Kozuki Oden charged forward like an out-of-control bull. The pure desire for battle burned in his eyes, and he completely ignored the shocked expressions on the faces of the Roger Pirates. A few of the quicker crew members roared and drew their weapons, stepping forward to block his path, but Oden casually swept them aside with a backhanded swing of his two swords.
The blades didn't cut them, but the sheer force of the impact sent the men tumbling through the air, their bones rattling. They landed in a heap on the sand, unable to get back up.
"Gangan: Oni!" Oden laughed loudly, his twin blades, Ame no Habakiri and Enma, dancing in his hands like bolts of black lightning. He wasn't paying attention to who was in front of him; he just wanted to smash through everything and get to the treasure.
"Is this guy... a monster?" Buggy whispered from behind a rock, so scared that his big red nose seemed to turn a few shades paler.
Jabba hefted his twin axes and looked at Rayleigh. "We need to stop him, Rayleigh. If he keeps this up, someone's going to get seriously hurt."
"You're right," Rayleigh said, pushing up his glasses. His right hand was already resting on the hilt of his sword, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Just as the two of them were about to team up and subdue the uninvited guest, a figure blew past them with even greater speed, stirring up a gust of wind.
"Rayleigh, Jabba, I've got this!" Roger said excitedly, blocking their path. He turned back to them with a grin so wide and bright it was almost blinding. "Can't let you two get hurt now, can I?"
Rayleigh's hand immediately relaxed on his sword. The corner of his mouth twitched.
He just wants to fight, Rayleigh complained silently in his head before taking a step back.
Seeing another tall man blocking his path, Oden only became more excited. He raised his swords high, his powerful aura surging as he prepared to cut down this new opponent, who seemed to be the strongest of them all.
"Hello there, samurai!" Roger called out.
In the next second, Roger drew his cutlass, Ace, and swung it forward with incredible force.
"Divine Departure!"
A visible slash, wrapped in the black and red lightning of Conqueror's Haki, shot forward at an impossible speed. It wasn't just a sword slash; it was a pure, condensed torrent of Haki.
"Wh—"
The wild smile on Oden's face froze instantly, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks. He didn't even have time to cross his swords to block before the destructive power slammed squarely into his chest.
"BOOM—!!!"
Oden was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut, as if he'd been hit by an invisible giant hammer. He crashed through the first coconut tree on the beach, but his momentum didn't stop. He smashed through seven or eight more sturdy trees before finally embedding himself deep inside a massive boulder in the jungle, letting out a deafening roar of impact. Smoke and dust filled the air, and splinters of wood rained down everywhere.
Leaning against a nearby tree, Kyle silently adjusted his sunglasses, which had slipped down his nose. Well now, he thought with a smirk. That's the spirit. Got to make the Kozuki Clan proud.
Deep in the jungle, there was a struggling sound from the crack in the boulder. Kozuki Oden staggered out, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He looked down at his chest in disbelief, then looked back at Roger in the distance.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
He had been taken down with just one strike. But the intense pain didn't scare him. Instead, it ignited an even fiercer fire in his samurai soul.
"Oooohhhh!" Oden let out a roar like a wild beast. Ignoring his injuries, he dug his feet into the ground and charged straight at Roger once again.
"Oden!" Marco and the others, who had just reached the beach, cried out in alarm.
Just then, an even larger shadow fell over the entire area.
"Gurarararara!"
A laugh that sounded like thunder descended from the sky, and the colossal figure of Edward Newgate landed like a meteor. He completely ignored his reckless "brother," his hawk-like eyes locked firmly on Roger.
Without a single word, he gripped his naginata, Murakumogiri, with both hands, his muscles bulging. He swung the massive blade down at Roger's head with enough force to split the entire island in two.
"Newgate!"
Roger's smile grew even wider, filled with a pure joy that came from the depths of his soul—the joy of meeting a true rival. He didn't dodge or try to evade the world-destroying attack. Instead, he took a powerful step forward.
Crack—
The ground beneath his feet shattered like a spiderweb. At the same time, he swung his own sword upward to meet Whitebeard's naginata. The two Supreme Grade Blades raced toward each other in the air.
But they never touched.
They stopped just inches apart.
A power far more terrifying than the blades themselves erupted between the two weapons. Black and red lightning from their Conqueror's Haki intertwined and clashed violently, forming a visible sphere of crackling energy that let out a piercing shriek. In that moment, the very sky seemed to tear apart.
BOOM!!
The deafening roar was followed by a shockwave that flattened everything. A violent blast of air spread out from the two men in every direction. The sand beneath their feet was carved out into a massive chasm, and the surrounding trees were ripped from the ground and thrown high into the sky. Every pirate, whether they were an elite from Roger's crew or a commander from Whitebeard's, was blown off their feet.
Even Kyle, who had been casually lounging against a tree, sat up straight, a glint of appreciation in his eyes. The gale-force winds of the shockwave parted around him, not daring to touch a single hair on his head.
When the last of the shockwave finally faded, the sky above looked like a torn piece of cloth, struggling to mend itself. The ground looked as if a giant had scooped out a massive chunk with a spoon, leaving a shocking crater behind. The elites of the Roger Pirates and the commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates all stood in silence, gripping their weapons and staring at the two men at the center of the storm.
After that one clash, Roger and Whitebeard separated, each standing on opposite sides of the cracked earth, holding his blade.
"Gurararara..." Whitebeard grinned, his iconic crescent mustache curving upward. "You're looking lively, Roger."
Roger rested Ace on his shoulder, wearing the same wild and carefree smile. "It's been a few years, hasn't it, Newgate?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the two of them, as if by some unspoken agreement, burst into thunderous laughter at the same time.
"Kuhahaha!"
"Gurararara!"
Their laughter was filled with the joy of seeing an old friend and the deep respect they had for each other's strength. This wasn't a battle between enemies. It was a greeting between two old friends, delivered in the most direct and savage way they knew.
Then, the laughter stopped abruptly.
In the next second, the two emperors of the sea, at the exact same time and in the exact same non-negotiable tone, issued the ultimate pirate challenge to one another.
"Leave all your belongings behind!"
"Leave all your belongings behind!"
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