"What's wrong, old pal? Don't tell me you're scared?"
"How could I be? I'm also a Marine Fleet Admiral. Since that's the case, let's go crazy just this once."
Strategy can have a huge impact on war, that is, as long as your opponent isn't someone like Kaido, a monster with overwhelming power who fights without restraint. To defeat such a monster, you can only try to crush him head-on with sheer strength.
Seeing that Zephyr had made up his mind, Sengoku didn't try to stop him any further.
This was a battle chosen by a veteran soldier—Sengoku had no reason to stop him from gambling his life to wipe out pirates.
Watching Zephyr and Sengoku walking toward him, Kaido came to a halt.
He'd originally planned to go check on how things were going with Whitebeard, but apparently these two Marines weren't ready to give up just yet.
"I'm not interested in the two of you anymore."
"Don't get cocky, pirate. This is Marineford—this is a battlefield!"
"You think this is some playground where you can just do as you like?!"
Sengoku threw off the Justice cloak draped over his shoulders, revealing his muscular upper body.
His body began to expand rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, a massive golden Buddha appeared in Marineford.
The golden Buddha's massive form shimmered with radiant halos behind it, and lotus-like flame ribbons swirled gently around his body.
Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha Form – Awakened.
"Worororo, thanks for the reminder. It's been so long since I've seen such a wonderful battlefield, I almost forgot this was a war."
With so many available targets, Kaido had actually lost sight of what war truly meant. This wasn't a game. This was a place where life and death were on the line.
Seeing Sengoku transform once more into the Buddha, and the determined look on Zephyr's face, Kaido stopped playing around and adopted a serious battle stance.
To Kaido, facing a true opponent meant giving them death—letting them die honorably in battle. That was his form of respect.
At the same time, a halo rose up behind Sengoku, expanding as it climbed into the sky,
and eventually enveloping Kaido, King, and the others.
It formed a dome-shaped curtain of light, and even the ground was bathed in Sengoku's radiant golden glow.
This was the ability Zephyr had just spoken of.
Relying on the power of the Buddha Fruit, Sengoku could create a special space,
a domain cut off from the outside world, like a completely independent realm.
The soft golden light was a special power just as solid as his Buddha body. With this, Sengoku could use a restraining ability far stronger than Doflamingo's Birdcage.
Within this space, the power of the Dyna Stones could be fully utilized. While minimizing damage to the outside world, they could deal significantly greater destruction to the targets inside.
"Worororo, how interesting. Afraid I'll run away? Don't worry—since you still want to fight, I'll gladly play along to the end. But don't expect me to stop midway this time. You'd better be prepared to die—otherwise, this is going to be boring."
Kaido, who had previously cancelled his transformation, now re-entered his Human-Beast form. Flame clouds coiled around his body, and as if he had just seen something amusing, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
The smile on his face grew even more pronounced.
"King, Shayna, protect yourselves. Also, don't interfere in my fight—no matter what happens, stay out of it!"
"Boss Kaido, you…"
"Just watch, King. Don't be like Queen and Yamato, always making me worry!"
"Understood. I got it."
Exchanging a glance with Shayna, King and Shayna flew up into the air and eventually stopped at the edge of the golden light barrier.
"Should we break it?"
Shayna measured the light barrier with her hands a couple of times. If necessary, breaking it with the Red Chain wouldn't be difficult.
"Forget it. Since Boss Kaido said not to interfere, this should also be part of the fight."
"Then we'll leave it alone. But just now, someone from the Genesis messaged me—Lord Sacred Beast and the others are already close by. If this drags on too long, it won't be good."
"That fast?"
"What else did you expect? Lord Sacred Beast already got what he needed. Things are going smoothly on Olga and Jack's side too. Even though there was a situation on Zeraora's end, it's already been taken care of."
"Now all that's left is Mr. Kaido's side. This war doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon."
"The person on Whitebeard's side still hasn't been rescued, right? Take a guess—do you think they'll succeed?"
"I don't know. Hero Garp isn't easy to deal with. It all depends on how far he's willing to go."
The Blackbeard Pirates were completely broken up by their joint attack, Conquest of the Sea. Those who weren't killed were seriously injured. That area of ruins was also covered by Sengoku's light barrier, so none of them were in a rush. Whether those people can even survive the aftermath of the battle is still unknown.
For Kaido to actually take the time to warn them to be careful, no matter how you look at it, the battle ahead won't be easy.
"Buddha's Impact!"
Sengoku's right palm struck toward Kaido, the massive shockwave momentarily halting Kaido's movement, while Zephyr's Smasher smashed toward Kaido's face.
But Kaido's reaction was oddly strange. Even though he had other ways to block it, he chose to use Protect directly.
"Come on, don't just stand there—show me your trump card! I'm even cooperating this much, and you're still hesitating?"
Zephyr in the prime of his life might've interested Kaido, but the aged and disease-ridden Zephyr in front of him could no longer satisfy Kaido in battle.
Even with a Seastone weapon, at most, he was just someone Kaido needed to pay slight attention to.
He had seen something in the Future Vision—that's why he acted this way.
"You'll regret this, Kaido!"
Kaido's actions didn't shake Zephyr's resolve. His left wrist turned pitch black as he struck toward Kaido in front of him.
As his fist collided with Kaido's, the Smasher had already crushed the device surrounding the Dyna Stone. The moment it came into contact with oxygen, the pressure from the mechanical arm was also applied directly onto the Dyna Stone.
A purple light filled with the threat of death surged from Zephyr's Smasher. But Zephyr didn't throw it—instead, he held onto it and charged straight toward Kaido.
"Zephyr!"
Zephyr's action caught Sengoku off guard. He had assumed Zephyr would treat it like a bomb, throwing it and retreating immediately. But instead, Zephyr chose to hold it and press it toward Kaido's face, determined to leave no opportunity for Kaido to resist it.
Boom! Boom!
The explosion of the Dyna Stone unleashed a vast, purple torrent. Waves of purple energy surged violently within the space Sengoku had created, quickly filling the entire area.
Due to the restrictions of Sengoku's ability, the explosion's aftermath had nowhere to escape. It could only keep accumulating, eventually reaching the upper limit of Sengoku's power.
Thus, a second explosion followed. However, under Sengoku's influence, the shockwave only burst upward and didn't spread outward.
Once Sengoku's technique was broken through, the entire Marineford witnessed the terrifying purple mushroom cloud, and with Buggy's live broadcast, it was successfully transmitted to the whole world.
"Cough, cough… That sure made a scene."
High above, Shayna dispelled her Protect barrier, but immediately started coughing from the smoke. Beside her, King didn't stay idle either—he flapped his wings, stirring up a violent gust to blow away the explosion's lingering smoke below.
At the epicenter of the explosion, Kaido and Zephyr stood perfectly still.
Zephyr's right arm—and the Smasher with it—had disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
Yet his body remained upright, still locked in the posture of having just thrown a punch.
In front of him, Kaido suddenly moved. He reached out and wiped the corner of his mouth, looked at the blood on his arm, and began laughing again.
"Worororo… That really packed a punch! Now that's more like it!"
Using Protect consecutively doesn't render it ineffective—it only reduces its success rate. But Kaido hadn't used Protect or any other defensive technique just now. Instead, he took the Dyna Stone's explosion head-on with his own body.
If even Zephyr, a Non-Ability User, dared to use the Dyna Stone like that, Kaido felt he had no reason to back down.
And it proved to be powerful—but still not enough.
"You're a worthy warrior. I…"
Kaido raised his kanabo again, intending to land the final blow on Zephyr. But he abruptly stopped—not out of mercy, but because there was no need.
Taking a Dyna Stone explosion at such close range, Zephyr had no Zoan-type ability to bolster him, and his physical condition was already poor. Though he was still standing, his vital signs were long gone.
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