toward him with the lightning-clad kanabō, making his scalp tingle.
The three-fingered dragon claw lashed out fiercely to meet it head-on!
"Hurricane, Dragon's Breath!"
Roar!
It was as if a legendary ancient wind dragon had unleashed its most powerful breath—compressed wind mixed with the release of Armament Haki, bursting out in a violent surge!
Boom!
A massive column of air shot skyward, shaking the islands within several kilometers as if a small earthquake had struck.
The ground beneath them split into countless cracks, rocks flying everywhere.
Through the swirling dust, Dragon's figure was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing deep into a mountain ridge, blasting a huge hole into the rock wall with exaggerated force.
"Ugh!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his dark cloak red.
But his eyes burned with fierce determination!
He could feel it…
He was getting closer—
Closer to touching that mysterious and special power!
Dragon wasn't just some reckless fool with no foundation.
Having grown up under Garp's "Iron Fist of Love" education, he had seen the overwhelming might of Conqueror's Haki far earlier than most people on this sea!
At that time, he had been too young to realize that it was his grandfather's greatest weapon, the very thing that allowed him to dominate the seas.
But now... after clashing countless times with the monster Kaidou, he was finally beginning to touch the edges of that power.
"You're dead!"
Kaidou's figure burst out of the rolling smoke like a cannonball, leaping high into the air and crossing a distance of hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.
Thousands of black and red lightning bolts were released from the kanabō he held high in both hands, forming a huge lightning network that instantly spread across the entire sky.
It was a terrifying sight!
At this moment, Kaidou, the "strongest creature on land, sea, and air," seemed to be wielding a storm of thunderbolts, falling like a meteorite toward Dragon, who was embedded in the mountain!
"Kosanze Ragnaraku!"
Dragon's pupils instantly contracted into fine needles, and a bone-chilling cold ran down his back.
Just then, a burly figure suddenly appeared beside him, silent and ghost-like.
"Let's go."
A low voice rang out beside him, and the man stretched out a rough, pink-fleshed hand from under his hooded coat.
"If you don't come, I'm going to get killed."
Dragon grinned, revealing his blood-stained teeth, and reached out to high-five him.
However, the man's palm dodged his hand and gently patted his arm.
Dragon: ...
The next moment—
Just as Kaidou struck down with the power of Daiitoku Raimei Hakke, the two disappeared from the spot at the same time.
Boom!
A lightning storm suddenly spread, and the mountain collapsed in an instant, the entire mountain peak disintegrating with a loud bang!
It took a full half minute for the landslide to slowly come to a halt, and Kaidou's murderous figure emerged from the ruins of the mountain.
"Damn you bastards!"
He swung the kanabō in his hand and let out a thunderous roar with bloodshot eyes.
Not again!
The guy before had also used this strange ability to teleport right from under his nose.
Even though he could transform into a giant dragon and fly, he could only stare helplessly, unable to catch up with their speed.
"It's over..."
King sighed helplessly and turned his head to look at Queen, only to find that the latter had already left.
Boom...
The sound of a motorcycle starting came from not far away.
King turned his head and saw the fat man in suspenders hurriedly straddling the motorcycle, looking anxious to get away.
With a kick of the gas pedal, the motorcycle spewed out a large amount of white smoke and sped away at top speed.
King: ...
He glanced back at Kaidou, who was jumping up and down in rage, hesitated for a moment, then transformed into a Pteranodon and quickly flew away.
His retreating figure gave off a sense of hasty escape.
"Damn it..."
After venting his anger, Kaidou panted furiously, but when he looked around, he couldn't find Queen anywhere, so he gritted his teeth and gave up.
His body rapidly expanded and transformed into a huge green dragon, which flew away into the distance.
...
Soon, Kaidou landed on the edge of a towering cliff, transformed back into human form, and walked gloomily into a dark cave in the cliff.
Oil lamps hung on the rock walls of the cave, barely illuminating the interior.
Traces of life existed here, and newspapers from different periods were hung and posted haphazardly on the rock walls.
Each newspaper reported on the major events of that period, but if you read them carefully, you would find that... these clippings were all about one person.
Rogers Daren!
What's more, each article was covered with writing and drawings in different colors, with words like "cool," "handsome," and "powerful" written next to them.
One can imagine that the person who covered the cave with these articles about Daren must have greatly admired and looked up to him!
Looking at the newspapers that almost completely covered the cave, Kaidou's eyes grew darker and darker, and his anger almost boiled over.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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