Chapter 442

“This feeling...”

Rydfield gripped his longsword tightly, his gaze gradually sharpening.

Even facing the strongest in the world, he showed not the slightest hint of retreat.

Long ago, when confronting the peak-era Whitebeard and Roger, he had retreated once.

That retreat cost him.

Decades of stagnation, unable to advance an inch.

His imprisonment in Impel Down by Garp after defeating the then-Admiral Bone-Empty.

And the withered body and unquenched resentment upon his return to the light.

The only blessing was that Rydfield’s fortune surpassed both Roger’s and Whitebeard’s.

He still had a chance to start over—and had gained the power to reclaim lost time!

“It’s been so long!”

“Truly...”

“How nostalgic!”

A half-smiling voice came from Rydfield’s lips.

His warblade slowly unsheathed, crimson lightning of Conqueror’s Haki swirling around him, revealing his unimaginable might!

Kid stood aside, his scalp prickling.

The strength of this Haki exceeded his comprehension.

In a daze,

Kid seemed to see the legends of the previous era baring their fangs before him, slaughtering and vying for supremacy, all to become the sole ruler upon the Throne!

What a tumultuous era! What an astonishing spirit!

Kid’s breath halted in that moment.

Yet even so...

Yet even so...

Kid turned his head toward Gao Wen, who calmly stepped out of the massive crater—his body utterly frozen.

If Rydfield’s strength represented the absolute limit of the human species,

then the monster standing afar, prepared to crush all eight finalists of the World Martial Arts Tournament with sheer individual power, had already transcended humanity, evolving toward something inhuman!

Shhh—!

Heaven and earth changed color in that instant.

For Gao Wen’s roaring Haki erupted, colliding violently with Rydfield’s Conqueror’s Haki—and shattered it like a bursting bubble.

This world had only one color!

That was Gao Wen!

This... was the strongest in the world!

Not just Kid—all present, everyone watching the tournament finals—felt this in that moment!

“Hey hey hey...”

Even Kaido and S-Long, working together, were instantly blown away by this monster...

“Can anyone truly be this strong?!”

“You’re joking!”

“This kind of person, this kind of person, this kind of person...”

Marine Headquarters.

Ghost Spider’s voice was hoarse, his eyes locked on the man in the screen, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

His entire worldview had nearly collapsed.

How could anyone possibly be this strong!?

“This is unreasonable! Unscientific!”

His words fell.

The Marine conference room fell into an eerie silence, broken only by Akainu’s slow inhalations as he smoked.

Kaido’s strength needed no explanation—even twenty years ago, he was a top-tier force capable of matching the Three Legends.

S-Long was the strongest Seraphim, accidentally created by the World Government using Gao Wen’s bloodline as a blueprint—his nearly uncontrollable power already rivaled that of a Marine Admiral.

With sufficient battle data stored in the database, his strength would climb further; even during this short span of the Martial Arts Tournament, S-Long had grown noticeably.

Though slower than Gao Wen’s impossible pace, it was still beyond ordinary reach.

Yet even these two monsters, working together, were both sliced apart by a single slash from Gao Wen...

“Monster!”

Akihira reached to remove his cigarette, but his hand missed several times.

Only then did he notice his hand trembling slightly.

As a Marine Admiral, showing fear before battle was deeply shameful.

Yet none in the Marine office could laugh—not one had the right to mock him.

Akainu sat in the main seat, head bowed, expression hidden—but his jaw muscles bulged violently, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Yet it was now being held down, the molten lava that could boil the sea nearly cooled!

Gao Wen was strong.

No one understood this better than the Marines who witnessed him casually suppress Whitebeard in the War of the Summit—but to this extent...

“Inhuman!”

Admiral Sengoku let out a long sigh, breaking the suffocating tension in the room.

Yet that invisible pressure clung to every heart!

This was a monster who, alone, could stand on equal footing with the World Government!

Britannias.

The battle continued.

Rydfield’s Conqueror’s Haki had been scattered, yet his battle spirit showed not the slightest retreat.

He suddenly accelerated—but Barrett was even faster!

Even more desperate!

“You...”

Rydfield’s mind was filled with doubt—but he would never get an answer.

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.

A purple-black torrent surged outward from Barrett, engulfing the entire arena, devouring countless earth and stone, stripping the Round Table Arena down to its bedrock.

Then, with even greater speed, it rushed back violently toward Barrett!

“This is the power of the Combine Fruit!”

Marine Headquarters.

Kizaru stared at the shocking scene on screen, his eyes filled with unspoken gravity.

He had personally led the World Government’s Pacification Order to eliminate Barrett years ago.

Only he knew the full extent of the Combine Fruit’s power when fully unleashed.

Creak—creak—creak—!

In the stunned gazes of all, the purple-black torrent coalesced in an instant into a massive sphere over a hundred meters in diameter.

Then, from within the sphere, four colossal arms burst forth, tearing the shell apart.

Bevire, who had once fought Barrett, recognized the arms at once—this was Barrett’s ultimate battle form.

“Medium-Bullet!”

But when the monster fully emerged from the shell, Bevire’s eyes widened in shock!

“No!”

Bevire could not possibly link this three-headed, six-armed monster to the Medium-Bullet he had faced before.