One Piece : Captain, We’ve Arrived at Laugh Tale

Kaido's complexion darkened with rage at being addressed as "Mr. Kaido." It seemed he had unwittingly trained two warriors capable of wielding Conqueror's Haki against him.

"Are you angry or not?" taunted Luffy.

"How dare you get distracted now, Kaido! Your arrogance will be your downfall!" Luffy shouted suddenly.

Before Kaido could respond, the enormous two-legged form of Luffy's Gear Fourth struck him with tremendous force, sending him hurtling toward the sea like a cannonball.

For a moment, it seemed Kaido would plunge directly into the ocean and meet his end. However, in a burst of desperate fury, he transformed into an enormous emerald dragon. His massive serpentine body swept across the battlefield, forcing Carl and Luffy to dodge frantically. Kaido seized this opportunity to gain altitude, narrowly avoiding the catastrophe of falling into the sea.

"You two have REALLY pissed me off!" Kaido roared.

"If I can't use you for my purposes, then you can both die!"

"Rising Dragon Torch! Flame Eight Trigrams!"

The dragon-shaped Kaido exhaled a tremendous volume of flames that engulfed his draconic form. He then channeled his Conqueror's Haki around his horns and charged madly toward Carl and Luffy.

Even from tens of meters above the sea surface, the heat from Kaido's flames was so intense that the water below him began to evaporate violently, boiling away into steam.

These flames were terrifyingly hot!

"Luffy, be careful! Don't try to block those flames directly!" Carl warned, yet he was the first to rush forward. Kaido closed the distance almost instantly. Carl felt the air burning around him, and even his hair showed signs of singeing.

Recognizing this as one of Kaido's most devastating techniques, Carl didn't dare hold back.

"Thunder Pond!"

Carl immediately unleashed the full extent of his Devil Fruit abilities, enveloping the area where he and Kaido clashed in lightning, creating a domain of pure electric energy with all his might.

Simultaneously, he drew his Third Generation Enma, infusing both blades with Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki before colliding with Kaido's dragon head.

CRACK! The entire lightning domain shattered like glass.

The purple-black thunder produced by the clash of Conqueror's Haki instantly destroyed Carl's electric world. In that moment, Carl felt the overwhelming pressure of Kaido's advanced Armament Haki—a supreme application of the technique that could destroy from both outside and within.

Carl's body burned with an excruciating tearing sensation, pain so intense it nearly drove him mad.

As expected of Kaido—his mastery truly exceeded Carl's!

Yet Carl was no pushover. Though his Thunder Pond was destroyed, he absorbed the scattered lightning arcs into his dual blades, maintaining a deadlock against Kaido's dragon head and horns in midair.

Carl was suffering, but Kaido wasn't faring much better.

Moreover, they weren't alone in this battle!

"Gomu Gomu no Kong Gun Gatling!" Luffy roared.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Luffy unleashed a barrage of devastating punches, as if he had six fists attacking simultaneously. Despite Kaido's dragon form being wrapped in terrifying flames, Luffy's Conqueror's Haki-infused attacks, reinforced with Armament Haki, penetrated the fiery barrier to strike Kaido directly.

With Kaido fully committed to his battle against Carl, he had no capacity to defend against Luffy's onslaught.

The combined assault sent the dragon's body crashing into the sea.

Instantly, a vast area of seawater evaporated on contact, as the flames surrounding Kaido's body reached terrifying temperatures.

After a long moment, the evaporation subsided. Though the seawater continued to boil furiously, Kaido was indeed submerged. A Devil Fruit user might survive falling into the sea without immediately dying, but they could never swim back out under their own power.

So this was... victory?

Carl and Luffy exchanged glances before breaking into exhausted smiles.

"Carl, we won!" With a broad grin stretching across his face, Luffy released his Gear Fourth transformation and promptly began to fall toward the sea.

"Luffy!"

Carl quickly manipulated his small black sword to catch Luffy, but he too had expended tremendous energy. For a precarious moment, both warriors dangled perilously in the air, mere seconds from plunging into the ocean.

At that critical moment, Usopp swooped in like lightning and firmly grasped both Carl and Luffy.

Carl's mind finally relaxed. He summoned his small black sword to form a massive door-panel blade that continued to float behind him, then raised his eyelids with a completely drained expression.

Luffy had already fallen fast asleep.

Carl noticed that the purple markings had vanished from Luffy's body, likely dissipated by the intense evaporation of seawater from their final attack.

"Seriously, how did you two get so battered?" Usopp looked both exasperated and proud, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "But congratulations on defeating one of the Four Emperors!"

Carl closed his eyes without responding.

Usopp immediately flew them both back to the Thousand Sunny's deck.

Everyone gathered around immediately. Seeing the miserable condition of Luffy and Carl, the crew didn't know whether to celebrate or worry. However, they had defeated Emperor Kaido and saved their lives—a testament to their incredible strength.

After examining their injuries, Chopper and Law both displayed concerned expressions.

"Carl has suffered severe internal injuries. His muscles and even internal organs are damaged, as if someone attacked his body from within. And Luffy's fists are nearly burnt to charcoal—his condition is equally serious. Really, these two are so reckless! They make a ship doctor's job impossibly difficult!"

Chopper couldn't help complaining, never having treated such severe injuries before.

But upon reflection, he conceded there was no alternative—they had faced one of the Four Emperors, after all. Survival alone was victory enough.

"Destroyed from within..." Zoro murmured thoughtfully. "So Kaido's Armament Haki has reached the highest level, and Carl was at a disadvantage in that respect. It seems Carl still has significant room for improvement with his Armament. Against ordinary strong opponents, he manages well enough, but facing monsters like the Four Emperors means risking your life at every moment!"

Usopp added, "When he fought against Akainu last time, Carl clearly had the advantage. He privately mentioned that Akainu had stronger weaponry, but since Akainu lacked Conqueror's Haki, Carl was able to outmaneuver him."

Indeed, under such analysis, Carl's weaknesses became glaringly obvious.

Armament Haki, as an essential means of both offense and defense, remained inferior to that of the top-tier powerhouses!

By comparison, it seemed Luffy's Armament Haki was even more formidable!

"Alright, what are you two analyzing? When you reach this level, you'll understand how difficult further advancement becomes." Carl's voice suddenly interrupted as he sat up despite his injuries.

Chopper immediately protested, "Carl, you shouldn't be getting up now!"

Carl glanced at the soundly sleeping Luffy and shook his head helplessly. "If I don't get up, no one will be able to handle what comes next. It seems we've won, but in reality, our opponent isn't dead yet!"

"What are you talking about? Lie down!" Chopper urged anxiously.

But Carl stood anyway, walking directly to the bow to observe Kaido, who was sprawled unconscious atop a massive tree trunk floating on the sea.

------------------------

For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse