Still...
In their eyes, Ares had truly gone too far this time. He was being utterly reckless.
The moment Conquest of the Sea struck him, his entire body was swallowed by the radiant shockwave.
In that instant, he felt as though countless starving wolves and ferocious tigers were tearing into him without end. Even skin tempered to a level far beyond steel could not withstand such horrifying power.
His skin split open, and the flesh, tendons, and bones beneath it were immediately subjected to that violent, destructive shockwave.
Pain.
It had been a long time since Ares had felt pain this intense, something beyond even the agony of being flayed alive.
The last time had been at Marine G-1 Base, when Sengoku had blasted him hundreds of times over with shockwaves.
Now every inch of his body was being ravaged and crushed by the force of Conquest of the Sea.
Ares had chosen to take this attack head-on. He had not even used Armament Haki.
It was a completely insane gamble.
But...
He knew very well that no one ever knew whether tomorrow or disaster would come first. Wano's development was thriving now, but sooner or later, what was happening there would be discovered. And once it entered the sight of the World Government and the rest of the world, Wano would become a target for all.
Neither Rocks nor the World Government would sit back and let him build Wano in peace. As for Kaido, Kozuki Oden, King, Kuma, and the others, they still had not fully matured.
They were still far from meeting Ares' expectations.
And while they were growing, Ares himself had no intention of standing still. He desperately wanted to become even stronger. At the very least...
Once the Rocks Pirates collapsed, he needed enough power to protect Wano.
Right now, Rocks was still standing in front of the World Government. But the moment Rocks died, the next one the World Government would try to destroy and erase would naturally be Ares.
Ares would never allow himself to cling to wishful thinking, ignore the World Government as a mortal enemy, and comfortably follow the original route of Beast Kaido's development.
He had always thirsted for power.
And mastering the giants' combination technique was undoubtedly one of the fastest ways to raise his combat power and killing ability.
At that moment, Ares suddenly had the strange feeling that his body no longer belonged to him. Instantly alarmed, he forced his will to remain sharp. While sensing the energy of Conquest of the Sea, he drove his consciousness into every organ, every shred of flesh, every bone in his body.
He was using Life Return to continuously repair his injuries.
But even that could not keep up with the rate at which Conquest of the Sea was destroying him.
"The power of this..."
"It's unbelievable. I have to master it. If Brogy and Dorry can unleash something this terrifying, then if I can grasp it..."
"It will absolutely become the kind of move that decides battles at the Emperor or Admiral level in a single stroke."
"A true finishing move."
Ares' body was engulfed by the shockwave and hurled away. Everywhere he passed, the earth split open into canyon-like abysses.
Under the power of Life Return, his flesh, cells, and shattered organs rapidly regenerated, resisting the shockwave.
But...
Ares had overlooked one extremely serious issue.
And at a critical moment like this, that tiny mistake became absolutely lethal.
"This is bad."
"How did I forget about stamina?!"
A chill ran through his heart.
These past few days, he had barely eaten. On top of that, he had been training day and night, which had already drained him badly. His battle against Brogy and Dorry had further consumed his strength, though ordinarily he would never have cared about that.
But now...
He was forcing his flesh and cells to regenerate madly, burning through his stamina.
The consumption far exceeded what training or battle would normally demand. Even for a monster like him, it was too much.
It was like a bottomless abyss swallowing everything.
The newly regenerated flesh could not keep up with the destructive force of Conquest of the Sea.
As a result, his flesh was being devoured continuously by the attack. He was now little more than a mangled mass of gore. Beneath the ruined flesh, even the bones were clearly visible.
Exposed to the energy, they clashed against it with ringing metallic sounds.
That was because his physique had already reached the level of true steel-forged bones.
Ever since mastering Ryuo, he had never slackened in training his body from the inside out. With the aid of lightning, the durability of his internal body was no weaker at all.
And yet, even so, it was still being ground down and tortured by Conquest of the Sea. Bone powder was being shaved off and scattered away.
"No..."
"At this rate, I do not know if I can endure it. But now I do not even have enough stamina left to use Armament Haki."
Ares' flesh had already been stripped away from most of his body. He had no idea how far he had been blasted.
"Hold on..."
"Endure it..."
He could only force his willpower to the surface and stop himself from passing out. Fortunately, his soul was strong enough.
His will had long since been forged as hard as iron. Even now, he divided his focus, driving his spirit into every part of his body to stimulate rapid cellular regeneration.
But the drain on his consciousness was equally terrifying. Very soon, he felt an overwhelming drowsiness creeping over him.
"I can't fall asleep."
"Think. Think of something..."
Ares forced himself to stay clear-headed, searching for a solution.
"My stamina is nearly gone. Armament Haki is out. Observation Haki is useless. Then the only thing left is... Conqueror's Haki?"
The instant the thought of Conqueror's Haki appeared, it felt like he had finally seen a glimmer of hope.
For others, Conqueror's Haki was only useful for overwhelming and intimidating opponents. But he had mastered the technique of Conqueror's coating.
That was the art of wrapping Conqueror's Haki around a weapon or around one's own attacks, greatly boosting their power. With it, one could strike an enemy without even making contact.
Now...
Only Conqueror's Haki could break this deadlock. But with his soul and awareness already so heavily drained, he had to be careful.
Ares tried to use the power of Conqueror's coating to protect the most vital parts of his body, such as his heart.
Second by second, time slipped away. He did not know how much longer he could hold on. His mind felt unbearably heavy, as though he had gone sleepless for days and nights, ready to collapse at any moment.
And his stamina...
The strength in his body had already been wrung completely dry.
"Was I... was I too arrogant?"
That thought suddenly rose in Ares' heart.
But he immediately snapped himself awake.
"No. Once you step onto this sea, you must cast life and death aside. If I cannot keep becoming stronger..."
"How can I fight the World Government? How can I fight Imu, the one who defeated Joy Boy, the Sun God?"
"Wake up!"
"I cannot fall asleep!"