Chapter 67.1 : King Returns!!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire island began to shake violently, and the surrounding sea was tumultuous.

All of this was due to a fierce battle between two monsters on the island.

The battleground for the two was gradually shifting deeper into the island.

On the other side of the sea, the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates were on high alert.

Ian turned back to see a torrent surging from behind the fleet; the receding water was rapidly pushing the Beast Pirates' fleet closer.

Next, they needed to address the landing issue.

Ian lowered his head and looked at the scattered pirates of the Beast Pirates gathered along the shore.

Their formation was quite dispersed, seemingly to avoid being bombarded.

Having learned from past experiences, these guys were getting smarter.

However, given their numbers, no matter how spread out they tried to be, they couldn't possibly be too thinly positioned.

Then—

The golden body instantly melted into flames, a vivid red and brilliant gold intertwined, as the Immortal Phoenix soared into the sky.

Immortal Phoenix Form! Launch!

Ian spread his wings and dove down.

But just then—

Ian suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering; he looked up to see invisible shockwaves roaring toward him, shattering the air along their path.

Huh?

In an instant, the Immortal Phoenix was blown away by the surging shockwave, its brilliant flames bursting apart.

Whitebeard?

Ian glanced toward the center of the island, where smoke was billowing.

Kaido-sensei, what are you doing?

"Whitebeard! What are you doing!!"

Inside the Island

In the interior of the island, Kaido, having transformed into his dragon form, roared, his body growing more muscular. His eyebrows curled like clouds, fierce and terrifying like a demon. 

"Thunderous Eight Trigrams!"

"What's wrong? Are you not convinced?"

Whitebeard laughed heartily, his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki entwined with the Armament Haki and a semi-transparent shockwave, crashing against Kaido's iron rod.

The terrifying shockwaves from their clash spread out in all directions, and even the jumping Conqueror's Haki lightning shattered the surrounding rock formations in half.

At this point, the battle had yet to yield a clear result, or rather, it wouldn't conclude in just a few days without any interference.

On Ian's Side

The golden form gradually emerged from the flames.

At the start of the battle, he had no intention of exhausting too much energy.

Looking at it now, that was a wise decision.

With Whitebeard interfering, causing explosions wouldn't be easy.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sharp sound of slicing air suddenly rang out.

Ian glanced back; the fleet riding the giant waves was now very close to the island.

Standing at the bow of a central warship, Queen gazed at the island coast within range.

"Mu hahaha! Fire! Hit them hard!"

The entire fleet opened fire, countless cannonballs flying toward the island's coast.

"Prepare for defense!!"

As the barrage of cannonballs fell from the sky, Vista of the Flower Swords leaped into the air, his twin blades suddenly turning pitch black. 

"Hya!"

With a powerful shout, he spun his dual blades, creating a storm of slashing petals that tore through the incoming cannonball barrage, triggering intense explosions all around.

However, he alone couldn't block all the cannonballs.

Even if all the division captains and affiliate ship captains joined forces now, many cannonballs would still fall.

Explosions erupted along the coast one after another.

But the Whitebeard Pirates weren't just sitting back; heavy artillery that had long been set up on the shore fired simultaneously, sending a barrage of dark cannonballs toward the Beast Pirates' fleet.

"Bear!"

Flames filled the sky, forming a wall that blocked the cannonballs aimed at the Beast Pirates, exploding them mid-air.

But this wasn't Ian's fire.

"Uncle King!" 

Ian turned to see the toothless wyvern soaring in like a heavy bomber, unable to contain his laughter. "You came back just in time!"

"King!" 

Thatch, perched on the rocky cliff, gritted his teeth. "That bastard returned too quickly!"

Had it only been a day since Marco contacted them? Marco would need at least twice that time to return!

"King! You bastard!"

On the side of the Beast Pirates' fleet, Queen was cursing loudly.

King's flames not only blocked the Whitebeard Pirates' cannonballs but also intercepted their own!

However...

At this distance, they wouldn't need cannon fire, would they?

Riding the massive waves, the fleet was about to charge onto the shore! 

"Here they come!"

Diamond Jozu shouted, "Fall back!!"

This wasn't about intentionally giving the Beast Pirates a landing spot; it was mainly due to the towering waves and the swift ships coming in simultaneously. If they stayed too close to the shore, they would be crushed.

The pirates began to retreat quickly.

At the same time, Ian flew to King's side.

He noticed King was breathing heavily.

It seemed that flying back at full speed had taken quite a toll on him.

"What are you waiting for? Get ready to fight!"

King transformed back into his human form, drawing the long sword at his waist. "Fire Dragon King!"

Flames wrapped around the blade, and in the next moment, a massive fire dragon erupted from it, descending with claws bared toward the Whitebeard Pirates below.

"I'll take it from here!"

Vista of the Flower Swords leaped into action, unleashing a series of slashes that severed the falling fire dragon into multiple pieces, preventing it from crashing down.

But at the same time, Ian raised both hands high. 

The flames in his right hand merged with the flames in his left. 

"Phoenix's Blazing Flame!!" 

The fire condensed in his beast form was at least several hundred meters large, like a second sun in the sky. 

With a powerful downward swing, the sun plummeted!

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