King felt the pressure. His opponent wasn't some low-level pirate—this man was on par with Kaido-sama himself.

"What kind of ability is that? What the hell is he using?" Queen was dumbfounded as he stared at the screen. Half the cigar in his mouth dropped to the floor.

"Queen, what's going on?"

In the distance, Kaido of the Beasts asked casually, sounding drunk.

"He's using an ability we've got zero intel on," Queen replied.

Kaido raised his head, intrigued. "Oh? What kind of ability?"

"I don't even know how to describe it," Queen muttered.

Kaido dropped the wine bottle and stomped forward. Towering at over ten meters, he looked more monster than man. His presence alone made the subordinates around him tremble.

"Kaido-sama, look at this!"

Queen pointed at the screen, now filled with gold light. Rhett Vane's weapons—no, his arsenal—had already begun raining down in a dense barrage, thicker than a torrential storm.

The sheer speed of the weapons alone made their destructive force terrifying. King dodged swiftly, but the weapons behind him tore through the waterfall like paper. Rocks shattered and plummeted. The surveillance room couldn't even capture the full scale of the destruction.

"Damn it! What is this ability? Doesn't he have a limit?"

King, gritting his teeth, weaved between the countless projectiles. He prided himself on endurance, but this was overwhelming. He could only dodge and look for an opening to strike back.

The problem was, Vane hadn't even moved. Floating mid-air, arms relaxed, all he'd done was unleash the relentless storm of weapons from behind him.

"Enough of this!"

"Try my power!"

King roared, unleashing a torrent of searing flames from his mouth, his body now cloaked in fire. The stream of flames surged toward Vane like a blazing tidal wave.

"Trying to be a fire dragon, huh? Wildfire? I guess the name fits,"

Vane said coolly, completely unfazed as the fire rushed at him like a molten pillar.

It made sense that a Lunarian could use flames, especially one named King. His body radiated heat.

But Vane didn't back down. That level of fire meant nothing to him.

He extended his palm toward the oncoming flames. A pillar of ice burst forth, meeting the inferno head-on.

"What the hell—!"

King's expression shifted. Dodging the weapon barrage had already restricted his movements. Now an icicle was blocking his flames? It pinned his fire down effortlessly. The result was predictable. Before he could react, the icicle smashed into him, pushing him backward into the waterfall. The impact shattered boulders and echoed with a thunderous crash. The firestorm vanished, snuffed out.

Vane retracted the weapons from the [King's Treasury], and with his Observation Haki, sensed that King had been pinned deep within the cliffside. But he didn't plan on diving into the waterfall again—he'd just gotten out of the sea and changed clothes. No point getting wet again.

Unless King came back up.

Looking up, Vane noticed the carps he'd caught earlier swimming upstream again. He followed them upward with ease.

Ten seconds later, King emerged, drenched but blazing hot—so hot, the water on his body evaporated within seconds.

Boom!

Their fists collided, sending another shockwave ripping through the air.

"You really don't look good as a pteranodon," Vane commented, eyeing King's transformed state.

"Appearance means nothing. Power is everything," King replied coldly. He didn't underestimate his enemy. Vane was not someone he could take lightly. This wasn't like dealing with Jack the Drought. Kaido had only asked him to block Vane's advance, not to engage him in an all-out battle.

"Your ability's awakened, hasn't it?"

Vane asked, kicking forward as King's claws came up in response.

"It is, but I rarely use it unless things get desperate."

"So this isn't desperate enough?"

"No. You're not trying to kill me. I can sense it. This isn't a deathmatch," King said calmly.

"Then try this,"

Vane grinned, clenching his left fist.

A bone-crunching strike slammed into King's chest—though it didn't even make contact yet, King's instincts screamed in alarm. The power in that blow was monstrous.

He crossed his arms to block it.

Too late.

Boom!

The punch collided with King's palms, but the force blasted through. Vane's fist hammered into King's chest with a sonic boom, sending a shockwave through the mountain. The waterfall behind them split in half. King's torso caved under the pressure. Terror flashed in his eyes.

Just as he opened his mouth to vomit blood, his body was hurled back into the waterfall, triggering another chain of rock-shattering explosions.

No one knew how deep into the cliff King was slammed.

"Got him."

King has been—defeated.

Vane turned and began flying back to the ship. Since he was being monitored, everything he'd just done was likely captured. Would Kaido come? If he did, it'd mean another brutal clash.

Vane exhaled.

---

Milestones:

100 Power Stones → 1 Bonus Chapter

200 Power Stones → 3 Bonus Chapters