One Piece: We already have the Four Gods, so my Six Paths Sage is reasonable, right?

Kaido was not afraid; his gaze was fixed directly on the giant golden Buddha.

At that moment, he no longer hesitated. After putting down the spiked club, he clasped his hands together in front of him and then suddenly released them. A burst of green energy exploded from his body, and the ground beneath his feet shattered.

This time, instead of unlocking the restrictions one by one, he broke through all the barriers and unleashed all his power.

"Eight Gates Formation, Fifth Gate, Gate of Closure, Open!"

Green chakra flames burned wildly on his body, blood vessels bulged under his skin, and his breathing became heavy and scalding.

He lowered his body, his knees slightly bent, and the next second, the ground exploded, sending debris flying everywhere.

"Whoosh!"

After grabbing the spiked club, Kaido vanished from his spot and reappeared as a green lightning bolt, tearing through the air with a sharp, explosive sound.

Sengoku's eyes narrowed, his pupils still reflecting the afterimage of Kaido's position from a moment ago; he hadn't even had time to catch the trajectory of Kaido's movement.

In the brief moment that Sengoku was stunned, Kaido's spiked club, accompanied by howling wind pressure, slammed down hard on the head of the golden giant Buddha.

"Bang!"

A muffled, loud bang exploded in the air.

The air vibrated, creating ripples, like a boulder being thrown into water, causing the ripples to spread.

Sengoku's foot suddenly slid backward, and the enormous golden Buddha was actually knocked back several steps by the blow.

"What... did this guy do? How could he increase his power to this level in such a short time?!" Sengoku was secretly shocked, his eyes fixed on Kaido.

"Again!"

Kaido gave him no chance to catch his breath. In mid-air, he flipped over and, using the force of his fall, swung his spiked club again, smashing it down on Sengoku with even more ferocity.

This time, Sengoku's reaction was noticeably faster. Instead of defending, he thrust out a palm strike, and a powerful shockwave exploded from his palm, like a golden pillar of light meeting Kaido's attack.

"Thump!"

The spiked club and the shockwave collided head-on in mid-air, the sound of energy exploding was deafening, and blinding light exploded at the point of impact.

Kaido's body was violently thrown away by the recoil, like a kicked pebble, and crashed heavily back to the ground.

"boom!"

He smashed a shallow crater in the ground, and dust billowed out.

Sengoku looked down at Kaido in the pit, and once again pulled back his bow to gather strength, golden energy pulsating in his palm.

He spoke coldly, with a condescending sense of judgment: "Kaido, you have one last chance to answer me."

"Hehehehe..." Kaido slowly stood up from the ground, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he still grinned. "Stop looking down on me."

Sengoku's gaze darkened. Kaido's answer was clear: he would not make any deals with the Navy like Wang Zhi had.

This kind of person is so tough, you can't bite them.

"Since that's the case," Sengoku took a deep breath, and the energy in his palm suddenly surged. "Then prepare for my attack."

"The great sun is empty!"

He thrust his palm out forcefully, a muffled sound tearing through the air, like the roar of some ancient beast, erupting with a deafening cry.

The golden shockwave coalesced into a giant Buddha hand, its entire body ablaze with scorching golden flames, and roared toward Kaido.

Kaido did not back down. He gripped his spiked club tightly with both hands, wrapping all his Haki around the club. The dark patterns looked particularly ferocious under the cover of green energy.

With a burst of strength from his arms, amplified by the Eight Gates technique, he swung his spiked club fiercely.

"Thump!"

The spiked club and the golden Buddha's hand collided with a deafening roar.

In that instant, the violent aftershocks spread in all directions like a tsunami, and the rubble on the ground was blown into the air and torn into even finer fragments by the shockwave.

Under the impact of their forces, Kaido was clearly at a disadvantage.

The ground beneath his feet instantly caved in, cracks spreading outwards like a spider web being torn apart.

"ah!!"

Kaido roared, his arms bulging with muscles and veins spreading across the back of his hands like climbing vines.

He kept increasing his strength, trying to push the Buddha's hand back, but with little effect, only slowing down the Buddha's hand's advance for a second or two.

"insect."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from behind Kaido.

"You seem to be having a really tough time. Let me help you get through this."

Kaido's pupils contracted sharply; the voice was incredibly close, yet he hadn't noticed it at all.

He instinctively wanted to turn his head away.

But it was too late.

A flash of light appeared behind him.

"Sizzle~~~~"

Blood splattered from his back.

A long gash stretched from the shoulder to the waist, the skin and flesh rolled back, revealing the torn muscle tissue underneath.

The blonde woman did not launch a second attack.

After drawing her sword, she suddenly flashed away, like a cat that had just finished its hunt, nimbly withdrawing from the attack range.

Kaido's body stiffened abruptly, his strength rapidly draining from his arms. The golden Buddha hand, which had been barely holding on, instantly lost its resistance and slammed into him.

"BOOM!!"

A loud explosion rang out, and smoke and sand shot into the sky, shooting out in all directions like bullets.

A larger and deeper crater than before appeared on the ground, its edges charred and emitting wisps of smoke.

The blonde woman landed on a high ground. She sheathed her blood-stained longsword, looked at Sengoku with displeasure, and said in a deep voice, "Look at you, what are you doing? You've been dawdling for ages to deal with such a small insect."

Her tone was filled with undisguised accusation and contempt. She paused, then continued, "Besides, has our target appeared yet? The commander is getting impatient."

Sengoku's gaze swept over her, his golden Buddha face revealing no emotion, but his voice carried a clear hint of suppressed dissatisfaction: "You..."

He took a deep breath but ultimately didn't react. After all, this was a member of a mysterious organization from the World Government, possessing immense power.

Even though he held a high position, he still had to exercise restraint towards these people on certain levels.

"Hoo~~~" Sengoku slowly exhaled before explaining, "I don't know for now. My intelligence personnel didn't respond in time."

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk~~~" The blonde woman made no attempt to hide her sarcasm. "Indeed. If your navy were reliable, why would we need to intervene?"

"Hey, this is an emergency," Sengoku tried to explain.

"A sudden incident?" The blonde woman sneered, her gaze coldly fixed on Sengoku. "Think about it, how many times has that rabble calling themselves the Rocks Pirates stolen the Celestial Tribute meant for the Celestial Dragons? Don't you know that?"

Sengoku was speechless. After the Rocks Pirates came into being, any Celestial Gold they targeted was basically looted. Although most of the escort work was handled by World Government personnel, as a Marine, he really couldn't refute that statement.

"Shhh~~~"

A faint, rustling sound came from the dust-filled pit.

The blonde woman glanced over instinctively, a cold smile curving her lips: "Tsk tsk tsk... These insects are really tenacious."

Deep within the crater, a blood-stained hand emerged from the rubble. Then another hand braced itself against the ground.

Kaido staggered to his feet, his face stained with blood, and the wound on his back was still slowly oozing blood, staining his tattered clothes red.

The Eight Gates Formation he had activated had already faded when he was struck by the Buddha's Hand.

He looked extremely disheveled.

But he was laughing.

"Tui." Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood, his voice hoarse. "Rocks... you were right. This was indeed a trap."

He paused, gazing at the sky as if he saw something distant: "Ron, I broke my promise. I won't show you the big treasure."

He grinned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth: "I'm a man of my word!"

The instant that shout fell, a violent gust of air burst forth from his body, blowing away all the remaining smoke and dust in the pit.

Then, Kaido's Nine-Tailed Cloak seemed to be absorbed by something, rapidly shrinking until it disappeared completely.

"You bastard who attacked me, even if I die, I'll take you down with me!" Kaido roared.

Then, he slowly closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again, his chakra burning wildly like dry firewood being ignited.

"With Ron's power, I feel like I can break free from those shackles."

He took a deep breath and suddenly opened his arms wide.

"Eight Gates Formation, Sixth Gate, View Gate, Open!!"

A loud shout echoed through the pit.

In an instant, a blinding white light burst forth from his body, as if a small sun had sprung up in his chest.

The green energy instantly transformed into even more dazzling white steam, surging, expanding, and burning around him.

The blonde woman's expression changed abruptly. She instinctively reached out to shield her eyes from the blinding light, but the light still pierced through her fingers, stinging her eyes.

then.

Her Observation Haki suddenly sounded the highest level of alarm.

A feeling of unease rose in her chest, as if something was approaching her at an incomprehensible speed.

Immediately, the blonde woman lowered her arm, intending to assess the situation and dodge.

But what came head-on was Kaido's spiked club.

The staff, trailing white steam, moved so fast it left a blur in the air, carrying a brutal force capable of crushing everything, and slammed straight into her face.

"Die!!"

"boom,!"

The spiked club slammed directly into the blonde woman's face.

The violent impact flattened her head, dented her eye sockets, broke her nose, deformed her mouth, and spurted blood and bone fragments from her shattered face.

Then, her body shot backward like a cannonball being kicked, finally disappearing into the depths of the ruins, raising a cloud of dust.

Kaido landed where she had just been standing, panting heavily. White steam rose from his body, and the wound on his back reopened due to the earlier outburst, with blood dripping down his spine onto the ground.

But he was still standing.

He did not fall.

He turned around, looked at the golden Buddha, and slowly raised the spiked club in his hand, pointing it in the direction of the Warring States period.

Sengoku's pupils contracted sharply. It's happening again! Kaido's aura is even more intense than before. How did he manage to do that?

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

At the same time, in the stone temple on the back mountain.

"Tap tap tap!"

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed on the stone steps.

A naval soldier rushed into the hall and knelt on one knee: "Report! Members of the Rocks Pirates have been spotted in the northern seas. Their identity has been confirmed as Shiki!"

Before he could finish speaking, another naval soldier rushed in: "Report! Members of the Rocks Pirates have been spotted in the northern seas. Confirmed identity: Captain Rocks, member Edward Newgate, and crew member Ron!"

The two messages were delivered only a few breaths apart, like two pebbles thrown into a hall, creating ripples.

From the depths of the hall, three figures slowly emerged.

Garin walked at the very front, the hem of his cloak swaying gently with his steps.

Half a step behind him, two men, also cloaked, walked side by side.

"Have these cowardly insects finally shown themselves?"

"Hehehehe... Making us wait so long is really annoying. Very annoying!"

Garin Saint stepped out of the stone temple, his gaze fixed on the direction of the northern sea.

"Commander, let me go."

Garin Sheng shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Let's act together and finish this quickly."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his figure darted towards the shore like a fleeting shadow.

The other two members of the Order of the Gods followed almost immediately.

A moment later, on the sea surface.

The Golden Lion arrived at the island first. As he flew through the air, he spotted three figures rushing toward him.

The golden lion's eyes darted around, and it glanced back at what was behind it.

On the sea, Lockes' speedboat was almost there.

He immediately looked away and shouted at the top of his lungs towards the speedboat on the sea below, "Lox, three guys are coming this way! They're yours!"

Having said that, the golden lion continued to rise and flew off in the other direction.

The three of them, Garin and his companions, did not slow down their pace.

One of the cloaked members turned to Garin and asked, "Commander, the other guy has changed course. Should we give chase?"

"No need," Garin's voice came from under the cloak. "They can't escape. Take care of their captain first."

The three of them increased their speed again.

Garin Sei's fingers landed on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and the other two made the same move at almost the same time.

The blade hummed the moment it was drawn from its sheath, its domineering aura flowing over the edge like water, and the dark patterns gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

then.

They struck at the same time.

"Buzz~"

The three sword cries resounded almost simultaneously, their sound waves overlapping and merging into a piercing whistle.

The blade traced an arc that left three visible crescent-shaped sword energies in the air, hurtling towards the speedboat that was approaching on the sea.

"BOOM!!!"

The moment the sword energy struck, the sea surface seemed to be shattered by an invisible giant hand.

The exploding water column shot skyward, white spray intertwining with the shattered water curtain, completely engulfing the speedboat.

Before the water curtain had even receded, an enormous golden nine-tailed fox rose from the surging waves and mist.

Its body gleamed with a dazzling golden light in the sunlight, and its nine enormous tails stretched out behind it.

Above the head of the golden nine-tailed fox, two figures stood side by side.

Lox stood on the left, arms crossed, casually with a smile on his face.

The white-bearded man stood beside him, his naginata held horizontally in front of him, the blade gleaming with a calm silver light in the sunlight.

"Hahaha~~~ Is this our first speed bump?"

I've updated to 6000 words! Could I beg for some free gifts, guys?