92 Let it Flow

Somewhere in the city of Hachinosu,

"This is bad, the situation is getting out of control!...the Eustass Pirates, Trafalgar Law, Crocodile and even pirate captains that used to work under Whitebeard are attacking Wang Zhi!" Koby exclaimed, leading a sizable group of innocent civilians who had been imprisoned in Wang Zhi's jail, destined for slavery.

"We wouldn't have made it this far without you, you said your name is Koby? Thank you so much for rescuing us!!" expressed one of the civilians with heartfelt gratitude.

"Hey, that guy is the one who freed the slaves!!" exclaimed one of Wang Zhi's men, pointing at Koby.

"Kill him and capture them! Don't let the slaves run away or Wang Zhi will get angry!!"

"Please keep going!! I'll act as a decoy and keep them busy!!" Koby said to them as he got ready to engage with the approaching pirates.

"Thank you so much!!"

"You're the best!!"

A swarm of pirates converged on Koby in a coordinated attack.

"Think you're some kind of hero?!"

"Get him!!"

Koby stood firm, ready to confront the enemy despite being outnumbered "I have to defeat these pirates here…otherwise the safety of the innocent civilians will be in danger"

…

Killer and Mesagi's battlefield,

"You don't really think your captains are winning against Wang Zhi and Silver Axe? That would be hilarious!" Mesagi chuckled, gripping a hefty naginata in his left hand, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

When it comes to strength, Mesagi is second only to Wang Zhi and the strongest one out of the 'Four Pillars'.

"Faffaffafa!! I'm betting on Kai and Kid to win!" Killer announced, pointing a finger at his opponent. "I just need to kick your ass and prevent any interference!"

Mesagi's grin widened at those words, licking the blade of his weapon "Let's see what you've got masked guy!"

SWOOOSH!! Mesagi launched himself towards Killer before hardening his weapon with Armament Haki and thrusting it forth, trying to stab Killer.

VROOOOM!! Killer got into a defensive stance while spinning his Punishers rapidly before he crossed them in front of him, blocking Mesagi's blade.

Clang! The blonde-haired pirate kept pushing forth while putting more force to his thrust, but Killer was still able to stop him. In response, Mesagi swiftly spun around himself while trying to kick Killer on the face with his heel.

BAAAM!! Killer reacted quickly and raised his right arm to his side, stopping it Messagi's leg.

"A shockwave?!"

Mesagi unleashed a Hasshoken shockwave from his feet as he executed the attack. Within the ranks of the Wang Zhi pirates, only two individuals possessed the skill in the Hasshoken Martial Art, Wang Zhi himself and his First Mate, Mesagi, who had learned it directly from him.

"Hehehe! I've learned this from Wang Zhi himself, what do you think about it, cool right?! HAHAHA!!" Mesagi said, then withdrew his leg and jumped back, putting some space between them.

Through the use of lightning, Killer is capable of transforming his own body into electricity, turning himself into a lightning bolt to increase both his speed and attacking power.

FWOOOSH!...Thunder! Killer was fast enough to break the sound barrier and generate a loud thunderclap. In a split second he managed to close the gap between him and Mesagi, aiming to slice open his torso with his spinning Punishers.

"--He's fast!!" Mesagi was taken aback by his speed but still managed to react and blocked Killer's sickles with his hardened weapon.

ZWOOOSH!! Clang! Clang! The two continued to trade blows, with Killer gaining the upper hand. In the end, Killer unleashed a surge of electricity from his lightning-infused blades, shocking Mesagi.

<100,000,000 Volts Vari>

Lightning! The attack produced a massive, unruly blast of lightning that engulfed Mesagi leaving burns on his body while paralyzed him temporarily.

"UGHH!!...Huff…What the hell was that?!" Mesagi looked at Killer in shock as the masked pirate was surging with electricity "Lightning?"

Without saying a word Killer proceeded to kick his lightning infused leg forth at the direction of Mesagi, launching a powerful lightning-energy beam attack at high speed from his feet that threatened to pierce Mesagi's forehead.

KA-BOOOOM!!! The latter was lucky enough and narrowly avoided being hit, but the lightning bolt streaked through the city until it struck the huge skull face in the center, triggering a massive explosion that demolished the entire building, leaving everyone in shock

Wang Zhi gritted his teeth from anger when he witnessed that "Stop destroying my city you bastards!!"

"Kahahah! My crew is awesome aren't they, Wang Zhi?!" Kai proudly said.

"Got some troublesome people on your side I see" Silver Axe remarked while clashing with Kid.

"All the people on our side are troublesome!" Kid responded.

"H-H-He destroyed the skull face?!!!!"

"Are you serious?!! is that even possible?!!"

"Shit! Did I go overboard? it will be bad if it collapses on our allies" Killer said.

...

Back at Kai and Wang Zhi's battlefield...

Clang! Clang! BAM! The fight was reaching its peak as the two captains were going all out.

"With your current level don't even dream about defeating me! This world doesn't need dreamers, it only needs strong people, Red Demon!!" Wang Zhi rushed towards Kai while throwing a powerful punch.

"There is no such thing as that...a man without a dream is no different than a mindless beast, eating, shitting and sleeping. Do you even call that being alive?"

BOOOM!! Wang Zhi and Kai's fist clashed and as the former released a Hasshoken Shockwave from his knuckles it caused Kai to get thrown back with a sharp pain shooting through his arm, despite it being hardened with Haki.

"Huff...Huff...Not yet, that's not what I'm aiming for..." Kai fought to stand, while Wang Zhi barraged him with relentless attacks, leaving him no chance to recover.

With swift movement, Wang Zhi widened his mouth and gathered fire before releasing it into a powerful conical blast.

"Fox Fire!!"

Kai scrapped Shichiseiken on the ground generating intense flames that shrouded it's blade before he swung it downwards at the incoming blast, unleashing an intense green-colored fire slash that cut it in half.

BOOOM!! The blast went on to incinerate everything behind Kai afterwards.

"Cutting fire with fire, huh?" Wang Zhi remarked.

"Huff...Huff..." Kai stood still, gasping for breath, his body battered, covered with wounds and bloodied, staining the ground beneath him.

But even after all that the confident grin he was wearing from the start of the fight still haven't faded away. Right now, he was taking this fight more as a training rather than just a life and death battle.

Haki blooms during life threatening situations, and this is the perfect chance for him to get stronger before fighting his next target 'Big Mom'.

"...*Inhale*...*Exhale*..." Kai took a moment to close his eyes, steadying his breath and calming his mind.

"Are you finally giving up?" Wang Zhi approached Kai at a measured pace. Kai remained silent and in the deep focus "Rest assured, your effort won't go unnoticed. People will praise you for being brave enough to invade Pirate Island and face it's boss with courage"

Kai paid no attention to him, taking deep breaths to calm himself until his body relaxed.

'I have to relax and change the way I use Haki, instead of forcing it out like I do when I harden a body part or a weapon, I need to let it flow smoothly out of my body like a water drop flows from a vessel' Kai's eyes shut tight as he anticipated Wang Zhi's swift approach. Without warning, Wang Zhi lunged forward, aiming to sever Kai's head with a sharp swing of his sword.

Kai raised his owns and parried the blow by holding his sword vertically, but the force of the attack still managed to push him back a great distance.

'...let it flow smoothly out of your body like a water drop flows from a vessel' Kai kept repeating the same sentence in his head while imagining it happen in his mind like a simulation.

With a smile on his face Wang Zhi attacked him once more. He proceeded to leap into the air and channel intense flames into his sword and then descended towards Kai, swinging his weapon downwards with a great force.

"It's over!! Eustass Kai!!"

"..."

'This is it!' Kai opened his eyes and raised his gaze and met Wang Zhi's eyes before he hardened his arm muscles until they bulged and let his Haki flow around his entire body and sword, infusing himself with it.

Kai's entire body was covered in a red-colored flowing aura as he used Advanced Armament Haki, or simply Emission. (The same one Oden used when fighting Whitebeard)

This advanced form of Haki provides the user a massive increase in cutting power and strength, elevating their swordsmanship techniques enough that they become able to cut and slash through massive creatures and structures with relative ease and skill.

"What--?!!" Wang Zhi's confident smile quickly faded away and was replaced with a shocked expression as he looked at Kai who easily blocked his blade in disbelieve.

BAAAM!! The clash ended in stalemate, forcing Wang Zhi to jump back.

"Don't tell me--this little shit...?!"

"Seven Star..." Kai fixed a menacing stare on Wang Zhi, clutching his sword tightly.

<Soru >

SWOOOSH!! While still using Advanced Armament Haki, Kai launched himself at a great speed towards Wang Zhi who was momentarily startled by what happened earlier, giving Kai the chance to deal a direct blow to him.

Kai swiftly delivered a diagonal slash across his chest before landing a few feet behind him.

"...Oni's Inferno Cascade!!"

SPLASH!!!

"AUUGGHHH!!!!" Wang Zhi howled in agony as his chest was sliced open, engulfing him in green flames that seared his flesh. Blood poured from the wound, leaving a deep scar in its wake.

He collapsed on one knee afterward, holding his injury while groaning in pain.

The people who were fighting nearby were in disbelieve after witnessing that.

"H-He injured Wang Zhi…?!"

"Eustass-ya?" Law, with a composed demeanor, cast a brief glance in Kai's direction from afar.

"…"

"Not enough...Huff...Huff...I need more power" Kai was aiming to learn more than that, Advanced Armament Haki was just a way for him to grasp the flowing Haki concept.

"His Haki got suddenly stronger to leave a deep wound on me in my Hybrid Form?!...What happened to this brat all of a sudden?!--Ugh!!!"

Kai turned back and faced Wang Zhi while aiming his blade at his direction before he calmly spoke to him "Get your ass up on your feet, Wang Zhi..."

"...I'm still not done with you, I need a good sparring partner"

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