Chapter 254: Joyboy Will Absolutely Not Be Allowed to Appear!

Boom.

Zoro took a deep breath,

the last of the Ghost Qi in his body condensing into a three-headed, six-armed figure that, like a messenger from Hell, slashed out Ghost Slash of Spirit Devouring in every direction.

Countless Pirates and slaves fell; the ferocious phantom of a vengeful spirit devoured and reaped their lives.

"Don't be afraid, everyone — the seaweed-head's already at his limit, he can't even hold his sword!"

"Don't fight me for it, that head is mine!"

A man with two strings of green and Purple prayer beads around his neck and a swarthy beard suddenly raised his blade and charged forward.

Those who had still been afraid were goaded by his words and rushed forward like madmen.

"Damn, is this where it ends?"

Zoro lost his strength and lay flat on the cold floor, staring up at the ceiling,

the dream of becoming the greatest Sword Master, the promise made to the deceased — in the end, all would sink like a stone into the sea.

Though it was a pity, dying on the road to becoming the greatest Sword Master left no regrets.

"Is that all you've got?"

Kaido sat upon the high platform, watching the duelists swarm up and surround the two,

and though he felt a touch of regret, he had seen more Supernovas than he could count — the two of them had yet to earn the right to make him act personally.

Just then,

"Zoro, stay alive!"

A furious roar pierced the Colosseum's thick walls and reached everyone's ears.

Luffy, his entire body covered in Blue Potential Fist Qi and his frame swollen like a balloon, crashed into the center of the Colosseum in a falling posture,

Boom—

the ground caved in, dust billowed on all sides.

Kaido's eyes snapped wide open, fixing on the dust that had yet to settle, and on the power erupting from within it.

"Conqueror's Haki?"

The qualification that countless people called the mark of a king — and the threshold for a Pirate to roam the New World.

He hadn't expected that the little brat he'd knocked out cold with a single club would possess such a qualification.

Inside the Colosseum,

Pirates, slaves, and Navy soldiers alike were sent sprawling, all knocked unconscious by the Conqueror's Haki.

"You came, Luffy?"

Zoro had no strength left to turn his head, but hearing that voice, he felt a wave of reassurance.

"Luffy!"

Nami's eyes reddened at the corners; watching the Straw Hat Captain arrive to save the day, a complicated, indescribable emotion welled up inside her.

"Ah, leave the rest to me! Hahaha."

It was clearly a very serious occasion,

yet Luffy laughed without thinking, leaving Zoro and Nami both stunned; they hurriedly asked, "Are you okay, Luffy? Your body?"

They both vaguely sensed something off about Luffy, and now that feeling of wrongness was even more pronounced.

"I'm fine, trust me, hahaha."

As Luffy spoke, his gaze drifted between blankness and resolve.

It was as if two wills inside his body were taking turns surfacing.

All of this,

Sanji had taken in with his own eyes.

Ever since Luffy had clearly learned of the existence of Nika's will, his body had been undergoing astonishing changes along the way.

The Rubber Fruit, originally developed only up to Second Gear, had in an extremely short time manifested Third Gear and Fourth Gear — and there hadn't even been a period of maladjustment.

His combat power was ballooning.

But in contrast, Luffy's condition was growing more and more off — he had begun laughing foolishly for no reason.

If this kept going,

Sanji feared Luffy would simply become someone else entirely, like those monsters from the rumors whose minds had been replaced by an animal fruit's will, stripped of reason.

But Luffy merely shot him a reassuring look,

and Sanji could only choose to believe.

"Straw Hat brat, came to die on your own?"

Seeing this, Kaido rose from the high platform,

and without another word, he transformed straight into his dragon-man form, gripped his massive thorned club, and charged into the Colosseum.

Bang.

Haki-wreathed Thunder Bagua, lightning bursting forth.

Divine Combination Punch!

Luffy in Fourth Gear swung both fists, Blue Potential Fist Qi erupting in blinding light, and intercepted Thunder Bagua head-on.

"He blocked it?"

Kaido was especially shocked.

The brat before him clearly hadn't even mastered Armament Haki; even if he possessed Conqueror's Haki, it had only been triggered by accident.

Yet he could block a Haki-infused strike of his own!

"It's not over yet!"

"Hahahaha."

Luffy's body, swollen like a balloon, was nevertheless extraordinarily agile,

The Divine Combination Punch is a three-stage assault; the one that just blocked Thunder Bagua was the first punch.

Now come the follow-up two punches,

A fist trailing blue flames slammed into Kaido's abdomen, and finally the strongest punch struck, causing even space itself to tremble.

Bang.

Kaido flew out, crashing heavily into the city wall and smashing straight through it.

"Luffy, you—"

Zoro was so shocked his eyeballs nearly fell to the ground,

That was one of the Four Emperors, Kaido; even if he wasn't a player, he was still a being that novices like them could never hope to oppose.

Luffy had actually gained the upper hand in their very first clash?

"Sanji, get them out of here, quick."

"Got it."

Sanji, who had been following behind all along, wordlessly hoisted Zoro onto his shoulder, scooped up Nami, and ran toward the outside of the Colosseum.

His lips moved, he turned his head as if to speak, but in the end held back.

"Arrogant brat, always the same—running your mouth in front of me!"

"The Pirate King isn't something a stinky little punk playing house like you can ever become!"

Heavy footsteps rang out,

Kaido walked out from the crater in the city wall, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

Not anger at being sent flying, but anger that a brat who dared to aspire to become Pirate King was so persistent.

To become the Pirate Emperor of this sea,

Kaido too had been through countless life-and-death battles; who among them had never dreamed of becoming Pirate King?

But what exactly does Pirate King mean?

For Roger, Pirate King meant being able to find Lafute Lu and circumnavigate the entire world.

But for Kaido, any pirate who seized the Dabibao was qualified to become Pirate King—that was the supreme right at the very top.

"Since you want it so badly, then here, take it!"

"The Pirate King you want to become, and the Pirate King I want to be, are not the same!"

When Luffy spoke these words, there was not a hint of hesitation,

Azure-blue Fist Qi shot straight into the clouds,

Haki, in the Pirate World, is a top-tier skill, but the advent of the Samsara Game has already made Haki far less important.

Luffy has comprehended the Blue Fist Saint's ability; its core 【Fist Qi】 is in fact even stronger than Haki.

Being defeated by Kaido earlier,

Was simply because his four-dimensional attributes were insufficient, but now Luffy no longer resists; he actively embraces the resurgence of Nika's will, causing the Rubber Fruit to rapidly approach its Awakened state.

Once the weakness in his four-dimensional attributes was compensated for, he became terrifyingly strong.

"Is that so?"

"This sea cannot hold two Pirate Kings, so go ahead and die!"

Kaido leaped high into the air, swinging his iron club repeatedly, smashing it down toward the target at the center of the Colosseum.

Shoryu In Rakuseki!

The waves stirred up by the black lightning shattered the entire Colosseum; the thick walls collapsed completely.

He would not lose.

Whether it was the Samsara Game or the players, he would not be defeated.

He who had become the strongest Warrior at the age of 10 had wanted to create a new world,

But he had learned of an absurd prophecy: only Joy Boy, the one chosen by fate, could create the world of dreams.

If that was the case,

Then he, who was not Joy Boy, would simply become the strongest evil dragon instead.

Only the one who defeated him would be the Joy Boy qualified to create a new world, so he absolutely could not lose!

He would never allow any Joy Boy to appear in this world!

(End of this chapter)