...
On the light screen, the battle situation changed in an instant.
Seeing his ally Killer struck down by the heavenly lightning summoned by Kaido, his life or death unknown,
Luffy could not afford to worry about his own exhaustion. In his Gear 4 state, his body suddenly shot forward. He fiercely kicked the side of Kaido's massive dragon head in his Azure Dragon form, trying to force him back and create an opening for a rescue.
This kick carried considerable force, causing Kaido's dragon head to tilt slightly, but it also completely exposed Luffy to Kaido's frontal attack range!
"Heat Breath!"
A fierce glint flashed through Kaido's dragon eyes. Without needing to gather power, he opened his dragon mouth.
A pillar of fire, even thicker and more terrifyingly hot than before, erupted like a volcanic explosion toward Luffy, who was now right in front of him!
At such close range, there was almost no way to dodge!
"Luffy!" Zoro's pupils shrank as he urgently shouted at Law: "Torao! Send me in front of Luffy! Now!"
Although Law was extremely displeased by Zoro's commanding tone — he seemed to have a problem with the word "order" today — the situation was critical, and the bigger picture came first.
Suppressing his irritation, he swung Kikoku.
"ROOM·Baton."
Zoro's figure instantly disappeared from where he stood. In the next moment, he had already appeared in front of Luffy, facing the incoming destructive pillar of fire head-on!
Without the slightest hesitation, his blade flashed like flowing water, yet carried an unwavering will to cut through the flames!
Zoro once again used "Foxfire Style" to sever the fire!
"Shhhrrrip!!!"
The massive pillar of fire was actually forcibly "split" down the middle by this slash, turning into two uncontrolled torrents of flame that poured to the sides, melting two deep trenches into the ground!
Zoro stood between the diverging flames, gripping his swords, his aura overwhelming!
Having succeeded with one strike, Zoro's eyes became as sharp as an eagle's. He tightly gripped "Enma" with both hands. His entire body's Haki surged into the blade like it was boiling!
Enma seemed to come alive. The blade trembled violently, emitting a sinister purple-black glow. A faint humming sound even seemed to emanate from it!
That glow and aura made even Charlotte Linlin in the distance feel a strange palpitation!
"Kaido! Dodge quickly!"
Linlin's instincts sent out a warning. She roared at the circling azure dragon: "That sword... has something wrong with it!!"
A strange light also flashed through Kaido's dragon eyes.
He was not afraid. Rather, from the Haki radiating from Enma, he sensed an extremely special and eerie feeling.
In a flash, he seemed to see the figure of a certain swordsman from many years ago who had wielded dual blades and left the only indelible scar on his body...
In that split second, Kaido made his choice — to avoid the edge!
His massive azure dragon body twisted to the side with a flexibility that did not match its size!
"Swish!!!"
Zoro's fully charged, all-out slash — a condensed strike that had taken the form of a flying dragon — grazed past the azure dragon's cheek!
Although it missed a direct hit, the sharp Haki at the edge of the slash still left a shallow but clearly visible cut on the hard dragon-scale cheek of Kaido's Azure Dragon form!
A few drops of scalding dragon blood fell to the ground.
The missed slash, however, continued onward without losing momentum. It silently sliced through one corner of the edge of Oni Island's skull like cutting tofu!
"Rumble..."
The upper half of that several-dozen-meter-tall horn slowly slid off along the mirror-smooth cut.
With one slash, the peak was sliced off!
However,
after Zoro unleashed this all-out slash, his body experienced a brief stiffness and a sense of weakness from Haki depletion.
He was in mid-air with nowhere to gain leverage — the most dangerous moment!
"Mam-ma-ma-ma~ Go to hell for me!"
How could Charlotte Linlin miss this opportunity?
Grinning savagely, she raised her hand and pointed! A bolt of lightning far thicker and more violent than the one that had struck Killer earlier descended like a divine spear of judgment!
It struck with incredible precision toward Zoro, who had nowhere to dodge in mid-air!
"Zoro!!!"
Luffy's scream was heart-wrenching!
He watched helplessly as his comrade was swallowed by the blinding lightning!
The pillar of lightning struck solidly!
The glaring light and deafening thunder left everyone temporarily blinded and deafened!
Zoro's figure fell from the sky like a bird with broken wings, his body charred black and smoking heavily as he crashed into the ruins below.
"Zoro!!"
Seeing Zoro injured, Luffy felt as if his heart was being violently squeezed. The steam from his Gear 4 state became even more turbulent due to his intense emotions!
"Mam-ma-ma-ma~ The annoying guy has been cleaned up! Next are you, you ignorant brats!"
Linlin laughed wildly as she turned her targets toward the remaining Luffy, Kid, and Law.
She raised Napoleon high. The flames of Prometheus on the blade burned fiercely, resonating with the rolling thunderclouds above!
"Tenman Daijizai Tengami!!!"
The Emperor made her declaration!
In an instant, with her at the center, countless bolts of lightning of varying thicknesses rained down from the sky like a storm!
No longer targeting a single person, it was now an indiscriminate, covering bombardment! Every bolt of lightning contained terrifying energy capable of instantly melting steel, turning the entire battlefield atop the skull into a lightning purgatory!
Kid and Law's expressions changed drastically!
This kind of wide-area attack was difficult for their abilities to completely avoid!
The lightning was too dense...
Kid was grazed by one bolt. It left a charred wound on his body, and the intense pain made him let out a muffled grunt.
During one of his instantaneous movements, Law was grazed on the back by a lightning bolt that seemed to have predicted his position.
Electricity coursed through his entire body. He could not help but cough up a mouthful of blood. He dropped to one knee, barely supporting himself with Kikoku stabbed into the ground.
Only Luffy!
Like a berserker who had lost all reason, he completely ignored the terrifying lightning raining down from the sky!
In his eyes, there were only the two Emperors high above who had injured his comrades!
Roaring, he used the elasticity of Gear 4 to shoot upward against the curtain of lightning like a cannonball, charging straight toward Kaido and Linlin in the sky!
"Straw Hat brat!!"
Seeing Luffy's suicidal charge, Linlin's savage grin widened. She deliberately controlled the thickest, most concentrated pillar of lightning and sent it crashing down toward the charging Luffy!
"Turn to ash for me!!!"
"BOOM!!!"
The blinding lightning completely swallowed Luffy!
Outside the light screen, the spectators instinctively closed their eyes or turned their heads, unable to bear watching the boy being reduced to charcoal.
However, the expected screams or smell of burning flesh never came.
The lightning slowly faded.
Luffy's figure... was still standing in mid-air!
He maintained his charging posture. Aside from his clothes being somewhat charred and torn, and faint residual electricity jumping across his skin...
He was actually... completely unharmed?! Not even a single drop of blood!
"Wh... What?!"
The savage grin on Charlotte Linlin's face instantly froze. Her huge eyes widened to their limits, filled with disbelief and shock: "Straw Hat brat... You... Why?! Why is lightning ineffective against you?!"
This went beyond her understanding!
She had absolute confidence in her attacks. How could this straw hat brat withstand her full-powered lightning strike completely unharmed?!
Luffy twisted his neck. The electricity jumping across his body crackled a few times before completely dissipating.
He raised his head and looked at the shocked Linlin. His expression was completely matter-of-fact, even carrying a hint of "You didn't know that?" confusion as he loudly replied:
"Because I'm made of rubber!"
"Huh???"
Linlin was completely stunned. Her brain seemed to freeze for a second.
Rubber?
Rubber insulates? Of course she knew that basic fact!
But was her "thunderous might" ordinary lightning? Could ordinary insulators block it? What kind of joke was this?!
Before Linlin could recover from this absurd explanation, Kaido, who had also come back to his senses, launched his attack!
"Nonsense. Heat Breath!"
Another scorching pillar of dragon breath fire shot toward Luffy! This time it was even closer, and the flames were more condensed!
Luffy did not dodge or evade. He did not even use Haki to defend. He simply took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and then...
"Boom!"
The pillar of fire struck Luffy head-on!
Flames engulfed him...
When the flames dispersed, Luffy patted the slightly curled edges of his straw hat. Aside from his skin being a bit blackened from the smoke, he was still... full of energy!
"Why?! He's even immune to fire?!" A flash of shock also passed through Kaido's dragon eyes. Although he did not lose his composure like Linlin, he was completely unable to understand.
His "Heat Breath" had a temperature high enough to melt anything. How was this brat doing it?
Luffy puffed out his chest and, facing the shocked gazes of the two Yonko, declared in a firm, incomparably confident tone:
"Because I have perseverance!"
"..."
The entire area fell into dead silence.
Atop Oni Island, the wind howled, thunderclouds rolled, and the embers of flames had yet to die out.
But all sound seemed to have been muted after Luffy's line, "Because I have perseverance!"
The azure dragon Kaido and Queen Linlin in the sky stood like two petrified statues.
Their massive dragon eyes and human eyes were filled with the same extreme emotions — confusion, absurdity, and a sense of self-doubt like "Did I mishear something?"
Outside the light screen, at the God Valley site.
Roger's mouth hung wide open, his jaw nearly hitting the ground.
Rocks, arms crossed, had the corner of his mouth twitch uncontrollably.
Garp suddenly covered his face, his shoulders shaking violently — it was unclear whether he wanted to cry or laugh.
Sengoku pushed up his glasses. The look behind the lenses was completely blank.
Tsuru rubbed her temples.
Roger and Gaban exchanged glances. Both saw the same helpless thought in the other's eyes: "This idiot kid is beyond saving."
All the Marines, pirates, and World Government personnel... regardless of their positions or strength, had fallen into the same state at this moment...
Stunned speechless!
Even the ordinary citizens watching through the light screen from various places across the Four Seas were all frozen in place, their belongings falling to the ground.
Rubber insulates? Perseverance resists fire?
What... what the hell kind of explanation was this?!
Where was the science? Where was Haki theory? Where was ability matchup?
All of it had been shattered by that single line: "Because I have perseverance!"
After the brief dead silence came an explosion of laughter, complaints, and sheer disbelief that nearly overturned God Valley and every viewing location!
"Hahahahahaha! Perseverance?! He actually said because of perseverance?!"
"Rubber insulating, I can barely understand a little... but what the hell is perseverance resisting fire?!"
"This straw hat brat... is he serious?!"
"Did he get struck by lightning and lose his mind?!"
"No... I think he's serious... Look at his expression..."
Luffy's completely matter-of-fact and self-righteous appearance formed the strongest contrast in history with the ridiculous explanation coming out of his mouth, shattering everyone's cognitive limits.
The pirates laughed heartily, thoroughly amused by the scene.
On the light screen, the two Yonko remained in their petrified state, as if still trying to digest this "answer" that had surpassed all common sense from their long lives.
...