"You... you have a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability?" Oden asked.
Kaido bared his teeth in a grin.
"Worororo! Why are you so tense? Are you scared?"
"Did you really think you could drag this out for three hours?"
"Worororo!"
All four faces wore the exact same expression, making him look deeply bizarre. Kaido's brows shot up as he said coldly,
"No one is going to stop Big Brother Ares from ruling Wano!"
"Oden..."
"Your strength really is impressive. But after dreaming for so many years, it is time for you to wake up!"
Kaido flung his kanabo toward Ares and the others, and Slarda caught it.
The moment he discarded his weapon, all eight of his thick, muscular, fur-covered arms exploded into a storm of punches.
Those glossy black fists filled every corner of Oden's vision, leaving him no room to dodge at all.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Oden unleashed every ounce of strength in his body, swinging both swords with all he had and forming an airtight wall in front of himself.
In the span of a single breath, his blades clashed dozens, even hundreds of times, giving him no chance to breathe. The terrifying force behind those punches drove his feet deep into the earth as he was shoved backward like a bulldozer, the ground cracking apart beneath him.
Pfft!
The blood vessels in Oden's thick, powerful arms burst apart, spraying brilliant blooms of scarlet into the air.
The next instant, it was like a chain reaction. More and more blood vessels snapped like strings, and fresh blood surged wildly out, covering both his arms.
The moment Kaido smelled blood, his expression grew even more excited. Like a bloodthirsty beast, he laughed savagely.
"Worororo! Oden, how much longer can you withstand the force of these fists?"
"Just surrender already!"
"You cannot win this fight!"
At that moment, he was ferocious beyond reason. His eight arms hammered forward like pile drivers, blasting out punch after punch after punch.
Pfft!
In that brief instant, he had struck hundreds, even thousands of times. Oden's palms split open, blood spilling out and running along the hilts of his swords, staining the blazing, eerie flames wrapped around the blades.
It looked strangely sinister.
With his Mythical Zoan ability activated, Kaido's raw power had risen to an even more terrifying level.
"Oden-sama..." Kin'emon watched the battle with his heart clenched tight. He murmured softly, "If... if you cannot endure it anymore, then... then please surrender."
Raizo's brows were knotted tightly together.
"Oden-sama would never surrender easily. At this rate... he is going to lose soon."
Meanwhile, Izou and Kikunojo stood nearby with their hands clasped before their chests, their faces filled with worry as they silently prayed for Oden.
Seeing Kaido unleash his Devil Fruit power, Whitebeard muttered to himself,
"The winner has already been decided. Oden no longer has any chance."
Marco was shocked.
"Kaido... Kaido is a Mythical Zoan user too?! Uncle Ares is one too, so doesn't that mean they have two Mythical Zoan users?"
Vista said with envy,
"Mythical Zoans are even rarer than Logias. Most people would never see one even once in their entire lives. Yet in this short time, we have seen so many."
Chinjao's ears twitched, and he grinned.
"Ares got his hands on quite a few Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits. In the future, the War God Pirates are bound to become the strongest pirate crew on the seas."
Whitebeard laughed.
"Gurarara! Speaking of that, Ares really did snatch quite a few Devil Fruits at God Valley. It is enough to make anyone jealous."
He thought very highly of Ares's future and the future of the War God Pirates.
And now that Wano was on the verge of becoming the War God Pirates' territory, they would only continue to grow stronger.
Yet in his heart, he did not entirely wish for Ares's path to be this smooth. Perhaps it was because he worried that if the War God Pirates developed too quickly, they would attract the full hatred and hostility of the World Government.
Whitebeard knew Ares needed time. Time for himself to grow, and time for the people around him to grow as well.
At that moment, Sukiyaki watched Oden teetering on the edge of defeat, his face full of anxiety and concern.
"This duel... we are most likely going to lose."
Shimotsuki Yasuie's face hardened, and with firm resolve, he said,
"Shogun Sukiyaki, in the next match, even if it costs me my life, I will win for the Kozuki Family!"
"I am counting on you!" Sukiyaki replied solemnly.
The great families of Wano had been vassals of the Kozuki Family for centuries, little different from retainers, while also serving as daimyo of their respective regions.
Whether for public duty or private loyalty, every one of them desperately wanted to win this duel.
The other daimyo all answered in turn,
"We will fight with everything we have!"
Just then, the situation on the battlefield changed again.
A powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Oden's body, causing Kaido's relentless, storm-like assault to pause for the briefest moment.
That tiny opening gave Oden a short chance to breathe, and he instantly retreated, widening the distance between them.
Oden's face carried a look of absolute resolve.
"I do not want to lose in such a miserable way."
He crossed his swords before him.
"Kaido!"
Wrapped in surging Haki, Oden's aura blazed upward.
"As samurai of Wano, we do not speak of defeat lightly!"
"I will fight with everything I have. If you can defeat me, then that will prove that you truly possess the strength to protect Wano!"
Blood poured from the ruptured vessels in his body, but he ignored it completely, drawing out every last ounce of his strength and potential.
The flames on his blades burned hotter and hotter.
They blazed fiercely.
It was the fire and will of a samurai.
"Come, samurai!" Kaido's tiger-like eyes gleamed with light. A trace of admiration flashed in them as he laughed.
"Worororo! You are the first opponent I have met in Wano..."
"The first opponent worthy of my respect!"
He understood the fire burning in Oden's eyes, the overwhelming fighting spirit.
And the best way to answer a man like that...
was to attack with everything he had.
Crackle! Crackle!
Streams of black-red lightning burst from Kaido's massive ape-demon body.
The monstrous aura pouring from him grew sharper and more oppressive by the second.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Paradise Totsuka!"
A brilliance like a falling meteor lit up the darkened sky, carrying with it Oden's most dazzling swordsmanship and leaving an unforgettable impression on everyone watching.
"Eight-Armed Heavenly Net!"
Several thick, steel-like arms shot forward at once, as if they had all been cast from the same mold.
They carried the Armament Haki Kaido had tempered for years.
All at once, they slammed toward Oden.
Boom!
At the instant they collided, light exploded outward. The shockwave shattered the ground around them into countless broken stones that rose into the air, almost as if the Float-Float Fruit itself were at work.
Lightning crackled wildly.
Their eyes met, and in that instant, each recognized the other's strength.
It was as if a strange bond of fire had been born between them.
Pfft! Pfft!
The wounds on Oden's body split open even worse than before. Blood sprayed from him like fountains and bursting water pipes.
Yet he wore a smile on his face as he was blasted backward and crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.
He lay spread out in a crater, his body covered in injuries.
Oden had not completely lost consciousness, nor was he resentful or discouraged by his defeat. His eyes were shining brightly as he stared up at the sky.
An even fiercer flame ignited inside him.
"So this is the strength of the people from the outside sea. Not only am I not Ares's match, I cannot even defeat Kaido..."
"I will definitely become stronger. I will become like Ryuma, using the sword in my hand to defend the honor of Wano's samurai..."
"To protect Wano!"
"To let the whole world know the name of Wano's samurai!"
Seeing the look in Oden's eyes, Kaido's face showed a hint of sympathy and respect.
"Worororo! Hey, you. I heard you have always wanted to go out to sea. How about joining our War God Pirates?"
????
Sukiyaki, Ushimaru, Yasuie, and the others were all left staring in confusion.
Was he really trying to poach someone right in front of their faces?
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