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Published at 16th of January 2024 11:34:23 AM


Chapter 248

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__________ POV Narration __________

"Keh..." Kaido huffed as his body bent in the air.

Getting injured felt strange in his new form, he hadn't gotten the chance to have any of his blood spilled after he had awakened.

Even now, the gash he received on his gigantic body felt like nothing more than a scratch... And it was certainly much closer to a scratch when taking into consideration the size of his body.

And yet it still caused him to stand still in the air and huff in bewilderment.

He had believed himself far above the likes of Shiki and Francisco now, he even defeated Francisco one-on-one, a fight that he had genuinely found boring.

Even the Legendary Pirate Island Splitting slash was ineffective, not even leaving a scratch on his body. 

Hell, Kaido now even believed himself to be above the legends of Joyboy, who he had believed he'd be brought down by one day.

He had arrived at the point of having thoughts like.

'Even if he were to walk through the doors of my castle, I'd just torch him alive like the other dregs...' 

But now, as the ants took advantage of his bewilderment and continued dancing around him, he couldn't help but feel... Angry.

It was once said that all Zoan devil fruits had a will of their own. The Awakened Will of the Dragon within him made him prideful, and arrogant. Even more so than he had been previously.

It went beyond the point of considering just civilians as ants, he saw all men other than him as lesser. His new mindset was only strengthened by his increase in power too, leaving him to completely forget his previous fear.

The fear he had once held towards the strong vanished. The envy he had felt towards the meaning of their deaths, the legends they had created, and their legacies also vanished.

For now, in his eyes, he had reached the true pinnacle of strength. He had become truly the Strongest Creature alive, the King of Beasts. All of the ones he had considered strong before were mere ants.

But now that he was injured by a group of ants... All of his pride, arrogance, and confidence turned to anger. 

A fury that burned so bright it was blinding. An emotion so powerful it felt overwhelming. 

But it was only overwhelming for a few moments. He was not lost in a trance for longer than 3 seconds in fact. 

And as soon as he 'woke up'... 

"You little ants!" 

In an instant, his entire body was engulfed in flame, all of the attacks that had been previously rushing towards him, all of the ant bites that had been coming his way, all of them turned to ash.

"Fire Dragon's Devastating Torch!" 

The flames around his body turned black in an instant, strengthened by willpower, they exuded enough temperature to melt Kid's metallic arms in seconds at that point. 

"Shit! I can't do much like this!" The Red Haired captain shouted as the gigantic limbs of his 'Punk Rotton(Magnetic Demon)' melted just from being in proximity of Kaido's scales.

"All the earth I throw at him seems to be turning to magma... I also can't get close enough to do any damage up close." Law covered his eyes as he gripped his long blade tightly. 

Gamma Knife was the only thing in his arsenal that could do anything at all to Kaido, but getting close to those flames with his mastery over armament was essentially a death sentence.

Kid and Zoro seemed content with sending flying slashes toward the already open wound that Shiki and Francisco had created.

Zephyr was not doing so well, he had managed to land some good punches in, he felt the Dragon's flesh ripple at his strikes, but now his mechanical arm was also melted.

To make matters worse, his Sea Stone hadn't really affected Kadio in any way, just like Enel had expected.

'So its effects are actually weaker on an Awakened Devil fruit user, huh?...' 

Zephyr was still pretty sure that size also played an issue, but he could do nothing but sigh in frustration at that point. 

Sanji was also unfortunately unable to do much now. He was quite burnt as he had been kicking at Kaido's body when the flames appeared. 

"Shiki! Go touch more land, try to hold him down better, create a better grip!" Francisco waved his hand at Shiki while his blade moved faster than before.

He cleaved through the flames covering the Dragon's body, but he seemed otherwise unable to leave any marks on the dragon's scales. 

"Oy! Law brat! Go and clear the island below us of any Samurai and allies! Captain wouldn't want them getting caught up in this!" Shiki shouted to Law as he immediately started flying towards Onigashima. 

Law just nodded, choosing not to complain about being ordered around. 

It was at that point that both Garp and Luffy flew back down to rejoin the group. 

"Attacking his head seems as ineffective as any other part of the body now!" Garp shouted as he hopped on one leg in mid-air. 

The corner of his mouth was a bit bloody, but he was otherwise completely fine. His durability was only really second to the monster they were facing currently.

"What about his eyes?" Francisco asked in an annoyed tone.

"I fucking tried, ok?! He keeps closing them on me, I even got burnt slightly while trying..." Garp appeared genuinely frustrated as he now landed on one of the floating pieces of rock nearby. 

Luffy was mimicking his grandfather's movements while looking up at Kaido with a conflicted expression.

'He was completely ignoring all of my punches?' 

He thought that he had grown stronger, that he'd be able to actually do some real damage using the Internal Destruction he had just mastered.

But unlike his now younger grandfather Garp, his punches were treated as if they weren't even there. 

Kaido's skin was so thick at that point, that Luffy couldn't even penetrate it using internal destruction.

"Size... Our attacks are barely effective because of his size!" Luffy shouted as his eyes shined, he looked up at the enraged Kaido with renewed vigour.

"Size? He's just a bigger target due to his size! We should be taking advantage of it, you idiot!" Kid shouted while waving his melting arms around. 

"No! He's big sure! But his skin is too thick! Our attacks are not effective at all because of it!" Luffy then pointed at the gash that had been created by Shiki and Francisco, which seemed to be already healing. 

 "At this rate, we won't be able to bring him down! We need to force him to shrink!" 

Luffy's voice thundered throughout the battlefield as he looked down towards Onigashima, his eyes connecting with that of someone below.

"I PROMISED TO BRING KAIDO DOWN! I'LL KEEP THAT PROMISE! NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!" Luffy's voice thundered as the enraged dragon seemed to poke his gigantic head in from above the clouds.

The Strawhat Captain's conviction was strong, his will empowered by the responsibility he carried. The Land of Wano he had sworn to liberate, the country of his friend.

Just as Kaido's flaming head came down, Luffy rushed to the sky.

His fist glowed brighter than ever, a thick yellow as he blew more and more air into it. 

Despite his being in his usually lithe Snakeman form, his arm seemed to bloat up a lot more than it did even whilst using Bounceman. 

Luffy was also not headed for Kaido's head specifically, instead, he stopped near his lengthy body. 

 "Gomu Gomu no Anaconda Gun!"

Luffy's gigantic fist broke the air around it as it passed through, his speed and spirit unhindered by the extreme heat coming from Kaido.

His arm seemed to coil around Kaido's body, going upwards in a surge of speed as the rubber human stretched to his very limits.

His eyes were open wide in pain as the fire around Kaido's body seared his flesh, but he ignored it, not letting it stop him.

Even as his eyes grew dim, his fist continued moving ever upwards, gaining more and more speed until it became nothing more than a blur to everyone present.

"FALL!" Luffy shouted as his fist finally reached its intended target. 

Kaido in his enraged state only had the time to look down before it came in contact with his chin. 

Although gigantic in comparison to Luffy's body, his fist appeared small in comparison to Kaido's. 

But flesh rippled on contact, the Rubber Man's pointed fist piercing straight through Kaido's tough skin, ignoring his flames and defences.

"Kegh-" Kaido was seemingly caught completely off guard, he seemed to gurgle as the fist burrowed much deeper than expected. 

It became akin to a spear, and it had gained enough momentum to pierce through his tough scales.

But it didn't pierce much longer, as Luffy finally gasped and slowed down, Kaido's gigantic head was still immediately blown backwards, many of the scales on his neck cracking and falling as blood started slightly dripping from the wounds.

Kaido's brain was definitely rattled by that strike, and his gigantic head seemed to sway quite a bit too. 

The punch was powerful enough to blow any clouds that may have gathered above their heads once more. 

Through his rattled and clouded mind, a thought immediately arose.

'Such a powerful will?!? Is... No, it can't be... Joyboy?!' 

Kaido's eyes shined in recognition as Luffy's Conquror's Haki-infused fist pushed his head back towards the skies. 

"That's my grandson! Great punch!" Garp shouted while looking at the scene with a proud gaze. 

Francisco also narrowed his eyes and smiled in appreciation.

'Size, momentum and piercing power, that's the only way we can damage Kaido as he is now...' Francsico lamented as he remembered his flying slashes not doing much regardless.

Even when using Autumn Fang, he could only push slightly into the dragon's scales. His attack was simply too small to matter to Kaido.

He could only sigh while feeling a tad helpless fighting the gigantic dragon in front of them. 

After a few seconds of thinking, Francisco's gaze trailed back to Luffy, who had already retracted his arm, which appeared to have suffered quite serious burns. 

'Still... That's Garp's grandson?!? This rate of growth...'

The Swordsman couldn't help but sweat when he realised he had met someone even more talented and monstrous than him and Xebec.

Luffy hadn't even hit 20 yet, but he was already dealing damage to someone of Kaido's calibre.

His mind also seemed to be hardwired when it came to combat, coming up with moves and strategies before even the likes of Francisco did.

'I guess the newer generations are bound to surpass the old, huh?' Francisco couldn't help but shake his head while also remembering his current captain.

 "Brace yourselves! I'll be holding Kaido in place from now on!" Shiki's voice thundered next through the battlefield.

He wasn't about to let himself get outdone by a kid who was not even half his age. So he moved just as Law gave him the clear. 

The Golden Lion touched the somewhat broken-down gigantic head while huffing. 

In an instant the entire island seemed to take flight, rising towards the skies while compressing more and more earth from it to form a gigantic Lion Head.

Shiki's eyes shined yellow as he grabbed at the air in front of him. In an instant, the blackened earth of Onigashima turned a few shades darker, as the Golden Lion's will spread through it. 

"Lion's Majesty: Conscriptive Grasp!" 

The Lion's Head immediately bit down on Kaido's massive tail, its teeth not piercing, but seemingly turning into snakes and coiling upwards, grasping more and more of Kaido's body while struggling to keep him in place.

More and more teeth turned into gigantic tentacles, which seemed to be coiling around all of Kaido's body, at least the lower half that they could reach.

The Dragon's tail seemed to struggle against the restraints, trembling and trying to lash out like a whip.

The earth cracked, and the cracks healed, before cracking again and healing again, all the while Kaido had made no progress in freeing himself while Shiki actively held him down. 

"Good job Shiki!" Francisco shouted as he noticed the flames around Kaido dying down for a second.

In that instant, he decided to do what he deemed best.

With a stagger in his step, he dashed forward, he moved faster than a bullet while jumping up the dragon's bound body.

Eventually, he reached the gash that he and Shiki had made, at that point, the wound was already almost closed.

The old swordsman gripped his sabre in a very familiar fashion, this time all of the muscles in his arm seemed to flex, veins popping out all over it as his blade shone a bright red.

The colour condensed, turning deeper and darker before his hand finally lashed out.

"Sever!" Francisco's voice rang out as he released his strongest move at point blank.

He felt his blade physically pierce through Kaido's scales like a scalpel through human skin.

Then, through those scales the flying slash continued, widening the cut that he and Shiki had made greatly while also giving the Dragon some internal injuries to boot.

In an instant, Francsico rolled to the side, as he knew what would follow.

Just as he left, two silhouettes appeared in his place, Zephyr and Garp.

Both of them roared as their fists moved at great speeds. 

"Black Rush!"

A combination attack between 'The Black Arm' of the Navy and 'The Fist'. 

The two of them jumped into the open wound and immediately lashed out with the strongest attacks they could muster, punching at Kaido's muscle without holding back at all.

Flesh rippled as shockwaves flew everywhere, pushing back the flying stones that the others were floating on. 

Unfortunately for them, they weren't able to keep that up for too long. 

In an instant, Kaido's body was engulfed in flames once more, and the two of them were forced to retreat with slight burns. 

"UNFORGIVABLE!" Kaido shouted in rage once more, his eyes now completely red in fury. 

Not only had the previous scratch been widened into an actual cut, but his muscles and some of his organs were also shaken badly by the rush of attacks that came afterwards.

It was simply unforgivable. 

And he was about to show them exactly why he was now the 'Strongest Creature'.

He roared loudly, a voice so powerful that it struck fear in the hearts of all mortal men. 

Only those with a steel-like will could withstand it, but even then some covered their ears, others covered their eyes from the shockwave of that roar.

"Devastating Wind!" His mouth opened up widely towards the ants below. 

And the dragon roared once more, as countless gigantic flying slashes aimed to erase his enemies from existence. 

 "Shit! Dodge!" Francisco roared as he immediately dashed to the side to avoid the flying slashes.

Even if he could try to deflect them, it was a waste of energy.

But not everyone seemed to agree.

Zoro put all of his sword together and prepared to redirect one of the slashes, to push it to the side.

He struggled for exactly one second before he felt the slash in front of him almost folding him like a paper tower with pure pressure alone.

Thankfully, Shiki was there to pull him to the side. 

"Don't try to block this in any way dipshit!" The Golden Lion Roared as he looked at the gigantic lion's head he had created being severed into cubes by the flying slashes.

The attack continued for a good few seconds, a struggle for survival for the people below, but it eventually ended as Kaido closed his mouth and scowled.

"Pesky ants!" He shouted once more before he opened his mouth again, this time he seemed to be preparing a different attack.

Garp's eyes narrowed as he saw flame appearing in the Dragon's throat.

"Shit, he's about to blow everything away!" The former Marine Hero shouted and motioned for everyone to run away.

The Radius of Kaido's breath was ridiculous after all.

"Shit, this is becoming less and less doable!" Shiki shouted as he struggled to move everyone away and scatter everyone as quickly as possible. 

But the gigantic Dragon above them wasn't going to wait on them. 

"Devastating Brea-" "El Thor~" 

Just as he was about to release his attack, a gigantic pillar of black lightning covered his entire head, pushing him down violently and burning off his hair.

Kaido's eyes immediately darted upwards as the pillar of lightning vanished.

Up above the clouds was a figure he certainly recognized...

"Sky King..." The Dragon growled in rage as it felt the deadly heat from the newcomer's attack.

The figure was, of course, none other than Enel. Shirtless and with baggy pants, and a pair of golden gauntlets. Just about the way that Kaido remembered it. 

But there was something different. 

The Sky King's eyes glowed a deep blue, sparkling with lightning constantly. On his back was a floating disk adorned with drums, it was constantly revolving, spinning on the Emperor's back.

Besides that visible change, Kaido could feel something else as well. Something that sparked a primal fear in him, one that was very much induced by his devil fruit as well.

"There is no place for you in my skies little wyrm~" 

That voice, thundering through the skies, reaching the ears of everyone on the island... 

The voice of a god. 

__________________________________________________________________

Hope you liked the chapter!

Took me a bit, still trying to get back into the swing of things. Anyhow, I gotta get some sleep since I still have work tomorrow 

Story Shoutout : Hell Difficulty Tutorial

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