The heavy, forceful slash landed directly on King's chest,
But aside from deepening the crater beneath him, it seemed to have no other effect.
"Is that so?"
Perhaps it was the sense of mockery, or maybe the fact that he had finally encountered a swordsman strong enough,
A pair of cold, piercing eyes emerged from the black blade—Yoru—staring icily at King before him.
"Nani?!"
Seeing the opponent's sword suddenly speak, King, already caught off guard, now looked completely stunned.
But the next moment, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time—pain—shot through his nerves and surged straight to his brain.
He… got broken through?
The slash that had previously been blocked now flashed across his body, and the blood that sprayed into the air mirrored that of Kaido's chest wound just moments ago.
"This… how is this possible!!!"
Now exposed, King's body erupted in fierce flames, temporarily forcing Mihawk back before he could deliver another blow.
At that moment, Mihawk's attention shifted to his sword. Looking at those sharp, intimidating eyes, it was the first time he had ever heard Yoru speak.
When King rose again in rage, he found—
Four cold eyes locked onto him simultaneously, radiating the killing intent of top-tier swordsmen.
...
"They're doing pretty damn well, those two."
Within Orin's Observation Haki range, he saw the battle between King and the young Mihawk, as well as the group of new underworld followers he had just taken in.
Although the other officers of the Beasts Pirates weren't present, these ones here clearly weren't all of Orin's combat power either.
After all, just Doflamingo alone could easily take on the Tobiroppo.
Of course, this was merely comforting to see.
To Orin, anyone below an emperor's right-hand man could be instantly killed. He didn't need to apply any pressure himself.
But Orin didn't want to do everything personally. Watching his forces grow like this was quite entertaining.
Right?
"Hey!!! Orin!! You bastard, you're still distracted in the middle of a fight?!!"
Already heavily wounded, Kaido flew into a rage upon seeing Orin paying attention to another battlefield. He swung his kanabo at Orin's head with a roar.
With a sonic boom and wrapped in Conqueror's Haki Infusion, the spiked club, in Kaido's draconic hybrid form, reached terrifying levels of speed and power.
Big Mom at the side had also grown furious—especially after Orin's wide, destructive attacks, which resembled plowing a field.
Countless cake castle structures were destroyed, and the intense battle only heightened Big Mom's craving for sweets. She began to go wild.
Her body fat rapidly burned away, and for a moment, she even regained the grace of her youth.
At this point, the two of them hadn't yet reached their future peak states,
But they already possessed solid strength at the threshold of the Emperor class.
Don't be fooled by how Kaido and Kozuki Oden fought evenly—it may look unimpressive—
But as someone who had sailed with Roger, Orin knew the truth. Oden was dumb, sure, but he was no weakling.
Even after taking a king-level slash from Roger head-on, he was still full of life, and though he eventually lost to Whitebeard at his peak—
While far from king-level, he had definitely stepped into the Emperor tier. After all, Oda meant for him to be a heroic figure.
Though the character design wasn't fully successful, the strength setting was absolutely solid.
He might not yet count among the Four Emperors, but his power was already enough to dominate these seas.
Facing the combined assault of two Emperors, Orin felt no panic. On the contrary, he was incredibly excited.
This was a real battle.
Unlike the fights with the Three Admirals, where elemental attacks covered the skies and had to be countered purely with Haki—
Both Kaido of the Beasts and Big Mom Charlotte Linlin
Relied more on their overwhelming physical strength and Haki in battle.
This was the kind of fist-to-flesh battle Orin had been looking forward to for a long time!!!
He clenched his fist!
Orin slowly moved into a punching stance, red cross-shaped light flaring around his fist.
The ground collapsed into a 100-meter-deep crater!
In an instant, he dodged Big Mom's frenzied slash and drove his fist straight toward the kanabo.
The lightning from the collision even affected nearby battlefields, drawing sidelong glances.
Two waves of immense Conqueror's Haki Infusion clashed mid-air without giving way.
But unlike Orin's smiling face, Kaido's expression grew heavier—clearly at a disadvantage.
Sure enough, the next second,
As Orin exerted his strength again, the Thunder Bagua actually began to get pushed back. This was the talent Orin prided himself on—
〖Unmatched Brute Strength〗!!!
Even stronger than Big Mom's—this was raw, terrifying power!!!
At their level of combat, unless there was a huge difference in Conqueror's Haki level, it was hard to distinguish a winner just from the clash of Haki alone.
So talent became the deciding weight on the scale.
Grabbing one of the kanabo's spikes, Orin bent his stance slightly and yanked the retreating Kaido into the air.
"???"
Then with a swing, Kaido's draconic body staggered and slammed directly into Big Mom, who was just about to go berserk again.
And this scene was perfectly captured by the news coo flying above.
The shutter click caught Orin's attention.
He shot a glance at the sky.
But unexpectedly, the news coo noticed his gaze and actually saluted him.
Orin couldn't help but laugh.
He decided to leave it be and charged forward with his blade once more.
...
On the other side of Orin—
Kaido, since leaving the Rocks Pirates and going solo, was now feeling frustrated like never before.
The last time he felt like this was when he fought that terrifyingly strong, brute-force old man—Whitebeard.
Not only was every attack broken through, but even in a head-on clash, he couldn't win.
Just like their old captain… Monster Orin!!!
But Kaido, being the battle maniac he was, quickly broke into wild laughter despite his injuries.
"Orah rah rah rah… Let's go even harder!!! Orin!!!"
Big Mom, watching from the side, could tell—if they wanted to stabilize the situation, they had to join forces.
Even if it wasn't her original plan.
At worst, she'd beat Orin into submission first, then force things her way with raw dominance—
Now that her fat had melted away and her figure regained its seductive charm, Linlin's eyes turned red as she schemed inwardly.
"Prometheus!!! Zeus!!!"
"Yes, Mama~"
The adorable sun and cloud instantly transformed into flame and storm at her call, circling around her.
After exchanging a few probing blows, Kaido and Big Mom looked at each other—
The scene strongly resembled the old days in the Rocks Pirates, when the bold younger brother and the gallant older sister fought side by side.
"Hey, Kaido. Let's make this clear—I want his body once we beat Orin."
"Don't forget, you owe me a favor!!"
"...You old hag, you're so damn annoying..."
As their eyes met, Orin instantly felt the hairs on his neck rise. A surge of danger swept over him.
"Don't tell me…"
Red light flashed in Orin's eyes, and a few drops of cold sweat trickled down his cheek.
"Alright then. Let's go together."
Their weapons crossed, crackling with overwhelming Conqueror's Haki lightning, exuding a force capable of destroying everything.
This was the most oppressive move Orin had ever felt—more exaggerated than even the legendary clash between Captain Roger and Whitebeard.
"Hakai!!!"