Chapter 251: Straw Hat Pirates Battle Kaido!

His gaze was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

This was his duty as captain, and the belief and will to protect his companions.

No matter how the will of the Nika Fruit interfered, this was something unchangeable, deeply engraved into his very bones.

"Don't say such stupid things. How could we possibly let you fight alone?"

Sanji pinched out his cigarette, exhaling the last puff of smoke,

The consecutive battles within the Samsara Game and on the East Blue battlefield had already made him fully acknowledge this seemingly foolish captain.

"My blade has yet to slay a great dragon!"

Zoro took a deep breath, biting down on the white hilt,

Ghost Qi surged around his entire body, condensing into several phantoms of ghostly gods, along with a manifestation of his own aura taking the form of three heads and six arms.

"Idiots, can't you all just run together?"

Nami, without her usual gentle demeanor, bared a mouth full of sharp teeth and smashed three consecutive punches onto their heads.

Kicking their backsides, grabbing the collar of the unconscious Usopp, she galloped toward the distance like driving a donkey.

"Honestly, a bunch of guys with nothing but muscles in their heads. Is running away that shameful?"

Nami couldn't stop complaining,

Coming from a background as a Thief, she was best at running away; upon encountering an unbeatable foe, one should temporarily avoid their锋芒.

Those idiots of the Straw Hat Pirates must be indoctrinated in the future with the idea that running away is nothing to be ashamed of.

Boom.

A bolt of purple-black lightning fell from the sky.

There, Kaido had already transformed into a colossal azure dragon, winding and coiling above the skies of Syrup Village like a mountain range, a pair of dim yellow eyes glowing softly like moons.

"You've got to be kidding?"

"There's no way to escape!"

Setting everything else aside, just from its appearance, the Azure Dragon Fruit that Kaido had eaten was extremely oppressive.

A monster whose body could blot out the heavens itself lowered its head to gaze down at its opponents; some of the weaker ones couldn't even muster the courage to fight.

"Heat Breath!"

The azure dragon opened its mouth, and scorching breath gushed forth, slamming into the ground like a beam of light.

The Azure Dragon Fruit could control flame clouds, wind, and thunder, possessing terrifying abilities akin to natural disasters; the breath in its Azure Dragon form could vaporize an entire mountaintop in an instant.

"All of you, get behind me!"

Seeing no way to dodge, Zoro drew his Blade directly, Ghost Qi boiling over, condensing into the strongest ghostly god he could currently withstand.

Kalla of the Dark Flame!

Strike after strike was hurled toward the sky, countless purple-black flames shooting out, colliding with the scorching breath.

Compared to Kaido's breath,

The dark flames Zoro unleashed were very small, instantly being completely overwhelmed.

But they were not swallowed; instead, they were hard like rocks embedded in a river, blocking the impact of the breath.

"How interesting. A flame I've never seen before, and it can actually counter my breath?"

Kaido's face was full of excitement,

The more troublesome these players were, the more interested he became in the Samsara Game.

Calling it a counter was actually flattering himself.

Those strange purple-black flames, whether in temperature or aura, far surpassed his own breath.

Most crucially,

They came with an adhesive property, constantly corroding his breath.

Had he not stopped his breath in time, the dark flames would very likely have burned his own body.

Although strange,

The gap in strength could not be bridged by mere techniques.

It was like a child wielding a divine sword fighting an adult; the moment he let his guard down, he would be defeated.

Bang.

Kaido swung his body, his thick dragon tail like a mountain range slamming directly into the ground, like an earthquake.

Luffy slammed his straw hat onto the ground and leaped high into the air,

A pair of fists bloomed with dazzling blue halos, swinging at extreme speed, stirring up a ring of hurricane winds.

Extreme Speed Hurricane Fist.

The core technique of the Blue Potential Envoy; even the largest of Sea Kings would be beaten into a pulp.

However,

What he faced now was the strongest creature that even the Navy couldn't execute—Azure Dragon Kaido.

Boom.

The ground collapsed, a massive trench appearing.

Luffy's eyes rolled back, lying flat on his back in the center of a deep crater fractured like a spiderweb, losing consciousness in a single strike.

"Truly fragile, Wang Luffy."

Kaido's gaze was contemptuous,

He had no idea how many of these fellows with foolish dreams he defeated each year; he had long lost count.

"Luffy!"

His companions erupted in cries of alarm.

They had just been blown out of Kaido's attack range by Luffy's Holy Fist Hurricane, which was how they survived completely unscathed.

Luffy risked his life to save them — whether he lived or died was unknown!

"The power of fists?"

Kaido glanced at the unconscious Luffy, not particularly interested.

In the Pirate World, there were plenty of people who used fists as weapons, but very few could break through his defense.

A guy like that wasn't worth taking in.

He turned his head to look at Zoro, who could slash out Weirdness flames, and Nami, who had created strange instruments, and said: "Submit to me, and I can spare your Captain, Wang Luffy."

"He's the Pirate King, Luffy!"

A极致凶光 burst forth in Zoro's eyes, like a beast about to hunt,

although he wasn't sure why,

recently Luffy had always given him a very strange feeling, as if someone were pinching his brain and controlling him, but one thing would never change.

That was — Luffy was his Captain!

Whether it was Pirate King or Adventure King, the Captain's dream must never be mocked!

Those bizarre feelings of being controlled — he'd wait until they defeated the evil dragon before them, then go ask Luffy in person!

"Bremen of the Erosion!"

"Kazan of the Blade Soul!"

"Dark Moon Descent!"

Several magic arrays condensed from Ghost Qi spread across the ground.

Sanji, watching from the side, immediately exclaimed in agitation: "Condensing several Ghost Gods at once — Seaweed-head, have you got a death wish?"

Nami, too, was full of worry as she scolded him to stop.

As companions, they had naturally seen Zoro's state when fully unleashing his abilities in the Samsara Game.

Ghost Slayer.

In essence, it was a profession that controlled Ghost Gods; only by suppressing the Ghost Gods with one's own Ghost Qi could they be commanded.

But if too many Ghost Gods were condensed at once, the reverse would happen — the Ghost Gods would devour one's spirit and flesh.

In the Samsara Game, death could be revived.

But this was the real world; once the critical point was crossed and the Ghost Gods devoured him, Zoro would die completely.

That was why they were so worried.

Zoro clenched his teeth and said: "If we don't go all out, do you think Kaido will let us go?"

"Do you know this evil dragon?"

Sanji and Nami were stunned, not expecting Zoro to actually know this guy.

Zoro didn't make a sound,

for he had once been a bounty Hunter, and had naturally seen these top-tier bounty Pirates.

The Governor of the Beasts Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, with a bounty of 4.6 billion!

If he didn't risk his life, there truly wouldn't be the slightest chance of surviving.

"Very good — that's exactly the kind of strange ability!"

Kaido, astonished and suspicious, discovered that his own defense, hovering above the Ghost Qi array, was being inexplicably weakened.

He had been executed over forty times, all without a scratch, and even the execution equipment would be smashed apart.

His control over his own body was extremely strong, so even the slightest changes could be detected.

His body had indeed become somewhat more fragile.

Although not by much,

it was enough to shock Kaido.

"Dragon Twister Demolition Wind!"

Kaido didn't care in the slightest, still unleashing his moves with great boldness and flourish.

Even with his weakened body, the Seaweed-head swordsman on the ground would find it very hard to break through his defense,

unless he unleashed that special purple flame, but from the look of him, it seemed he wanted to use a technique — truly foolish.

The gale swept around, encircling his dragon body.

Countless emerald-green wind blades condensed in the dragon's maw, tearing through the air like kamaitachi, raining down in full.

"Come at me!"

Zoro let out a low roar,

his whole body enhanced by the Ghost Qi array, every attribute surging, and he lunged forward in a drawing stance,

his figure vanishing in an instant,

and when he reappeared, he had already passed through the wind blade zone and reached Kaido's side.

Ghost Shadow Flash!

(End of chapter)