Chapter 142: King of the Beasts
14 years.
For the span of 14 years, Kaidou joined hands with the Kurozumi family and established his empire in Wano.
The purpose of doing so was to build a stable ground, to enact the world's greatest world, and to... seize One Piece.
He's come too far to stop. He's come too far to give up. There were two copies of Road Poneglyphs in his hands! Knowing that Linlin has a method to decipher these, if only he can locate the other two and reach the final island, Laugh Tale...
"Then I will become the Pirate King!!"
Kaidou roared as the kanabo in his grip crackled wildly. His eyes, having become crimson, contained the gleam that befitted the eyes of a warrior. The red cloud draped around his shoulder, as he maintained his hybrid form, seemed to give a mystical charm to his overall appearance. One would have believed that Kaidou was a war god, a deity who descended from the above.
The will of a Supreme King pulsated wildly. The air screeched in pain as if begging for mercy, but Kaidou, ignoring everything around him, focused all his attention on his foe.
'White Hunter...'
Smoker, the white-haired man whose height reached over 2 meters, but nonetheless paled short against Kaidou. Due to how busy he's been, his unkempt hair has grown long enough for his bangs to cover his eyes.
From the past to the present, Kaidou met a number of powerhouses. However, never did he meet a man capable of matching their strengths at the age of early 20s.
'You will not stop me...!!'
Growling, Kaidou slammed his kanabo, which Smoker met with his fist. There was a gap of air in between the attacks as if they were unable to approach each other any further. Unable to handle the unending series of sky-splitting clashes, the air itself has distorted and the space cracked.
'As I thought, something is different about him.'
And after the clash ended, Smoker thought as he found himself being blasted back.
'That red cloud—isn't that what he used to keep Onigashima afloat in canon?'
Among Devil Fruits, Zoan-types are the easiest to identify whether their users have undergone the awakening or not. After all, every single one of the awakened users had a streak of cloud atop their shoulders just as Kaidou did now.
And currently, Kaidou wasn't lifting Onigashima. Focusing on nothing else but Smoker, his strength, which was already ridiculous, became even more ridiculous upon Kaidou's operation of what appeared to be the awakened ability of the fruit—to the extent to which Smoker realized that Kaidou's raw strength surpassed even his own.
"Conquerer of Three Worlds..."
Spinning his kanabo above his head, Kaidou flew toward Smoker at a rapid speed. With a terrifying accuracy, his kanabo came down slamming on top,
"RAGNARAKU!!!"
Without batting an eye, Smoker morphed his body into a white smoke. Phasing through Kaidou's body, Kaidou's attack missed and sent forth a downward shock wave that resounded through the sky.
Both Smoker and Kaidou's eyes gleamed as they used Observation Haki. Kaidou twisted his body to face Smoker who now hovered above him and swung his kanabo at a blinding speed.
"Kundali Dragon Swarm...!!!"
Kaidou's kanabo was swung countless times; it seemed as if a hundred blows were struck over the span of three seconds.
In response, Smoker's forms blurred, and it appeared as if there were multiples of him. Each and every single strike from Kaidou's kanabo was countered with his Haki-imbued fist, and from the sheer impact of their quick, consecutive clashes, the explosions occurred all around Smoker and Kaidou.
However, they, not knowing the end, continued the fast combat. Along with the explosions, the wind picked up and became the dangerous storms that ground through the sky and the sea. A few reefs that were found here and there were destroyed to dust, and in this situation, Kaidou's crimson eyes glowed dimly under the moonlight.
He truly was the captain, governor-general, and king of the Beast Pirates.
BOOOOM!
Smoker and Kaidou were forcibly repelled from each other as the final strike at the end of their consecutive clashes exploded in a magnificent fit. Unlike Kaidou who morphed his body into the enormous azure dragon and flew against the direction of his momentum, Smoker simply let his body be guided by said momentum, rapidly flying away from Kaidou.
With his eyes on Kaidou in his full Zoan form, Smoker's body then dispersed into smoke and moved out of the air which he was occupying—to dodge an incoming blast of fire.
"BLAST BREATH!!!"
Smoker's figure blurred here and there as Kaidou continued to fire his blast breath consecutively.
With narrowed eyes, Smoker then appeared at one site after dodging yet another blast breath. His index finger, which was aimed at Kaidou, had a dense white smoke swirling at its tip.
'White Storm, Pesado,'
x3.
Three consecutive bursts of dense white smoke were fired at the azure dragon. At the next moment, Kaidou was struck by such and had a huge volume of white smoke surrounding him.
'Penetrating Kaidou's innards is impossible with the overflow of Haki within him. Suffocation too is negligible; he's able to combat without oxygen for at least thirty minutes.'
And just as Smoker thought, the azure dragon broke through the cloud of white smoke and flew downward at where Smoker hovered.
Smoker's eyes then caught onto the fact that the red cloud around Kaidou's neck flew out of its position. Spreading around Kaidou's entire dragon body, he became encased within what appeared to be a blazing fire.
"DEMOLITION GUST!!"
Then, as Kaidou blew out numerous sharp arcs of wind, they were instantly set aflame as they traveled toward Smoker. With a stoic expression, Smoker soared up at the descending Kaidou, easily evading the fast-traveling arcs of fire.
As Smoker neared his proximity, Kaidou, who's been expecting Smoker, morphed his body into his hybrid form, within a split second. His body, still set aflame by the power of his 'red cloud' along with his blazing kanabo, inflated as he poured in his strength into his muscles.
"Thunder..."
On the other hand, Smoker's left hand sucked in all the available smoke that was formed just before. Said hand glowed brightly in white as if it was empowered by said smoke. Clenching it tight, his fist was then shot forth at Kaidou's kanabo,
"...FLAME BELLOW BAGUA!!!"
or so Kaidou believed as Smoker's fist met his kanabo, before the fist disappeared with the puff of smoke.
Simultaneously, Smoker morphed the right part of his body into smoke, shifted said smoke to the left, and let Kaidou's kanabo swing past him harmlessly.
Kaidou's eyes widened, and Smoker's palm landed right on his chest.
'Arcane Impact.'
From Kaidou's eyes and mouth, the bright light was emitted as Smoker's strike landed. The air rippled with Kaidou in the center, and Kaidou was then silently blown into the horizon—until he crashed onto one island with the skull-like dome in the middle, Onigashima.
Then, the sky-quaking noise was heard—indicating the might of the force behind Smoker's attack.
Meanwhile, Smoker's body reformed as he stared at the distant Onigashima.
"...A petty trick."
Standing back up from a crater that he created upon his crash, Kaidou bickered. The red cloud had returned to his shoulders, drawing the fire out of his body.
"It isn't that your Observation Haki is superior. It's simply that you tricked my future sight..."
The future that Kaidou read had Smoker meeting his attack with a punch. And indeed, that did happen—except it was Smoker's clone who did that, rather than Smoker himself.
Kaidou raised his head to the sky grimly.
All of a sudden, the sky was no longer clear. Loads of smoke flooded in and swirled dangerously.
"Hmph."
Snorting, Kaidou propelled himself back up to the sky. His body morphed back into his Zoan form, and he roared as he flew toward where Smoker hovered by.
"DON'T YOU DARE THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME THAT EASILY, WHITE HUNTER!!!"
Smoker's figure flickered. His body became smokey. His hair lengthened even further, becoming something akin to a smoke in quality. Similarly to Kaidou, his eyes revealed a crimson colour, one that spoke might.
Arcane Drive. That was the name that Smoker gave to this technique. Arcane it was, for he himself didn't properly understand what this power was.
'...I know very well,'
Thought Smoker as he watched Kaidou fly at him,
'that I am yet to completely awaken this fruit.'
The sky then began to rain. However, instead of the usual water, what Kaidou saw was the rain of white smoke.
The entire area, as if it was being painted by the white smoke, met the droplets of white smoke. It was a bizarre scene to witness, for this meant that smoke somehow attained a density greater than the air.
If so, just how much smoke was Smoker containing in the sky above?
Ignoring this phenomenon around him, Kaidou roared as his body blazed in a red fire once again. He twisted his draconic body as he continued flying at Smoker. The fire-made construct began to form into the existence, surrounding Kaidou. It roared along with Kaidou, and by the time Kaidou was a mere seconds away from Smoker, what appeared was a fire dragon of a tremendous size—one that even surpassed Jack at his Zoan form by a hundredfold.
If they were to talk about the size alone, Smoker was nothing but a peasant in front of this fire dragon.
"FIRE DRAGON GREAT TORCH!!!"
Watching as the terror unfolded in front of his sight, Smoker imagined.
The strongest creature that he could think of, one that would defeat even the fire dragon in front of him—one that could win against the Strongest Creature in the World.
"Come."
From the surface of the swirling cloud above, the face of a dragon surfaced. Descending, its neck, body, tail—they were formed by the smoke, in correspondence to what Smoker imagined.
Flying at a size that matched Kaidou's fire dragon, the dragon of smoke roared ferociously without yielding.
Arcane Dragon.
Two dragons then collided, biting each other on the neck. The fire and smoke danced together as they spun at the site of the collision. The sparks of black lightning arose as two wills of Conqueror's Haki repelled one another.
From the sheer amount of energy that was involved in this clash, the light shone, brightly, in the dark surroundings illuminated by the dim moonlight.
"Justice, righteousness, ambition... there is no point in any of them if there is no strength."
Smoker, who continued to gush in the huge volume of smoke into the dragon of smoke, muttered to himself.
"I lost many friends. I wasn't able to act on behalf of my belief. Since then, I promised myself that I won't lose again."
Unlike Kaidou who shouldered nothing but himself, there were countless on Smoker's shoulders. The weight that they carried at their back differed.
"And therefore... naturally, I win against you."
So what if Kaidou's raw strength surpassed him? Fair and square? In a war, there was no such thing as petty tricks.
The air trembled as the smoke dragon and fire dragon continued to push forth into each other, harbouring nothing but a will to destroy their enemies.
"WHITE HUNTER!!!"
Kaidou roared as he supplemented his fire dragon with the built-up rage in him. The Conqueror's Haki within him surfaced at its full might and demonstrated his will to achieve domination unto this world.
The black lightning wildly crackled. Kaidou, seemingly crazed, began to push through the smoke dragon with the strengthened fire dragon. By using all his might, Kaidou was on the winning side of the struggle.
Watching Kaidou impassively, Smoker snapped his fingers.
Mysteriously, the droplets of white smoke ceased to fall. Abruptly stopping in the middle of the air, they made it seem as if the time itself stopped.
The cloud that continued to supply the smoke dragon fluctuated.
The droplets of smoke began to rotate in an orderly fashion.
Then, the cloud rumbled down the ray of lightning.
The droplets of smoke became gigantic storms around Kaidou and his fire dragon.
Numerous hands of gigantic size appeared from the cloud. Stretching themselves, they grabbed onto Kaidou's fire dragon and began to yank it as if trying to rip them apart.
The smoke dragon, in this situation, continued to bite into the neck of the fire dragon.
The rays of lightning slammed onto all parts of the fire dragon relentlessly.
The storms entrapped the fire dragon and began to chip away its fiery scales.
Kaidou found himself locked in the catastrophe of the smoke. He found it difficult to breathe as the Conqueror's Haki of equal might slammed in from the smoke all around him.
Before Kaidou knew, his Fire Dragon Great Torch was crumbling down. Piece by piece, it lost a shred of fire. Its intensity weakened. It's light weakened.
Feeling as if his will itself was being shredded into pieces, Kaidou watched as the fire dragon around him left him, leaving him bare-skinned in front of the catastrophe.
One of the three Catastrophes of the world, the ruler of New World.
The Strongest Creature in the World.
The King of the Beasts.
'Is this it?'
Kaidou thought to himself as the smoke slammed onto him from all directions.
'The war that I dreamed for, the One Piece that I am so close to—'
Then, his eyes became bloodshot.
"NO!!!"
In front of One Piece, Kaidou lost his pride as a warrior. What remained him was Kaidou as the pirate, one who was willing to do anything to achieve his goals.
Still in his azure dragon form, Kaidou pushed against the smoke, lightning, and everything that was in his way. His body bled and received countless strikes, but he endured no matter how pitiful it may seem.
He roared with all his might. Most of the azure scales were lost, and instead of the magnificent azure dragon, there was a crimson dragon that seemed nigh dead.
"Huff... huff..."
Nonetheless, Kaidou managed to withstand the might of smoke.
"Huff... huff... you... you won't stop me..."
Smoker, who was sweating profusely from the utilization of his awakened ability, frowned as he gazed at Kaidou. The enigmatic form that he took on earlier has disappeared, returning him to his original state.
Kaidou growled. His bloodshot eyes glared at Smoker murderously.
Then, he flew—not toward Smoker, but to elsewhere.
Yes, Kaidou was fleeing.
Smoker's eyes narrowed. Not having expected this future, he quickly chased after Kaidou, knowing that the man was up to no good.
'What is it that you're planning, Kaidou?'
"The strongest... huff... huff... is the one who survives..."
In Kaidou's sight entered the destination in his mind.
The Flower Capital—the place in which there stood countless civilians along with the man named Kyoshiro and the oiran Komurasaki, which indicated a successful revolt against the Kurozumi family.
Kaidou concentrated, and as he did so, the red cloud appeared back on the neck of his dragon form.
As he opened his mouth wide, the red cloud swirled into the ball of concentrated fire, intensifying it by numerous times.
Flying from the back, Smoker caught onto this. For the first time, he found his eyes widened as they met Kaidou's bloodshot, shrewd eyes.
'If you truly are as righteous as they say...'
The wide beam of fire was blasted from Kaidou's mouth,
'You will, without a doubt...!!'
And just as Kaidou thought, Smoker traveled at his fastest speed. Appearing right above the Flower Capital, he activated his 'Arcane Drive', ignoring the fact that his nose was bleeding from the stress of using it.
Kaidou forced a shaky grin onto his face. Smoker quickly morphed everything available nearby into smoke and formed a shield—
BOOOOOOM!
The sky of Flower Capital exploded in a mix of smoke and fire. Everyone, shocked by the sudden explosion, watched as the dark sky had become a bright crimson for the moment.
And through the explosion, one figure was knocked away from the sky and crashed onto the ground.
"K-Kaidou...?"
One civilian whispered as he saw the red dragon full of wounds, bleeding all over.
"What?! That's Kaidou?!"
Civilians spoke in fear, unable to believe that Kaidou was reduced to such a state.
However, it was always the wounded beast that was the most dangerous.
The King of the Beasts, morphing his body back to his human form and landing in the middle of the Flower Capital, watched in silence as a figure stood back up in the crater that was covered by dust.
"...Desperate, aren't you."
Smoker, spitting out the blood in his mouth, remarked.
"Worororo..."
Finding a glimmer of hope, Kaidou's grin returned.
"Who wouldn't be, huff... huff... if they were to be one step away from reaching the One Piece?!"
The battle wasn't over yet, it seemed.
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