"Holy shit... they just shattered the whole damn island. These are the monsters that rule the seas?!"
"Boss Aus won't lose, right? Tell me I'm right."
"I'm starting to think these freaks literally can't die."
At Cake Island's outer edges, anyone with half a brain had already bailed.
The three-way brawl unleashed shockwaves so terrifying that everyone got forced back. The fighters chose the island's periphery as their arena—which at least made running for your life easier.
"Hey! Kaido, you bastard! You better not be dead!"
A towering woman with wild hair climbed out of a crater, flames dancing under her feet. She looked like hell as she glared at an even bigger crater in the distance.
Not that she needed to ask.
Her Observation Haki screamed that the life force in that pit was still burning strong.
"You'll croak before I ever do, old hag!"
"Ugh... that actually hurt. That bastard Aus's fists remind me of another old bastard!"
A massive hand shot out from the crater, gripping the edge. Kaido hauled himself out, rubbing his skull.
As the future legend who'd tank dozens of top-tier fighters at once, Kaido's durability sat at the world's peak. Even prime Whitebeard would need to go all-out to put this guy down for good.
Watching these two still full of fight, Aus materialized in front of them.
Goddamn tanks.
Both of them.
Same old problem—taking down two Emperor-level monsters solo? Aus didn't know if freaks like Imu or Joy Boy could pull it off, but even with his recent Conqueror's Haki breakthrough, he knew his limits.
Not without betting everything.
And especially not without his guns.
No way to use his bread-and-butter "Ultimate Bullshit Technique: Warp + Conqueror's Coating + Ryuo + Seastone Bullets + Future Sight + Kiting Until They Drop" to wear them down from range.
"In that case..."
Aus sighed, glancing at Mihawk in the distance, floating on the ocean and paddling with Yoru like the world's most badass oar.
"Hey! Little Hawk! Little Sand!"
His voice boomed across the water.
"This is my limit! If I still can't win after this, you two better finish the job!"
"You crazy bastard, what the hell are you planning now?!"
Hearing that roar, Aus just grinned and tilted his head.
"Just wanna... see how far I can push close combat."
Aboard the Queen Mama Chanter, Katakuri stood at the bow while his sister bandaged his still-bleeding wounds. His eyes flashed red as he tracked the battle with laser focus.
"This... this is..."
His eyes widened.
Cold sweat poured down his face. His legendary composure shattered like glass.
"Mama! Watch—"
Before he finished, a massive emerald slash split the ocean, screaming straight toward them.
CLANG—
Pure terror flashed across the Homies' giant face at the ship's bow.
The figurehead got sliced clean off.
"Dracule Mihawk..." Katakuri's eyes hardened, locked on the distant figure.
Little Hawk barely glanced his way before refocusing on Aus.
"This battle isn't yours to touch."
Letting any interference mess with this man pushing his limits? That'd be an insult to Mihawk himself.
"Fighting this hard and still going... does this guy actually not give a shit about dying?"
Little Sand didn't get it, but he respected it. He lit a cigar, wiped blood from his face, and stared at the battlefield with cold eyes.
"Only a man like this deserves our loyalty... Only he's got what it takes to become the World's Strongest."
Mihawk admired that spirit. If Aus lacked this kind of resolve, if he only cared about partying and screwing around, Mihawk would've jumped ship ages ago.
"World's Strongest Man, huh..."
Hearing that, Crocodile's world-weary face turned toward Mihawk. He didn't argue.
Yeah...
A guy like this will definitely become the world's strongest someday.
Talent. Willpower. Brains.
He had it all. No reason he couldn't surpass that Whitebeard geezer...
Eyes glued to the battlefield, to that lone figure standing defiant against two Emperors—
She wanted to see just how far this man could go.
On the battlefield,
Aus stepped forward. Slow. Deliberate.
Toward Kaido and Big Mom.
Not rushing. Each step crystal clear.
"Oh? Giving up already? Aus!"
Kaido hoisted his kanabo. Beside him, Big Mom watched like a starving predator, that last hit doing jack shit to her fighting spirit.
"Mamamamama... Once I get my hands on you, I'm gonna drain you dry!"
"Besides... dealing with a pain-in-the-ass threat like you? Two-on-one isn't dirty fighting, Aus~"
Two massive figures gripped their weapons, Conqueror's Haki crackling around them as they stared Aus down.
Then something felt wrong.
"What the..."
"Am I seeing shit?"
The scene glitched. Aus's casual walk suddenly stuttered like a broken video, an afterimage trailing behind him.
Normally afterimages only show up when someone moves at insane speeds, leaving traces along their path.
But...
This afterimage kept solidifying. Getting clearer.
Until a second Aus appeared.
"Wait... two of him?!"
It didn't stop.
By the end, four identical copies of Aus stood before them, crimson eyes glowing as they faced down the two Emperors.
"Two against one? I won't call you dirty..."
"This is two against one."
All four Aus spoke in perfect sync.
"After all, you're both sea overlords. Don't call me dirty."
Seeing four Aus standing there, Kaido and Big Mom's brains short-circuited.
Only when all four unleashed Divine Departure and Galaxy Meteorite straight into their faces did reality slam back.
What kind of bullshit technique is this?!
After eating multiple devastating combos from four angles,
These two Emperors—masters of Haki in their own right—finally caught on with their Observation Haki.
"Continuous warping between four fixed positions... combined with Observation Haki's total battlefield control to create visual and physical clones?"
Kaido's eyes narrowed.
"What a freak ability... Aus."
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