Kong was full of confidence in Sengoku and no longer paid attention to the clash between him and Newgate. His cold gaze locked onto Brook and Redfield—the two criminals who had slain Celestial Dragons.
Cleaning up the Sabaody Archipelago had already cost him time, and he'd been harassed endlessly by the various Celestial Dragon families afterward. Thinking back, the source of that headache was right in front of him—these two men.
"You two slaughtered the world's so-called 'nobles'—the Celestial Dragons. Your crimes are unforgivable. Your lives will be the price to calm their wrath!"
Kong clenched his fists as an overwhelming wave of Armament Haki exploded from his body. This was the highest tier of external Armament Haki displayed on the seas today—something only a truly powerful warrior could achieve.
The Ryuo Haki of Wano Country was merely a sophisticated application of this—channeling Armament Haki to destroy from within. Even weaker Haki users could master this technique with effort.
"Yohoho! If you're coming at us as a Navy man, then so be it. But if you're here to avenge those disgusting Celestial Dragons, then I got something to say—next time I see one, I'll kill him again!"
Brook didn't waste another word. He charged forward, triggering the attack. Redfield, Shiki, and Linlin immediately followed, launching a full-on assault.
Steel Bone Kong—destined to be the future Supreme Commander of the World Government's military—was loyal to the core. Unlike a straightforward brawler, he possessed a sharp mind and keen emotional control. That same loyalty, intellect, and strength helped him rise, even after being defeated by the Red Earl in the future.
But after Brook's defiant words, even Kong's calm demeanor cracked. His brows furrowed in anger—this man dared threaten the Celestial Dragons?
Unforgivable.
These Hell Pirates must die today. All of them.
"Brook, you're just as stubborn as that punk from the Redfield family. But there won't be a next time for either of you. You die here today!"
Kong launched himself forward like a cannonball, aiming to eliminate Brook without giving him any chance to escape!
Golden Lion Shiki summoned a giant hand from the ground to intercept him, but Kong shattered it effortlessly and continued his charge.
Then came a thunder dragon and a stone lion barreling in—also shattered by Kong's monstrous strikes. His punches created massive shockwaves that obliterated the summoned beasts instantly.
"What terrifying physical power!"
Brook didn't dare take a direct hit—one punch from this guy might shatter his body entirely. And he didn't know if he could come back from that.
"For someone like you—your body's a fortress, but what about your soul?"
'Underworld Energy: Soul Slash!'
Brook drew his blade and vanished, leaving only a trail of cold air behind. By the time anyone registered what happened, he had already appeared behind Kong.
Even Kong, mid-attack, hadn't seen him move. Brook had simply disappeared from his view.
A sharp howl escaped Kong's lips as a slash opened across his chest, blood spraying. The wound wasn't deep, and his body would heal in minutes—but then, something else hit.
A sudden, piercing migraine exploded in his head—a soul-piercing pain that stunned the battle-hardened admiral. His body froze.
In that instant, Redfield's lightning spear shot forward and pierced Kong's torso, crackling thunder frying his insides. Shiki followed up, plunging Oto and Kogarashi into him. Linlin ended the chain with her fiery thunder fists, smashing Kong's chest and sending him crashing to the earth, chest collapsed.
The Hell Pirates' combined assault was sharp, brutal, and perfectly synchronized—each attack landing with precision and devastating force.
Even Sengoku was caught off guard when he heard Kong scream in pain for the first time. That moment of shock left him open, and Newgate capitalized—his Ryuo Haki punch landed square on Sengoku's face, the internal shock almost knocking him unconscious.
If not for the resilience granted by the Buddha Fruit, Sengoku might've gone down for good. Still, he was sent flying, crashing into a nearby building and buried in rubble.
Brook stared down at Kong in the crater. The man's aura had dimmed only slightly. Wasn't that combined barrage enough to kill or at least cripple a top admiral?
"Six Styles Secret Art: Life Return!!"
Steam hissed from Kong's red-hot frame as his wounds began to heal—Brook's slash, Shiki's blades, Redfield's spear, Linlin's crushing fists—all of it recovered rapidly.
His regeneration and physique were like something out of legend. The Navy's ultimate combat technique—the Six Styles—had evolved into something monstrous in Kong's hands.
Kong rose, eyes burning with killing intent. His vision blurred slightly from Brook's soul slash—an attack he had never encountered before.
He'd only heard rumors that Vice Admiral Tsuru was working on techniques that could affect a person's moral alignment or soul. But this? Direct damage to the soul?
He had underestimated Brook. Never again.
From now on, any strike from Brook must be avoided at all costs. The others were strong, sure—but it was Brook who was truly dangerous.
"Linlin! Hold off on using Zeus and Prometheus. Instead, coat your fists with soul power. Hit Kong where it hurts the most—his soul!"
Brook knew it—his attacks were the most effective against Kong. The man's body was practically invincible, but his soul defense was lacking. With no Conqueror's Haki to resist, Brook had the edge.
Unless Kong could dodge everything Brook threw at him, his soul would be torn down piece by piece.
"Hmph! You think just because you can touch the soul, you're invincible? Don't flatter yourself. I was careless before. But if I keep my Armament Haki fully externalized, your sword aura won't even touch me!"
Kong glared at Brook with rage. That last attack had used his own confidence against him. He had relied on his iron body to take the slash—but the blade wasn't the threat. It was the power behind it.
------------------
Seeing that Kong was speaking so logically, Brook just laughed.
"Now you're here to capture us, but next, you're focusing on defense? After we've tested your strength, we'll retreat. What the hell can you do to me?"
Still, the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Great Buddha form on Sengoku made Brook a little envious. But with Admiral Kong present, capturing Sengoku would be damn near impossible for the Hell Pirates!
After Vegapunk's latest analysis, they realized that the previous success with recovering Devil Fruits inside the seastone chamber wasn't guaranteed. They got lucky recovering three last time—it wasn't something they could pull off 100% of the time.
To figure out how stable the method was, they'd need more people with special abilities to gather better data. Vegapunk pointed out flaws in Brook's original experiment right away. For example, when seawater enters the seastone chamber, a huge amount of air escapes, which might also cause the "devil" itself to escape. So yeah—their earlier success was basically a fluke.
Putting aside greed and distractions, Brook knew the Hell Pirates couldn't defeat Admiral Kong just yet. The best outcome would be a mutual standoff and eventual retreat.
Still, they needed to continue testing everyone's strength. If they could beat Kong, kidnapping Sengoku would be the next step.
"Yohohoho! Then I hope you can keep your whole body armed with Haki and constantly release it for defense. I wonder how long you can hold out?"
Brook smiled faintly and summoned the Soul of Death. Ghost generals began appearing one by one—including some familiar souls.
Kong even saw the spirit of David Kyons, which shocked him. Could Brook really summon the souls of his own enemies to fight for him? That was way too twisted. In Kong's mind, Brook had just added another crime to his list.
"Don't worry," Kong said coldly. "My Armament Haki is enough to hold until I take all of you down!"
He had rested for a bit and his spirit was feeling stronger, though there was still some dull pain. He had no intention of being hit by Brook's soul-based moves again—he was going to maintain Armament Haki from the very start.
"Hahaha! Enough talk—sink into the earth!!"
Golden Lion Shiki suddenly clapped both hands together, completely ignoring the conversation between Brook and Kong. From both sides of the pit, tons of mud poured inward, burying Kong alive.
Just as Kong was about to leap out, a bolt of lightning blasted him back down, and the mud completely engulfed him. Brook and the others knew this wouldn't kill Kong—but seeing the overly confident admiral embarrassed like that? Worth it.
Sure enough, Kong exploded out of the dirt, face grim and gloomy. Gone was the mighty, composed General Kong from earlier.
"Yohoho~ Kong! Don't make that face—it doesn't match your tough-guy image. C'mon, slap that calm, cocky look back on!"
Brook waved his hand, and the ghost generals, led by David Kyons, charged straight at Kong, giving him zero room to breathe.
Today, they were going to test every damn move on Kong—to see how effective they really were!
Seeing Brook use this strange power again, Kong had no intention of taking the hit directly. He had a healthy fear of weird Devil Fruit abilities. But as long as they couldn't touch him, he'd be fine.
His right fist surged with Armament Haki as he punched through the ghostly attackers. But Brook blinked behind him and struck again.
The other three moved in as well. Even if they couldn't pierce his defense, they were determined to wear down his terrifying Haki reserves. Shiki the Golden Lion summoned even more giant earth hands to hammer Kong, convinced he couldn't keep that Haki shield going forever.
The moment he slipped up, Brook's soul-slicing attacks would land clean.
Redfield was on the same page—he knew they couldn't beat Kong outright, so he focused on bombarding him with lightning to drain his defenses.
Charlotte Linlin had originally planned to follow Brook's strategy and use soul attacks too, but once she saw Kong focus on defense, she realized her own soul powers were less effective. So she switched back to using Zeus the Thundercloud and Prometheus the Sun.
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Sengoku burst from the rubble, glowing with golden light and glaring at Newgate. But when he saw the legendary Admiral Kong locked in total defense, he was stunned.
He couldn't believe it—Admiral Kong, once the destroyer of enemies, now on the back foot against the Hell Pirates?
The bombardment lasted over an hour, but Kong's Armament-coated forcefield never cracked. Brook was impressed—Kong's Haki reserve was absolutely monstrous!
Overhead, the Golden Spaceship finally arrived. Antonio handed some Seagull News birds to Moore Thomas and had them carry live-broadcast Den Den Mushi to record the battle.
At the same time, projectors lit up across the Grand Line—on the Erebus, Golden Island, and Sky Island. The world was now watching this war unfold.
It was the first time Kaido had ever seen such a violent, destructive battle. Compared to this, all the kingdom wars he'd seen felt like children playing with sticks.
The explosions of sword energy, shockwaves, firestorms, lightning bolts, and enormous summoned hands—it was insane.
But what impressed Kaido most was Kong, taking all those attacks head-on without a scratch. In that moment, Kaido saw his own future. He wanted to be like that. Unbreakable. Unstoppable.
No one can ever beat me.
Meanwhile, the duel between Newgate and Sengoku finally came to an end. Both had fought with everything they had to help their captains. Half the island had been turned to rubble, worse than the five-way battle happening nearby.
In the end, Newgate landed a decisive blow. Sengoku was carried away by Marine soldiers, badly injured. Newgate collapsed as well—he couldn't fight anymore.
Fishman Tom and the others quickly carried him back to the Golden airship for treatment by the ship's doctor, Crocus.
At this point, it seemed like Kong had figured out most of their moves. Once he saw Sengoku retreat in defeat, he stopped defending.
"Hmph. You think I've just been sitting here taking hits? I've been learning all your attack patterns and weaknesses. You're not going anywhere now!"
Kong's confident grin returned. Getting beat up was part of the process for physical masters like him—it's how they studied their opponents' flaws.
He targeted the weakest link first: Shiki the Golden Lion. He wasn't as fast as Brook or Redfield and didn't have the sheer defense that Charlotte did. That made him the perfect opening.
"Steel Bone: Righteous Warrior!!"
Kong roared. His body turned red-hot, steam wrapped around him like a boiler. His speed skyrocketed—he vanished from sight.
Then—BOOM.
He reappeared in front of Shiki and punched him square in the gut, sending him flying in a spray of blood…
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