Seeing Golden Lion Shiki blasted away, Brook knew it was time to pull back. If Shiki, the one keeping Golden Island afloat, lost consciousness, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Redfield, grab Shiki and get out of here! Linlin, be ready to back me up! I’ll hold off Kong for now!"
At Brook’s command, Redfield didn’t hesitate. Today’s battle had shown him the gap between them and a true powerhouse. He hoisted Shiki and bolted toward the Golden Ark.
"Hmph, Brook, you really think you can stop me?"
Kong moved to intercept Shiki, the biggest threat, but Brook’s blade forced him back. Wary of Brook’s soul-slicing attacks, Kong stayed on guard, defending cautiously.
"I’ll admit I can’t beat you yet, but I can sure as hell slow you down! Thanks for showing us the gap between us and an Admiral. Now, take this!"
As Redfield carried Shiki to safety and Linlin circled above on Zeus, Brook unleashed his newly developed forbidden technique. Gripping his sword with both hands, his eyes glowed with eerie blue light.
With a roar, Brook summoned his generals. Their faces twisted in agony as they were drawn into his body. Brook swelled, blue flames erupting across his form.
When the strongest general, Dawei, was absorbed with a furious bellow, Brook’s aura peaked. Even Kong watched warily, sensing the transformed Brook’s power.
Brook’s presence still fell short of Kong’s, but his soul-damaging abilities were now ten times deadlier.
Kong unleashed a three-foot aura of Armament Haki, expanding his defenses. Since Brook wasn’t aiming for a drawn-out fight, Kong decided to go all-in, preparing for a single, decisive clash.
"I’ve got a sword strike. Care to taste it, Admiral Kong?"
Brook’s gathered momentum exploded, his aura sweeping the battlefield. The sky and earth turned ghostly blue, everything frozen in stillness. Even Kong felt his soul stall, forcing him to meet Brook’s attack head-on instead of dodging.
Brook swung his sword, unleashing a hundreds-meter-long cyan soul slash straight at Kong’s fortified defenses. After the strike, Brook’s aura plummeted, his body slumping.
Brook’s exhausted cry snapped Linlin out of the aura’s grip. Heart aching, she scooped him up, hopped onto Zeus, and fled at lightning speed, ignoring the massive explosion behind them.
Kong’s eyes widened at Brook’s ultimate soul slash. The bastard’s technique had frozen his soul for a split second, leaving him immobile. By the time he could move, the terrifying slash was already upon him.
Kong erupted with full-body Armament Haki, turning pitch-black and gleaming like steel. His Haki aura swelled to three meters, grinding against Brook’s devastating strike.
He could handle the sword aura, but the soul-slicing power attached to it was another story. The slash hammered his defenses, clashing and eroding...
The ground around Kong disintegrated into dust. A monstrous gale tore buildings from their foundations, and a deafening explosion echoed. Far off, a wounded Rear Admiral Sengoku anxiously eyed Kong’s position.
Antonio’s news seagull, caught in the blast, was flung skyward but kept filming the catastrophic strike. Iron Shield Island looked like a wasteland.
Evacuated residents and Earl Iron Shield’s troops, now at sea, stared at their ravaged homeland in grief and fury. The Earl clenched his fists, seething.
Twenty years of building Iron Shield City, gone! In the eyes of true powerhouses, his status as a noble of the Valorant Kingdom was a joke.
Kong sensed his boundless Armament Haki finally wearing down Brook’s sword aura. But then, a faint, translucent glimmer of sword energy slipped through his Haki barrier, pierced his blackened skin, and cut through his tempered body.
No wound. No blood. Just a faint sensation of torn muscle. But Kong’s face contorted, his muscles twitching in agony. His Haki aura and blackened skin faded instantly.
Clutching his chest, Kong’s iron will faltered. Pain turned his face pale, sweat pouring as he growled through gritted teeth.
The agony dropped him to one knee. His right hand trembled over his chest, his left crushing dirt into powder as he endured a pain he’d never felt before.
Kong’s roar echoed, but the pain didn’t fade. No amount of recovery or Seimei Kikan could help.
This wasn’t physical damage—his soul’s core had been slashed. He had no idea how to heal it, and the soul-deep pain left him shaking.
Only time could mend such a wound, and only Conqueror’s Haki awakeners could recover faster. For now, Kong would endure relentless torment until his soul healed.
Staggering to his feet, Kong adapted to the unending soul pain. For weeks, maybe months, he’d be sleepless, haunted by this agony.
He’d underestimated the Hell Pirates, a crew forced into the spotlight as overlords. Brook’s Devil Fruit, bypassing his defenses to strike his soul, was his kryptonite.
It made Kong, a master of physical prowess, question whether his path to bodily invincibility was the right one.
Grievously wounded, Shiki barely managed to keep the island aloft. Kong’s calculated, explosive strike had knocked him out of the fight.
"That was insane! I’ve gotta get as strong as you guys!"
Kaido’s eyes blazed with admiration for the battered but returning crew, their strength undimmed by their injuries.
After Crocus treated Shiki’s wounds, he turned to Brook, puzzled about how to heal a ’dead man.’
"Brook, how’s your condition? Any way I can help you recover?"
Never shy to ask, Crocus sought Brook’s guidance. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn noⅴelfire.net
"No need for you yet, Crocus. Linlin, whip up a few Homies for me to munch on!"
Too drained to move, Brook watched as Linlin infused cupcakes with souls, turning them into chatty Homies. Brook devoured them, absorbing their soul energy with each bite.
+188 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg