HST: Chapter 332/333

Chapter 332: In Battle

The naginata, wrapped in jet-black Armament Haki, was suddenly swung.

In an instant, a terrifying blue-purple electric current surged around it.

As it was unleashed, it stirred up a fierce wind that blew away all the dust, carrying with it the pride of a Yonko who looked down on everything.

Kaido's fierce demon-like face was cloaked in an Asura-like divine aura, radiating absolute might.

Carrying the heavenly wrath of thunder, the naginata came crashing down, purging all life in its path.

Boom!

Akainu's magma fist clashed with the naginata, producing an earth-shaking roar.

But the difference in power between the two was overwhelming.

Akainu had never been Kaido's match to begin with, and after sustaining serious injuries during the battle with Whitebeard, while Kaido had Caelan's support, the gap had only widened.

With Kaido gaining strength and Akainu weakened, his current power was less than half of Kaido's.

The naginata split the magma-formed dog's head apart, scattering dark red magma across the sky.

"How is he this strong!?"

Akainu stared at Kaido in disbelief.

In his memory, Kaido had never been this powerful.

Even if he couldn't beat him, the gap shouldn't have been this wide.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Akainu felt a chill at the back of his head. The moment they clashed, he knew that just like Aokiji, he couldn't stop this attack.

This strike was even more savage than the one Aokiji had faced moments ago.

He immediately tried to elementalize, but his serious injuries from the previous battle made it impossible to completely evade.

He twisted his body as much as he could and hardened his chest with Armament Haki in a desperate attempt to avoid a fatal blow.

Slash!

Kaido's blade sliced across Akainu's chest, splitting it open.

Though Armament Haki blocked part of the damage, it couldn't stop the full force.

Akainu was blown away and crashed to the ground, unable to rise.

"You're seriously injured and still dare to show off in front of me? With that ridiculous fruit power of yours?" Kaido sneered and charged forward, ready to finish him off.

He had once thought Akainu was powerful. He hadn't expected he'd turn out to be a wounded man relying only on his Devil Fruit.

In the face of true strength, such arrogance was meaningless.

"Big Buddha Impact!"

"Yata no Kagami!"

A golden palm-shaped shockwave and dozens of laser beams suddenly burst forth, blocking Kaido's path.

"Aokiji, take Akainu for treatment. We'll hold him off here."

Sengoku gave Aokiji a grave look.

With that, he and Borsalino joined forces to face Kaido.

Although they didn't know why Kaido had suddenly become so much stronger, holding him off was still possible. Once Aokiji returned, they would have the upper hand again.

But it was now impossible to send reinforcements to the Five Elders.

Aokiji quickly picked up Akainu and withdrew to a safe zone.

He froze the wound over Akainu's chest and handed him off to the medics.

Before leaving, he whispered near Akainu's ear, "Now you know I wasn't faking it. If you tried, you'd be dead."

Whether or not he would join the Neo Navy, Aokiji had already made up his mind not to stay in the Marines. His tone carried a mocking edge.

"You..."

Akainu coughed up blood, his expression dark and frustrated.

He hadn't expected Kaido's power to grow this much. And why was Aokiji mocking him?

On the other side, the Five Elders watched as Aokiji and the others were held off by Kaido, with Akainu already taken out of the fight. Their expressions turned grim.

They hadn't anticipated that Kaido alone could tie down all three admirals and Sengoku.

"Now, it's your turn." Caelan looked at the Five Elders and laughed loudly. "Impress me as much as you can. That way, your deaths will have more meaning."

"Arrogant!"

Saint Nusjuro roared.

"Even without their help, the five of us can kill you."

The transformed form of Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, charged forward first, followed by the other Five Elders, each in their Mythical Zoan forms.

A poisonous octopus with a massive, twisted bull's head in the center.

A monstrous bird with a human face and a snake tail.

A boar-shaped beast with four tusks, covered in tough leather-like armor.

A half-human, half-skeleton centaur holding a cursed blade.

And a massive sandworm with square teeth lining a circular maw.

The five grotesque demonic beasts radiated a terrifying black aura. Purple-black lightning crackled around them, and dark flame-like clouds surrounded them, signs of fully awakened Zoan abilities.

The entire scene resembled an apocalyptic vision straight from hell.

Five top-tier warriors, fully awakened Mythical Zoan users wielding Haki, roared as they launched a joint assault on Caelan.

"I already feel the thrill."

Caelan held the black blade Shusui in his left hand and gripped the Sun God Spear tightly in his right, facing the five beasts head-on.

Purple-black lightning coiled around Shusui, while golden-red flames surged on the spear.

The first to arrive was the ox demon, Saint Saturn, shrouded in inky black poisonous mist.

Alongside him was the centaur, Saint Nusjuro, wielding the First Generation Kitetsu.

Though he moved a step later, his skeletal horse lower body gave him greater speed than the ox demon.

The cursed blade was wrapped in purple-black Haki, exuding a chilling blue mist.

As he charged, he swung the Kitetsu downward in a vicious slash.

Caelan leaped into the air. Shusui clashed with the centaur's Kitetsu, while the Sun God Spear thrust toward the ox demon's head.

Boom!

The cursed blade was suppressed. Shusui embedded itself into Nusjuro's shoulder, surrounded by entangled Haki.

A cold energy surged from the Kitetsu into Caelan's body through the blade.

He activated his magical flame.

Golden-red flames burst forth, burning away the freezing aura.

Compared to the flames of Karna, the son of the Sun God, this chill was insignificant.

On the other side, the spear in Caelan's right hand pierced into the ox demon's head.

In an instant, half the beast's skull shattered and its massive body was slammed to the ground.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 333: Want to Break Through Conqueror’s Haki!

"Roar!"

"Cry!"

"Screech!"

The three giant beasts, opened their mouths and roared at the same time, releasing terrifying soundwaves.

Evil purple-black lightning surged out from their bodies.

The aura of Conqueror's Haki spread along with the soundwaves. The soundwaves became more majestic, while the Haki increased their destructive power.

This was the roar of a true hegemon.

The triple layering of Conqueror's Haki and triple soundwaves erupted with horrifying force.

Visible ripples tore through the air, spreading outward in waves.

The already-crumbling buildings around them were completely shattered by the soundwaves.

"Ah! Aah!"

Tens of thousands of Marines immediately began bleeding from every orifice under the pressure and collapsed unconscious on the ground.

Even the officers and vice admirals who remained conscious dropped to their knees, struggling to breathe.

"You're trying to suppress me with Conqueror's Haki? That's exactly what I want!"

Caelan didn't retreat. Instead, he laughed.

His own Conqueror's Haki surged out in a burst. Endless black and purple lightning burst forth and instantly began to overwhelm the aura of the Elders.

The oppressive force was immense.

Those generals who had barely held on now fell one after another.

Across the entire battlefield, only those of vice admiral rank or higher could remain standing.

Caelan's Haki collided with that of the three-headed beast. After being pushed back a few meters, it stabilized.

No matter how violently the three-headed beast's Haki surged, Caelan's aura never backed down.

In fact, the stronger the pressure from the three beasts, the more tempered and resilient Caelan's Conqueror's Haki became, as if it was being forged and strengthened under the pressure.

With the fusion of two mythical Heroic Spirit templates, Caelan's willpower and strength had already become the undisputed peak in the pirate world.

His Conqueror's Haki was as vast as the sea but still lacked in sheer density and strength.

All he needed now was refinement.

And the Conqueror's Haki of the Five Elders was the perfect whetstone.

"Too strong, this Conqueror's Haki is way too strong!"

The Elders all showed increasingly savage expressions.

The weight of Caelan's Haki was so tremendous that even the combined power of the three of them couldn't suppress it.

"What is going on? Does a human really possess such willpower?"

Saint Warcury stared at Caelan's aura, stunned.

The power was endless, and he couldn't even feel a boundary.

It was as vast as the sea, as deep as the abyss.

"Let's do it too. I don't believe we can't crush him!"

The fatal wounds on Saint Nusjuro and Saint Jaygarcia Saturn were quickly healed by the black energy surrounding their bodies.

The centaur-form Nusjuro and the ox-demon Saturn released their own Conqueror's Haki and joined in to suppress Caelan.

Boom!

Five overlapping waves of Conqueror's Haki crushed down toward Caelan's aura.

Under the joint assault of all five elders, Caelan's aura rapidly retreated.

"Pin him down! He can't take on all five of us!"

Saturn shouted with excitement.

"No matter how strong you are, you still have a limit."

Saint Mars exhaled in relief.

"Wait, do you feel that? His aura... it's slowing down. It stopped retreating!"

Nusjuro's voice turned serious.

Clearly, they should have crushed Caelan's Haki in one overwhelming sweep.

But now, even with five combined Conqueror's Haki, they could only force his aura back inch by inch. And every inch required immense effort.

Though the five combined auras blanketed the sky, there was still a portion that Caelan's aura refused to yield.

It held firm without giving up a single step.

...

On board the Red Force.

The members of the Red Hair Pirates were stunned as they observed the terrifying clash of Haki at Marineford.

They had not expected all five of the Five Elders to possess Conqueror's Haki.

The Five Elders, Kaido, Caelan, Shanks, Whitebeard... There were too many users of Conqueror's Haki gathered at Marineford today. It almost made the rare seem commonplace.

But when they thought about it more carefully, it made sense.

The Five Elders were the highest rulers of the World Government, the pinnacle of the Celestial Dragons, holding power over the fate of countless nations.

It would be more shocking if these old monsters didn't have Conqueror's Haki.

But the most eye-catching of them all was Caelan.

He was facing the Conqueror's Haki of all five elders at once with his own.

"What a terrifying Conqueror's Haki."

Shanks stared silently at the figure standing alone against five others.

He had never witnessed such vast and overwhelming will before.

"Shanks, can you do that?"

Beckman asked, smoking his pipe.

"No. Not even close."

Shanks shook his head, his tone solemn.

He had always been known as the man with the strongest Conqueror's Haki, standing at the very peak of this generation.

Even he had believed that he alone had reached the level where he could suppress Observation Haki with Conqueror's Haki.

But compared to Caelan, who was using his Haki to take on five top-tier powerhouses, Shanks admitted he was no match.

That kind of will...

"In the face of a will that grand, like the vastness of the universe or a sea of stars, even the world feels small." Shanks muttered.

It felt as though Caelan stood above the world itself. Perhaps even more than one world.

What kind of mindset must one have to have such a Haki?

"Shanks, aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Lucky Roux said with disbelief. "That Haki doesn't look stronger than yours."

"I'm not exaggerating. As for how strong it is..." Shanks narrowed his eyes. "A block of iron is harder than seawater, but even a chunk of iron the size of Marineford can't compare to the sea."

"Didn't you notice? His Conqueror's Haki is evolving. From a vast ocean of will to a block of iron as vast as that same ocean."

In his perception, Caelan's Haki was becoming stronger at an absurd pace. In other words, the immense pressure from the Five Elders was tempering it, helping it reach its true peak.

"Shanks is right. The God Slayer's Conqueror's Haki is undergoing a qualitative transformation."

Yasopp, who possessed the strongest Observation Haki among the crew, stared at the clash in amazement and echoed Shanks' words.

"So that's how it is." Lucky Roux finally understood and then said, "Doesn't that mean he's now the most domineering man in the world?"

"You're wrong."

Shanks' face held a bitter expression.

"..."

The crew members turned to look at him in confusion.

Shanks took a deep breath and slowly said, "The moment he broke into Marineford with two corpses and declared war on the world, he had already become the most domineering man alive."

The Red Hair Pirates wanted to offer words of comfort, but in the face of that truth, they remained silent.

(To be continued.)