Chapter 222: Marines and Pirates
THUD—
Ryokugyu, wearing his Justice cape with a sword at his waist, his body as withered as a dried corpse, lost all signs of life and collapsed into a low-lying puddle.
Louis looked up at the second sun hanging high in the sky, a hint of amazement in his heart. For many years, it was the first time his usable life force had been so ridiculously abundant. The life force that the Woods-Woods Fruit had given Ryokugyu was outrageously plentiful. If anyone else had tried to defeat him, who knows how long it would have taken. It was just a pity that, when his Haki was not yet strong enough and he was far from his peak, he had encountered Louis, a monster with the ability to absorb human life force.
Then, with a thought, Louis controlled the "Healing Formula" in the sky to send down golden chains composed of life force, which connected to the backs of all his allies. A steady stream of life force poured into their bodies, turning them all into tireless, almost immortal war machines that rampaged across the vast battlefield.
In the distance, Yelena, in her hybrid-beast form, stood quietly opposite Aokiji. Seeing this, her eyes, from under her gas mask, flashed with a hint of reminiscence. Although several years had passed, she still clearly remembered that night. It was a chain of light just like this that had supported her as she stirred up a blizzard and killed the people of an entire kingdom.
Opposite her, Aokiji looked away from the distance and sighed in his heart. Although Ryokugyu was not well-liked by the high-ranking officers of the Marines, he was still a powerhouse worthy of the title of Admiral Candidate. For such a combat force to die on his very first mission... Aokiji could easily imagine that after this mission, many of the kingdoms that did not trust the Marines would once again protest to the Five Elders at the World Council.
In the end, Aokiji collected his thoughts. No matter what, Ryokugyu was dead. Thinking about these things had no great meaning. Then, half of his body turned into hard ice, and his entire aura suddenly changed. An endless chill erupted, turning the area for several thousand meters into an azure glacier. The extreme low temperature spread toward the heavily armored figure in front, attempting to freeze her.
However, no matter how the extreme low temperature swept over, in the end, it only managed to hang a few crystal-clear icicles on those grotesque antlers.
Aokiji looked at the heavily armored figure who was holding a war hammer and rapidly charging at him, his brow slightly furrowed as he muttered to himself. "Completely ignores the ability of the Ice-Ice Fruit... as expected of an ogre that appeared in the extreme cold?"
In just an instant, a war hammer wreathed in Haki lightning had already swung through the air, breaking through the biting cold wind and was instantly reflected on the surrounding hard ice. To this, Aokiji's expression did not change in the slightest. His palm was covered in biting cold ice, and he wreathed it in powerful Armament Haki and threw a punch.
BOOM!
The black iron fist and the war hammer collided. A giant roar as if mountains were collapsing suddenly erupted. The surrounding ground disintegrated, and rock and soil were sent flying everywhere. Immediately after, an endless chill burst forth from both of them, spreading across this land, covering the entire teetering battlefield, and freezing the surrounding sea. The frigid airflow swirled throughout the entire sea area, even spreading to the towns of Terra, making people shiver subconsciously.
Aokiji put force into his single arm, bursting forth with a tyrannical Haki and directly knocking back the heavily armored figure with antlers and oni horns.
"As expected of that monster Kaido's child. To have reached this level at only twenty years old."
To this, Yelena said nothing. Instead, she extended her sharp claws, and with her other hand gripping her war hammer, she attacked again.
Just then, a burly figure, like a brown bear, was sent flying from the distance. It streaked across the atmosphere with a piercing whistle, and after scraping two deep tracks in the ground, it came to a stop. Immediately after, a dragon-man with strangely colored scales and a mouth full of sharp teeth, his eyebrows in the shape of auspicious clouds, charged over at high speed.
"Drunken Thunder Bagua!"
With a wanton smile, his bulging arms gripped the Hassaikai, which was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and swung it at Garp, who was gritting his teeth.
"Ragnarok!"
The Hassaikai, wreathed in black and red arcs of electricity, was swung at the speed of lightning, smashing down on his head.
Facing Kaido's heavy blow, Garp's arms, containing Armament Haki, protected them. He raised them above his head and forcibly took the blow.
CRACK—
With one blow, the roar of thunder exploded, and Haki lightning scattered. The entire ice field rippled like the surface of the sea and then disintegrated inch by inch.
In the scattered debris, Yelena held her heavy war hammer against the ground, bending down to avoid the continuously spreading shockwaves. On the other side, Aokiji was the first to raise his hand, condensing a round shield forged of ice in front of him to block the dissipating shockwave.
The violent collision also attracted the attention of Louis, who was striding toward Fujitora. After a brief thought, he turned his head and walked toward this other battlefield.
At the very center of the collision, Garp's hands, which were wreathed in Armament Haki, crackled with black and red arcs. He abruptly knocked the giant kanabō aside. Immediately after, Garp, his entire body erupting with a terrifying aura, his eyes glowing red, leaped high. A punch wreathed in Conqueror's Haki smashed into Kaido's chin.
BANG...
With one blow, Kaido coughed up blood. The drunkenness on his face lessened somewhat, and his body couldn't help but lean back. But the next moment, a ferocious smile curled on his blood-stained lips. His giant dragon tail extended forward, directly wrapping around Garp's iron fist, which was about to swing again.
"Worororo!"
"Kundali: Dragon Swarm!"
Kaido swung the kanabō, which was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, with both hands, creating an impenetrable and unavoidable terrifying barrage that completely fell on Garp's body.
The unavoidable Garp gritted his teeth and covered his entire body in almost indestructible Armament Haki, intending to block this blow again.
Just then, Aokiji, accompanied by a biting cold, arrived, instantly flashing into mid-air and twisting his body to send a punch, wreathed in Haki lightning, at Kaido.
Seeing this, Kaido was taken aback. Then, his whole being became overjoyed. He looked as if he didn't mind a one-on-two fight at all.
Aokiji's full-force punch instantly landed on Kaido's face, distorting his strangely-scaled face and almost sending him smashing into the broken rock layer. Kaido's eyes shifted, landing on Aokiji above. "Not bad, almost as good as Garp's—"
BANG!
A punch wreathed in Conqueror's Haki smashed into Kaido's abdomen, which had a twisted wound, and sent him flying.
As he flew backward, Kaido glanced at Garp, who was holding a punching posture. Feeling the deep, bone-piercing pain, the smile on his face became even more chaotic.
Aokiji landed steadily on the ground. He frowned and glanced at Garp, who had blood trickling from his forehead and was panting. "Are you okay, Mr. Garp?"
"It's just Kaido. What problem could there be?" Garp raised a hand to wipe the blood from his forehead, a confident smile on his face. "But that brat Kaido really has no weaknesses at all. A guy like him, who has no weaknesses and has grown to this extent, is extremely rare—"
On the sea, there were many people who trained in all aspects. But in the end, the vast majority of them failed to become top-tier powerhouses because they were too distracted. Among the enemies Garp had faced, only Louis and Kaido were strong in all aspects. Even Whitebeard was not as good as the two of them in terms of pure physique.
"Strong in all aspects?" Aokiji looked at Kaido, who had been intercepted by the heavily armored figure, and then thought of Louis. "A very fitting description," he said in a low voice.
Not far away, Kaido slowly climbed out of the pit. He turned his head and glanced at Yelena. "I thought you'd be watching from the side," he said in a deep voice. "I didn't think you'd actually make a move!"
To this, Yelena just said flatly, "That's because there are Marines present. Once they're gone, we will become enemies."
"Is that so?" Kaido was taken aback, and his eyes even welled up with glistening tears. The next moment, the tears in his eyes flowed down like an open faucet, and he began to cry heartbrokenly.
"They're my children, but why are they all so rebellious!!!"
Beside Kaido, Yelena saw this, and her face changed subtly. She had never thought that this monster Kaido would cry just like that. If she hadn't known what a cruel monster he was, she might have been deceived by his appearance.
In the distance, Garp saw Kaido crying because his children were rebellious, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a joyous smile. "Hahaha!"
Garp's laughter spread among the few of them. "How pitiful, Kaido! Are all your children in their rebellious phase?" Garp pointed at Kaido and laughed crazily, even laughing until tears came out of his eyes.
"Have you forgotten the situation in your own family?" Beside him, Aokiji saw this, put a hand to his forehead, and shook his head.
As he laughed, Garp couldn't laugh anymore, because he found that the situation in his own family was about the same as Kaido's.
Soon, the neurotic Kaido put away his crying appearance, and his whole being became cruel again. He planted his Hassaikai on the ground with one hand, covered half his face with the other, and his eyes became abnormally terrifying.
"I... was just getting a good buzz, and you woke me up! Well done, Garp, you ice-brat."
Kaido abruptly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the two who were standing side-by-side in front of him. The next moment, the muscles on his body swelled again. His mouth, which originally had only two fangs and ordinary teeth, became a cavernous maw filled with fangs. His almost indestructible blue scales took on a strange color.
Nearby, Yelena saw this and frowned slightly, muttering to herself, "Is this the legendary awakening?"
To this, Kaido turned his head and gave Yelena an indescribably cruel smile. "As long as you become the shogun of the Land of Wano, I'll teach you."
Hearing this, Yelena instantly put away her curious thoughts, her face turning cold. "There's no need for that."
Seeing this, a hint of confusion rose in Garp's heart. "Just now, that bastard Kaido needed to drink to become like this. Why doesn't he need to now?"
Just then, a massive figure, riding a thundercloud, slowly descended, hovering on the other side. Big Mom, her entire body wretched, her long pink hair half-shorn, looked at Kaido and the others, and let out her iconic smile. "Ma~ma~mamama. Oni horns and deer horns... you two really look alike!"
The arrival of Big Mom made Garp and Aokiji's faces change. They all looked toward the other side of the battlefield, searching for any trace of Fujitora. A Fujitora in a purple kimono and a Justice cape was now clashing repeatedly with Katakuri. With every move, purple waves of gravity and black and red arcs of electricity would explode, destroying everything in their path.
"That's Katakuri, right?" Kaido looked thoughtfully at the man wreathed in black and red arcs of electricity.
Big Mom heard him, and the smile on her lips could not be suppressed. Her entire being was incomparably proud. "That's right! Katakuri has now mastered that move!"
A flash of understanding crossed Kaido's eyes. Then, he shifted his gaze to Yelena. "Hey! Didn't that guy Louis teach you this?"
However, Yelena didn't even bother to look at Kaido. She turned her head, looked at Louis, who had walked over from the other direction, and directly moved closer to him.
"..."
Seeing this, a subtle change came over Kaido's expression. He glared at the unhurriedly approaching Louis.
"Conqueror's Coating." Garp looked at the fierce battlefield in the distance and said pointedly, "No wonder he was able to capture a member of the God's Knights with his siblings so quickly, when they couldn't even react."
Soon, Louis also arrived at this battlefield with his weapon in hand.
Seeing him, Big Mom's face instantly changed. She roared furiously, "Hey, Louis! Don't think this is over! After I'm done with them, I'll still settle this score with you!"
To this, Louis didn't even raise his head. "Charlotte Linlin," he replied coolly, "did you selectively forget that it was you who killed Whitebeard's man and tried to frame me for it? I just returned the favor in kind."
Hearing this, Big Mom was first taken aback, and then her entire face darkened. Then, she temporarily put this matter aside and focused her gaze on Garp and Aokiji.
In the sky, a dazzling light scattered, shining on Louis, Kaido, and Big Mom. The three of them, with their backs to the shadows, made it impossible for Garp, Aokiji, and the others to see their current expressions. A giant shadow enveloped the two, displaying a powerful sense of pressure.
Even in the face of three monstrously strong individuals, Garp and Aokiji showed not the slightest bit of fear. The two of them mobilized the Haki hidden in their bodies, making it highly active as they faced off against the three.
Just then, a figure covered in bandages came over with Geppo and landed beside Garp.
"Zephyr—"
"I thought that explosion didn't kill you! To think you'd wake up so soon?" Big Mom looked at the figure covered in bandages, his purple hair almost completely burned off, and said with a frown.
To this, Zephyr replied coldly, "Until I've eradicated you vile pirates, how could I possibly die in peace?"
"Are you really okay, Instructor Zephyr?" Aokiji smelled the lingering scent of burnt flesh and medicine on Zephyr and was a little worried about his condition.
To this, Zephyr said with a dark face, "I was unconscious for just a moment, and one of us was killed. If I stay unconscious, I'll be the only one left."
Just then, Louis raised his hand and summoned the Anemoi, wreathing it around the lightning spear that was the host of Thor. He then wreathed it in Conqueror's Haki and was the first to attack. In that instant, the spear, wreathed in storm and crackling with thunder, shot out with a roar, and was instantly reflected in three pairs of eyes.
Before the blow even landed, the fierce hurricane and the crackling electric current had already washed over them, making it almost impossible for the three to open their eyes, their bodies numb. But decades of combat experience instantly made the three of them react with great coordination. The three leaped high, letting the spear, which was wreathed in storm and thunder, pierce the earth, cracking and annihilating a large patch of scorched ground.
Kaido transformed into a sky-blotting Azure Dragon and rose, high in the sky. He opened his mouth and let out a terrifying roar, which turned into a deadly lightning that enveloped Garp and the other two.
"Ma~ma~mamama!"
Big Mom stood firmly on Zeus, advancing against the lightning. She gripped the Blade of Destruction, which was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and chopped down at the graying Garp.
"Garp! It's time to settle our old scores!"
To this, Garp raised his iron fist, wreathed it in Conqueror's Haki, and met the blade that was coming at him.
Louis spread his wings and flew high, ignited the flames on his back, and in a high-speed advance, instantly appeared before Zephyr. The blade, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki and a golden light, arrived in an instant with a clear hum, slashing straight for Zephyr's chest.
"Divine Departure—"
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