"I told you already—if you fight me, be prepared to trade your life!"
Souta Kiryuu's maniacal, almost neurotic laughter, laced with the crushing weight of his Conqueror's Haki, drilled into the mind of Holy Knight Ghost Saint.
Even after taking a direct slash head-on, Souta shot forward with terrifying speed, closing the distance. He leapt high, pouncing onto his opponent like a beast gone rabid.
"The one who dies will only be you!!"
Ghost Saint roared back in madness, swinging his pitch-black scythe of death in a horizontal arc, aiming to cleave Souta in two.
"Ekehahahaha! Then let's see which one of us dies first!!!"
The half-dragon's eyes blazed crimson. He opened his monstrous jaws, fangs glistening with malice, and sank his teeth deep into Ghost Saint's neck. At the same time, the scythe—hardened with Armament Haki—bit into Souta's waist, nearly cleaving him apart.
"ARGHH!!"
Pain flared through Ghost Saint as Souta's jaws crushed his neck. He hacked downward with all his strength, trying to sever Souta completely. But for the first time in his life, his scythe—an extension of death itself—jammed uselessly against his opponent's spine. It wouldn't cut through!
No… it shouldn't be like this!
With the monstrous strength of both the Oni and Ancient Giant bloodlines coursing through him, Souta's dragon jaws tore through Ghost Saint's bony neck. Blood sprayed scarlet into the air.
"No! Get off me! Get off!!"
For the first time, Ghost Saint knew fear. He thrashed wildly, trying to shove off the raging dragon latched onto him. In panic, he abandoned the scythe lodged in Souta's spine, clawing desperately at the fangs ripping his throat apart.
But even Armament Haki couldn't stop the crushing bite of the half-dragon.
This experimental monster wasn't a man—he was a beast, a deranged predator born of madness!
"ROOOOAR!!"
"Ekehahahaha!!"
Flames engulfed Souta's body as he ignored Ghost Saint's every counterattack. He would kill this Mythical Zoan user no matter what.
Bite after bite, he ripped away chunks of flesh. Finally, with a sickening crunch, Souta snapped the spine and tore it free.
The brutal spectacle, like some primordial beast feasting, made Karasu—the Crow—flinch mid-battle. His pupils shook. Even the Holy Knight fighting him froze for an instant, eyes wide in horror at the cannibalistic carnage unfolding before them.
Driven into frenzy by bloodlust, Souta forgot entirely about capturing the Zoan ability. Instead, he devoured Ghost Saint alive, ripping him into mangled chunks.
"AHHH!!"
His pink-crimson scales were now drenched in scarlet, each one greedily absorbing blood. His wounds, gaping only moments before, writhed and sealed themselves in a blaze of flames.
The next instant, golden light exploded from Souta's eyes. A beam of laser, nearly a meter thick, fired point-blank toward the Holy Knight fighting Karasu.
The man barely escaped death, his soul trembling. He didn't dare stay a second longer—terrified of being torn apart like Ghost Saint, he fled in sheer panic.
Souta turned, grinning wide at Karasu. The dragon fangs in his blood-soaked maw still dripped with Ghost Saint's flesh, making Karasu's scalp prickle and his breath falter.
"I wonder… if an ability user's flesh is still useful after they die."
Blood soaked into his dragon scales, his horns sprouting jagged bone spurs as he muttered with twisted disappointment. With Ghost Saint's death, the Zoan ability would reincarnate into another fruit. Most of the flesh was probably worthless now. A pity.
He shifted his gaze back to the battlefield—just in time to see King, the Wildfire, wounded by Galin Saint, blood spraying across the sky.
Golden light flashed in Souta's eyes. Without hesitation, he charged.
"Kaido!! Is this all you've got?! If that's your limit, you'll never overturn this world!"
Cackling manically, he barreled into the fray. His massive dragon horns, sparking with Haki, slammed into Akainu Sakazuki, blasting the Admiral into an eruption of molten magma.
"Brat, you dare take me head-on?!"
Kaido, in his azure half-dragon form, swung his kanabo with terrifying might. His spiked club, Hassaikai, clashed against Galin Saint's supreme blade, sending black-and-red lightning rippling through the battlefield. Glancing back at Souta, Kaido bellowed:
"What, you want me to teach you Conqueror's Haki infusion, brat?!"
As Akainu's molten body reformed, Souta moved beside King. He wasn't about to fight the Admiral one-on-one. With King at his side, they could hold out far longer.
"Wororororo!! Brat, join the Beasts Pirates! I like you—you're a true dragon worthy of chaos!"
Kaido laughed wildly. Souta's Mythical Zoan power and his unrestrained madness made him a kindred spirit. If only Yamato had been like this brat, he'd have conquered the seas long ago.
"Join you? Not a chance. But if you're willing to marry your daughter off, we can ally and take down the Celestial Dragons together!"
Souta bared his fangs in a grin. Yamato despised her father anyway. If Kaido dared hand her over, Souta would gladly marry her—then lead her against her own father for good measure.
"Hah! If you'll bring the Kiryuu Pirates under my banner as son-in-law, I'll give you Yamato without a second thought!"
Kaido roared with laughter. This brat even knew about his 'foolish son.' Still, if he could win Souta's allegiance, offering up his troublesome daughter was no great loss.
"Let's kill these Celestial Dragons first—then we'll talk marriage!"
Souta snarled as Akainu charged once more, murderous heat blazing from his magma-fist. No more banter—it was time to fight seriously.
"King! You don't mind teaming up, do you?"
Souta eyed the Lunarian survivor. Flames already healed King's wounds, proof that harvesting his blood wouldn't be easy.
"You… you've inherited Lunarian fire?" King narrowed his eyes at the black flames flickering on Souta's body. He already knew the truth—this 'Experiment 88' was a product of grafted bloodlines.
"Not inherited—stolen. Your Lunarian blood flows in me. So does Kaido's Oni blood!"
Both half-dragons flared with flames and Haki, charging Akainu together.
King swooped from above, talons clad in Armament Haki, aiming for the Admiral's skull. Souta rushed forward, dragon claws wreathed in obsidian Haki, lunging for Akainu's heart.
"Tch… these Lunarian flames really are troublesome. They cut down magma's burn."
Akainu grit his teeth. Against beasts like Souta and King, masters of Haki and monstrous bodies, elemental intangibility wasn't enough. He'd have to crush them with pure strength.
And Sakazuki was no mere fruit user—his Haki, his body, his monstrous recovery… were all those of a true demon.