Super Card System

Shards of crystal spun and tumbled, falling from the sky and refracting dazzling colors under the setting sun.

However, at this moment, no one on the navy’s side found this scene beautiful…

The Logia types are not invincible. Even a Logia as powerful as a navy admiral can be vulnerable. When Akainu was struck by Kaido at his weakest moment, his arms shattered and a large amount of blood spurted out. Just as everyone had suspected, the molten glass-like material had indeed reached Akainu’s physical body, and the current scene was the best proof of that.

Despite Akainu’s usual tough image, the pain of having both arms severed made him let out a scream as he crashed to the ground.

“Admiral Sakazuki!?”

Some navy officers snapped out of their shock and hurriedly rushed forward to rescue Akainu.

However, upon realizing that the person he had struck was Akainu, Kaido wasn’t about to stop. Knowing that Akainu was injured and recalling that Akainu was the first target he attacked upon waking up, Kaido’s intent was clear: take him down while he’s vulnerable!

So, after smashing Akainu to the ground, Kaido immediately pulled his massive foot from the cratered earth and lifted it high, ready to stomp down on the fallen admiral!

As for Kuina’s attacks, Kaido didn’t care at all. With Kuina’s current strength, she was nothing more than a minor annoyance to him. In the few seconds of their clash, it was mostly Kaido attacking. If it weren’t for the fact that Kaido was somewhat intrigued by Kuina’s Mythical Zoan ability, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on for this long.

Kaido’s raised foot moved somewhat slowly because he was still within Fujitora’s gravity field. His immense physical strength allowed him to resist the gravity’s pressure, but it also slowed his movements.

Under the shadow of Kaido’s descending foot, Akainu instinctively tried to get up and dodge. However, as his hands pressed against the ground, another wave of intense pain shot through him, causing him to fail in rising.

His hands were still gushing blood…

A few nearby navy vice admirals were rushing towards Akainu, trying to rescue him, but there were only two people on the scene who could reach him in time.

One was Kizaru, whose extreme speed could bring him to Akainu’s side in the shortest amount of time.

However, for some unknown reason, Kizaru was currently focused on his battle with Enel, seemingly oblivious to Akainu’s dire situation.

The other person was Kuina, as she was the closest to Akainu!

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Seeing Kaido’s foot coming down on Akainu, Kuina didn’t hesitate. She forcefully pushed off the ground, lunged towards Akainu, and reached out to grab his collar, dragging him out of harm’s way!

Boom! Kaido’s Haki-infused right foot narrowly missed the two of them, slamming into the ground and creating a massive crater. The crater’s edge was filled with web-like cracks, showing the tremendous force he had used.

Many in the navy saw Kuina’s fearless rescue of Akainu and were momentarily stunned.

No one had expected that the one to rescue Akainu would be Kuina!

Even Ian was a bit taken aback. If Akainu had been stomped to death by Kaido, Ian would have been pleased, given that it was Akainu’s sudden dodge earlier that had put Kuina in danger.

But Ian hadn’t expected Kuina to turn around and save Akainu. What was this girl thinking!? If it was an enemy, wouldn’t it be better to just watch him get killed!?

However, when Ian noticed the expressions of the nearby navy officers, he suddenly realized something.

Kuina saving Akainu might actually be a good thing!

Ian was certain that when Kuina saved Akainu, she wasn’t thinking much at all. It was just an instinctive reaction. She was naturally a kind-hearted girl. Although she initially joined the navy to help Ian and Zoro in the future, she had spent quite some time in the navy and had inevitably developed some sense of loyalty to it.

From the navy’s perspective, they couldn’t just stand by and watch a figurehead like Akainu be in danger, so Kuina’s reaction was entirely normal. In that moment, she wasn’t considering any personal grudges.

Although Kuina’s actions were instinctive, they meant something entirely different to the other navy officers.

Akainu had almost caused her harm earlier. Given such enmity, even if Kuina had watched Akainu get stomped by Kaido, no one would have blamed her. After all, she was only a lieutenant commander, and no one would expect her to take on such a burden.

However, she still risked getting stomped to save Akainu. This instantly elevated Kuina’s image. Almost all the navy personnel who saw this scene now had a higher opinion of her.

A navy lieutenant commander, and a young woman at that, risking her life to save a navy admiral from the infamous Kaido, even though that admiral had nearly caused her demise earlier—what kind of spirit is this!?

Ian knew very well that, on closer consideration, even if Kaido’s stomp had landed, it might not have killed a navy admiral. There’s a saying: “At worst, he’d be seriously injured, but death is not so easy to come by.”

However, whether Akainu would be killed or saved were two completely different scenarios. Kuina saving Akainu actually highlighted Akainu’s previous ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness even more.

Previously, during battles, Akainu had accidentally harmed many navy soldiers and even personally executed some deserters. These actions had been witnessed by many around, though they were too fearful of Akainu’s authority to speak up.

If Akainu had led the navy to defeat the Whitebeard Pirates and established great prestige, perhaps the navy personnel wouldn’t mind as much. But the problem was that the navy’s current situation was very dire, and their original strategic goals were far from being achieved.

So now, the final result of Kuina stepping in to save him might instead lead to a significant drop in Akainu’s prestige…

Understanding this connection, Ian almost wanted to laugh. Perhaps at this moment, Akainu still hasn’t realized this, but once he does, he would probably prefer to have been stomped by Kaido rather than be saved by Kuina!

Even admirals have ambitions. Ian knew that Akainu wanted to take Sengoku’s place and become Fleet Admiral. However, this incident might not only distance him from that goal but also lead to resentment and even contempt from the navy’s soldiers. Such a consequence would likely be more painful for him than death.

“This is Karma!”

Ian’s guess was correct. At this moment, Akainu hadn’t thought of this yet. He was still relieved to have been pulled out of danger. As soon as he was out of Kaido’s attack range, Akainu bit down and the muscles and blood vessels at his broken arms immediately contracted to stop the bleeding.

However, his shattered hands could not be restored…

Kuina’s heart was pounding. Her strength had been greatly depleted in dealing with Kaido, and she herself couldn’t understand why she had rushed over in such a situation.

At that moment, Kuina noticed a shadow appearing overhead again. She looked up to see Kaido with a ferocious expression, clasping his hands together, and preparing to smash down on them!

Kaido, having missed his previous stomp, was now furious. He had just lost a golden opportunity. If he had managed to kill Akainu, the navy would have suffered a devastating blow. The navy’s influence over the entire world would have been severely weakened. Yet, such a chance was ruined by a little girl…

Madmen often act unpredictably. Earlier, Kaido had thought of capturing Kuina, but now, filled with rage, he intended to kill her. Using all his strength, he brought his fists down towards the ground.

Kuina was shocked and tried to dodge, but at that moment, a wave of weakness washed over her legs.

Fortunately, several navy vice admirals arrived just in time to assist. Five vice admirals joined forces to block Kaido’s hammering blow.

While the vice admirals gritted their teeth and held their swords against Kaido’s immense strength, a figure suddenly appeared behind Kaido!

It was Ian!

He didn’t swing his sword or do anything else; he simply approached from behind Kaido, forming his hand into a claw, and plunged it into Kaido’s back!

No visible wounds appeared. Ian’s hand disappeared as if it had entered a ripple in space, and when he pulled it back, he was holding a… massive ball of light!

This scene was faithfully captured by the image transponder Den Den Mushi of the accompanying journalists. The broadcast signal spread this image worldwide, appearing on countless screens.

“What… what is that!?”

They didn’t understand what Ian had done, but they saw that as soon as the ball of light appeared in Ian’s hand, Kaido, the Beast, seemed to be immobilized.

The next moment, Kaido suddenly turned his grotesque face, staring maniacally at the ball of light in Ian’s hand.

“Give it back to me!!!!”

Kaido let out a tremendous roar, the shockwave nearly rupturing eardrums, and then he reached out, trying to grab Ian in mid-air.

…

Far away on Cake Island in the New World, the Big Mom Pirates were also watching the New Edd War through television screens.

The Yonko Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was lounging on her bed, eating a dessert. Her numerous children were gathered around her.

When Ian extracted the massive ball of light from Kaido’s back, Perospero suddenly screamed and pointed at the TV, “Mama! Did you see that? That move! That move!”

Big Mom, of course, saw it. She licked the cream off her fingers and said, “It’s very similar indeed. Sure enough that giant ball of light must be Kaido’s lifespan!”

Lifespan, essentially life force, was something Big Mom understood well. That massive ball of light represented an enormous amount of life force. It was precisely because of this vast life force that Kaido had the “illusion” of being immortal.

“To be able to extract someone’s lifespan directly without any conditions…” Big Mom was somewhat surprised by this.

After returning from Dressrosa, Perospero had reported to her about Ian’s suspected soul fruit abilities, but Big Mom hadn’t believed it much at the time. Now, seeing this scene with her own eyes, she realized Perospero hadn’t been lying.

“When is the next tea party?” Big Mom thought for a moment and asked.

“In two months!” answered her second son, Charlotte Katakuri, who had his arms crossed and his mouth and chin hidden in his fluffy collar.

“Then send an invitation to this young man…” Big Mom laughed happily and said, “Invite him to my tea party!”

“Mama, you’re planning to obtain this ability to directly extract lifespans from him, right?” Charlotte Smoothie, the 14th daughter of the Charlotte family and the Minister of Juice, grinned.

“Exactly! Mamahahahaha!” Big Mom laughed loudly, spreading her arms wide. “If I can understand how this ability works, my Soul-Soul Fruit might be able to do the same. In that case, what does Kaido matter? I’ll defeat him and the Whitebeard, and nothing will stop me from becoming the Pirate King!”