"You're still alive after all that? You're one stubborn bastard, Satan!"
Right now, the body of Saint Satan lay shattered beneath Kai's feet. His limbs were twisted in unnatural angles, and it was obvious that every bone in his body had been broken. Most of his flesh was gone, beaten off by sheer force, and what was left had turned to pulp. Satan looked half his original size.
Any normal person would've been long dead. Heck, anyone would assume he was dead just by looking at him.
But somehow, Satan was still hanging on—barely. Kai could feel the faintest trace of life.
Honestly, it was ridiculous!
Were Mythical Zoan users really this durable?
Kai didn't think so.
No matter how strong the Zoan-type Devil Fruits were, surviving with most of your body missing was just insane.
If anything, Kai was more convinced this had something to do with Im—some sort of secret fail-safe to keep these guys alive.
But…
Kai raised a hand, his Haki surging through him like a tidal wave. In the blink of an eye, he crushed Satan's heart and skull with one sharp burst of Conqueror's Haki-infused force.
Let's see you come back from that.
Even if Im has lived for 800 years, Kai didn't buy for a second that they could pull off something that crazy.
And just like that, Kai's suspicion was confirmed. With his heart and brain destroyed, Satan's life force finally vanished.
Kai willed it, and a familiar basket of Devil Fruits appeared next to him. After a few moments, one of them began to change.
Mythical Zoan—Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Gyūki.
Kai picked up the fruit, the corners of his mouth curling into a satisfied grin. Another top-tier Mythical Zoan, now in his hands.
"Demon King Kai… you actually killed Satan!"
As Kai admired the fruit, a furious voice interrupted.
He casually stored the fruit into his system space and turned his head toward the voice.
The remaining four Gorosei and Ancient Saint Figarland Garling were all standing nearby, their gazes locked on Kai.
The one who had spoken was the Martial God of Finance, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro
Though they wore expressions of fury, it didn't take a genius to notice the fear hiding behind their eyes.
All of them had top-tier Devil Fruits, handpicked and cultivated for strength.
And as colleagues, they knew how absurd Satan's regeneration was.
Yet Satan had just been utterly crushed—without even getting the chance to recover.
The memory of Kai's devastating strike still haunted them.
If not for the fact that common sense told them Kai couldn't possibly use such a powerful attack again immediately, and their fear of that person…
Even if they had ten times the courage, none of them would've dared come face Kai.
Satan's fate was a brutal warning—this man could kill them.
The longer you live, the more afraid you are to die. That saying had never felt more real.
Kai simply raised his hands and said, "You guys tried to kill me, so I killed him. What's the problem?"
"Even if we tried to kill you, you had no right to kill Satan! Now that you've done this, there's no place left for you in this world!" declared Saint Ju Peter , the God of Agriculture.
"…Huh?"
Kai froze for a second—then laughed. Loud and unrestrained.
"Hahahahaha!"
He laughed for a while before stopping, his eyes sharp.
"You're joking, right? You want to kill me, but I'm not allowed to kill you?"
"That's hilarious."
"You sound just like one of those delusional creatures I've read about…"
"It's always someone else's fault. Even if you're in the wrong, you'll still say—"
'Even if we're wrong, aren't you wrong too?'
"Am I right?"
Kai sneered. Then, without wasting another word, he summoned six clones with a flick of his mind.
There was no point arguing with fools like these.
Might as well use them to stock up on more Devil Fruits!
Kai's real body and four clones charged at the group instantly, while two others split off to the rear.
Because he sensed the arrival of two very familiar auras.
Kai sighed. Just as one mess was cleared, two more show up…
But both Sengoku and Garp were badly injured—especially Garp, who had taken a brutal beating from Kai earlier. Even a clone was more than enough to deal with him now.
If they were here to take his life, they'd better be ready to die trying.
CLANG!
Blades clashed with a metallic ring, and two figures separated after a single exchange.
Dracule Mihawk raised his head slightly and looked at the man before him.
"Flower Sword Vista?"
"That's right," replied the man, donning a navy-blue top hat and earrings.
Mihawk looked at Vista, puzzled. "Why are you here challenging me instead of helping the Whitebeard Pirates?"
To be fair, Mihawk was confused. He had been watching the clash between Kai and the Gorosei when, out of nowhere, twin blades came swinging at him.
With Ace rescued by Kai and Franky disappearing in the chaos, Mihawk had no reason to fight anymore. He was ready to just observe.
But apparently, someone still wanted to throw hands.
And frankly, Mihawk was a little annoyed.
"Ace is safe now. They've got it under control."
"My father's fighting Akainu, and he can't spare a second. So now that I've got no responsibilities…"
"I'm taking my shot."
"Your shot?" Mihawk asked, eyebrow raised.
Vista nodded, raising one of his swords and pointing it directly at the world's strongest swordsman.
"Mihawk, when people talk about swordsmen, your name is always the first. Today, I'm here as a fellow swordsman…"
"To challenge you!"
"…I see." Mihawk nodded solemnly.
He had been challenged by countless swordsmen before—but Vista was one of the strongest to ever do so.
As the name Zoro flashed in his mind, Mihawk glanced in a certain direction on the battlefield—where a green-haired idiot was fighting against a Marine vice admiral.
After a moment, he turned his eyes back to Vista and said quietly:
"Then you'd better be ready to die."
"Sorry, that's not part of the plan," Vista smirked—and lunged.