One piece: The Greatest Swordsman of the Rocks Era!

Kaido's swinging arm howled through the air like a raging storm.

It was as if the very world was trembling under his force like the roar of a ferocious beast, chilling to the bone!

The air around them violently distorted.

The momentum was terrifying!

"Ha!!!"

Kaido roared like a wild beast, and his Armament Haki-hardened fist, tougher than steel, smashed toward Ares with all his might.

The sound of the punch tearing through the air echoed like thunder.

The air howled along his arm as if caught in a violent hurricane.

This punch was many times more powerful than the one he had used to shatter the mountain earlier!

Kaido's eyes were wide with conviction, believing wholeheartedly that this punch would finally bring Ares down before his eyes!

His heart pounded with excitement, "Ares, I'm the strongest rookie of the Rocks Pirates!!"

"All the glory you have now belongs to me, Kaido!!"

His attack roared like a feral tiger, a punch that seemed capable of crushing mountains.

The fierce wind that followed swept violently toward Ares like a raging torrent!

But Ares simply shifted his body slightly, easily sidestepping, and calmly said, "Too slow."

Effortlessly, he dodged Kaido's full-force strike, and in the blink of an eye, while Kaido's eyes were wide with shock, Ares grabbed his face with one hand.

"What?!"

The moment that warm palm pressed against his face, Kaido's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as his entire being trembled.

His strong, defiant heart was suddenly overtaken by an unprecedented wave of fear.

His decisive punch had been casually evaded, and now that palm was gripping his face he felt like he'd been thrown straight into the depths of hell.

In Kaido's disbelieving, panic-stricken gaze

Ares' arm tensed, and Kaido's vision spun wildly as his entire body was forcibly twisted sideways.

Boom!!!

Stones exploded in every direction!

Even Streusen, who had been watching in the distance, was completely stunned Kaido's head had been smashed directly into the ground by Ares!

His mouth hung wide open in absolute shock. He couldn't even find the words.

"That… that was a one-shot kill!" Shiki's eyes lit up as he grinned broadly. Such a clean, decisive victory Ares' combat awareness, reaction speed, and power were leagues beyond Kaido's.

They weren't even in the same class.

This was the strongest monster in the Rocks Pirates Ares!

Whitebeard chuckled, "Fast and ruthless! His body training wasn't in vain. The gap between Kaido and Ares is still too vast. Even mastering Armament Haki isn't enough to bridge it."

He then laughed loudly and shamelessly, "Gurararara…"

"No surprise there! After all, he's the disciple I trained!"

His face radiated pride he had personally overseen Ares' rapid growth in body combat. Seeing Ares improve so quickly genuinely made him happy.

Shiki glared at Whitebeard with a slight tilt of his head, "Ares is my disciple too! His growth is thanks to me, Shiki, as well!"

Whitebeard immediately shot back, "What's his body training got to do with you, you shaggy yellow lion?!"

Shiki's expression darkened, "What do you mean it's got nothing to do with me?! You think you're the only one who's sparred with this brat?!"

"..."

And just like that, the two started bickering over the smallest of things again.

Meanwhile, Kaido, whose head was still deeply planted in the ground by Ares, was momentarily stunned by the impact. His mind went completely blank.

It took a few seconds for Kaido to snap out of it.

A surge of shame and fury rushed from his toes to the top of his head.

His punch, all sound and fury, had completely missed.

Not only had he failed to land a hit, but he had also been humiliatingly slammed into the ground by Ares' palm.

Shame, rage, disappointment…

These emotions all exploded within Kaido's heart. His bold declarations moments ago now felt like harsh slaps across his own face.

"Ahhh!!!"

Kaido roared hysterically, his entire body tensing and swelling with muscle as veins bulged across his forehead, temples, and neck.

His thick arm, carrying a violent gust, swung toward Ares.

But Ares casually caught Kaido's wrist with his other hand.

"Give up. You're not my opponent."

Then, Ares coldly twisted the knife, saying something that stabbed right into Kaido's heart, "No…"

"You don't even qualify to be my opponent."

He released Kaido's hand and simply stared at him with calm indifference.

Kaido climbed out of the dirt, blood streaming down his forehead and along his face, making his already fierce features look even more terrifying and brutal.

His head hung low, his entire face shrouded in shadow.

His whole body trembled uncontrollably.

His heart was shattered once again.

"Why?!!"

"Why, even after all this brutal, insane training… even after I mastered Armament Haki…"

"I'm still not Ares' match?!?!"

"Ahhhh!!! Why?!"

Kaido's mind spiraled into madness.

This past month of inhuman suffering…

The only thing that kept him going was the belief that he could defeat Ares. Yet all that torment had earned him nothing but another instant, crushing defeat!

Overwhelming failure again!

"I won't accept this!!!" Kaido's head snapped up, and despite his formidable heart, his eyes were now brimming with tears.

His hoarse roar echoed out.

Buzz!

His arm instantly hardened with Armament Haki as he hurled another punch toward Ares' chest.

Boom!

The impact echoed with a deafening thud.

Kaido froze, his face slack with disbelief, as if he had just witnessed something impossible.

"This… can't be real…"

"This can't be happening!!"

"This must be an illusion!!"

He swung his other fist and slammed it into Ares' chest.

Boom!!

But Ares stood rooted like a tree, his muscular chest unmoving, harder than steel.

Ares looked expressionlessly at the frenzied Kaido, his voice cold, "If I've beaten you once, I can beat you a hundred times."

"A thousand times."

"Anyone I, Ares, have defeated will never be able to surpass me again."

His body radiated overwhelming confidence, his gaze seemingly piercing through Kaido and landing on a distant figure the shadow of Garp appeared in his mind.

He silently told himself, "The next time I see Garp, I will defeat him!"

Streusen, who had witnessed the whole scene, was utterly dumbfounded.

Just like me and my friends.

Before his eyes, Kaido's huge, pillar-like fists repeatedly struck Ares' body, but they didn't even make him flinch.

They couldn't harm Ares at all!

Each muffled boom made Streusen's heart jolt violently.

He was so shocked, he nearly swallowed his own tongue.

His mind was overwhelmed, "So… so strong!!!"

"This is Ares' body?!!"

"A monster!!! He's a goddamn monster!!!"

"No wonder he was perfectly fine after taking a punch from Captain Rocks a month ago!"

A nagging doubt crept into his heart how much strength had Rocks actually used back then?

And just how tough was Ares' body?!

After hammering away in rage, Kaido abruptly stopped. Ares standing there, not even bothering to fight back, was somehow even more painful and soul-crushing.

His opponent was just letting him punch him.

Yet Kaido couldn't even scratch him.

The strength he was so proud of was utterly insignificant against Ares' monstrous physique.

His once unshakeable heart shattered into pieces!

How was a body like this any different from steel?!

It was absurdly hard!!

Kaido's expression went slack as if he had lost his soul. He muttered like a broken man, "This kind of… this kind of body… only Linlin's body could be tougher…"

It was the body he had always dreamed of having.

Jealousy envy resentment!

He hated that he could never have such a powerful physique!

He knew all too well how terrifying Linlin's body was. Every time they, uh, sparred, he was always the first to fall.

Hearing Kaido's muttered words, Ares' eyes suddenly gleamed as he stared intently at Kaido, asking, "You're saying… you're saying Linlin's body is tougher than mine?!!"

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