"Rooaar!!"
"Heat Breath!"
Kaido's massive silhouette burst out from the clouds above. A split-second later, a tidal wave of scorching heat came crashing down from the sky. His breath attack felt like it intended to swallow the entire world in flames.
Compared to Shiki's assault, Kaido's attack was truly merciless—he looked ready to wipe Britannia Island off the map entirely.
"Hmm!"
Arthur's lips curved upward in a mocking grin.
"Yeah, that's definitely Kaido. That guy never holds back—not even a little."
"Jihahahahaha!"
Shiki snorted with amusement.
"Arthur, brat, you're awfully confident! Old me doesn't think very highly of that punk Kaido, but after eating the Azure Dragon Devil Fruit, even his strength's rising fast enough to see with the naked eye!"
Arthur pulled back his gaze, smiling.
"Shiki, don't worry. My opponent is only you. As for Kaido—someone else will handle him."
Crackling lightning.
In the instant they exchanged these words, Arthur and Shiki had already clashed dozens of times again.
Meanwhile—
Kaido's descending inferno was about to strike.
"Hmm?!"
Hugh stepped forward, gripping his naginata, eyes sharp.
"Fine, then! I'll clean this mess up. Since when did every stray mutt dare to come cause trouble in Britannia?"
"Heheheh~"
"Everyone…"
A calm voice spoke behind them.
"You can leave this opponent to me."
The young knight stepped forward with a confident smile. Every pair of eyes turned toward him.
"Hm?"
Galahad, who had just arrived, paused.
Seeing the young knight stepping ahead, he dismissed the enormous shield in his hand and said calmly:
"If Sir Gawain intends to act, then this skirmish ends here."
"Hahahaha!"
The young knight laughed boldly.
"Come now, Galahad! I'm one of the King's Knights of the Round Table. Standing here, how could I possibly allow anyone to bring harm to Britannia?"
Knight of the Round Table — Gawain, Knight of the Sun.
He was one of the two knights Arthur had summoned through the White Chalk Castle to face this crisis.
And honestly—
Arthur hadn't expected to summon Gawain of all people.
Among the Round Table, powerful knights were plentiful. Lancelot, the strongest, was the foster son of the Lady of the Lake and wielder of one of her holy swords. His strength surpassed the others by a full tier.
Mordred was another absolute natural monster.
But among the remaining knights—Gawain was easily among the strongest.
Whoosh!
With a flick of his hand, Gawain summoned his holy sword—
Excalibur Galatine — the Sword of Revolving Victory.
"Hah!"
Wearing a confident smile, Gawain stomped the ground and shot into the sky like a blazing sun. His power erupted in full force.
At a closer look, Kaido's descending flames weren't destroyed—they were being absorbed into Gawain's rising heat.
To be precise—
Neither Gawain nor Galahad were Heroic Spirits with fixed classes.
They were their true selves, summoned in a state just below their peak—but fully capable of recovering and growing stronger.
And as their real selves, their legends mattered.
Gawain was not restricted to the Saber class.
He was Gawain himself—the knight blessed by the Sun.
Excalibur Galatine was rarely mentioned in history, often considered a "shadow sword" of Excalibur.
But it was also a holy sword gifted by the Lady of the Lake—and only Gawain could wield it.
Similarly, Galahad's Sword with the Red Hilt, a blade that should have brought death to its wielder, became a holy sword in his hands—one capable of holding the Holy Grail.
Thus—
Different holy swords only reveal their true power in the hands of their destined knight.
And Galatine—unleashes its true might only when held by Gawain.
"Raghhhh!!!"
Gawain roared as he swung downward from mid-air.
A blinding golden wave of sunlight erupted from his blade—rushing straight toward Kaido.
"Roooar!!"
Kaido bellowed, spewing an endless torrent of wind.
"Demolishing Wind!"
The furious gale clashed with Gawain's solar blast.
BOOOOM!!!
The explosion bloomed into a terrifying mushroom cloud. But Gawain's attack pushed through, breaking Kaido's wind breath and lunging straight for him.
Thud!
Landing upon a high mountain ridge, Gawain smirked proudly.
"Don't underestimate me."
"As one of the Round Table—this level of power is only natural."
Records described Gawain as pure, humble, righteous, the perfect knight.
But few knew—
That was only his everyday demeanor.
In battle?
Gawain was the soaring noonday sun—unstoppable, overwhelming, and impossibly proud.
"Roooar!!"
Kaido burst out of the smoke, injuries healing instantly.
"You little punk!"
He snarled.
"A mere knight caused that to me?! You damn brat—! I'll tear you apart!!"
Gawain remained calm, smiling faintly as he lifted his sword.
"I've never slain a dragon before. But—if slaying you today adds such a tale to my legend—I wouldn't mind at all."
"Hahahaha!"
Hugh let out a booming laugh.
"As expected of Sir Gawain! Who would've thought the mild-mannered knight becomes a blazing sun on the battlefield? Truly shocking!"
Galahad explained softly:
"Sir Gawain is called the Knight of the Sun. He bears the Sun's Blessing. During the day, his strength increases dramatically. At night, it weakens."
"Ohhh!"
Everyone nodded in understanding.
They didn't fully understand the nature of the blessing, but it clearly wasn't something simple.
Galahad watched Gawain closely, eyes filled with quiet awe.
"Sir Gawain has never reached his true limit…"
"To one day become the sun itself…"
"I wonder—"
His whispered words were unheard by the others.
But his expectation was unmistakable.
Because—
None of the Round Table were ordinary men.
Each possessed a power that could transcend humanity—if they could fully unleash it.
If not, they remained powerful mortals—but still mortal.
"Heat Breath!"
"Demolishing Wind!"
"Thunderclap!"
Kaido opened his massive dragon jaws, firing flames, winds, and lightning in succession.
Three different elements, fused with monstrous force.
"As expected…"
"A beast straight out of myth."
"Hmph."
Gawain leapt again. His entire body ignited with blistering heat. The surrounding air evaporated instantly.
"Hah!!"
The heat exploded into an immense wall of fire, devouring all of Kaido's elemental blasts. At temperatures this high, anything—water, ice, matter—was consumed instantly.
And as Gawain's strength grew—
He edged closer to the legendary form Galahad spoke of.
A knight who could burn like the sun itself.
"Thunder Bagua!!"
CLANG!!
Gawain and Kaido collided.
Kaido's monstrous strength pushed down on him—but Gawain's unbearable heat forced Kaido to avoid prolonged contact.
They broke apart instantly.
Thud!
Kaido landed on Shiki's pirate ship, eyes widening.
In just a month—Arthur had acquired a knight of such terrifying power?
Gawain landed on a mountain—
But suddenly the entire island began to tremble beneath him.
"Ah—!"
He instantly suppressed his heat and bowed his head apologetically.
"S-Sorry! I didn't control it properly."
"???"
Even his comrades stared at him blankly.
Who exactly was he apologizing to?
But no one would reveal the secrets of Britannia lightly.
Bullet, meanwhile, continued sweating through brutal training. Even though the outside world was in chaos, he didn't dare slack off.
He couldn't forgive his own weakness.
He trained over and over, pushing himself past his limits—
All to prove that next time, he wouldn't slow Arthur down.
"Your Majesty…"
"Sir Galahad…"
"Next time…"
"Next time…"
"I swear I won't be the one holding everyone back!"
Only Arthur, Gawain, Galahad, and one other knight knew the truth about Britannia Island.
And as Arthur's first candidate for the Round Table, Bullet was granted that privilege.
Meanwhile—
"Kaido?"
"Shut up!"
Kaido snapped at the pirates murmuring behind him.
His strength had skyrocketed since God Valley—the Azure Dragon Fruit turning him into something monstrous.
At this point, he was only slightly weaker than Arthur.
Honestly—
The gap between them had always been small.
But Kaido understood reality well enough.
Despite claiming he would take Britannia by force, he knew it was impossible.
He simply came to pick a fight with Arthur—
because he was no longer part of the Rocks Pirates.
And even back then—
There was no such thing as "companions."
Every Rocks pirate was a lunatic.
They fought together only because dying alone was worse.
Otherwise?
"Companions"?
Don't joke.
Look at Arthur—he had barely established Britannia.
And what happened?
Shiki and Kaido immediately showed up to stir trouble.
Kaido glared savagely at Gawain.
"Arthur's knight… I'll kill you today! You bastard! I'll tear you apart!!"
"ROOOAR!!!"
Kaido fully entered a rampage.
Being pushed back by Arthur's knight—
Was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
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