Chapter Forty-Eight: Encountering Kaido and Moria!

Passing through the thin membrane, Kamio looked upward with divine intensity. Above him, the sheer number of sharks was enough to inspire terror, especially when their bodies were so massive—tens of thousands of giant sharks, each over thirty meters long, glided slowly just a hundred meters above his head.

Suddenly, a blue glow flashed below. Kamio appeared there, and the sharks, attracted by the light, looked down, recognizing the same bastard from days before. They all turned their heads to stare at Kamio, but none dared approach, as if something innate filled them with fear of what lay beneath.

Kamio gazed at the sharks, fully aware they wouldn't come closer. The luminous barrier below was a formation—whether natural or crafted, he could not tell—but once he saw it, its function was clear. Anyone trying to force their way through would be repelled with tenfold the force. Only by guiding one's inner energy along the formation's rules could one pass. To barge through meant courting disaster, so Kamio had no fear of others entering below. Only those beneath could ascend through the light, but once above, even they could not return below.

A cold smile curled on Kamio’s lips as he regarded the immense sea beasts. Sensing his chilling aura, the sharks above grew uneasy—a dread they could not shake. The stronger and more intelligent among them seemed most affected. Despite their size, perhaps their time in the deep had dulled their minds.

Kamio held the Spirit Snow Blade in his right hand, while his left rose slowly, arcs of purple lightning crawling along his arm, ready to erupt at any instant. Bathed in the violet light, he looked like a demon god descended. The sharks above felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of danger and tried to flee—but it was already too late.

With the harsh screech of lightning, Kamio gently punched upwards. Like a thunder god unleashed, hundreds of half-meter-thick bolts burst from his left hand, surging toward the sharks above.

The purple lightning engulfed a span of several kilometers. Within its reach, the sharks who failed to escape shuddered uncontrollably, their bodies paralyzed and unable to move.

Kamio grinned wickedly. As the lightning raged, his true energy swiftly poured into the Spirit Snow Blade. A celestial weapon was no ordinary tool; even after a third of his energy was absorbed, it remained unsated, forcing him to stop.

Staring coldly at the immobilized sharks, Kamio flicked his right hand, and the Spirit Snow Blade, shimmering with faint purple light, slashed upward.

A blade of energy, enough to shake heaven and earth, began only a few meters wide. As it surged skyward, it expanded to dozens of meters, and once fully released from the blade, it became a massive arc hundreds of meters wide and over ten meters thick, shooting upward at a speed beyond sight—perhaps ten times the speed of sound.

Where the blade passed, the sea and sharks vanished, leaving a near-vacuum corridor through the water. Kamio followed closely behind, not a bit slower than the blade of energy.

Far in the distance, two large pirate crews clashed in a fierce battle.

Suddenly, the sea began to tremble, a deep humming rising from its depths. The trembling grew more intense, waves swelling higher. The pirates grew fearful, sensing a great change in heaven and earth. Unconsciously, they stopped fighting; their ships tossed wildly on the sea like leaves in a storm.

A tremendous boom erupted not far away. In the stunned eyes of the pirates, a blade of purple light burst through the surface, soaring skyward before anyone could react. The sea below roiled like a meteor had struck, waves towering, and the clouds above were split in two, leaving a gaping void as if something had pierced the heavens.

“What was that just now?” Kaido muttered, looking up. Soon to become one of the Four Emperors, the top pirate stood dumbfounded at the massive rift in the sky.

Across from him, Moonlight Moriah also stared, aghast, at the monstrous waves in the distance.

“What was that? Was it a giant Sea King? When did the Sea Kings become so strong?” Moriah murmured as he regained his senses.

By now, both pirate crews had ceased fighting and returned to their ships. Not far off, the waves still surged as if some ancient beast was about to break free.

Gradually, the spray fell away and the sea quieted, but the enormous rift in the clouds reminded both pirate crews that what they’d witnessed was all too real.

“Big brother, there’s someone there!” Kaido’s right-hand man—his deputy captain and younger brother, Kai Shao—peered through a telescope into the distance and shouted as if he’d discovered something incredible.

“What? A person?” Kaido was shocked. Was that terrifying power just now human in origin? Even Whitebeard couldn’t create such a spectacle! His voice was thick with disbelief.

“Really, big brother, look carefully. You’ll see for yourself,” Kai Shao insisted, entirely serious.

Hearing his resolute tone, Moriah looked as well. Suddenly, his body began to tremble, and he uttered in shock, “The Violet Emperor—how can it be Kamio the Violet Emperor? Wasn’t he with Red? How could he appear here? Was all that power just now from him?”

A while back, Moriah’s spy among Red’s crew had reported that “Violet Emperor” Kamio and Red-Haired Shanks had set sail together.

Moriah looked around at his fallen comrades with anguish. Before Kamio appeared, he’d been locked in a fierce battle with Kaido. Kaido’s strength was beyond question—overwhelming, his Devil Fruit powers greater than Moriah’s own. If not for Kamio’s intervention, Moriah’s crew would likely have been slaughtered. His once eight-hundred-strong pirate crew was now less than fifty, while Kaido still had over three hundred. The outcome was clear. Moriah had planned to flee—had he escaped the wolves only to fall into the tiger’s jaws?

Kaido, meanwhile, stared at the distant figure in shock. News of “Violet Emperor” Kamio’s arrival in the New World had already spread, and he’d learned a bit about Kamio’s strength. But now, it seemed Kamio was far more powerful than the rumors suggested.

Kai Shao stood aside, lost in memories. Both he and his elder brother had once been Navy officers. Fifteen years ago, during a fateful battle, they’d been Rear Admirals, on the cusp of promotion to Vice Admiral. They’d been sent, along with a few hundred weak soldiers, to destroy Roger and his pirate crew after they’d found a treasure—though it had all felt like some hidden conspiracy. When they met Roger, quick thinking allowed the brothers to escape before the Navy was wiped out. Afterward, they’d had no choice but to become pirates. Over more than a decade, with Kaido as captain, they’d grown rapidly in strength, already masters of the Navy’s Six Powers before they defected. Years of slaughter had further honed their skills, and ten years ago, they learned to use Haki—not the Conqueror’s type, but enough that both brothers were now at Admiral-level strength.

Though Moriah was strong, he and his brother still held the advantage. Despite Moriah’s larger crew, he had suffered a brutal defeat.

Kamio had noticed the two crews as he broke through the waves and was a bit surprised. “Kaido” and “Moriah”—this must be their first fight. In the future, when Moriah joins the Navy to become one of the Seven Warlords, he’ll probably come back for revenge.

Heh. They must have recognized me already. Should I go over and say hello?

...

Please support and vote for the story! Group number: 78796064