As soon as Pini completed his full transformation, an overwhelming surge of power coursed through his body. At the same time, his control over wind and lightning reached a new level in this form.
Even with his strength greatly enhanced, he still found himself completely outmatched by Silvers Rayleigh, who remained standing calmly on the Dawn Ship.
Pini hesitated.
Should he charge in with brute force, or unleash wind and lightning from a distance?
Even if Rayleigh stood still and took the hit, a single attack would likely destroy the Dawn Ship along with him. At that moment, Pini finally understood what Ash had always said. Fighting on your own territory was never an advantage, it was a restriction.
He could not go all out.
Without needing Youki to warn him again, and having already experienced how close he came to losing his head, Pini immediately canceled his full beast transformation.
In an instant, the massive thousand-meter-long creature disappeared. Pini shifted into his Half-Beast form, tiger-striped with a pair of wings.
Seeing him charge again, Youki acted without hesitation. He transformed into his Half-Beast form as well, taking on a human body with a dragon head, and followed closely behind.
Rayleigh wielded a blade, and fighting him bare-handed was clearly a bad idea. Fortunately, Pini's lightning abilities allowed him to reshape metal effortlessly.
As he descended, the golden folding bow at his waist morphed into a broad-backed great saber. He coated it in Armament Haki and brought it down fiercely toward Rayleigh.
Youki quickly realized the same flaw in his approach. Facing a master swordsman empty-handed was reckless. He pulled out his golden gauntlets and joined the assault.
The two of them pressed Rayleigh together. Though they occasionally suffered cuts, their Mythical Zoan durability and recovery made the injuries negligible.
They were holding up well.
Rayleigh, however, was growing irritated.
Despite his vast experience and refined skill, opponents like these were the most troublesome. Their defense was absurd, their recovery even more so. It reminded him of Kaido after gaining the Azure Dragon power.
These two were far weaker than Kaido, but just as frustrating.
"No choice… I will have to use that move."
As he deflected their relentless attacks, Rayleigh calculated the situation. If Ash returned, facing three opponents at once would make leaving Carnival Island far more difficult.
Meanwhile, Kirk had already realized something was wrong.
After failing to reach Ash through the Den Den Mushi, he guessed that Sengoku had been bombarding Ash with calls, forcing him to store all communication devices away.
After searching Gourmet Island through the space gate and finding nothing, Kirk immediately teleported toward Carnival Island. His range was limited compared to Ash, and he did not possess the same spatial abilities, so he could not afford to waste time.
As for Pini and Youki, he was not worried.
They had sparred countless times. Even when Kirk used his space abilities offensively, he could barely inflict more than surface wounds on them. Their durability made serious injury unlikely.
What worried him was the Dawn Ship.
If the battle escalated, the ship would not survive.
And without Ash, they had no way to drive Rayleigh away.
When Kirk arrived at Carnival Island, Brook and Carina were in the middle of a concert. The massive plaza was packed with fans, shouting excitedly.
Even in that chaos, Ash stood out immediately, stuffing himself with food as if nothing else mattered.
Kirk appeared beside him and pushed the surrounding crowd back with spatial force.
"Ash."
Ash swallowed his food and grinned. "Kirk. I came to pick up Carina for the hunt. Since she is performing, I figured I would wait."
Kirk stared at him, unimpressed. With Ash's abilities, travel between islands took seconds. Waiting was clearly an excuse.
"Stop eating. Something happened on the Dawn Ship."
Ash's expression changed instantly.
"What happened? The three of you could not handle it?"
Kirk replied seriously, "Rayleigh boarded the ship. He is stronger than expected. Pini and Youki can endure him, but they cannot defeat him. The ship will not survive their fight."
Ash's eyes widened.
Not seriously injured?
That assumption was dangerously wrong.
If Rayleigh used the same level of power as Gol D. Roger, then one clean strike could end everything.
Without another word, Ash summoned Shusui and slashed open a space gate.
The moment he stepped through, a massive sword beam surged toward him, crackling with black lightning.
Dodging it would have been easy.
But behind him, Kirk and Robin were still exiting the gate. Worse, the tower behind the courtyard stood directly in the attack's path. Inside, Saff, Nami, and Nojiko were watching.
If he moved, they would die.
Ash's Observation Haki confirmed it instantly.
The incoming attack carried the unmistakable power of Divine Departure.
So Rayleigh could use it as well.
Ash's gaze turned cold.
If you can use it, then so can I face it.
Armament Haki surged across his body, dark to the point of purple. Without hesitation, he charged directly into the attack.
"I will not dodge."
The collision shook the heavens.
A massive explosion erupted as Ash clashed head-on with the attack. The shockwave blasted Kirk and Robin back through the gate, sending them crashing onto Carnival Island once more.
Behind Ash, a colossal Golden Crow manifestation rose into the sky, towering thousands of meters high and visible from far beyond the sea.
The sword beam vanished.
Ash hovered in the air.
His clothes were torn, but his body remained completely unharmed.
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