Chapter 63: Rain of Sparks
Kyle faced Raika's hostile stare with a face as calm as still water, stepping toward the entrance of the Forbidden Zone.
"You are not qualified to enter," Raika said, blocking Kyle's path, his eyes sharp as knives.
"Qualification isn't something you decide," Kyle retorted coldly, not giving an inch.
"Is that so?" Raika smirked.
His aura exploded. Moving like lightning, he flashed behind Kyle in an instant.
His fist, carrying the force of a storm, hammered straight for Kyle's face.
Kyle had been expecting this. He spun, throwing a right cross to intercept.
BOOM!
The collision sent ripples through the air and kicked up dust from the ground.
Kyle felt a massive, suppressing force. This guy's strength... it's incredible!
Just as he was about to coat his arm in Armament Haki, King Thunder's voice cut through the air.
"Raika! What do you think you're doing?"
Raika ignored him. With a sneer, he pushed harder.
Kyle used the force to leap backward, dissipating the impact. A glint of excitement shone in his eyes.
Raika, having pushed Kyle back, sneered again, now confident he had the upper hand.
"Prince Raika, you're amazing!" Raizo immediately fawned over him.
King Thunder was used to Raika's arrogance. He had long since given up hope on his son.
He turned to Kyle, concern in his voice. "Mr. Kyle, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Kyle said, looking deeply at the King. His tone was firm. "I accept your request. I will save you."
Thunder heard the unspoken message: I'll help you, but the Devil Fruit inside... I'm not handing that over.
Greed often leads men astray, but excessive greed leads only to the grave.
"Good. Thank you. I await your good news," Thunder smiled and nodded, though a trace of sinister intent flickered deep in his eyes.
Just then, a horn blasted across the sky.
The wall of lightning shrouding the Forbidden Zone began to part, revealing a path.
It was exactly 2:00 PM.
Kyle looked at Netero and Knov. "I'll handle this alone."
"Are you sure you don't need help? I can sense... it's quite dangerous inside," Netero teased.
Thunder's heart clenched when he heard Kyle wanted to go alone. This wasn't what he wanted. He had hoped all three would perish inside.
"It would be safer if the three of you went together," Thunder urged.
Kyle glanced at him. He noticed the King's strange expression but didn't call it out. "One is enough."
Without waiting for a reply, Kyle turned and joined the crowd entering the Forbidden Zone.
Netero and Knov remained behind.
Thunder watched them, his fists tightening.
Suddenly, Netero sidled up to him, grinning like a mischievous child. "So, do you think Kyle will make it out alive?"
Thunder froze, staring at Netero in disbelief. A terrible premonition washed over him. This old man... who looked frail but was built like a tank... had he seen through everything?
He forced a smile. "Mr. Netero, of course Mr. Kyle will make it out. Do you not have faith in him?"
"Hoh hoh hoh... that's hard to say," Netero chuckled.
If there was real danger, Kyle could just escape using his ability. Netero wasn't worried about him dying.
Inside the Forbidden Zone, lightning poured down like rain, the thunder deafening. One wrong step could mean getting struck by a bolt from the blue.
Worse, the path split into a dozen forks. One wrong turn meant a dead end... or death.
A middle-aged islander chose the rightmost path without hesitation.
But he had barely taken a few steps when a bolt of lightning struck him.
He staggered but kept walking. The others around him didn't even flinch, clearly expecting this.
The group split up, choosing their paths.
Kyle hung back, observing.
Seeing the man take a lightning strike and keep moving, he realized these islanders, living in a domain of thunder, had developed a natural resistance.
He didn't rush. He watched Raika. The Prince was the most likely to know the correct route.
Raika had been waiting for Kyle to move first. Seeing Kyle hold back, he scoffed. "Smart kid. But even if you follow me... do you think you can handle this lightning?"
"Prince, we're losing time! The window is closing!" Raizo urged.
Even with their resistance, there was a limit. If they took too many hits, they would die just like anyone else.
"Let's go!" Raika wasted no more time, leading his dozen followers down a specific path.
Kyle waited a moment, then quietly followed.
Inside, the lightning was erratic. Kyle moved nimbly, dodging most of the bolts. The few he couldn't dodge, he tanked with Ken.
The power was significant, causing a brief paralysis, but it didn't do any real damage.
Raika's group, however, was unfazed. Raika himself took several hits without even blinking, as if it were a gentle breeze.
Kyle remembered their conductive weapons. They must temper their bodies with lightning from a young age.
Deeper in, they reached the first major obstacle.
Before them lay a fifty-meter stretch of "Rain-Spark Flow." Dense lightning fell like a torrential downpour, forming a curtain of death.
"Kid, follow if you have the guts," Raika sneered over his shoulder. "This is just the first hurdle. A single spark might not hurt, but getting hit by thousands at once? That's a different story. If you're scared, run home now!"
With that, Raika led his men into the curtain, speeding up.
Halfway through, one of his men tripped. He tried to get up, but the relentless electric arcs swarmed over him like deadly insects, overloading his resistance instantly.
He froze, halfway to his feet, his face turning ashen as he looked at his companions ahead.
Then came the burning. Agony flooded his brain.
He couldn't hold it back. As the lightning consumed him, he let out a wretched scream before vanishing into the rain of sparks...
Kyle watched the man die. Then, his Aura exploded with power. Without hesitation, he stepped into the storm.