Chapter 126: 126: Kaido's Defeat
Ulti widened her large, watery eyes in disbelief. Shock and anger mixed across her face.
Her full powered strike in her near-hybrid form had actually been stopped so effortlessly, and Aether had not even used Armament Haki.
"How is that even possib..."
Before she could finish speaking, Aether grabbed her head and slammed her straight into the ground.
Boom!
The impact shattered the concrete beneath them and formed a small crater instantly. Ulti felt her vision spin violently as dizziness overwhelmed her. The young woman, whose strength already rivaled a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral despite being only in her early twenties, nearly lost consciousness from that single blow.
Aether glanced down at her with mild interest.
Although this future crew candidate clearly lacked common sense, her appearance was undeniably eye-catching.
In the pirate world, her height of 1.73 meters was considered relatively average, but her proportions were exceptionally attractive. Her fair, slender legs alone seemed impossibly long, while her curvy figure and narrow waist created a striking silhouette.
Her long hair alternated between thick sky-blue streaks and thinner pink strands. Large pink eyes stared fiercely beneath the decorative mask covering part of her face. Combined with the blue bow, short cape, light blue skirt, and red high heels, Ulti gave off the impression of a reckless young woman who charged forward before thinking.
In simpler terms, a complete idiot.
A few seconds later, just as expected, Ulti regained consciousness and immediately glared at Aether again with burning anger.
It did not matter how overwhelming the enemy was.
Fear simply did not exist in her brain.
Two years later, she would still recklessly attack Big Mom despite knowing the difference in strength. That alone perfectly explained how absurdly stubborn she was.
Aether almost imagined her and Jack becoming some kind of unstoppable disaster duo.
One charged forward with brute force.
The other charged forward without using his brain.
The image nearly made him laugh.
Fortunately, Aether maintained his composed expression in front of the crowd.
He released Ulti's head without bothering to restrain her further. If she wanted to continue proving her skull was harder than steel, he did not mind slamming it into the ground again.
Ulti quickly retreated toward Jack's unconscious body and helped support him. Her eyes never left Aether for even a second, clearly searching for an opportunity.
Aether ignored her completely.
Instead, he casually dropped a sentence that instantly froze the entire harbor.
"Kaido has already been defeated and imprisoned by me. I came here for compensation. Without Kaido, the Beasts Pirates have already lost."
Silence.
Absolute silence filled the harbor.
Then the entire port erupted into chaos.
"What?!"
"Boss Kaido lost?!"
"Impossible!"
Many pirates immediately shouted in disbelief.
"There's no way Boss Kaido could lose!"
"He's lying!"
"That bastard must've used some dirty trick!"
Some pirates desperately denied reality, while others stared at Aether with pale faces filled with fear and uncertainty.
Only a handful of higher ranking members managed to remain composed.
Queen felt his heart sink completely.
The worst possible outcome had truly happened.
Still, the fact that Kaido was alive meant there was still room for negotiation.
Queen narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
"You claim Boss Kaido was defeated. Show us proof."
Aether smiled brightly.
"Since you're so eager to see your captain's miserable state, I don't mind."
He immediately activated a Den Den Mushi projector.
The footage displayed before everyone showed Kaido in an extremely battered condition. Bruises covered his face, blood stained his body, and even his expression looked unusually exhausted.
Then Aether's cheerful voice echoed from the recording.
"Kaido, pose properly for the camera."
The atmosphere instantly became even heavier.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody knew what to say.
The visual proof shattered the last bit of hope many pirates were clinging to.
Meanwhile, Aether's mood noticeably improved.
It was not because of the pirates' reactions themselves, but because the emotional feedback system had finally refreshed after the aftermath of the Marineford War.
Once the news of Kaido's defeat spread across the New World, the resulting shock would be enormous.
Two Yonko launching a joint attack only to fail completely would shake the entire balance of power.
The amount of emotional energy generated afterward would definitely surpass expectations.
Aether pushed aside those thoughts and focused on the present situation again.
The lower ranking pirates had already fallen into complete panic.
Some secretly prepared to flee.
Others argued loudly with loyal members of the crew.
Nobody wanted to die alongside a collapsing Yonko crew.
The commotion rapidly intensified across the harbor.
Aether frowned slightly.
"You people are way too noisy."
His smile remained gentle, but a terrifying aura suddenly spread outward from his body.
"Go to sleep."
Boom!
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted across the harbor.
The pressure swept through the entire area like a violent storm. The atmosphere itself seemed to distort as invisible force crushed down on everyone present.
Even the sunlight appeared dimmer beneath that monstrous willpower.
A pirate captain who had just boarded his ship to escape immediately rolled his eyes back the moment the Haki reached him.
His body collapsed onto the deck unconscious.
Around him, countless pirates dropped one after another like dominoes.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Within moments, the majority of the Beasts Pirates had collapsed entirely.
Only individuals at the level of the All-Stars, Tobiroppo, or higher managed to remain standing.
Even then, most of them looked terrible.
Several pirates turned pale and trembled violently. Others were covered in cold sweat while struggling just to stay upright.
Only Queen and the Tobiroppo appeared relatively unaffected.
At that exact moment, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from deeper within the town.
Boom.
Boom.
Two gigantic figures nearly thirty meters tall emerged into view.
The Numbers.
Artificial Ancient Giants created by the Beasts Pirates.
Their massive bodies resembled grotesque monsters, possessing immense strength but pitiful intelligence.
One of them dragged several terrified humans in his hand while mumbling incoherently.
"Food... hungry..."
The giant casually shoved screaming civilians toward his mouth.
The sight instantly caused Aether's smile to disappear.
Killing intent surged from his body.
The Number named Jaki barely had time to react before a slash of compressed force instantly severed the upper half of his body.
Blood exploded across the harbor.
As for the other Number, Sanki, Aether's eyes narrowed slightly.
A concentrated burst of Conqueror's Haki struck directly into the giant's mind.
Sanki's enormous body froze.
Then his eyes rolled backward as consciousness disappeared completely.
A second later, another invisible slash pierced straight through his body and ended his life instantly.
The harbor fell deathly silent once again.
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