Whitebeard turned his head slightly, glanced at the spirited Rocks beside him, and asked in a low voice, "Are they the mysterious organization from the World Government you mentioned?"
"Hehehahaha... who knows?" Rocks answered lightly. His gaze remained on the three figures at the coastline, his tone carrying the lazy attitude of someone who did not care who they were.
Saint Garling and the other two did not continue forward. They stopped a few dozen meters from the shoreline.
The sea breeze passed between them, stirring the hems of their cloaks and revealing their high boots.
'So this is the captain of the Rocks Pirates?'
Saint Garling's gaze fell on the figure standing atop the golden nine-tailed fox.
The Marines had evaluated him as "extremely dangerous," but looking at him now, he was merely a "human" a little stronger than the common rabble.
But them?
They were gods.
Gods with immortal bodies.
Existences that humans could never defeat.
"Hey," Rocks suddenly called from the forehead of the golden fox demon, shouting toward the shore. "You rats who can't show your faces. Is that idiot brat from my ship still alive?"
After a pause, the corner of Rocks's mouth curved upward. "If he isn't, then you won't be doing very well either."
"Filthy commoner!"
"Wretched insect!"
The two God's Knights beside Saint Garling instantly twisted with fury when they heard the words "rats who can't show your faces." Rage exploded in their eyes.
Who were they?
They were descendants of the creators. Beings crowned with the title of "gods." Existences no one in this world had the right to insult.
Whoosh!
Two figures disappeared from beside Saint Garling almost simultaneously.
When they reappeared, they were already rushing at the golden fox demon over the sea from the left and right, their weapons wrapped in Haki as they charged toward Rocks.
Saint Garling did not stop them. He merely stood in place, the gaze beneath his cloak calmly watching the battlefield ahead.
Rocks looked at the two figures lunging at him. His expression remained calm, and he even had time to say to Whitebeard, "See? These people are sensitive. Say one bad thing about them, and they immediately lose it."
"But..."
Rocks's face suddenly turned serious. His hand gripped his sword hilt. The blade wrapped in Haki hummed low as it left the sheath, dark-red lightning flickering over its edge.
Whoosh!
In less than an instant, he vanished from the golden fox's forehead.
When he appeared again, he was already in midair, facing the two God's Knights head-on.
Crackle!
Dark-red lightning exploded around Rocks's blade. He looked at them and said coldly, "Rats should crawl back into their holes."
As his words fell, he swung.
Hum!
A sword cry tore through the air, bursting into a sharp scream.
An overwhelmingly terrifying sword shock wave erupted from the blade, carrying the pressure of Conqueror's Haki as if it intended to split the entire sky in two.
The two God's Knights reacted just as quickly. They swung their weapons at the same time, trying to take the blow head-on.
Bang!
A heavy boom exploded in the air.
Rocks's sword shock wave was like an unstoppable flood, instantly knocking their weapons out of their hands.
The moment their weapons flew free, true shock appeared on their faces for the first time.
"No!"
A cry of denial rang through the air.
The sword shock wave slammed directly into them. Dark-red lightning danced wildly across their bodies like biting teeth that refused to stop.
Their bodies flew backward at high speed like fallen leaves caught in a gale.
The next instant, the sword energy cut through their abdomens and split their bodies in two. Upper halves and lower halves separated in midair, four masses of flesh dropping to the ground and kicking up dust.
Rustle, rustle.
After a faint sound, laughter pierced through the dust.
"Heheh."
"Hehehehahaha."
On the ground, the two God's Knights lay beside the other halves of their bodies and began laughing softly.
The attack was strong, but so what?
They had immortal bodies. They would not die.
But very quickly, their smiles froze.
Rocks's Conqueror's Haki was pressing down on them like an invisible tide. That suppression from the depths of the soul caused their "immortal bodies" to freeze in place, preventing the severed parts from reconnecting.
"Huh."
Rocks landed from midair, his feet touching the ground. He walked unhurriedly to them and looked down at those still-twitching halves.
"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"
"Insect!" one God's Knight squeezed out through gritted teeth, the curse rasping from deep in his throat.
"I don't like hearing that." Rocks's voice turned cold, and the hand holding his sword rose slightly.
Just then, a sharp pressure of wind approached from the side.
Saint Garling could no longer stand by. Holding his blade, he shot toward Rocks like an arrow released from a bowstring.
His blade drew a cold arc through the air, aimed straight at the side of Rocks's neck.
But before he arrived, another figure descended from the sky.
Whitebeard swung his naginata. His strike, wrapped in both Conqueror's Haki and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, carried dark-red lightning and an unstoppable crushing force as it cleaved down at Saint Garling from the front.
Saint Garling's pupils shrank. He immediately canceled his attack on Rocks and raised his sword horizontally to block.
Bang!
A heavy boom erupted between them.
The ground beneath Saint Garling's feet exploded. Spiderweb cracks spread outward.
His weapon bent slightly beneath the enormous force, his knees following as his whole body was pushed down.
"Aah!"
Saint Garling roared, power pouring from within him. His feet slowly straightened beneath the weight.
"Hah!"
Whitebeard shouted as well, increasing his strength in response.
The dark-red lightning around the naginata swelled, and that crushing force grew heavier once again.
Boom!
Saint Garling's knees dropped again, deeper and harder this time.
The impact shattered the ground once more, sending broken stone flying like bullets.
After Whitebeard joined the battle, Ron quickly landed on the island to search for Kaido.
At the same time, on Kaido's side, the blond woman lay among shattered stone slabs and rubble in the ruins.
The face Kaido had flattened with a club was slowly recovering at a visible speed. Her sunken eye sockets bulged back out, broken bones clicked, and her crushed, distorted features gradually returned to their original positions.
Black smoke curled from the surface of her skin like a dark adhesive repairing cracks.
"Unforgivable..."
Her voice squeezed out of a throat not yet fully restored, hoarse and distorted, dripping with venom as if it had crawled up from the depths of hell.
"Absolutely unforgivable..."
She slowly raised her hand and dug all five fingers into the rubble. Her nails scraped against stone, producing an ear-piercing sound.
"Damn insect!" the blond woman suddenly shrieked, her voice rising with hysterical rage. "How dare you... how dare you!"
"Huff, huff..."
After unleashing a fierce round of attacks against the transformed golden Buddha, Kaido stood panting in the ruins.
Suddenly, he heard a faint noise and turned toward the blond woman. Horror appeared on his face.
"What the hell? I smashed her face flat and she still isn't dead?"