Chapter 189

The Ghost Island below shook violently, as if unable to bear the pressure of the two men's auras and about to shatter.

"He can actually match that bastard father's aura in a contest… just who is that guy…"

Above the Ghost Island palace, Yamato — hands bound by bomb shackles, wearing a Hannya demon mask, a pair of red horns on her head, and a sleeveless kimono — stared up at the sky with absolute shock.

Although she absolutely hated her bastard father, she could not deny his strength.

And that youth who looked even younger than her could actually go head-to-head with him?!

You've got to be kidding!

The Azure Dragon form taken by Kaido, the Mythical Zoan user of the Fish-Fish Fruit, was over a thousand meters long; any movement of his brought howling gales.

Now roused to kill, Kaido was even more ferocious — a sweep of his massive dragon tail blasted the air apart, and he hurled that terrifying force straight at Luo En!

Even from a great distance, the fierce gale that swept in — strong enough to peel the earth clean — still forced Yamato to raise an arm to shield herself. Though she barely held her footing, the mask on her face was blown away, revealing a beautiful countenance that looked nothing like Kaido's.

That bastard father's strike could probably blow a small island to pieces…

How is that guy going to block it?

Yamato — white hair fading to green, hairpin in place, tall and slender — stared with ruby-red eyes, hurriedly looking toward that stretch of sky.

The instant she looked.

Luo En's figure flashed; he dodged the lashing dragon tail, appeared in the sky above, and with the black blade wrapped in fierce sword momentum, slashed down in a single violent stroke.

Yamato saw only a flash of dazzling black light in the sky before her!

The next second.

A pitch-black slash descended from the high sky, cleaving toward the Azure Dragon Kaido had become!

Before that slash — tens of thousands of meters long, as if it would split the very heavens — even the Azure Dragon Kaido's massive form no longer seemed so enormous.

Under Yamato's stunned, awestruck gaze,

Kaido's dragon eyes narrowed, and his two dragon claws directly seized that earth-shattering slash.

His colossal dragon body was sent flying backward several hundred meters by the force carried in that astonishing slash; then his two claws yanked hard and simply tore that heavy, condensed slash apart.

"You think a slash of this level can beat me?"

Kaido's dragon eyes stared coldly at the sword-wielding youth in the distant sky.

"Aren't you being a little too overconfident!"

Kaido opened his enormous dragon maw toward Luo En.

ROAR!

Another heaven-shaking dragon roar — terrifying sound waves spread in every direction, shattering the clouds within a hundred li, the entire sky breaking apart like glass, and the earth itself cracking in layers beneath that sonic force.

Countless members of the Beasts Pirates below clamped their hands over their ears, faces twisted in agony.

"My eardrums… my eardrums are about to burst…"

"Lord Kaido…"

Transformed into a colossal Azure Dragon, Kaido twisted his body, riding the clouds as he charged straight at Luo En — a single one of his dragon eyes was already larger than Luo En himself.

Luo En's black hair whipped wildly in the gale; even with his eyes closed, without unleashing his All-Seeing World or Observation Haki, he could feel that astonishing presence and the omnipresent, sky-covering pressure!

It was like a natural disaster!

If Kaido wished it, destroying a country should be easy for him.

"So this is an Emperor… as expected, his strength and aura are even more astonishing than an Admiral's."

Luo En murmured to himself.

Yamato, her hair streaming in the wind, stared at the black-haired youth in the distant sky — eyes closed, black blade in hand, expression calm — her ruby eyes full of disbelief.

"Facing that bastard father, he doesn't show the slightest fear or intention to retreat…"

Facing the Azure Dragon-form Kaido, who came barreling at him wrapped in terrifying might, Luo En raised his empty left hand.

Armament Haki, harden!

Hum!

Streams of Armament Haki, like flowing cherry blossoms, surged into his left arm.

In an instant, his left arm turned black as iron.

Armament Haki — lv7, third stage!

Beyond strength and hardness far surpassing before, compared to the previous binding and hardening, two more transformations had been added.

Externally projecting the Haki.

Gathering Armament Haki on the hand or weapon and releasing it outward, directly converting it into substantive offensive or defensive power. It could fire a powerful shockwave to send enemies flying, form a protective wall, and even block invisible attacks.

And controlling the Haki to penetrate an object's surface and cause internal destruction — the most effective means against an enemy with monstrous defense like Kaido!

Sun Breathing, Full Concentration!

Nearly 3,600 points of stamina converged toward his left arm!

lv4 Force Mastery activated!

BOOM!

A terrifying wave of searing heat radiated outward from Luo En, whose whole body was giving off blood-colored steam; howling gales formed tornadoes around him!

"Is he actually going to take it head-on?!"

Yamato's eyes went wide, her heart in shock.

Under the stunned gazes of countless people below — Yamato among them — that black-haired youth, hair whipping wildly and eyes closed, met the onrushing Azure Dragon-form Kaido and threw a left fist as black as iron, wrapped in flowing Hardening Haki.

The instant Luo En's black fist collided with the head of the colossal Azure Dragon Kaido had become!

Heaven and earth fell silent!

Two gusts of terrifying wind pressure, compressed to the extreme, exploded outward at once!

BOOM!

Accompanied by an incomparably muffled, thunderous explosion, a terrifying shockwave spread out in all directions!

The ground of Onigashima directly beneath the man and the dragon was instantly torn apart, layer after layer flung outward, forming an enormous deep crater.

In the sky shrouded by thick, dark clouds, a massive hole also appeared; sunlight, long unseen, shone through that opening down onto Onigashima, which had been blanketed in overcast skies year-round.

Under the horrified gazes of Yamato, the Flying Six, and the other members of the Beasts Pirates.

The colossal azure dragon that Kaido had transformed into was sent flying by a single punch from the black-haired youth, whose build, compared to his, was like that of an ant!

"Eh?!!!"

The Flying Six and the other Beasts Pirates crewmembers who witnessed this scene gaped wide, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Under their utterly horrified gazes, the black-haired youth, whose entire body radiated blood-colored steam, flashed forward. Moving with a speed akin to teleportation, he appeared above Kaido, who had been sent reeling. The instant Kaido's dragon eyes swept toward him, he delivered another heavy punch downward.

Under Yamato's stunned gaze, he smashed that enormous azure dragon Kaido had transformed into straight from the sky down into the earth.

167, The Battle That Shatters Heaven and Earth! (Two-in-one)

The colossal dragon Kaido had become plummeted from the sky and slammed into the ground.

The entirety of Onigashima trembled.

The earth was directly smashed into a giant crater; countless massive fissures, along with a violent shockwave, tore up the ground, sweeping away countless shards of rock as they surged outward in every direction!

Mountains crumbled, the earth groaned, and the palace shuddered and swayed beneath that shockwave.

Countless Smilers and the Waiters who had not yet eaten artificial Devil Fruits were blown away outright.

"That guy actually took Lord Kaido and…"

The Flying Six and the other Tobiroppo stared at this unbelievable scene before them, their expressions utterly horrified.

Yamato, positioned above the palace, also gazed into the distance with a face full of shock, looking at the black-haired youth suspended beneath the heavens and bathed in sunlight.

"Who… who the hell is he?!"

Within the deep crater in the earth.

The great dragon Kaido raised his head from the ruined ground, stood up, and fixed his ferocious dragon eyes on the tiny figure in the sky bathed in sunlight; a flash of surprise flickered deep within his gaze.

That kid's fist had actually managed to break through his defenses and inflict real damage on him!

This genuine sensation of pain… how long had it been since he last felt it?

Five years? Or ten?

A flash of frenzied excitement gleamed in the great dragon Kaido's eyes.

Whether it was the fury of Luo En killing Jiru right before his eyes, or the sharp pain he now felt, both had fully ignited the long-dormant battle lust of Kaido of the Beasts, the sea hegemon who styled himself the strongest creature alive!

It had been a very long time since he had felt this kind of excitement!

He let out a roar, dragon's cry interweaving; his massive dragon body, swift as a spirit serpent, spiraled ceaselessly upward into the high sky, whipping up countless gales as it pierced straight through the clouds!

Even powerful Tobiroppo-class Ancient Zoan users struggled to steady themselves against those gales.