Within the Door-Door Space,
Yamato stared blankly at the Ashura-fied Chiga outside. Even through the spatial barrier, she could feel the overwhelming pressure.
Kalifa, on the other hand, looked proud. She said to Yamato,
"This is the Boss's ability—the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Ashura Form!"
She had deduced this from the four arms that had sprouted behind Chiga.
The reason it looked so exaggerated was because the Boss's power was simply too strong. This was the legendary awakened state of a Devil Fruit!
Yamato understood. After all, Kaido had achieved a Mythical Zoan awakening, and she herself was also a Mythical Zoan user—wielding the inu inu no mi.
It was an extremely powerful fruit. Despite her talent, she had yet to achieve awakening.
Now, Chiga—who was even younger—had already done it so easily. For the first time, Yamato felt truly outclassed.
It seemed Kalifa hadn't exaggerated. He might really not fear her father, Kaido. Anyone who could awaken a Mythical Zoan like this had earned the right to say that.
---
Outside the Door-Door Space,
The four arms behind Chiga made a series of mechanical clicks. Each wrist morphed into a dark cannon, all aimed directly at Kaido in the sky.
"Shura's Onslaught!"
Buzz! Terrifying energy converged, and four massive beams of light erupted from the cannons behind Chiga, blasting toward Kaido.
Kaido's huge dragon eyes widened.
He was familiar with lasers—the yellow monkey liked to mess around with them—but these four beams, each nearly as thick as his dragon-form neck, were on a whole different level.
And they were fast—too fast. With his massive size, dodging wasn't an option. He braced to tank the attack.
The four beams struck him simultaneously, shattering his green scales and searing four circular burns into his exposed flesh. The scent of scorched meat filled the air.
Kaido roared in pain, his colossal body twisting midair before plunging down toward Chiga on the ground.
As he fell, Chiga leaped up, leaving two enormous craters in his wake.
Before Kaido could land, Chiga intercepted him midair. His other five arms lashed out in unison, seizing Kaido's enormous frame.
With one earth-shaking heave, Chiga slammed Kaido into the ground.
Boom!!
A deep trench tore open where Kaido hit, and smoke billowed across the battlefield.
Chiga stared down at the smoke cloud, preparing to follow up—when suddenly:
"Captain!"
A furious voice rang out. King had arrived.
In his full beast form, the black Pteranodon was massive—but compared to Shura-fied Chiga, he looked like a sparrow. Chiga regarded him with detached curiosity.
Without hesitation, Chiga raised a hand and slapped downward at the incoming King.
King's pupils shrank. "What kind of monster is this?" he muttered, but his instincts kicked in just in time. He barely dodged the attack with his boosted aerial speed.
Chiga raised an eyebrow. "Another airborne type, huh? Looks like someone's due for a flying lesson."
He reached out and unleashed Almighty Push.
The gravity wave, magnified by his Shura form, gave King nowhere to run. He was yanked midair and slammed into Chiga's palm.
Splat.
Chiga's fingers wrapped tightly around him. If he applied even a bit more pressure, King would be crushed like a ripe fruit. But he didn't—it was too messy.
Instead, Chiga hurled King like a bullet into the smoke cloud where Kaido had landed.
A moment passed.
Then—whoosh!—a fierce gust swept across the ground, dispersing the smoke.
Kaido stood revealed.
He had now transformed into his hybrid Human-Beast Form, holding King in a princess carry. The whole scene radiated awkwardly intense emotion.
Chiga's expression twitched. From his vantage point, he noticed the four burns on Kaido's back had shrunk and now looked like he'd been to a massage parlor for cupping therapy.
Kaido examined King closely—unconscious, but alive—and visibly relaxed. King was his most trusted subordinate. Losing him would've been unacceptable.
After laying King down gently, Kaido slowly raised his head. His expression was calm, but his eyes burned with fury as he locked onto Chiga.
Chiga frowned. Is Kaido... into King?
After all, King's masked face did match Kaido's rugged aesthetic.
Of course, it was just Chiga's twisted sense of humor surfacing again. Kaido was clearly just worried about his subordinate.
Good thing Kaido couldn't read minds—he would've lost it on the spot.
Kaido pulled his signature kanabo from somewhere and raised it with one hand. Conqueror's Haki erupted, coating the club with purple-black lightning.
He swung it with a furious roar:
"Thunder Bagua!!"
A massive, purple energy blast tore through the air toward Chiga.
This wasn't Chiga's first time facing a Conqueror's Haki-coated strike. He'd experienced it before—on Sabaody, from Rayleigh. But this—this was stronger.
In an instant, Chiga coated all six arms with Sublimation Armament and crossed them in front of him, bracing for impact.
BOOM!!
Kaido's attack crashed into Chiga's palms. White-hot light exploded outward, gouging dark holes in the earth below.
As the shockwave faded, Chiga's arms smoked slightly. He exhaled slowly, retracting his arms as his body began to shrink—settling to about seven meters tall, the same height as Kaido.
The Shura markings remained, as did the extra arms. He was still in his enhanced state—ready for a true one-on-one.
Floating slowly to the ground, Chiga locked eyes with Kaido.
Time for a real man-to-man fight.
He wasn't just interested in Kaido's strength. He wanted to learn—to master Conqueror's Haki coating.
After all, this was the meta.
And there was no better teacher than Kaido of the Beasts.
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