Chapter 299: Wano - 33
A cold, biting wind swept across the shattered summit of Onigashima.
Pulverized stone and splintered wood littered the vast, open space. The earlier skirmishes had already leveled the roof. Dust drifted lazily through the frigid air, illuminated by the pale light of the moon piercing through the heavy storm clouds.
Two figures stood amidst the wreckage.
For the past hour, the roof had served as an arena. The sounds of the war raging in the lower floors failed to penetrate the thick stone foundation. The only noises disturbing the high-altitude silence were the deafening cracks of clashing Haki, the shattering of stone, and the heavy, ragged breathing of two exhausted warriors pushing their bodies to the limit.
Stepping backward, the rubber pirate wiped a thick smear of blood from his chin.
The toll of the last sixty minutes showed clearly. Bruises mottled his arms, and his red shirt hung in tatters across his broad chest. Despite the damage, a fierce grin remained plastered across his face.
Standing a few dozen paces away, Kaido rested the heavy, spiked kanabo against his shoulder.
The dragon Emperor bled from several shallow cuts across his torso. Dust coated his dark hair. Yet, the King of the Beasts did not look tired. A deep, rumbling laugh vibrated in his chest, echoing across the empty roof. The thrill of a challenge fueled his immense stamina.
"You hit hard for a brat," Kaido grunted, spitting a glob of blood onto the cracked stones. "But your Haki is still too shallow. You are burning your spirit too quickly."
"It seems it’s time to shift gears," the captain noted quietly.
Raising his right arm, he brought his blackened, Haki-coated forearm to his mouth. Biting down hard on his own flesh, he blew air into his muscules.
Dark red Armament Haki crept up his forearms and calves, forming intricate, flame-like tribal patterns against his skin. Thick, white steam vented from his shoulders, trailing into the cold night air like a scarf.
Gear Fourth: Boundman.
Bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, the massive, Haki-clad pirate did not adopt a wild, brawling posture.
Despite the immense size and the constant, elastic bouncing required to maintain the form, he settled into a highly disciplined, recognizable martial arts stance. Keeping his guard tight, he tapped into the fluid, recoilless principles of Renewal Taekwondo.
Watching the transformation, Kaido narrowed his eyes. The presence of the inflated pirate demanded a response.
Dropping his kanabo to his side, the Emperor initiated his own shift. Thick, azure scales erupted across his chest and arms. A heavy tail extended from his spine, and sharp horns lengthened.
"Come then," Kaido challenged, black lightning sparking wildly from the iron club.
The rubber pirate vanished.
Utilizing the frictionless, sliding footwork known as Bo-bup, the captain bypassed the need for a traditional sprinting start. The elastic tension of Gear Fourth compressed his legs like coiled springs, firing him across the cratered roof at speeds invisible to the naked eye.
Materializing inside the Emperor’s guard, the pirate launched the first strike.
Retracting his right arm deep into his expanded shoulder, the rubber compressed tightly. Instead of relying solely on elasticity, the captain applied the rotational torque of his martial arts training, snapping his hip forward perfectly in time with the punch.
Gum-Gum Kong Gun.
The massive, blackened fist shot forward, trailing red and black lightning.
Sensing the devastating pressure, Kaido brought the heavy iron club up to block.
The fist collided with the kanabo. The advanced Conqueror’s Haki coating both weapons clashed in the empty space between them. A blinding sphere of dark energy expanded outward, tearing the stone roof apart. Loose boulders disintegrated into dust instantly.
Holding the block, Kaido felt the weight pushing him backward.
"Good!" the Emperor roared, pushing back against the massive fist.
Twisting his wrists, Kaido deflected the punch upward. Slipping past the pirate’s guard, the Emperor swung the spiked club in horizontal arc aimed at the exposed ribs.
Thunder Bagua!
Anticipating the counter, the captain did not attempt to retreat.
Compressing his left leg into his torso, he utilized the elastic tension to snap a kick outward. Combining the Gear Fourth propulsion with a spinning roundhouse, the attack moved with lethal precision.
Renewal Taekwondo: Hwechook.
The heavy, Haki-coated sandal met the iron club.
Another deafening shockwave rattled the skull dome. The power of the Emperor met the enhanced, recoilless torque of the martial artist. The clash held for a fraction of a second before the immense forces repelled both fighters.
Tumbling backward, the captain bounced off the ruined floorboards, using his elastic properties to arrest his momentum safely.
Skidding across the stone, Kaido dug his tail into the rubble to stop his slide.
No time was wasted. Both monsters charged again.
The roof became a blur of collisions. The combat transcended standard brawling, entering a realm of attrition.
Diving from the air, the pirate unleashed a barrage of compressed punches. Kong Organ rained down upon the Emperor, each strike carrying enough force to shatter a mountain. Kaido met the assault head-on, swinging the kanabo with blinding speed to parry the massive fists.
Finding an opening, the dragon Emperor opened his jaws. A swirling vortex of intense heat gathered deep in his throat.
Bolo Breath!
A superheated column of fire erupted across the roof.
Instead of dodging, the captain dropped into a low stance. Expanding his chest, he coated his arms in a dense layer of invisible, flowing Armament Haki. Thrusting both palms forward, he met the fiery blast with spiritual pressure.
The advanced Ryou deflected the flames, splitting the column of fire around his body. The heat scorched the stones on either side, leaving the pirate unharmed in the center.
Pushing through the parting flames, the captain closed the distance.
Gum-Gum Rhino Schneider.
Driving both Haki-coated boots forward, the dropkick struck the Emperor squarely in the chest.
The impact knocked the breath from Kaido’s lungs. Stumbling backward, the ancient Zoan gritted his teeth, absorbing the blunt force trauma through his durable scales.
Recovering instantly, the King of the Beasts swung his tail. The heavy, scaled appendage whipped around, catching the airborne pirate in the side.
The blow sent the captain crashing into the stone floor. Bouncing off the rubble, he flipped backward, landing unsteadily on his feet.
Breathing heavily, a thin trail of blood leaked from the corner of the captain’s mouth.
"You are slowing down," Kaido mocked, wiping a smudge of soot from his face. "The Haki drain on that form is immense. You have a few minutes left before you collapse."
Gritting his teeth, the captain refused to acknowledge the fatigue.
"I have enough time to kick your ass," the pirate replied, steam venting rapidly from his shoulders.
Compressing his legs, the captain launched himself into the sky. Hovering high above the cratered roof, he pulled his right arm into his shoulder, preparing a decisive attack. Black and red lightning sparked violently, wrapping around the giant, blackened fist.
Looking up at the descending threat, Kaido gripped his kanabo with both hands.
The Emperor channeled his own Supreme King Haki, coating the iron club in an aura of dark energy. The air warped and shrieked around the weapon.
Roaring Thunder Bagua.
Gum-Gum Over-Kong Gun.
As the two monsters rushed toward the center of the roof, a faint, nearly imperceptible sound echoed near the edge of the battlefield.
Soru.
Moving with the untraceable speed of the Rokushiki technique, a figure dressed in a pristine white suit materialized from the shadows of a ruined pillar. A featureless white mask concealed the agent’s identity.
The CP0 intelligence officer had waited patiently for the moment of vulnerability.
Calculating the trajectories of the two clashing pirates, the agent moved to intercept the rubber captain. The objective did not require a lethal strike. A simple, well-placed distraction would disrupt the pirate’s focus, allowing the Emperor’s devastating attack to land cleanly and end the battle.
Raising a single finger, the agent hardened his flesh using the Shigan technique, aiming for the pirate’s exposed flank.
Before the finger could pierce the rubber skin, the air in front of the agent shattered.
A tall figure wearing a dark blue, high-collared jacket and dark sunglasses appeared out of nowhere. The magician did not use a portal or a visible spell. He simply ceased to be in one location and occupied the space between the CP0 agent and the pirate captain.
The sudden arrival caught the intelligence officer off guard.
Raising his right fist, Ben did not draw a weapon. He coated his knuckles in blackened Armament Haki, intertwining the dense armor with the fierce, jagged red and black lightning of advanced Conqueror’s Haki.
Ruler’s Descent.
Striking the masked agent squarely in the chest, the impact bypassed the defensive Tekkai completely. The supreme spiritual pressure shattered the agent’s ribs, driving it into his internal organs.
The power of the blow blasted the CP0 officer straight down into the solid stone roof.
The resulting crater spanned twenty feet across. The stone spiderwebbed outward, cracking the foundation of the skull dome itself. The agent lay pinned in the center of the destruction, immobilized by the devastating strike.
Simultaneously, a few yards away, the clash between the two captains resolved without interference.
The massive, Haki-coated fist met the heavy iron club.
The collision of Supreme King Haki generated an apocalyptic shockwave. Blinding light consumed the summit. The spiritual pressure pushed upward, tearing through the heavy storm clouds hanging over the island.
The sky split in half, parting the heavens to reveal the distant stars.
The equal application of force repelled both fighters.
Skidding backward across the ruined floorboards, Kaido dug his boots into the stone, panting heavily. The heavy club rested against the ground.
Tumbling through the air, the rubber captain bounced twice before finding his footing. Steam hissed violently from his body as the Gear Fourth transformation was about to hit its limit.
The battlefield fell silent, the howling wind rushing in to fill the vacuum created by the clash.
Stepping back from the crater, the magician adjusted his dark glasses, observing the pinned intelligence officer.
Despite the crushing internal damage caused by Ruler’s Descent, the CP0 agent slowly pushed himself up. The intense training of the World Government’s top assassins provided a terrifying level of resilience. Blood leaked from beneath the featureless white mask, but the agent managed to stand, swaying slightly on his feet.
Two faint displacement sounds echoed nearby.
Dropping lightly from the upper ruins, two more agents wearing identical white suits and masks landed on either side of their injured comrade.
"I was wondering when you rats would finally scurry out of the shadows," Ben noted calmly, keeping his hands in his pockets.
Turning his head slightly, the magician addressed the panting rubber captain standing a few yards away.
"Luffy," Ben called out, his voice clear and steady over the howling wind. "Leave these rats to me. You take care of Kaido."
Gasping for breath, the captain wiped sweat from his brow. Recognizing the magician’s intervention had prevented a fatal cheap shot, a wide grin crossed his exhausted face.
"Yosh!" the pirate agreed, tightening his massive, blackened fists.
Turning his attention back to the three intelligence officers, Ben offered a final, cryptic piece of advice before departing.
"Luffy, let your heart beat. Set it free."
Standing in his towering Gear Fourth form, the captain blinked. The words made no sense.
"Eh?" the pirate grunted, a look of confusion wrinkling his forehead. "What does that mean?"
Before the boy could ask for clarification, the magician raised a single hand toward the three masked agents.
In the blink of an eye, Ben and the three CP0 agents vanished from the summit of Onigashima, leaving no trace behind.
Staring at the empty stone where the magician had just been standing, the rubber captain scratched the side of his head. The advice echoed in his mind, but the meaning remained elusive. Setting a heart free sounded like something a poet would say, not a strategy for beating a dragon.
"I don’t get it," the pirate muttered, shaking his head.
A loud, booming laugh brought his attention back to the true threat.
"Your crewmates are strange, Straw Hat," Kaido noted, lifting the spiked kanabo once more. "But they are gone now. No more interruptions."
Pushing the confusing advice to the back of his mind, the captain focused on the enemy standing before him. The fatigue burning in his muscles demanded a swift conclusion to the duel.
"Let’s finish this," the pirate declared, launching himself across the roof once again.
The battle raged on.
For another hour, the two monsters tore the summit of Onigashima apart. The cratered roof became a landscape of dust and jagged craters.
The Haki drain of Gear Fourth eventually forced the captain out of the transformation. However, relying on the regenerative properties of the Super Soldier serum, he did not require the standard ten-minute resting period to recover his Haki. He continued the fight in his base form, utilizing the fluid evasion of Renewal Taekwondo to survive the onslaught until his energy reserves replenished enough to transform again.
It was a war of attrition.
Kaido proved relentless. The Emperor absorbed the heavy, Haki-coated punches, shaking off the damage through the durability of his mythical Zoan scales. In return, the kanabo struck the pirate time and time again.
The heavy iron club battered the captain’s ribs, cracked his enhanced bones, and split his skin.
Blood covered the pirate’s chest and face. His breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. Every movement sent waves of agony through his torn muscles. The genetic enhancements worked overtime, desperately repairing the micro-tears in his tissue, but the rate of destruction far outpaced the healing factor.
Tumbling backward from another devastating clash, the captain hit the stone floor hard.
Struggling to push himself up, his arms trembled violently. His vision blurred, the edges of his sight turning a dark, fuzzy gray. The spiritual pressure required to coat his attacks in Supreme King Haki had drained his soul to the breaking point.
Standing a few paces away, Kaido breathed heavily. Blood dripped from a deep gash above the Emperor’s eye, but his posture remained towering and dominant.
"You fought well, brat," Kaido acknowledged, raising the kanabo for the final, executing strike. "But it ends here."
Kneeling on the cracked stone, the captain could not find the strength to raise his arms.
His lungs burned, begging for oxygen. The physical pain faded into numbness.
As his vision began to fade, a strange sensation blossomed deep within his chest.
It was not the familiar, steady rhythm of his own pulse. It felt different. A thumping resonated against his ribs, growing louder and stronger with every passing second.
The cryptic words of the magician echoed in the quiet darkness of his fading consciousness.
Let your heart beat. Set it free.
Pressing a trembling, bloodstained hand against his own chest, the captain closed his eyes. He stopped fighting the exhaustion. He stopped trying to force his muscles to obey. He simply listened to the strange, rhythmic pounding echoing within his own soul.
He didn’t know what the sensation was, but a sudden, overwhelming urge washed over him.
He needed to match the rhythm.
Taking a long, slow breath, the pirate raised his fist weakly.
Bringing his knuckles down against his own chest, he tapped lightly over his heart.
Thump.
The sound did not echo like a normal heartbeat. It reverberated through the air like a distant drum.
Doom.
Kaido paused his advance, frowning slightly. The strange, rhythmic noise seemed to vibrate through the very stone of the roof itself.
Dut.
Tapping his chest again, a wide, delirious smile slowly spread across the captain’s bruised and bloody face. The exhaustion began to evaporate, replaced by a bizarre, bubbling sense of joy and freedom.
Da da.
Doom dut da da.
The rhythm accelerated. The sound of drums filled the quiet night air, carrying a melody of liberation that had not been heard in the world for eight hundred years.
Kneeling on the floorboards, the captain threw his head back and laughed.
As the laughter echoed across the summit, a change began to manifest.
The dark, unruly hair framing the captain’s face slowly began to shift. The color drained away, replaced by a brilliant, glowing white. The rubber composing his body began to soften, losing its rigid tension and taking on a strange, fluid consistency. The very air around him seemed to warp and bounce, matching the joyful, liberated rhythm echoing from his chest.
Lowering his iron club, Kaido stared at the transforming pirate, an unfamiliar sense of unease settling in the Emperor’s gut.
The drums continued to beat, signaling the arrival of a dawn the world had long forgotten.