Chapter 81

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"Why is Kaido eyeing us?" Nami asked worriedly after she flicked the weather stick.

"I don't know, but they've found the door on the other side. We can't back down now," Zoro said as he pulled out his third knife and the Doichi text. He finished speaking and bit it in his mouth.

"Ah, get on!" Luffy stood up, grinned, pressed his straw hat down, and said.

"Should we take the fruit or hit one of the Four Emperors?" Sanji extinguished his cigarette in one go, his legs ready to unleash power at any moment.

"Let's take the fruit first. Do you want to eat it?" In Luffy's eyes, the Mera-mera Fruit was still more important than Kaido.

"No, I don't want to be a dry duck that can't swim," Sanji said, his eyes never leaving Kaido.

"Ah, me neither," Zoro replied. He just wanted to be a pure swordsman. His three swords were always pointed towards Kaido.

Both he and Sanji surprisingly agreed on who the real enemy was. Kaido put more pressure on them than anyone else. Neither the so-called Golden Emperor nor the woman beside Kaido nor all the enemies he had faced before could match him. He just stood there, his surging might already suffocating them.

It was as if they were facing endless darkness and fear, as if confronting natural disasters and oceans. That feeling of powerlessness, unearthed by instinct, caused every pore of their bodies to widen, their sweat to bead, and their hairs to stand on end and tremble.

However, only the two of them, with their higher strength and sensitivity, had discovered this. Luffy wasn't aware of this at all. He was still thinking about how to deal with the fruit.

"Sorry, Luffy, I don't want to eat it either," Franky said.

"I... I won't eat it either," Usopp said after a moment of hesitation.

"I'll talk about that after we're done, Luffy!" Nami said, barely able to resist the urge to punch Luffy's head.

"Hee hee hee ~ okay." 

After his partner yelled at him, Luffy got serious. He looked at Kaido with determination, then his eyes shifted to the Mera-mera Fruit behind Kaido, and Tessero, who stood beside the fruit. Luffy clenched his fist, and it made a crunching sound as his bones crackled.

"Let's get on!" Luffy declared.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The red, green, and yellow figures turned into afterimages as they instantly rushed out from their spot. From the top of the trapezoidal steps, they jumped towards Kaido and charged at him.

Luffy headed straight for the Mera-mera Fruit. Sanji and Zoro rushed at Kaido, attempting to prevent him from stopping Luffy's actions.

To others, their speed might seem fast, but in Kaido's eyes, they were no different from turtles.

As the two key members of the Straw Hat crew approached him, Kaido sneered. "You don't know if you're alive or dead," he said coldly.

"You play first, Yamato," Kaido said as he touched Yamato's head.

"Okay, Daddy!" Yamato replied cheerfully.

Kaido didn't want to defeat these people in seconds. That would be too easy for him. Sabo, the second-in-command of the revolutionary army and Luffy's other big brother, had to still be around. Kaido didn't want Luffy to witness Sabo fall. It would leave an irreparable regret.

Suddenly, Sanji kicked in the air, causing an explosive burst. Instantly adjusting his position, he sped towards Kaido with even greater velocity, flames bursting from his right leg.

"Diable Jambe!" The flaming kick headed straight for Kaido.

The air around began to tremble due to the high temperature, and it was clear that the fire was intense. In the next moment, Yamato gripped the mace tightly with both hands and positioned herself in front of Kaido. 

"Wanna get to Daddy? You'll have to go through me first," she said. 

Sanji, with a determined look in his eyes, noticed his flames extinguish from his feet. He then stepped on the air, creating an explosion beneath him, propelling him backward in a flip. However, upon seeing Yamato up close, his footing became unsteady, and he nearly fell from the sky. From a distance, he hadn't noticed, but now that he was near...

Wow! This person is more beautiful than anyone I've ever met! Nami-chan and Robin-chan are beautiful too, of course. But this person has white hair and is so tall—taller than Nami-chan! It's terrible. Such a beautiful lady is actually an enemy!

Feeling a strange sensation in his nose, Sanji quickly covered it with his hand as a bit of blood seeped between his fingers. 

"What's wrong, Cook?" Zoro, who was behind Sanji, quickly surpassed him. 

"She's a woman..." Sanji muttered in a daze, hand raised, watching Zoro's retreating figure. In his heart, he held a code of chivalry and would never strike a woman—especially one so enchanting. Even if it meant death, he wouldn't do it.

However, Zoro, who had already launched his attack, didn't hesitate. Gender made no difference to him when facing an enemy. 

"Three Sword Style, Purgatory Onigiri!" he shouted. 

Armament Haki coated his trio of blades, blurring together as he made a swift slash at Yamato. With a loud bang, Yamato met Zoro's swords with his mace held in one hand, effectively blocking the attack. Zoro narrowed his eyes, surprised. 

He felt the strength of the woman before him was well beyond what he'd expected. His entire body tensed, his muscles bulged, as he tried to overpower Yamato and deliver a crippling blow. Yet Yamato's wrist only shook slightly under the assault, and despite the roughness, Zoro couldn't break through her defense.

"You're so weak," Yamato remarked, something she couldn't recall saying since she set out to sea. It was like when her father would leave her only a few minor monsters to contend with. Doflamingo had given her some pressure, but it had been nothing major.

"Weak?!" Zoro snarled back, his cheeks flushed and blood starting to drip from where he clenched his sword's hilt in his mouth. 

Meanwhile, Luffy had skirted past Kaido and made his way to the stage, leaping straight for the Mera-mera Fruit housed in a glass case.

"I won't let you have it, Straw Hat," Tesoro sneered with disdain, "You're just a small-time pirate with a bounty in the hundreds of millions."

He spread the fingers of his right hand, the gold ring on his index finger melting into a liquid state. Like a whip, he flung it at Luffy. Luffy's eyes widened as he propelled himself off the ground, avoiding the attack with a jump. He pulled his right arm back, covering it with Armament Haki.

"Gomu Gomu no Bullet!" Luffy yelled. 

His elastic arm stretched and retracted rapidly, slamming into Tesoro with formidable force. But Tesoro's expression remained cold. He hooked his fingers, and the gold liquid surged upward, striking Luffy squarely in the chin and sending him flying backward.

With an indifferent gaze, Tesoro watched Luffy being knocked away. "That's all you have," he mocked. "You might as well start begging for mercy, Straw Hat."