The light seemed to be swallowed whole.
In an instant, Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru felt as if they'd been dropped into pure darkness.
It was like a bloodthirsty beast had locked onto them, staring them down.
Every pore on their bodies tightened.
Ice-cold dread crawled up their spines.
When they whipped around
Three towering figures were reflected in their pupils, like three "demon gods" stepping out of the abyss.
Muscles like steel poured into molds. Bodies like iron forged under a hammer.
A brutal, overwhelming visual impact.
Especially that bald head
So polished it reflected a harsh glare, almost blinding.
"Ares!?"
"Kaido!?"
Higurashi and Semimaru were so shocked their scalps almost exploded, like a thousand ants were tearing at their skin.
Semimaru's hands moved instantly.
Index finger over middle finger
A spherical barrier snapped into existence, sealing them both inside.
His face was drained of color. His voice shook.
"Y-You… how did you get to God Valley this fast!?"
"Listen, listen Ares!" Higurashi hurriedly shoved the small box behind her back and spoke at lightning speed. "I know! It was Rocks who set you up! He deliberately sent you to raid Marine G-1 Base!"
She immediately tried to redirect the disaster, throwing out Rocks's scheme as bait.
Kaido's expression twisted into something savage.
His gaze sharpened like a tiger baring fangs as it pinned them in place.
So it really was Rocks's plot.
He was just about to speak
But Ares raised a hand and stopped him.
Ares spoke first, voice low and feral.
"You're from Wano's Kurozumi Clan, aren't you?"
That beast-like rumble, paired with the suffocating pressure Ares radiated, made the two of them tremble violently.
They denied it with everything they had.
"N-No… we're not!"
"Wano? What even is that!?"
"There's no such thing as a 'Kurozumi' clan on the seas!"
A flash of crimson passed through Ares's eyes.
He sneered.
"You escaped from Wano, didn't you?"
He didn't even care whether they admitted it or not.
The memories in his mind had already given him the answer.
He continued coldly, as if reading a verdict aloud.
"You were the ones who ignited Wano's internal chaos back then… and drove the Amatsuki Clan into decline."
"So tell me…"
"Can this grudge be settled?"
A chill shot through both of them.
Ares had already decided who they were.
Semimaru stopped pretending.
Fear remained but hatred bubbled up on top of it.
His voice turned venomous.
"That's right!"
"If you Amatsuki bastards hadn't ruined everything, we wouldn't have had to crawl under Rocks's banner!"
"We'd have been living like shoguns in the Flower Capital already!"
"This is all your Amatsuki Clan's fault!!"
Higurashi stared at Ares with poison in her eyes and laughed sharply.
"Ares, you're Amatsuki blood. Your clan helped the Kozuki protect the shogunate."
"But…"
"Your Amatsuki Clan is just like our Kurozumi Clan."
"Both of you have fallen."
"You can't even protect your own daimyo title!"
"Bastards!" Kaido roared, overflowing with murderous rage. "Ares let me rip those filthy mouths apart!"
Lightning crackled over his kanabo.
"Thunder Bagua!"
The club howled as it smashed into the barrier with a thunderous explosion.
Boom!
The barrier remained smooth as a mirror.
Not even a scratch.
The recoil numbed Kaido's hands.
"Huh!?" Kaido didn't even care about the pain. He stared, stunned. "What the hell is this!? That didn't break it!?"
Slardar's eyes widened. "No way… Kaido's strength couldn't shatter something that looks like glass!?"
"The Barrier-Barrier Fruit," Ares said flatly, exposing the truth in one sentence. "No wonder you're acting so fearless. You're relying on that fruit's ability, aren't you?"
That fruit's power…
Had once made even Kozuki Oden "that fool of a lord" pay a heavy price.
Later, it would end up in the hands of Luffy's fanatic, Bartolomeo.
And in Dressrosa's coliseum…
It would shine.
"Hehehe…" Semimaru chuckled darkly. "Ares, you're right."
"My Barrier-Barrier Fruit is the strongest defense on the seas."
"Not just Kaido…"
"Even you won't break my barrier technique!"
Kaido exploded with fury. "Stop talking big! I don't believe there's anything I can't smash!"
His arm muscles swelled, veins bulging like vicious blue serpents.
Beneath flesh and bone lurked monstrous strength.
He raised his kanabo and hammered down.
Boom!
Boom!
Again and again savage blows in rapid succession.
The barrier didn't move.
Not even a hairline crack.
Higurashi sneered. "Kaido, save your strength. You can't break it. Even Roger and Rayleigh went all out and still couldn't do anything!"
"Hehehehe…" Semimaru giggled. "Roger had a Supreme Grade blade and it still didn't help…"
His eyes slid toward Ares, sharp with mockery.
"Ares, didn't you say you'd forge your body into a Supreme Grade blade?"
"Even if you did…"
"You still can't break this barrier!"
"This is the hardest thing in the world."
"The most invincible defense!!!"
The grating taunts made even injured Slardar flare with rage.
"Ares's strength will definitely break it!"
"He's the strongest man I've ever seen!"
Even with blood leaking from his numbed hands, Kaido refused to back down.
"Don't get cocky! You two don't understand Ares's power at all!"
Boom!
Kaido slammed the barrier again.
Nothing changed.
Then Ares spoke calmly.
"He's right."
"This barrier really is the strongest defense on the seas."
"Even I… can't say I'm confident I can break it."
The moment Ares admitted it so openly
Everyone froze.
Even the Kurozumi duo.
Kaido and Slardar stared at Ares in disbelief.
Ares, who had always carried absolute confidence in his own strength…
Saying something like that?
It felt unfamiliar almost unreal.
Semimaru immediately burst out laughing.
"Hahaha Ares, so you do know your limits!"
"Roger with a Supreme Grade blade couldn't break it. Don't even dream about it."
Higurashi smiled smugly. "This fruit… you can't take it from us. It belongs to us!"
"And besides…"
"I'll call Captain Rocks right now. Once he knows you're here, Ares, I'm sure he'll give you a proper welcome!"
She reached for her Den Den Mushi.
Ares's gaze turned icy.
"You two…"
"Aren't you celebrating a little too early?"
The cold, cutting words made them flinch
But they recovered instantly.
With an invincible barrier…
What did they have to fear?
"Ares, stop bluffing. My barrier is invincible," Semimaru said confidently.
Ares rolled his neck.
Crack. Crack.
His joints popped like snapping bones.
The rock-like muscles across his body shifted and surged, like earth-dragons turning under the ground.
Even the sound of his blood felt like a river in flood, roaring through his veins.
Ares's face twisted into something savage.
Like a demon grinning wide.
"I just want to test something…"
"Can this barrier…"
"Really stop me?"
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