Seeing Daren's mischievous grin and teasing gestures, Kaidou felt like his chest was about to explode. His eyes instantly flooded with countless fierce bloodshot veins.

This damn brat... actually treated him like a sharpening stone for training!

"Damn it!!"

Kaido roared in fury, lightning crackling around his body again as he swung his massive kanabō furiously at Daren.

The shadow of the weapon fell like a waterfall, streaks of black and red thunder shooting into the sky, tearing open the earth.

The club's pressure shot out like a solid wave, obliterating everything in its path.

Daren responded with a twisted grin, instantly entering his devil form and unleashing his full power to meet Kaidou head-on.

"Don't hold back now, Kaidou-sensei."

Under the frozen, shocked gazes of Queen, King, and the Beasts Pirates rushing from afar,

Kaido and Daren clashed like two savage beasts straight out of hell—

their collisions violent and explosive, moving with terrifying speed and force.

Every time they collided, a purgatory-like shockwave burst out into the air, lightning crackling and twisting around them, shaking the very ground.

Everything within several kilometers was consumed by wild storms and thunder, turning the battlefield into a death zone no one could enter.

They were like bloodthirsty monsters, throwing defense aside completely.

As time passed, blood flew through the air.

"So terrifying!"

"This... this is what it looks like when the 'strongest creatures in the world' go to war?"

"That guy... he's actually trading blows with Captain Kaidou!"

"He's a monster! There's no way we could step into that fight..."

"If this keeps up, they'll split Onigashima in half..."

"..."

The Beasts Pirates stared wide-eyed at the battlefield cloaked in violent storms—a hellish sight that sent chills down every spine.

To them, Kaidou was the definition of "invincible."

Sure, that "Marine brat" had come to Wano before, but every time, he left battered and barely alive, fleeing in panic after being thrashed by the "invincible" Captain Kaidou.

But how long had it even been since then?

Now, that same guy was fighting their captain—one of the world's strongest pirates, "Beast" Kaidou—as an equal?!

"I've got a really bad feeling about this..."

Queen quietly walked up beside King and whispered.

"It's starting to feel like even Kaidou-sama can't take him down... What if that Daren guy starts dropping by Wano whenever he feels like it?"

King's heart sank at the words, his expression turning grim.

Rogers Daren had invaded Wano multiple times.

Each time, he fought Kaidou-san head-on—then pulled out right when his injuries reached the limit.

Add in what he just said earlier…

It was obvious.

Rogers Daren wasn't here to destroy the Beasts Pirates' facilities or forces.

He was using them to sharpen himself.

And the scariest part was—he was succeeding.

Every time he came to Wano, he came back stronger.

King stayed silent for a while.

Then, under the expectant gazes of the others, he said coldly,

"Trust in Kaidou-san."

But even as he spoke those words, a flicker of doubt flashed deep in his eyes as he stared at the brutal, unrelenting battle before him.

…

Clang!

Boom!

Lightning raged as storms surged outward, sweeping in all directions.

"Something's wrong!"

"This can't be!!"

Seeing his kanabō once again stomped underfoot by that damned brat, Kaidou froze for a split second—then roared, eyes bloodshot with fury.

He looked utterly stunned, not even caring about the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

When Daren had first blocked his Raimei Hakke, his movements had still been clumsy and stiff.

But now—his form was smooth, natural, seamless!

That level of adaptability... it was even more outrageous than Kaidou's own youth.

"Thanks to your guidance, Kaidou-sensei."

Daren's face was just as bloodied, yet the smile that bloomed across it was dazzling.

"To be honest, if it weren't for your teaching, I never would've grown this fast."

"You little bastard!"

Kaido's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he once again swung his kanabō with all his might.

Daren let out a savage grin and threw a punch.

Boom!

Boom!

Both strikes—each brimming with monstrous force—landed squarely on the other's head.

Blood exploded in all directions like a rainstorm.

The sheer eruption of Haki sent them flying backward like cannonballs.

But the very next moment...

They both took a simultaneous step back, slamming their feet into the ground to stabilize their stances—

—and then roared again.

"Die!"

Their crimson eyes, brimming with bloodlust and unyielding will, locked onto each other as sparks danced through the air between them.

In a flash of lightning,

Kaidou's body surged forward at thunderous speed, turning into a blur of flashing light!

"Horai Hakke!"

But just then—

"Impossible!!"

King's pupils suddenly contracted, his expression filled with disbelief.

Through his enhanced vision in pteranodon form,

He saw Daren grin—and in that moment, his body moved in perfect sync with Kaidou's. A mirrored shadow.

Even lightning surged across Daren's skin—but unlike Kaidou's violet bolts, Daren's body pulsed with vibrant blue lightning!

No way...

A terrifying realization surged through King's mind, sending a chill straight down his spine.

It was bone-chilling.

And then—

Within his tightly contracted pupils, the two figures—electric phantoms wrapped in streaks of black and red lightning—flashed past each other in a single instant.

They came to a stop at the same time.

Back-to-back. Motionless.

Smoke and dust floated in the air.

Even the raging winds seemed to halt in that frozen second.

Time across the entire world felt as if it had come to a standstill.

"You... learned it?"

Kaidou asked suddenly, his voice raspy.

He stood there, head lowered, staring blankly at the kanabō in his hands.

His blood-red vertical pupils seemed dazed.

"I guess so. I didn't realize... the essence of your technique was never just brute force and speed. I misunderstood it all along."

Daren's arms hung limp at his sides.

A faint curve rose at the edge of his blood-smeared lips.

"I thought that purple lightning was Haki... but it's not. It's the Azure Dragon's innate gift—the power to control lightning."

"By using electricity to stimulate the body's muscles and cells, you activate the flesh... to reach speeds bordering on teleportation."

He smiled in deep satisfaction.

"That's the true secret of Raimei Hakke."

As those words left his mouth—

Ssshh!

Ssshh!

Geysers of blood burst violently from both Daren and Kaidou's chests.

...

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