One piece: The Greatest Swordsman of the Rocks Era!

Seeing this, Shiki sneered and shouted toward Ares, "Ares, go ahead and teach that kid a lesson."

"Jihahahaha… Let him see what you've gained from your training these past few days!"

Whitebeard's eyes lit up with interest, grinning broadly, "Gurararara… Ares isn't someone you can challenge so easily."

In the fierce world of the Rocks Pirates, with countless strong fighters, Ares' current strength was enough to rank in the top twenty.

Even commanders like Wang Zhi and Silver Axe wouldn't dare to underestimate Ares. If Ares landed a punch, with his terrifying brute strength, it would be no joke.

Ares' fists were deadly!

Kaido, with his back to Shiki and Whitebeard, couldn't see their amused, playful expressions.

But Charlotte Linlin's chef, Streusen, definitely noticed.

His heart skipped a beat, sensing something was off.

His thoughts spun anxiously, "Judging by Shiki and Whitebeard's attitude, they seem extremely confident in Ares."

"Ares was already strong to begin with, and with Whitebeard and Shiki's personal guidance, he must have improved significantly."

"But…"

"They probably don't know that Kaido has already mastered Armament Haki. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so certain Ares would win."

"Kaido with Armament Haki is no longer the Kaido of the past."

"With the Haki's boost, his punch must be at least three times stronger!"

Streusen's gaze landed on Kaido. Compared to Ares, he trusted what he had seen from Kaido more.

Kaido's crazed, brutal, hellish training was burned into his memory.

The amount of training he endured was absolutely not less than Ares maybe even more!

It was like Kaido had gone insane, pushing his body to the edge. Even just watching him train would make your heart race in fear.

Ares looked up at Kaido.

With the massive mountain still resting on his shoulders, he spoke with a hint of impatience, "Come on."

"I accept your challenge."

"You can start now."

"Two thousand two hundred and five…"

Seeing Ares still doing squats on the spot, Kaido's forehead was instantly covered in black lines.

"..."

Utterly speechless.

But after the speechlessness came burning rage. Ares clearly wasn't even taking him seriously.

That arrogant, dismissive attitude made Kaido feel utterly humiliated.

Unforgivable!

"Ares, are you seriously planning to fight me while carrying that mountain?!" Kaido gritted his teeth, struggling to suppress the fury surging in his chest, forcing the words through clenched jaws.

Then he snapped, roaring in rage, "Stop looking down on me!!!"

"I'm Kaido! The man destined to stand at the top of this sea!!!"

Crack! Crack!

Kaido clenched his fists so tightly that his bones made a terrifying sound. His already massive arms swelled further with surging muscles.

With a sudden punch, he struck the mountain Ares was carrying!

Boom!

A thunderous crash erupted. Kaido's colossal fist sank deep into the stone, and spiderweb-like cracks radiated from the impact point, rapidly spreading across the mountain's surface.

Finally, the mountain on Ares' back shattered into countless boulders, falling to the ground with loud thuds.

The earth trembled violently.

Dust filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.

It was a terrifyingly powerful punch.

His goal… was simple to destroy Ares' training burden and force him into a proper fight!

Kaido's eyes blazed as he roared into the dust cloud, "Ares, stop underestimating me!!"

"I'll show you what I, Kaido, am made of!!"

"You have no idea what I've gone through to get here!!!"

All the resentment in Kaido's heart exploded in this moment. Not only did he endure the agony, torment, and monotony of brutal training, but he also had to survive Charlotte Linlin's constant, well… "physical attention."

He was sick of it all!!!

The only thing that had carried him through that living hell was his determination to defeat Ares.

To make it to this very moment.

Kaido's heart screamed one single goal defeat Ares!!!

Today was the day to erase his humiliation!

Far away, Shiki couldn't help but sneer, "Looks like that brat Kaido really holds a grudge against Ares."

"Before Ares joined the Rocks Pirates, Kaido was definitely considered the most gifted rookie. But…"

"That's all ancient history now."

Back when Kaido first joined the Rocks Pirates, Shiki had even tried to recruit him into his own crew.

But it didn't work out.

Now that Ares was here, Shiki didn't even spare Kaido a second glance.

"Kaido challenging Ares? He's just asking to lose again," Whitebeard said confidently. His faith in Ares was unshakable.

Who did Kaido think he was?

He had been on the Rocks' ship much longer than Ares and was indeed talented, but compared to Ares? One was a majestic swan, the other an ugly duckling.

There was no comparison.

That's why neither Shiki nor Whitebeard bothered to stop Kaido. In their eyes, Kaido's challenge was pure self-humiliation.

The dust gradually settled.

The sound of heavy stones being lifted and tossed echoed from within the cloud.

Ares emerged from the haze.

His deep, sharp gaze gleamed with a cold, fierce light. His chiseled face showed a flicker of anger. "The thing I hate most is when someone interrupts my training!!!"

"Are you ready?"

Ares strode toward Kaido, his piercing eyes locked onto him like a predator.

Under that razor-sharp gaze, Kaido's heart skipped a beat.

But he quickly reignited his fighting spirit, grinning wildly, "I've been ready. I've been waiting for this!!!"

He stomped his left foot forward with a dull thud, kicking up a swirl of dust.

His right arm swung up, slicing through the air with a whistling roar.

"Ares!!"

"I'm going to beat you!!!"

Kaido's deafening roar echoed, and with a buzzing sound, his thick, muscular arm instantly turned jet-black.

Armament Haki, fully hardened!

Seeing this, Shiki's pupils shrank sharply, a flash of surprise in his eyes. "So that brat Kaido has already mastered Armament Haki?!"

He clearly remembered just over a month ago, Kaido didn't even know how to use it.

That was fast!!!

But when Shiki recalled how Ares had landed two punches square on his own face with that bizarre Haki, his grin widened wickedly, "A monster to face a monster, huh?"

"Let Ares handle him."

That memory getting punched in the face by Ares' strange, scorching Armament Haki was something Shiki would never forget.

It had been a chaotic, drunken brawl he had egged Ares into, and it was burned into his memory forever.

At this very moment

Streusen's eyes widened, completely fixated on Kaido.

The scene he was about to witness would etch itself into his memory for life.

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