However, Wang Zhi was a great pirate whose name had shaken the seas for decades.
He ruled the New World for years; there was no possibility he would simply surrender.
And it was even less possible for him to bow to a younger upstart like Souta Kiryuu.
As the water-drop tattoo on the back of Wang Zhi's left hand began to glow blue, dark clouds surged overhead, and within moments the sky broke into torrential rain.
The lightning totem on his right hand erupted in dazzling golden sparks, and a roaring bolt of thunder split toward Souta Kiryuu.
Souta merely smirked as the downpour flooded over him.
This rain couldn't hinder him at all—
in fact, due to the abilities of his Mythical Zoan: Kappa Form, the water only enhanced his regeneration, restoring stamina and vitality.
Raising his draconic claw, Souta directly caught the lightning that Wang Zhi sent crashing toward him, gripping it firmly as if holding a physical object.
As a Divine Dragon, he was just as proficient in lightning as Wang Zhi—if not more so.
"Your attacks can't touch me," Souta said mildly.
"You're disappointing me."
Every totem ability Wang Zhi had shown so far—lightning, flame, rain—Souta could not only use, but use more effectively.
"In fact… this weather is actually perfect for me."
Souta's enormous dragon form spiraled upward into the storm clouds Wang Zhi had summoned, his long serpentine body coiling and rolling like he was born in the heart of the storm.
"Now you try my lightning."
"Heaven-Thundering Roar: Wrath of the Nine Skies!"
The dragon's jaws opened—
and a thunderous bellow shook the very atmosphere.
This was a King's Haki technique Souta had learned from Topman Valkyrie of the Five Elders—a terrifying fusion of lightning and Conqueror's Haki.
Streaks of lightning—gold, black, red, and silver—crashed downward like a storm meant to shatter galaxies.
Souta believed that even Gear 5 Sun God Luffy would take damage from this attack.
This was no ordinary lightning—
it was lightning infused with Conqueror's Haki, both destructive and oppressive beyond reason.
Wang Zhi's massive black wings beat frantically, his figure desperately trying to escape the crushing pressure of the incoming thunder.
"Aaaaaaah!!"
His scream tore through the storm as the attack hit.
The totemic wings on his back flickered and warped—
even disconnecting briefly from his body in the chaos of the impact.
The venomous black serpent and miniature black dragon coiled around his arms were nearly torn free.
Lightning, Conqueror's Haki, and pure destructive might ravaged his body—
scorching him until black smoke curled from his skin.
Wang Zhi gasped, chest heaving, disbelief filling his eyes.
"Your… your Conqueror's Haki… how…?"
How could someone possess devil fruit power of this level, and also wield Conqueror's Haki beyond even Kaido's?
Shanks had no devil fruit, and because of that, he had honed his Haki to the apex.
But Souta—
Souta had both.
His Conqueror's Haki rivaled Shanks'.
His physical might surpassed Kaido's.
And his mythical Zoan power was overwhelming.
He was everything the strongest pirates were—
combined.
"My ambition and vision surpass both Kaido and Shanks," Souta said, his voice calm, his presence immense.
"So naturally, my Haki surpasses theirs."
"Lightning-Dragon Great Torch: Divine Descent!"
Souta laughed as he absorbed more lightning from the clouds.
His dragon form turned brilliant gold—
and he plunged downward.
A thunder dragon thousands of meters long fell from the heavens like the wrath of a god.
Pirates on Beehive Island looked up, faces drained of blood.
"That—That's not a power humans can have!"
"Is that a god descending?!"
Wang Zhi was already locked in place.
There was no escape.
The pressure alone made movement impossible.
This power eclipsed even Kaido's Flame Dragon Torch.
"No! Why does a monster like you exist in this world!?"
"Totem True Form — Divine Eagle Strike!!"
Combining himself with his ancient thunder-flame eagle totem, Wang Zhi dove upward—
a last, furious, desperate clash.
The massive divine eagle collided with the colossal lightning dragon—
while the black serpent and black dragon totems ripped free and launched themselves to help.
Wang Zhi poured everything he had into weakening Souta.
The Curse Totem of Weakening Disease surged—trying to drain Souta's strength.
Souta's grin turned sharp.
"Those who fail to refine their Haki are abandoned by the heavens."
"You were always too weak."
He ignored the black serpent and dragon—
his lightning and Conqueror's Haki disintegrated them.
His Armament Haki shredded Wang Zhi's weakening curse.
And the golden thunder dragon slammed into Wang Zhi's divine eagle form—
BOOOOOOM!!!
An explosion like the sky tearing apart split the world.
Waves over ten meters high surged outward.
Beehive Island shook violently, nearly cracking.
Storm winds cut across the battlefield like blades.
Pirates froze mid-combat, trembling.
"M-Monstrous power…"
"Lord Wang Zhi—!!!"
"That Souta Kiryuu… how is he that strong?!"
The result was immediate.
Wang Zhi's thunder-flame eagle form burst apart—
and his burnt, broken body fell from the sky like a meteor trailing smoke.
"Captain!!"
The Teleportation Fruit user, Shiro Yule, broke through a Seraph's gravity suppression, took a direct blow from Bartholomew Kuma, spat blood—
—but teleported anyway.
He caught Wang Zhi mid-fall.
But—
"I have already seen your future."
Souta appeared above them instantly—
eyes glowing with eerie red light.
Two dragon claws closed.
Wang Zhi and Shiro Yule were both seized.
Conqueror's Haki wrapped around Armament Haki—
Shiro Yule tried to activate teleportation—
but could not.
Bones shattered.
He screamed once—
—and passed out.