Shiki rushed over and pried Ares's hands away from his head. "Ares, snap out of it!!"
"What the hell is happening to him?!"
Whitebeard was just as frantic, shaking Ares's massive frame and shouting in his ear, "Ares! What's wrong with you?!"
Meanwhile, the blazing reverse Armament Haki on Ares's body was shifting uncontrollably from his feet to his chest, then to his back, and even his buttocks.
Whitebeard and Shiki had no choice but to coat themselves in Haki just to avoid getting scorched.
"I'll hold him down," Whitebeard growled, "you go find Captain John! We need him to check Ares out!"
Just as Shiki was about to fly off
"I'm fine..." Ares's voice came low and hoarse.
He exhaled sharply. "Sometimes my mind just... gets jumbled. It'll pass."
Shiki stared at hit and then his jaw dropped.
"Ares... your hair!!"
In mere moments, all the hair on Ares's head had fallen out, leaving behind a shiny, polished dome that gleamed like freshly waxed jade.
Ares instinctively reached up and rubbed it. His head felt like a massive, smooth marble no stubble, no fuzz, just cold, clean skin.
"I went bald..."
He murmured, then suddenly beamed. "Actually, this might be good. Now I can train my head too!"
Only now did he realize that he'd neglected to strengthen his skull in training. With no hair in the way, it'd be easier to condition his head.
Gulp.
Whitebeard swallowed hard, unnerved by Ares's idea. "You better not try anything reckless, Ares. The head's a critical part of the body. You mess that up, and you're done for."
His eye twitched violently. Ares's gleaming head was already distracting enough, but now he was talking about training it too?
Shiki couldn't resist reaching out. He gave Ares's scalp a few experimental rubs. It was smoother than silk and oddly satisfying.
Still, he couldn't forget their earlier panic. "That strange version of Haki probably burned off your hair," he muttered.
"If you ask me, you should quit using it and just stick to the normal Armament Haki I taught you."
He couldn't understand it. How had something as straightforward as Haki turned into... that?
Shiki suddenly imagined himself bald. Without his glorious golden mane, what would become of his title as the "Golden Lion"?
He shuddered.
"No!"
Ares rejected the suggestion outright. "I like this version of Haki. It's unique!"
"I'm going to master it. Make it the strongest it can be!"
With that, he stood up.
"I'm heading out to train!!"
Ignoring both Whitebeard and Shiki, Ares strode out on powerful legs, muscles rippling.
"That guy... he's a training lunatic," Shiki said, puffing his cigar with admiration.
This was the same man who swam across the sea for days without rest. A true madman.
Whitebeard grinned with curiosity and anticipation. "Let's follow him. I want to see what kind of hellish training made him this strong."
"Same here," Shiki agreed. "I gotta know what turned him into this freak."
The two shared a nod and trailed after Ares.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Beehive Island...
Inside a massive room of the Skull Castle, chaos reigned.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deep, thunderous impacts echoed through the room, making the whole building tremble as if it were about to collapse.
No, like a full-blown earthquake.
Tables and cabinets rattled violently, furniture clattered, and anything not nailed down bounced in rhythm with the shaking.
Charlotte Linlin moved like a beast wild and brutal.
Grinning ear to ear, she turned to Kaido. "Kaido, that's not enough!!"
"You want real power, don't you?!"
"Then give me everything you've got!!"
Their bodies were so tough, even blades couldn't pierce them. Every inch of muscle rippled like sculpted steel.
It was less like a brawl and more like a clash of titans two hunks of metal slamming into each other over and over, the sound ringing like clashing swords.
Clang!
Kaido gritted his teeth, trying to endure. He knew that if he faltered, Linlin would lose control and go berserk.
"Linlin!"
"When do I get that Devil Fruit you promised me?!"
"I need more power!!"
"I have to beat Ares!!"
"I'm the strongest rookie on this ship!"
His voice seethed with rage, the fire in his chest sharpening his focus, lending him a stubborn strength that let him keep going even under Linlin's monstrous onslaught.
She laughed gleefully, her eyes sparkling. "Still not enough!"
"I'll have Longbread teach you how to use Haki. And how to make it stronger."
She licked her lips, her voice practically purring with anticipation. "Make that body even harder with Haki."
Kaido cursed her in his mind.
Damn woman! Still won't hand over that Devil Fruit?
No. He had to get it.
Only with a Devil Fruit could he surpass Ares.
Only then could he prove he was the real monster.
Moments later...
Boom!
The bed shattered under their combined force, crumbling like a potato chip crushed underfoot.
Cracks spread across the stone floor. It groaned and split, finally bursting apart.
Linlin frowned for a moment, but then grinned.
"Next time, have them make the bed out of steel."
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