After all three types of Haki ascended to the Grandmaster Realm, Kaito could feel his strength rise to a whole new level.
His thoughts raced, and hesitation vanished. The Emperor Engine in his chest roared to life, pounding at full power.
Boom—Boom—Boom—!!!
The sound, like the heartbeat of the primordial cosmos, erupted as crimson-gold energy surged from his body, boiling like molten lava.
Within a hundred meters, the very air solidified—transformed into a viscous, mercury-like domain. Gravity warped. Light bent. Nothing remained except the crushing weight of pure Imperial might.
Rumble—
Behind Kaito, a colossal phantom of an Emperor slowly materialized, towering a hundred meters tall.
It wore a golden dragon robe and a crown of kingship, its face nine-tenths similar to Kaito's, yet steeped in an ancient majesty that time itself seemed to obey.
The instant the phantom appeared, the entire spaceship shuddered under the weight of its aura.
Every S-Class Hero on deck snapped to attention. The sheer pressure wasn't aimed at them, yet it gripped their souls, leaving them shaken and wide-eyed.
"King! What kind of trick are you pulling now?" Tatsumaki demanded, her emerald eyes narrowing.
Others, still stunned from the Moon battle, turned their gazes to Kaito, bewildered.
Kaito didn't answer. He stood with his back to them, aloof and untouchable, lips already curved in a faint grin.
His Kenbunshoku Haki had warned him of their reactions long before. He had expected this. After all, if Saitama could show off, then the so-called "Strongest Man on Earth" could hardly sit idly by.
He had to make his presence known.
With a mere thought, Kaito unleashed it—his Haoshoku Haki at its Grandmaster peak.
Boom—!!!
It was like thunder splitting the heavens, but this time on the spiritual plane.
The phantom behind him trembled, then blazed with power. Its crown, tempered by searing crimson lightning, shifted and transformed—ascending into the Human Emperor's Crown, an even older, more majestic symbol of authority.
Crimson-gold flames flared violently as serpents of destructive lightning writhed and struck.
The phantom's size exploded outward, swelling like a storm-fed wave. Ten thousand meters. Twenty thousand. It soared endlessly, piercing the skies themselves.
On deck, the S-Class Heroes gaped, struck silent by the impossible sight.
The Human Emperor phantom loomed above like a god, its majesty so absolute it threatened to freeze their very souls.
Even though Kaito's pressure wasn't deliberately directed at them, its overflow alone bent their wills. Instinct screamed at them to kneel.
Superalloy Darkshine was the first to give in. His powerful, steel-like body hit the deck with a thunderous thud.
But there was no shame in his eyes—only reverence. To him, kneeling before such overwhelming strength was natural. It was respect made flesh.
Others like Atomic Samurai, Bang, and Flashy Flash resisted, teeth clenched, pride forcing them to stand. Yet their hearts churned.
They had already seen Saitama's moon-shattering strength. Now they were forced to face Kaito's overwhelming presence. Two different pinnacles—one of power, the other of majesty—hammered their pride without mercy.
What remained was shock… and a creeping sense of inferiority.
[Ding! Successfully awed the S-Class Heroes with Imperial Might. Deterrence Points +1400!]
The system's voice chimed in Kaito's mind, sweet and intoxicating. His grin threatened to spread wider, but he forced his expression into cool indifference.
The image of the aloof, unshakable King had to be maintained.
And this was only the beginning.
"Next…" Kaito muttered inwardly, focusing sharply. "—Kenbunshoku."
His Grandmaster Kenbunshoku Haki surged outward, merging seamlessly with the titanic phantom.
Buzz—!!!
A low, invisible hum vibrated through the void itself.
The Human Emperor phantom grew again, its form breaking through one hundred thousand meters. Its robe shifted, no longer just a golden dragon's mantle.
Now the fabric held the universe itself—sun, moon, and stars spun upon it; mountains and rivers flowed; all living beings toiled in vivid, ceaseless motion.
It became the Human Emperor Robe, the garment that encompassed heaven and earth, the symbol of dominion over all.
The phantom's might climbed again, surging past limits.
The pressure no longer felt "heavy."
It was the crushing will of the cosmos itself, descending mercilessly upon all below.
And on the deck, the situation shifted drastically.
Atomic Samurai, Bang, Flashy Flash, and the others—who had barely managed to remain standing before—now felt as if mountains ten thousand meters tall were pressing down upon their shoulders.
Their knees trembled. Their bones creaked.
Faces pale and drenched in sweat, they could no longer endure. Under a pressure as vast and merciless as heaven's will itself, they collapsed—some on one knee, others on both—humiliation twisting across their features.
Only Tatsumaki resisted. Her psychokinesis flared violently, emerald light bursting around her in jagged waves. Her body shook, her teeth clenched tight around her lower lip as she floated stubbornly, refusing to fall.
But she was on the edge. The slightest crack in her focus, and she would be forced to kneel like the others.
And yet—even Kaito was not unscathed.
The power of the three Grandmaster Haki raged within the phantom like colliding stars, repelling each other, threatening to tear his condensed "presence" apart from the inside. Veins throbbed across his forehead, his body screaming under the strain.
Still, his gaze burned with unshakable resolve.
"It's not over yet—!" Kaito roared. "Armament!"
The Grandmaster Realm Armament Haki surged forth, a torrent of refined offense and defense, flowing into the colossal phantom.
Crack—!!!
The sound was like the cosmic barrier itself being torn open by sheer force.
Dark, indestructible energy wrapped the phantom, fortifying it with unbreakable hardness and irresistible might. Its aura sharpened into something absolute, a force that could cleave through anything.
The phantom's size skyrocketed again, shattering the limits of comprehension.
One hundred thousand meters. Five hundred thousand. One million.
It towered beyond reason.
Below, the massive Dark Matter Thieves' spaceship—which once blotted out the sky—was now nothing more than a toy, something the phantom could cradle in its palm.
This was no longer the image of a Human Emperor.
No.
It was the Celestial Emperor—a being that reigned over all heavens, standing at the peak of existence, its phantom presence alone threatening to crush the cosmos itself.
Patreon Rene_chan , currently at chapter 96