An invisible bond sothing called kizuna, a spiritual tether silently ford between Tengetsu Ares and Kaido.
They say the most dangerous forces are those you can't see.
And perhaps not even Kaido himself realized… just how deeply he was falling under Ares's shadow.
Both n were warriors of brawn and battle, and both burned with the sa savage lust for combat. In spirit, personality, even lifestyle, there were uncanny similarities between them.
Kaido may have looked like a brutal beast, but he was far from stupid.
In truth.
He was far sharper than most pirates ever gave him credit for.
Kaido knew very well: his odds of surpassing Ares were close to zero. Not just low nonexistent.
Ares surpassed him in every aspect.
His body. His willpower. His obsession with combat. His relentless pursuit of strength. All of it was on another level.
Ares was the kind of man Kaido wished he could beco.
So people, when faced with soone greater than themselves, are consud by jealousy.
Others?
They fall in love with greatness.
They devote themselves to it.
Kaido was the latter.
He didn't envy Ares, he worshiped him.
Everyone has a unique spirit. And if a person loses their character… they lose everything.
Ares's charisma wasn't born from words, but from conviction his insane, single-minded obsession with becoming stronger, with fighting, with dreaming.
If he wasn't training, he was fighting. That was his life.
Power can force pirates to bow, make enemies tremble in fear.
But charisma?
Charisma can conquer the heart.
Even in love, that principle holds.
And the longer Ares spent with others the more he grew the more this invisible aura of his began to influence those around him. mbers of the Rocks Pirates began to feel it.
Even his enemies… felt it.
Roger, standing in the distance, watched Ares's every move. His brow furrowed as a wave of thoughts stirred within him.
"This guy's future… it's going to be terrifying."
"Still just a kid, and he's already mastered Conqueror's Haki to this extent…"
"There's no way soone like that won't carve out a place on the seas."
"Troubleso."
As captain of the Roger Pirates, Roger didn't say this lightly. The stronger the enemy, the harder it would be to escape this battle intact.
But even as the Haki clashed violently across the battlefield, Roger didn't squint. His attention remained fixed on the man hovering before him Golden Lion Shiki, swords in hand.
Roger knew: against an opponent like Shiki, one of the strongest he'd ever faced, there could be no room for distraction.
Still, he allowed himself one final glance toward Rayleigh just a glance.
In that single look was the kind of trust only born from years of blood and hardship.
They had weathered storms together, bled side by side, conquered obstacle after obstacle to reach where they were now.
Roger believed it with all his heart:
This battle would be no different.
They would win. And afterward, they'd sail free once more aboard the ship that symbolized their ideals, sailing the endless blue in pursuit of freedom.
Rayleigh felt the aning behind that gaze.
A smile crept across his lips confident, calm, reassuring.
"Don't worry, Captain. I've got this."
As if reading the ssage loud and clear, Roger's face split into a bold, cocky grin.
"Shiki! Let's continue this dance of ours!"
"Let's see whose blade is sharper!"
He posed it like a question.
But from Roger's mouth, it ca out like a declaration.
An unshakable confidence etched into the bones of every true warrior.
Golden Lion Shiki wasn't the type to back down.
He laughed loudly, tossing his golden mane like a lion ready to pounce.
"My swordsmanship? I'll have you know it's the best on the entire sea!"
Even if Whitebeard himself were here, Shiki would shout the sa words to his face:
He was the strongest swordsman on the Grand Line.
Disagree?
He'd fight you over it.
With his radiant golden hair flying, Shiki looked every bit the lion arrogant, proud, unstoppable.
His twin swords, Oto and Kogetsu, glead like the fangs of a beast.
"Wave Splitter, Thousand Cut Valley!!"
Shiki raised both swords high, and in that instant, they seed to answer his battle cry with a ringing hum.
Vmmm!
Vmmm!
A brilliant golden slash tore through the sky like a blade forged from sunlight. It streaked straight toward Roger's heart, radiant and devastating.
It was like an aurora across the heavens appearing in a flash and vanishing just as quickly.
But Roger was ready.
His eyes widened, arms bulging with strength as ropes of muscle twisted around his limbs. That power surged through his sword.
A sweeping counterattack.
Only two words escaped his lips:
"Divine Departure!!"
Gol D. Roger hadn't yet reached his peak.
But even now, his strength stood at the summit of the seas.
His sword roared with unstoppable montum.
Red lightning danced wildly around the blade, arching in chaotic patterns. Every flash made him look like an invincible war god standing on a battlefield of legends.
CLANG!!!
The impact of their slashes echoed with a screeching tallic ring.
But neither man flinched.
They only poured more power into their blades.
And elsewhere.
The two titanic waves of Conqueror's Haki clashed like bulls locking horns, pushing and pulling with devastating force.
Neither side backed down.
The collision whipped up gale-force winds, sand flying in all directions.
Ares licked his lips in anticipation, his blood pumping like wildfire.
The battle had ignited his soul.
He stared at Rayleigh with blazing eyes.
And in that mont, Ares felt… lucky.
"I should be grateful to live in this era. I don't want to fight a white-haired, old and withered Rayleigh."
His pupils narrowed. The light in his eyes converged into a single brilliant point like a star burning at the center of his vision.
With youthful arrogance, he grinned and said aloud:
"Whether now or in the future."
"I, Tengetsu Ares, will defeat you."
"Co on then."
"Let's fight, Rayleigh!!"
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