Jake's response made Zephyr's eyes redden slightly.
Watching the young Marine standing at the eye of the storm, radiating terrifying power, the future suddenly became vividly clear in his mind.
He grinned, flashes of his own past appearing before his eyes.
He knew that what he, Garp and Sengoku had failed to achieve would be accomplished by Jake in the future to come.
And until this seedling of the future Marine grew strong enough, he wouldn't allow anyone to harm it!
"Hey you little brat! Your opponent is me! What are you looking around for? Black Arm: Meteor Shower!"
As Zephyr gathered Armament Haki once more, a brilliant light flashed and behind him appeared a manifestation of cosmic space - with countless meteors streaking down towards the ground!
"Wororororo! I'm getting too excited! Daiitoku Raimei Hakke!"
Watching the scene resembling meteors annihilating the world reflected in Kaido's eyes, he gripped his kanabo with trembling excitement.
Endless lightning descended from the sky, coiling around the weapon.
Amidst the flickering of black-red lightning, Armament Haki Infusion, Conqueror's Haki Infusion and the pinnacle application of his Devil Fruit power—three forces combined into one devastating strike—smashed towards the meteor shower capable of leveling an entire island.
A terrifying shockwave instantly struck the sea, stirring violent gales around the small island.
Even large ships that had dropped anchor were relentlessly pushed backward by the wind, while medium and small vessels were flung away like dry leaves, scattered across the ocean.
The dense forests of the island had completely vanished, the very ground torn open.
The once towering mountains had been reduced to bottomless craters, with groundwater slowly seeping out.
The plains were shattered into fragments, seawater flooding in.
The apocalyptic scene sent chills down the spine of any witness.
King hovered in the air, watching the two still locked in their frenzied battle, a trace of concern crossing his face.
This wasn't the New World—where the balance of power between the Marines and Pirates was roughly 3:7.
Here, in the first half of the Grand Line, the so-called "Paradise," the ratio was 9.9 : 0.1 in favor of the Marines.
Enemy reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
Moreover, neither he nor Kaido had bothered to conceal their movements this time.
Unless the Marines were utterly incompetent, they would already be on their way.
Kaido was undoubtedly powerful, but even he couldn't withstand the combined assault of two Admirals.
King could hold off an Admiral for a short while, but prolonged combat would be too risky.
Thus, King decided to act against Kaido's wishes this time—capturing Jake immediately and making a retreat for Onigashima.
Though it might displease Kaido, continuing like this would only bring severe repercussions to Onigashima and their newly flourishing Pirate crew.
Knowing Kaido's temperament and his ultimate ambition, seizing Jake now was the best course of action.
With a flicker of flames from his back, King shot across the sky like a meteor, charging straight towards Jake.
Having just clashed with Kaido in a Conqueror's Haki confrontation, Jake was left with almost no stamina.
Against King, Jake stood no chance.
Monet, seeing King's rapid approach, gathered all her frigid energy into a single point and shouted.
"Snow Dome: Ten Sheets!"
A massive surge of snowflakes compressed into steel-like density, swiftly forming a protective barrier in front of Jake and Monet.
In an instant, the two were completely encased within.
However, cutting through steel is a piece of cake for an ordinary swordsman, let alone the great swordsman King, who wields the power of flames.
To King, this flimsy snow dome was no different from paper.
Drawing the longsword at his waist, flames enveloped the blade as his figure instantly appeared atop the snow hut, slashing downward.
The terrifying heat had already melted most of the steel-like snow hut before the blade even made contact.
The remaining structure was effortlessly split apart, as if a hot knife were slicing through butter.
Despite Monet's desperate attempts to reinforce the hut with freezing air, she couldn't withstand King's overwhelming flames.
Just as Jake was about to be taken away by King, a hurried and breathless voice rang out.
"How terrifying~ So this is the right-hand man of one of the Four Emperors? Truly, just as the rumours say—you're all monsters~ Ohya ohya~ Good thing i arrived in time. Otherwise, my beloved students and junior would've been snatched away by you damn Pirates!"
Hearing that unmistakably sleazy voice, King's pupils dilated instantly.
He knew exactly who this voice belonged to.
Borsalino!
The Glint-Glint Fruit user!
The man hailed as the fastest in the world!
As a dazzling golden light flashed, King instinctively shut his eyes to avoid the blinding glare.
The next moment, that unmistakably distinctive voice reached his ears.
"Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Following that slow, lecherous remark, King felt an overwhelming force slam into his abdomen—one so immense he couldn't resist it.
The terrifying impact rampaged through his body, damaging his internal organs.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragment and the flames on his body flared to their peak.
Facing an opponent of this caliber, King knew that even a split second of distraction could mean instant death.
Meanwhile, Kizaru's expression grew serious as he watched King stand back up almost immediately, seemingly unharmed.
After spending so much time bullying weaklings in the New World, it had been a while since he'd encountered someone who could take his full-powered strike and still remain standing.
"Monet-chan~ Take Jake and get out of here~ I'll deal with these guys and catch up later."
The next moment, golden light clashed with flames in the air, sending shockwaves rippling outward.
Hidden within the clouds, Doflamingo grinned viciously as he watched Jake and Monet, his lips curling into a sinister smile.
In the distance, a streak of blue flames was rapidly closing in!
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