Honestly—
Even knowing those two had this combo attack, and that it seemed pretty damn powerful.
Aus hadn't expected it to be this powerful.
No wonder it was the ultimate move that in the manga left even plot-armor Zoro dying in two seconds, only saved when Law warped him away.
Current Kaido might still be young, lacking his future strength as top-tier among Emperors—
But that didn't mean this dual Emperor combo was weak.
When Conquering Seas flew at his face, Aus actually wanted to dodge on instinct.
He was naturally sneaky—dodging such a telegraphed ultimate with massive windup was totally normal...
Taking a hit head-on didn't make you a superior pirate...
Could kite them to death anyway, no need to...
So then...
"Who the hell do you think I am?!! Bring that shit on!!!"
"Conquering Seas!!!"
"Divine Departure!!!"
Thinking about his Conqueror's Haki that hadn't progressed noticeably in forever—
Aus bit down hard and steeled himself. Conqueror's Haki wrapped his blade, dense Armament coating his entire body as he slashed forward viciously.
The result was still unknown.
But the terrifying aftershock nearly flipped Cake Island upside down. The terrain destruction rivaled peak Whitebeard's earthquake attacks.
The island shattered into pieces, damage even spreading across the ocean!
Such a horrifying technique—even though it wasn't aimed at them, fighters in all three battles got spooked.
Crocodile and Mihawk froze. At first they just thought it looked powerful and didn't sweat it, but moments later their faces went black.
Because they realized—
Aus didn't seem to dodge like he usually did in fights.
"Oi!!!"
He actually ate such a terrifying move head-on?
That moron!!!
As the aftershock completely died down and dust slowly cleared—
Everyone stared hard at that scarred, proud figure with his shirt obliterated, standing there bare-chested.
He stood there proudly, head down, blade in hand. Shadows covered his face so you couldn't read his expression. Ignoring those brutal wounds, Aus looked like nothing happened.
"What a terrifying monster!!!"
"Taking an attack like that head-on and still having fight left?!?!"
"You gotta be shitting me—how do you even kill a monster like that!!!"
Everyone locked onto that long-haired figure. Aus slowly lifted his head, face dead serious, radiating that strong man aura.
But the next second...
"Bleh..."
Blood gushed from Aus's mouth, mixed with some unidentifiable chunks.
Pain...
Soul-crushing pain...
Direct sensation was pure agony.
This was probably the worst injury Aus had taken since birth—felt like his heart might come up.
And this was even after full-power Divine Departure cut the damage, with total Armament coating and damage teleportation against Conquering Seas!
Slowly dropping to one knee, Aus looked pretty beat up now. Calling it severe injury was putting it lightly.
Kaido and Big Mom's combo drained them too. Seeing Aus's weakened state, they finally felt some relief.
This monster...
They'd actually hurt him for real.
Neither was the type of pirate who gave a shit about honor. They immediately moved to finish him.
Kick him while he's down!
Against someone like Aus, no dirty trick was too much.
Seeing this, Mihawk's pupils shrank. He raised his blade to charge forward, eyes blazing with unstoppable battle spirit.
He shot a sideways glance at Aus who still hadn't fully recovered.
"You bastard, no matter how freakish you are, you've gotta be at your limit now."
He pulled his gaze back, hawk eyes coldly locked on that massive dragon-man and the pink-haired woman wreathed in lightning and fire. That razor-sharp feeling made people's eyes water just looking.
Suddenly, as Mihawk's presence kept climbing, clusters of black-red lightning actually erupted around him.
Yoru seemed to sense the approaching crisis too, actively guiding that newborn Conqueror's Haki to coil around the blade.
"Oi!!! Kaido!!! Big Mom!!! That guy's the man I acknowledge and will surpass!!!"
"You want to kill Aus? Go through me first—his defeated subordinate!!!"
Facing this purest sword intent and killing aura—
Serious expressions crossed both their faces.
This vice-captain of Aus they'd barely noticed actually had this kind of backbone?
"Oi!!! Brat!!! With spirit like that, you still choose to serve under someone?
What kind of king are you trying to become!!!"
"I'm gonna become..."
"The World's Greatest Swordsman!!!"
As his words dropped—
Danger slammed straight into both their brains.
Whether Mihawk or Yoru, both now carried supreme sword intent and conviction.
Before this will to slice through everything, even Mythical Zoan and Steel Balloon defenses had to back down.
Hisss—
Mihawk stared coldly, both hands swinging Yoru, rapidly unleashing a kilometer-class slash.
Emerald sword energy wrapped in black-red lightning shot forward unstoppably.
Whether Crocodile, Katakuri, or everyone directly witnessing this sword light—they all felt the same thing:
This... had to be a blade that could cut through anything in existence!!!
Whoosh—
Right then, a black figure blocked their path—specifically, Kaido's path.
King, already in beast form, was actually trying to tank this strike for both of them!
"Oi!!! King!!!"
Kaido bellowed!
Too late. The instant he made contact with the sword energy, King—who'd never met his match defensively—felt tearing pain for the first time.
Yoru wasn't the same Yoru anymore. This sword energy wasn't some casual swing. And King wasn't Diamond Jozu.
Slash—
Pain and cold sweat covered King's face. His body tore but didn't split completely, though he kept getting pushed back.
This sword energy simply couldn't be blocked by someone in their twenties.
If not for the Lunarian race's insane natural gifts, this would've been way worse than severe injury.
Finally Kaido and Big Mom struck hard, shattering the weakened sword energy and saving King.
"Oi!!! Sword punk..."
Seeing Kaido's face twisted with rage, Mihawk didn't panic one bit.
Even knowing he probably couldn't take both Kaido and Big Mom, that he might die here today—
Still...
If he could die on the road to getting stronger, then even death would be...
"Hey, Kaido!"
"Cough..."
A voice cut across the battlefield. Aus, blood at his mouth corner and eyes terrifyingly calm, somehow managed to stand up swaying.
"King fights king, commander fights commander."
"I'm not dead yet.
What the hell... do you think you're doing to my crew?!!!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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