Chapter 216: Hera

Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Hera

...

On the light screen, Big Mom’s massive body once again stood firmly at the edge of Onigashima. Her soaked hair clung to her ferocious face.

Prometheus and Napoleon stood guard by her sides. The light from flames and sword blade reflected the towering rage in her eyes.

"Mam-ma-ma-ma... You two, at least you haven’t completely disappointed me."

Big Mom’s voice was hoarse, but there was a trace of approval for these two Homies in her tone.

However, nothing feared comparison more than this.

When she thought of Zeus, trapped inside Kid’s iron box and only able to release weak lightning in vain, the anger she had just suppressed surged up again...

This rage was almost enough to shatter Big Mom’s rationality.

"Zeus..."

Big Mom’s teeth ground together with a creaking sound. "I never thought that at the moment of life and death, you wouldn’t come!"

Inside the iron box, Zeus trembled violently.

Prometheus took the opportunity to fan the flames from the side. "Mama, that guy Zeus has always been lazy and gluttonous. He always drops the ball at critical moments!"

"Do you still remember what happened at the tea party before, when he was tricked away by that Little Thief Cat with a thundercloud? This kind of trash doesn’t deserve to be your servant at all!"

Prometheus’s voice was sharp and vicious. Every word was like a knife stabbing into Zeus’s heart.

"Instead of keeping this kind of trash that could betray you at any time, why not create a stronger and more loyal thundercloud Homie! Mama, what do you think?"

Big Mom fell silent.

She looked at Prometheus and suddenly asked, "You want a partner?"

Prometheus’s flames suddenly shot higher. Its voice carried undisguised excitement. "Y-yes, Mama! I’ve always felt... felt that Zeus is too weak. He’s completely unworthy of me!"

"If you could create a girlfriend for me... a thundercloud Homie as powerful as I am, then we would definitely become your strongest right and left arms!"

This suggestion moved Big Mom’s heart.

She raised her head and looked toward the sky!

Above Onigashima, dark clouds gathered densely. Purple lightning serpents shuttled through the cloud layers.

The perfect thunderstorm environment was the best opportunity to create a new thundercloud Homie.

"Mam-ma-ma-ma... Good idea."

The corner of Big Mom’s mouth curled into a terrifying arc. "Since Zeus is useless, then let’s replace him."

She extended her thick fingers and gently hooked toward the thunderclouds in the sky. The power of the Soul-Soul Fruit activated instantly.

Outside the light screen, knowledgeable pirates let out low exclamations.

Everyone saw that Big Mom’s eyes in the light screen glowed with a strange light. That was the sign when she extracted souls and gave life to creations.

In the sky, the thickest purple bolt of lightning was "grabbed" by her. She pulled it in front of her like taming a wild horse.

Big Mom’s chanting was like an ancient incantation.

That bolt of lightning twisted, deformed, and condensed in her palm, gradually forming a brand new cloud-like lifeform...

It was even larger than Zeus, and the color of its lightning was deeper!

"From today onward, your name is..."

Big Mom paused. A trace of cruel pleasure flashed through her eyes.

"Hera."

Inside the iron box, Zeus stopped struggling.

For some reason, an indescribable despair flooded over it like a cold tide.

"You bastard! Prometheus!!!"

In God Valley, the young Zeus let out a shrill, miserable scream.

It no longer cared about dignity or rules. Its entire cloud body pounced toward Prometheus like a crazed beast.

The two Homies tangled together in mid-air. Flames and lightning collided wildly, shooting out dazzling sparks.

"Why are you doing this to me?! Aren’t we brothers?! Aren’t we family who have accompanied Mama the longest?!"

Zeus attacked while crying and wailing. Its lightning struck randomly without any pattern. The pirates below hurriedly dodged the lightning strikes...

Prometheus didn’t back down at all. Its flames surged and forced Zeus back. "Brothers? Family? Zeus, look at what your future self did!"

"Trash is trash. I’m only telling the truth!"

"I didn’t not save Mama! I was just... just trapped by that iron box!"

Zeus’s cries were filled with grievance. "Besides... besides, didn’t my future self eventually return to Mama’s side?! Wasn’t that shown on the light screen before?!"

These words left Prometheus speechless for a moment.

Indeed, in earlier scenes on the light screen, they had seen that the future Zeus had ultimately returned to Big Mom’s side...

Although the process had been somewhat complicated.

"Then... then that’s still because you’re incompetent! If you were strong enough, how could you have been trapped?! If you were loyal enough, how could you have been tricked away by that Little Thief Cat?!"

"Enough!"

A sharp rebuke rang out. Prometheus and Zeus both fell silent at the same time.

Big Mom stretched out her two giant hands, grabbing Zeus with one and Prometheus with the other, and separated the two fighting Homies like she was carrying kittens.

"Are you two done yet?!"

She growled through gritted teeth. "You two are making such a racket here. Are you trying to make everyone laugh at me?!"

Zeus was clutched in her hand. Its cloud body trembled continuously from sobbing. "Mama... I really didn’t betray you... Don’t listen to Prometheus’s nonsense... My future self must have been framed..."

Looking at Zeus crying so pitifully, Big Mom did feel a trace of reluctance in her heart.

After all, the Zeus before her eyes was a Homie who had accompanied her through countless battles for many years.

It might be gluttonous or lazy, but it had never truly betrayed her.

As for future matters...

"Mam-ma-ma-ma..."

Big Mom’s tone softened slightly. "Future matters can be discussed in the future. At least for now, you are still my Zeus."

These words made Zeus cry even harder. Its cloud body almost seemed like it was about to turn into raindrops and fall.

The young pirates around couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Big Mom’s face couldn’t hold up anymore. She threw Zeus to the side with one hand. "Stop crying! You’re embarrassing me!"

The scene cut back to the light screen.

Everyone’s attention was once again drawn to the brutal battlefield.

At the peak of Onigashima, Kaido stood at the center of the enormous crater created by his own attack, looking down at the unconscious figure at the bottom of the pit.

Straw Hat Luffy...

Even after losing consciousness, this young man’s brows remained tightly furrowed, as if he was still fighting even in his unconscious state.

Kaido was all too familiar with this kind of expression.

When he first fought Luffy before, a single "Thunderous Bagua" had completely crushed him.

At that time, Luffy had been the same. Even though his consciousness had faded, his eyes remained wide open, as if burning with a flame that refused to be extinguished.

"Disgusting tenacity..."

Kaido cursed under his breath and strode down into the pit.

The rubble trembled beneath his feet. With every step closer, the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger.

This time, he would not give any more chances.

As long as one strike crushed that head or pierced that heart, this brat who had repeatedly challenged his limits would be silenced forever.

Kaido had to admit that ever since Roger died, someone had finally made him feel a long-lost sense of threat...

And now, this threat would be strangled in its cradle by him.

The kanabo "Hassaikai" was slowly raised. Black and red Conqueror’s Haki coiled around it.

Kaido took a deep breath. With this strike, he intended to make Straw Hat Luffy disappear from this world completely.

"Stop!!!"

A hoarse roar came from the edge of the crater. After finishing his arrangements, Zoro had once again appeared in front of Kaido!

Wado Ichimonji was clenched tightly between his teeth. Enma and Sandai Kitetsu hummed in his hands.

The three swords seemed to sense Zoro’s resolve to fight to the death. Their blades simultaneously glowed with light.

"Trafalgar..."

Zoro didn’t turn his head. His voice was so hoarse it sounded like sandpaper rubbing together. "After this... it’s up to you."

In the distance, Law’s pupils shrank. He understood the meaning of those words.

This wasn’t a request. This was a "last will."

Zoro’s body had already reached the brink of collapse.

After this one strike, regardless of victory or defeat, Zoro would...

Zoro slowly assumed a stance he had never seen before. It wasn’t Three Sword Style, nor any known swordsmanship school.

His body leaned slightly forward. The two swords crossed in front of him, while Wado Ichimonji in his mouth pointed toward the sky.

A visible dark purple airflow began rising from his body. It wasn’t Haki, but something more primal and more terrifying.

Ghost Energy.

"That guy..."

Zoro’s voice suddenly became calm. Terrifyingly calm.

"Is my captain."

He raised his head. His remaining eye locked firmly onto Kaido.

"If you want to kill him..."

Dark purple Ghost Energy erupted violently!

Centered on Zoro, the ground within a hundred-meter radius began to crack and sink.

It wasn’t a physical impact, but the materialization of some kind of spiritual pressure.

"Then step over my corpse!"

The moment his words fell, every cell in Zoro’s body seemed to cheer.

All the sweat shed during training, all the scars left from battle, all the pain from losing important people, all the joy of fighting alongside his comrades...

All his experiences, all his emotions, all his resolve merged into an unprecedented power at this moment.

To endure endless suffering without growing weary — this is the path of Asura!

The hardships he had walked through bloomed and bore fruit in this desperate situation, transforming into the form of Asura.

Under the gaze of everyone — countless spectators both inside and outside the light screen — a three-headed, six-armed golden Asura phantom slowly emerged behind Zoro.

The phantom stood over ten meters tall. Its six arms each held a blade. Its three faces displayed expressions of rage, sorrow, and serenity respectively.

Asura descends. The respect of a king.

Kaido stopped in his tracks.

He slowly turned around. His dragon eyes once again cast a truly serious gaze upon this swordsman.

This wasn’t because Zoro’s strength had already threatened him. It was because of that aura, that resolve, that determination to swing his blade while disregarding life and death, solely to protect one person.

Such spirit — he had only seen it in an extremely small number of people.

"Interesting..."

Kaido smiled.

It was the smile of a hunter who had found prey worth fighting.

He abandoned the unconscious Luffy at the bottom of the pit. Gripping Hassaikai with both hands, his Conqueror’s Haki coiled around it to the extreme.

The air around the club began to distort. Purple-black lightning and dark red Haki intertwined into a vortex of destruction.

"Since you want to die so badly..."

Kaido’s feet exploded against the ground. His entire body shot toward Zoro like a cannonball.

"I’ll grant your wish!"

Zoro didn’t move.

He simply stood there. Behind him, the six arms of the Asura phantom slowly raised their swords.

When Kaido reached within ten meters of him, Zoro moved.

It wasn’t a human way of moving. His body merged into a dark purple whirlwind. Wherever it passed, the ground exploded and churned as if cut by invisible blades.

Three or four exchanges of blows happened in the blink of an eye.

Everyone only saw the dark purple whirlwind and the black-red lightning constantly intertwining, separating, and intertwining again.

Every collision triggered deafening metallic clashes. Sparks rained down like a storm.

Then, during the fourth exchange...

"Oni Energy Nine Sword Style—"

Zoro’s figure appeared from within the whirlwind. The six-armed Asura moved in perfect sync with him.

Nine blades were raised simultaneously, their tips pointing toward the sky.

The dark purple Ghost Energy compressed to its absolute limit, condensing into a single thin line.

"Asura: Sword Draw - Dead Man’s Play!"

That "thin line" slashed outward...

There was no sound.

Or rather, the sound was swallowed by this strike.

Everyone only saw a wound suddenly split open across Kaido’s dragon-scale-covered chest.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, dyeing the surrounding ground crimson.

Inside and outside the light screen — dead silence.

Everyone had witnessed the brilliance of that slash. They had seen the miracle Zoro created by betting everything.

He had truly injured Kaido. He had left a real wound on the body of a Yonko, whose body was said to be "immortal."

But the next moment, despair poured over them like ice water.

Because Kaido merely lowered his head to look at the wound on his chest, then wiped the blood with his finger and placed it on his tongue to lick.

"Not a bad slash."

He commented, his tone as casual as if he were reviewing a dish.

Kaido raised his head and looked at Zoro, who had already dropped to one knee and was using his sword to support his body to keep from falling. A complex emotion flashed through his eyes...

There was appreciation, there was shock, but more than that, there was coldness.

Zoro no longer even had the strength to grip his swords.

"Don’t tell me you also have Conqueror’s Haki?!"

Feeling the pain in his chest, Kaido looked at Zoro standing there and asked in a calm tone. However, Zoro ultimately denied it.

Enma slipped from his hand and stabbed into the ground.

Sandai Kitetsu also fell to the side. Only Wado Ichimonji remained clenched tightly between his teeth...

That was Kuina’s relic. It was a promise. It was a belief he absolutely could not let go of.

Kaido raised Hassaikai. This time, his target had changed to Zoro.

Seeing Zoro fall, reason and emotion fought in his mind. In the end, Law abandoned reason and risked his life to save Zoro, but he was still one step too late...

Kaido unleashed a Thunderous Bagua. Both Zoro and Law were struck and coughed up blood before collapsing. Looking down at these young people, Kaido actually felt a trace of "pity."

In his eyes, these people all had considerable potential. If he could make use of them and recruit and train them all, that would be the optimal solution!

Even Kaido was panting heavily at this moment. He kept asking the three fallen people why they refused to submit, why they were unwilling to join him in competing for the world...

And at that moment, Luffy’s fingers suddenly moved. Immediately after, he staggered to his feet and stood back-to-back with dragon-form Kaido.

...