Chapter 200: Volume 2 – Chapter 102: Same Old Story

A towering blaze surged into the sky, spreading across the land like a fireball that blotted out the sun.

The searing heat scorched the cracked, crumbling ground, filling the air with sharp pops and crackles. The pirates watching from a distance panicked and dropped to the ground, overwhelmed by the wave of heat.

The flickering flames cast a stark reflection on their pale, frozen faces—faces twisted with fear.

"Aaaaargh!!"

In the midst of the inferno, Queen's massive body thrashed violently, rolling on the ground and letting out a blood-curdling scream.

"Now's the chance!!"

Bullet's eyes gleamed with murderous red intent.

Queen was badly injured—if he struck now, he could very likely finish him off in one blow. It would be the perfect release for all the rage and humiliation he'd endured.

He took a deep breath, tensing his legs to leap—

Only to feel a hand grab his shoulder.

"No, Bullet. We're leaving."

Bullet paused, surprised, and turned his head.

He saw faint blue arcs of electricity crackling between Daren's fingertips.

As an invisible magnetic field expanded, countless weapons and firearms from the fallen pirates scattered across the battlefield suddenly shot into the air.

In midair, they twisted, melted, and reassembled—until they merged into a sleek silver ark, hovering before the two of them.

Daren tossed the unconscious Senor onto the ark with one hand. Just as he was about to step aboard—

A furious roar thundered from the distant sky.

"Daren!! Bullet!! You bastards! How dare you—"

The voice boomed like a storm, shaking the heavens as violent winds and flashes of lightning exploded in every direction.

Bullet's expression darkened. His pupils shrank.

That voice… Kaidou!!

He's back!!

Bullet instinctively looked up.

In the distance, an enormous black shadow slithered through the clouds, growing larger by the second.

Thunder and wind raged around it, weaving together in wild bursts of flickering light.

"A dragon?!"

"It's Kaidou-sama!!"

"Yes! Kaidou-sama's returned!"

"Those two are finished now!"

"..."

The distant members of the Beasts Pirates, who had been watching in despair, suddenly lit up with excitement as they witnessed the change in the sky.

Then—

A sharp screech ripped through the air from behind the clouds, like a blade slicing through the heavens.

"Kaifu!!"

Before the looming shadow even arrived, massive dark green wind blades tore through the clouds, sweeping down toward Daren and Bullet like a storm ready to consume everything.

"He's here!!"

Daren's eyes narrowed. He raised his arm without hesitation.

Countless metal shards flew up and reformed into a dome-shaped steel shield in front of them. A layer of jet-black Armament Haki instantly coated its surface, wrapping around the two of them.

Daren didn't dare take Kaidou's "Kaifu" lightly—it was strong enough to slice through city walls and tear the ground apart. He immediately reinforced the metal shield with Haki.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!

The wind blades crashed down like a torrential storm, slamming into the shield, sparking violently and carving deep, jagged cuts.

Crackle...

The number of cuts and fractures multiplied rapidly—until, with the final wind blade, the shield shattered into a flurry of metallic shards.

Amid the falling fragments, a massive dragon's head, the size of a mountain, finally emerged from the thick, oppressive sea of clouds.

When Kaidou saw the devastation of his stronghold and the countless corpses littering the battlefield, his vertical pupils instantly flushed with blood.

Uncontainable fury boiled within them as his gaze locked onto Daren and Bullet below.

"Unforgivable!!"

The massive dragon let out a deafening roar and suddenly opened its gaping, fang-filled jaws, drawing in a deep breath.

Its belly swelled in an instant as blistering flames visibly swirled in its throat, forming a terrifying fireball.

"Damn it! That move again!"

Bullet's pupils narrowed sharply.

That bastard Kaidou had used this very attack to throw everything into chaos last time—giving him the chance to capture both Daren and himself alive.

"But… that trick won't work twice!"

He suddenly grinned, dark Armament Haki wrapping around his arms like invisible armor.

"Bullet, Kaidou's mine. Watch the rear!"

A calm voice rang out—it was the Marine Commodore.

Bullet was momentarily stunned. He scanned the smoke-filled sky and quickly spotted a shadow breaking away from behind the massive dragon, swooping around the smoke to attack from the flank.

Twin black wings, long and narrow, burst into crimson flames midair as the figure glided down at incredible speed.

The second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates, the All-Star "The Conflagration" King!!

Ancient Zoan-type Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Pteranodon!

The Pteranodon suddenly pulled its head back like a tightly drawn bowstring, poised to strike.

Its target—The silver ark behind them, which Daren and Bullet had been guarding with their lives.

A pincer attack!

"Daren, you bastard! I'm not one of your subordinates! Why should I take orders from you?!"

Bullet growled in protest, teeth clenched. But even as he shouted, his body instinctively obeyed the Commodore's command.

He stepped forward, and in an instant, the ground beneath him surged—stone, sand, and steel wrapped around his body, rising to form a towering ten-meter-tall giant.

"Fusion!"

The imposing giant raised its massive arms and hurled them toward the Pteranodon in the sky.

The sheer force tore through the air, sending white shockwaves rippling outward.

At the same moment, Bullet heard a sharp sound behind him—

Flick!

A coin shot into the air with a metallic hum.

Wind whipped through the battlefield as Daren stood tall, his black hair tousled, eyes sharp as the spinning coin locked onto the flaming maw of the dragon.

In that hellish landscape, debris flying, the scene seemed to freeze.

Daren and the fusion giant formed by Bullet stood back-to-back, ready to face their foes head-on.

The next second—

BOOM!!

A pillar of red-hot flame shot from the dragon's mouth.

A searing blue electromagnetic cannon blast erupted from Daren's hand.

The Pteranodon launched a golden laser-like shockwave.

And the battle-hardened giant roared, hurling a fist like a meteor—

All colliding midair in a cataclysmic clash!

"Bolo Breath!"

"Magnetic Overload: Railgun!"

"Tempuraudon!"

"Medium Bullet: Super Cannon!!"

For a moment, the world fell into complete silence.

Then—

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

Two colossal explosions detonated in the sky, and the overwhelming shockwaves rippled outward with unstoppable force.

The Beasts Pirates had no time to react—everything was suddenly swallowed by a blinding white light as their bodies were hurled through the air.

The island groaned under the pressure, as if struck by a massive earthquake. The ground shook violently.

Endless, gaping cracks split the earth. The ground surged like waves, and near the coast, the sea rose in towering tsunamis tens of meters high.

It was as if the world itself was falling apart.

...

(70 Chapters Ahead)

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