At Yoriichi's signal, Issho lifted his head and turned his sightless gaze toward the Beasts Pirates in the sky.
Kaido sensed something and twisted his dragon head back toward the shore, locking eyes with the blind swordsman.
"What's wrong, big brother Kaido?"
King flew to Kaido's side, following his captain's gaze to the Marines below. Beneath his mask, a faint smile flickered across his face. This Marine reinforcement was undeniably strong, Yoriichi's pressure was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and even that hawk-eyed swordsman who had struck him earlier was terrifyingly powerful.
But so what? They were still trapped on the ground while he and Kaido soared above. That was the difference. If anything, it was the heavens themselves mocking the Marines, no wings, no way to reach them.
"Hm? That blind man… what's he trying to do? Planning to throw a flying slash at us? That'd be insulting."
King's confidence faltered when he suddenly noticed Issho draw his blade and swing it lightly through the air. Yet no slash came. Confusion spread between Kaido and King.
Then came the sound, boom, boom, boom, dozens of explosive roars, not from below but above.
"What the, ?!"
Both pirate leaders jerked their heads skyward, and their eyes widened. The clear blue had turned into a sea of fire. From beyond the clouds, burning meteors screamed downward, hundreds of them, tearing through the sky.
"M-Meteors?!" Queen, balanced atop the floating ice, nearly choked on his own voice. From a man of science, the scene was sheer madness.
The blazing stones rained in a torrent. Kaido's enormous dragon body had no way to dodge effectively. With a growl, he shed his dragon form midair and plummeted, shrinking to human size to minimize his target. King dove past, catching Kaido by the ankle and carrying him away on burning wings.
The meteors slammed down one after another. Winds tore through the air, buffeting King off balance, his movements slowed by Kaido's weight. He stumbled in the sky, barely righting himself, only to find the meteors chasing them like guided weapons.
King twisted, dodged, strained. Kaido clung tightly, watching his subordinate falter. The ice platform bearing their surviving crew fell in the crossfire, a meteor struck it dead-on. Flames, ice, and screams vanished as pirates plunged into the sea, silenced forever.
The ocean boiled with the impacts. Waves rose into a small tsunami, smashing against the coast.
Kuzan reacted instantly, freezing the harbor to shield the town. Staring at the apocalyptic sight offshore, even he murmured:
"That… is that really a Devil Fruit ability?"
"Unbelievable. Strong as a monster…"
Even a Logia user like him couldn't help but admit, Issho's power broke all expectations.
High above, Kaido and King struggled against the fiery storm. Kaido barked:
"King! Upward, fly higher!"
He released King's leg, transforming once more into a massive dragon. His claws summoned new flame-clouds, propelling him vertically. Unlike horizontal dodging, a climb reduced the area exposed. His claws, hardened with Conqueror's Haki, smashed through smaller meteors with brute strength.
Kaido surged ahead, shielding King, knocking meteors aside with swipes of his talons. Together, they clawed their way toward clear skies.
"Looks like Issho's losing his edge," Yoriichi remarked calmly from the shore. "Push harder."
Issho already knew. His Observation Haki told him his meteor storm wasn't enough. Face set with regret, he pressed a palm to his blade.
"My apologies, Admiral…"
He swung again. This time, gravity itself shifted.
Kaido and King felt it instantly, an unbearable weight dragging them downward.
"What?!"
"What's happening?!"
Kaido's flame clouds collapsed under the pull. King's wings beat frantically but found no purchase. The last meteors hurtled down to meet them.
"It's that blind bastard!" Kaido's dragon eyes locked on Issho, veins throbbing with fury. He seized King in one claw, twisted his body violently, and swerved through the burning rain. A meteor grazed his back, carving a bloody gash down his scales, but he forced it aside and burst free of the gravity field, fleeing hard toward the horizon.
And then, boom! A sonic crack tore the air. Above him, a red-haired Marine in white uniform had appeared from nowhere, stepping on the sky itself.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni?!" Kaido's mind reeled. When, how?!
The boy descended like a lightning bolt, blade arcing down, wrapped in black lightning and thunder.
Kaido's instincts screamed. He hurled King away and shrank into human form, the slash missing by a heartbeat as it ripped through the frozen sea below, leaving a thousand-meter fissure across the harbor ice.
Kaido's heart seized as he saw the devastation. So it was him. That earlier slash across the sea, it was this boy!
He knew: had that strike landed on his dragon body, he would be dead.
Yoriichi dove again, blade poised for Kaido's heart. But a black shadow lunged in from the side, King, wings blazing, sword flashing. Steel clashed as Yoriichi deflected, the blow forcing him backward through the air.
Kaido wasted no time. He shifted once more into dragon form, catching flame-clouds under his claws, bellowing across the waves:
"Marines! I'll be back for you yet!"
He roared with laughter, but as he turned to retreat, another black slash streaked toward him. Kaido snarled, lacing his claw with Conqueror's Haki to block. The clash tore his scales, spraying blood. Agony seared his mind, sharpening his survival instinct. He twisted away, barely deflecting the strike, and fled without looking back.
King followed, sparing one last glance at the distant red-haired swordsman standing calmly atop a floating sheet of ice. Yoriichi's brows were furrowed, his eyes fixed coldly on their retreat.
King caught up with Kaido, and the Beasts Pirates vanished into the horizon.
Yoriichi landed softly on the shore, his ice platform melting away. Issho sheathed his blade. Kuzan and Kyros rushed to his side.
"Yoriichi, are you alright?" Kuzan grabbed his arm anxiously. He had seen Yoriichi blasted back earlier and feared he'd taken the hit for him.
"What do you think?" Yoriichi chuckled dryly. "A bird-man can't do much to me." He looked out at the horizon, sighed, and added, "Sorry, Kuzan. I couldn't finish it today. In the air, I'm far weaker. I hope you understand. I know what happened to your branch, and I'm sorry."
He patted Kuzan's arm firmly.
The truth was bitter. He had underestimated Kaido and King. He thought the Dawn's full force would be enough to finish them, but their ability to fly gave them an escape he couldn't counter. Moonwalk was clumsy compared to true flight. Against King's dive, he could only be knocked away. Had Issho not conjured him a foothold, he'd have been hurled far worse.
Kuzan shook his head, collapsing onto a stone with exhaustion. "No… don't apologize. Failing to protect my men, that's on me. You came, and that's more than enough. Honestly, I was already prepared to die. I just didn't want civilians to keep paying for my failures." His voice was hoarse, and the fight left him as he let his Logia form fade.
Pain slammed into him instantly. He clutched his ribs, sweat beading on his face. Yoriichi's eyes swept over him, seeing the damage through the Transparent World.
"Kyros, take Vice Admiral Kuzan to the hospital," Yoriichi ordered. "Issho, have the crew salvage what's left of the pirate ships. Gather anything useful."
He turned back to Kuzan, his tone steady. "Rest well. At dawn, I'll lead us to Lodestar Island. Leave the rest to me."
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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