Sharn and Kaido moved in perfect unison.
Both unleashed their Conqueror's Haki at once.
In the space of a breath, every ordinary sailor collapsed unconscious.
The force covered a range several times wider than before — a sign that Sharn's strength and aura had once again risen sharply.
No one could unite such a crew of dangerous, ambitious individuals without immense personal power.
Kaido grinned with feral arrogance, eyes coldly defiant toward the so-called strongest agents of CP0.
From the two men, waves of red and black-violet lightning burst outward, flooding the harbor.
To distant warships, it looked like two massive storms of killing intent had bloomed side by side.
"Remarkable... two born kings on the same ship!"
The Chameleon's entire body shimmered with Haki, the ground cracking under his footstep.
"But this level of power is still far from the monsters who truly rule the world."
That disdainful tone only enraged Kaido — yet before he could charge, another figure stepped forward.
It was Mondo, the Door-Door Fruit user.
He stood even taller than the later-known Blueno, his physique rivaling that of a young giant.
His dual-color Haki was immense; countless difficult enemies had fallen during his covert missions.
In strength and rank alike, Mondo was the vice-chief of CP0, second only to the Chameleon himself.
"Ready to die, Kaido?"
Mondo's frame was as broad and muscled as Kaido's own — a monster among men.
Having perfected his Door-Door Fruit, he dismissed Kaido's elemental attacks entirely — he could even open a door on Kaido's body itself.
"You again?" Kaido snarled, remembering the man who had earlier redirected his flame breath.
"They call you the Beast King, 'Hundred Beasts' Kaido? After today, you'll lose that chance forever."
Gloved hands gleaming with Armament Haki, Mondo's elegant voice contrasted with his massive form.
"Mythical Zoans are powerful, yes... but you've never met me."
"Tell me — were Whitebeard or the Golden Lion Zoans? You'll never reach their height."
He said it deliberately — to goad Kaido into reckless fury. Calm would strengthen Kaido's Observation Haki; rage would cloud it.
If Mondo could control Kaido's perception, his Door-Door abilities would move unseen.
"You want to die?!" Kaido roared. Calm had never been his way.
He would prove superiority with overwhelming might.
Both vanished. Kaido's explosion of speed shattered the air, his spiked club swinging down.
Boom!
The strike rocked the harbor.
Fallen marines were dragged away by reinforcements from the ships — but the damage was done.
"Those monsters are all Devil Fruit users!"
"Was that Conqueror's Haki? Normal people can't withstand it!"
"If CP0 weren't here, we'd already be finished!"
The soldiers stared at Sharn's crew — none of them looked human.
Reflected in the sea of fire, they were demons of war.
"So that's 'Conqueror's Haki,' huh? The so-called king's aura."
"You might strut on the Grand Line, but in the New World you'd be crushed."
"Oh wait — you won't get that far."
The Chameleon tapped the brim of his white hat.
"Go on, keep it up! Think your stamina's infinite?"
"Pour all your will out until you collapse — we'll wait for you to die!"
CP0 agents leapt into motion. The difference between them and Sharn's novice crew was enormous — but this battle would forge whoever survived.
Kuzan swallowed hard. Unlike the others, he had no fruit — just a strong human body, honed by relentless training and brush-ups with death. Still, overcoming career soldiers who'd mastered the Navy's Six Powers would take years.
"Captain!" Kuzan shouted. He didn't know why, but he felt he needed to.
"Don't worry," Sharn called back, "you've got Ginny and Kuma. You won't die. And even if you do — there's always next life!"
Then he vanished with a flash step.
Kuzan blinked — such terrifying words somehow comforted him.
"This time, I'll surpass myself!"
He charged, fists clenched, mimicking Sharn's brutal brawling style.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Olvia's whole body turned to blades, her ten fingers into flintlocks, her torso into a cannon.
"Kuzan, watch out!"
She rained firepower across the field while covering him.
"Don't get near me, or I'll snip your shadow!"
Moria laughed — after experimenting with shadow-fusion, he had learned to insert shadows into his own body. He now held ten of them — his power soaring.
"Hee-hee-hee! Become my zombies! The sun will burn you all!"
Kuma's massive paw strike blasted a hundred marines into the sky.
"I'm fine, Kuma! Kuzan pulled me clear!" Ginny called back, then used her fruit ability.
"You've caught a disease — immunity to blades and a strength boost!"
Kuzan suddenly felt his whole body transform.
"Fight freely! It'll last an hour!"
Ginny giggled, turning nearby soldiers into harmless kittens.
"This is too scary — I'm building a fortress!"
Molly (茉莉) reshaped the harbor's materials, forming a makeshift citadel and combat arena.
Unknowingly, Kuzan found himself cornered in one part of it, surrounded by enemies.
"Karma returns!"
Urouge roared, his strength rising with every hit he took.
At the center, the towering wolf swung a captured ship like a club, scattering foes by the dozen.
Spectator pirates gaped — their own vessels reduced to debris — but none dared intervene.
While the crew was fully engaged, Sharn himself faced multiple CP0 agents.
"Move in," the Chameleon ordered lightly.
The harbor split into two fronts:
Sharn and Kaido were each surrounded by four CP0 elites.
"Relax," said the Chameleon, "once you're exhausted, I'll finish it myself! Hahahaha!"
He wanted it that way — to let Kaido be toyed with by Mondo, while Sharn's stamina drained away. Then he would strike the final blow.
Kurin, the CP9 leader, and the Navy's vice admirals would mop up the rest.
But Sharn only smiled.
"Oh, I wasn't saying you're shameless," he replied softly. "I just think... they don't have what it takes."
Lightning flared through his palm — the Paw and Thunder fruits resonating — forming a blinding orb of compressed plasma.
As dragon-scale patterns appeared, violet lightning devouring his arm, the Chameleon finally realized something was terribly wrong.
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