"Ten Thousand Swords…"
Invisible sword intent surged wildly around Carl's figure, condensing into an overwhelming presence that warped the very air. His pupils suddenly contracted—he seemed to witness a scene beyond comprehension.
Even the execution of his impending ultimate move, [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect], abruptly paused.
"This is…"
He shut his eyes tightly. And yet, within the darkness of his mind, a vision unfolded—a boundless void, thickly layered with endless sword intent. Blades hanging in eternity, vibrating with pure killing will.
The so-called inheritance of the Sword God, which Carl had acquired during a routine sign-in at Loguetown, wasn't a boundary—it was a door. It did not bar him from surpassing the Sword God. It simply handed him the map to that very summit.
And now, he was standing at the precipice of a new realm.
"Without form, without self… the pinnacle…"
"Extremely accomplished!"
Carl's eyes shot open—the invisible sword aura ignited like a cyclone in his gaze.
Crack—!
An invisible barrier shattered in his soul. It felt like a transparent wall had disintegrated in front of him.
In that instant, Carl's spirit broke through to a higher plane. Every sword technique he'd cultivated, from basic Iaido to advanced kenjutsu, received a metaphysical upgrade. His connection to swordsmanship deepened far beyond the parameters of conventional training.
"Brother, get out of the way!" Fujitora—Issho—sensed it instantly. His staff-blade spun like a typhoon as he clashed directly with Kaido of the Beasts, forcing the Yonko to retreat several paces. Despite his blindness, he could feel the terrifying transformation in Carl's aura—an existence now transcending even the boundaries of traditional kendo.
He, too, was a swordsman. He knew what had just happened.
Carl lowered his head slightly, placing a steady hand on the Deadwood blade sheathed at his side.
"This… feels natural, almost inevitable…" he murmured with emotion. The inheritance of the Sword God, which he had casually obtained through a log-in reward, was proving to be nothing short of divine fate.
Since that day in Loguetown, he had wielded the sword with evolving instinct, never fully understanding how far it could carry him.
And now, it bloomed fully.
The sword intent at his waist pulsed like a brief, beautiful ephemera. And along with it came a tremendous drain on his stamina—extreme attainment demanded extreme sacrifice.
"You little brat…" Kaido narrowed his bloodshot eyes. His club crackled with wind and lightning as it rose slowly. "To achieve something like this… even Kozuki Oden didn't reach this level."
Indeed, not even the famed Togen Totsuka cut from Oden had ever carried such an overwhelming sword pressure. This wasn't just supreme kenjutsu—this was a completely evolved philosophy of the sword.
Zheng—!
A sharp sword cry rang out. Deadwood vanished from its sheath in a single flash.
Kaido's kanabo came thundering down, wrapped in the destructive force of Haoshoku and Raimei Hakke.
In that suspended moment, time itself seemed frozen.
Carl stared into Kaido's eyes. Then, one step, one breath—
The sword returned slowly to its sheath.
"Extremely Drawn Blade—Hundred Blades Vanish."
Crack…crack…crack!
Hairline fractures snaked across Kaido's Hassaikai, his indestructible iron kanabo. And in the next breath—
"This is… the Invisible Sword Intent of the Extreme Path," Carl explained calmly, his tone utterly detached. But Kaido no longer had time to listen.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Invisible blades rained down through Kaido's titanic body. Each cut left a scar not just on his flesh—but his will.
His pupils shrank to the size of pinholes.
Spurt—!
Blood erupted from his mouth as he staggered back. For a moment, the memory of Kozuki Oden returned—not as nostalgia, but as trauma.
The same pressure, no—greater.
That blade wants to kill me.
Carl didn't let up. In his left hand now—Sakuretsuten, the black blade forged from sorrow and fury, gleamed with refined Busoshoku.
He swung again.
A clean arc flashed through the air, aiming straight for Kaido's neck!
Clang—!!
A sharp ringing echoed as Carl's blade struck not flesh—but Kaido's hardened dragon horn. Sparks exploded in the air.
The blow didn't connect fully.
Kaido grinned with blood on his lips, face contorted into a mix of rage and awe.
"You think that's enough to kill me?!"
A monstrous wave of energy exploded from his body.
This was Kaido's full force—Mythical Zoan Awakening, his dragon-human hybrid form fully engaged, muscles bulging, his blood now boiling with primal fury.
He had acknowledged Carl—not as an insect, not as a soldier—but as a legitimate threat.
The real fight was only just beginning.
Carl's eyes darkened as invisible sword intent began to coil around his form once again.
A terrifying pressure welled up in his right arm as he drew back, his voice cold: "Oh? Then try feeling the edge of this sword!"
CRACK—!
It was as if the air itself was tearing apart. In a flash, 'Sakura Ten'—the blade Carl had taken from the defeated Shichibukai—cleaved forward like lightning.
CLANG—!
One of the oni horns adorning Kaido's draconic forehead snapped clean off and clattered to the ground.
In his massive Eastern-style Azure Dragon form, Kaido was slammed down from the sky.
BOOM!
The earth split open beneath his massive frame, the shockwave tearing through the battlefield.
But within moments, a low growl escaped the dragon's throat. Kaido rose once again, massive dragon claws seizing the Kanabo mace that had fallen beside him.
SWISH!
The sound of air screaming under pressure cut through the moment—this time, his strike was filled with true fury and focused Haki. This wasn't the wild rampage from before—it was a targeted blow.
A nonchalant voice rang beside Kaido's ear: "Don't forget to stay down."
His pupils shrank.
BOOM!
A crushing force suddenly buried his back—a gravity strike, enhanced by Fujitora's Devil Fruit, the Zushi Zushi no Mi.
While Kaido's dragon-form defenses were monstrous—enough to shrug off advanced Armament Haki from most enemies—the gravity wasn't cutting or burning. It was sheer force.
Fujitora, the blind Marine admiral known for his moral code, pressed his cane-sword forward with deliberate pressure, layering gravitational weight onto Kaido's back.
Naturally, Carl didn't miss this opportunity.
A black-and-gold slash wave tore up from the ground.
SHRIP!
The powerful slash tore from Kaido's right chest to his lower abdomen—blood geysered forth.
The beast staggered.
For a moment, it looked like the Emperor might fall.
But suddenly, he stamped down—his claws crushing the rock, regaining balance. Then, his arms swung forward with gale-force strength, releasing twin wind-blasted punches in a wide arc at Carl and Fujitora.
BANG! BANG!
Carl raised Sakura Ten, clashing with the mace head-on, while Fujitora raised his sheathed sword like a shield. Both men were blasted backward by the immense kinetic power.
"Phew—" Carl exhaled and steadied himself, his gaze focused. "You're seriously a pain in the ass."
Even teaming up with Fujitora, Kaido was proving nearly impossible to take down cleanly. Despite being driven back momentarily, his Mythical Zoan vitality made killing him feel like trying to cut through steel with paper.
Meanwhile, Carl's advanced Observation Haki, enhanced by his Killing Intent Field, detected more incoming auras converging fast.
And he knew Fujitora had picked them up even earlier—his innate spatial perception made color range awareness terrifyingly precise.
"Your Excellency Carl," Fujitora said calmly, his blade still sheathed but smoking faintly with residual gravity. "We have company incoming."
"Yeah," Carl sighed and scratched his head, "figured as much. This is Wano, after all."
This wasn't some minor stronghold—it was Kaido's stronghold, the core territory of the Beasts Pirates.
Even though Kaido was on the defensive now, their side was still the minority.
"SKREEEE—!"
A flaming figure swept across the sky—King the Wildfire, in his Pteranodon Zoan form, sliced through the clouds above them, trailing black fire.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
On the ground, a grotesquely large figure with a cybernetic arm and a thick cigar clenched in his mouth thundered forward—Queen the Plague, the mad scientist of the Beasts Pirates.
With surprising speed for his massive size, Queen stomped toward the battlefield, tech buzzing and Haki crackling faintly around him.
Kaido let out a low laugh, blood still dripping from his muzzle. "Huff… looks like your advantage is gone."
From the distance, more shadows emerged.
The Tobi Roppo—the Flying Six—appeared one by one: Page One, Ulti, Sasaki, Who's Who, Black Maria, and X Drake. Behind them, more forces surged—Gifter, Pleasure, and Waiter troops, numbering over a hundred.
This wasn't some ragtag pirate crew—this was the full mobilization of a Yonkō's army.
"Damn," Carl smacked his lips. "Now that's a proper headache."
The overwhelming force of the Beasts Pirates was now fully bearing down on them.
FWIP!
With a flap of his wings, King landed at Kaido's side, his black mask gleaming.
Kaido turned to him and grunted, "What took you so long?"
King looked visibly irritated but kept his tone even. "We were stretched thin. Yamato volunteered to guard the treasure vault."
There was a pause.
"…And she walked off with the permanent log pose," King finished, clearly disgruntled.
"Ran off, huh," Kaido growled, eyes flashing. He grit his teeth. "That girl… Yamato!"
Even now, Kaido couldn't understand why his own daughter revered Kozuki Oden, his old enemy from 20 years ago.
Was it really just because the fool scarred him?
Regardless, Yamato continued to reject her father's vision.
"Tch, forget her for now," Kaido muttered, returning his focus to the enemies in front of him.
"King, hold one of them off. Once I finish the other, it's game over."
Kaido knew full well—Fujitora and Carl were monsters. But if he could isolate and overwhelm one, the tide would shift.
Queen let out a cackle and flexed his mechanical arm. "So who we smashing first, huh?"
"Take the blind old man," King said calmly. His gaze locked on Fujitora. "Leave the flashy Marine swordsman to Kaido."
Kaido grinned, stepping forward, blood still dripping down his chest. "Fine by me."
Even someone like Kaido, who had fought Marines, pirates, and warlords alike, had to respect the level of these two—but divide and conquer was still the best strategy.
"Your Excellency Carl," Fujitora murmured as purple gravitational smoke curled around his fingers, "It seems this will be a difficult battle after all."
Carl's eyes twitched.
Who do you think stirred up this hornet's nest?
JOIN MY PATREON TO READ ADVANCE 100+ CHAPTERS
Patreon.com/Kora_1