The Greatest Disgrace in Marine History-Chapter 167 - 69: Status—Unknown

"A real pain just showed up."

Sakazuki's face had gone completely grim.

The suffocating pressure blanketing the battlefield forced every muscle and nerve in his body to tighten to the extreme.

He glanced at Darren, who could no longer even rise to his feet, then assessed his own injuries. His heart sank further.

"Wororororo... What an interesting scene I've stumbled upon."

That voice rolled through the skies—hoarse, thunderous, and low like distant drums, rattling in their very bones.

The sea erupted. Winds howled. Waves surged.

And then—

In the black, roiling clouds above, a shadow began to take shape.

It moved swiftly, impossibly massive—darker and more menacing than the storm clouds themselves, its form growing larger with every second, as if blotting out the sky.

It slid through the heavens like a leviathan, dragging visible lightning behind it.

Gales roared across the earth, kicking up clouds of ash and debris.

And then, to the Marines' horror—

A head the size of a mountain broke through the clouds.

A pair of twisted, razor-sharp horns. Jet-black facial hair. Slitted amber eyes the size of lanterns. Colossal claws with four jagged talons. Blue-green scales that shimmered like steel beneath the flashing lightning...

"A dragon!!"

"It's a dragon! The legendary beast—Azure Dragon!!"

"It's Kaido! One of the fiercest pirates in the New World!!"

"Kaido of the Beasts!!"

"There's no way... What the hell is Kaido doing here?!"

"..."

Cries of disbelief erupted from the Marine ranks. Faces drained of color. Their throats dry. Cold sweat drenched their backs as they stared up at the monstrous figure descending from the sky.

The gigantic Azure Dragon narrowed his eyes, sweeping a gaze across the battlefield. His pupils lingered for a moment on Darren and Douglas Bullet, then locked on Sakazuki.

He grinned.

BOOM!

An oppressive aura exploded from Kaido's massive body—immense, crushing, as vast as the ocean and as deep as the abyss.

Black-red lightning crackled violently in the sky, shooting downward like spears of death.

Vmmmm...

The pressure was so intense it distorted the air itself, sending ripples across the void.

For a split second, it looked like the entire world was cracking—the ground, the trees, the broken remains of the harbor—all fracturing piece by piece.

The sheer force invaded the Marines' souls. Every breath felt like a struggle beneath a collapsing sky.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

One after another...

Several young Marines collapsed, their eyes rolling back as they dropped unconscious on the spot.

Darren's breath caught. His mind went numb under the weight.

He grunted, his body already pushed to the brink, trembling violently as he struggled to stay conscious.

If he were at full strength, even Kaido's Conqueror's Haki wouldn't overwhelm him like this.

But now—his body was a wreck, covered in wounds, completely drained of energy. He couldn't hold out.

And Bullet, lying nearby, didn't even groan. He simply crumpled, unmoving.

The storm howled. Fire licked the edges of the battlefield. Amid the chaos, Sakazuki stood alone—unshaken, like a boulder perched on a cliffside. His white coat whipped in the wind.

"Wororororo!! Die, Marines!!"

The dragon's deafening roar echoed across the sky as he slowly opened his massive jaws.

Rows upon rows of jagged teeth glinted. As Kaido inhaled, a crimson glow began to gather deep in his throat—a terrifying, suffocating energy pulsing with destruction.

Hell itself was about to descend.

Blood-red light bathed the world, spreading like a curtain of death.

Despair—pure and absolute—flooded every Marine's heart. They trembled in place, paralyzed, as if their very souls had been ripped away.

There was nowhere to run. No way to fight back.

"...Seriously?"

Sakazuki suddenly exhaled.

Without urgency, he peeled off his black gloves, revealing bloody, mangled hands. He straightened the blood-soaked red rose pinned to his chest.

Then, he pulled a cigar from his coat, bit it, and lit it with his own magma.

"This shit just won't end..."

He whispered.

The sky was black. Thunder crashed. The storm howled like a beast.

Before a dragon that blotted out the heavens, the man who once bore the title of "monster" seemed so... small.

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But above, the flames in Kaido's throat had reached their peak.

"Fire Breath!"

ROAR!!

A massive column of crimson flame erupted from the dragon's mouth.

The recoil from the blast even forced Kaido's enormous head to snap back.

The fiery torrent tore through the sky, searing everything in its path.

Sakazuki looked up without flinching. His cold, steel gaze reflected the violent form of the raging dragon above.

Then the corner of his bloodstained mouth curled into a twisted grin.

"Killing a dragon... doesn't sound impossible."

He drew deeply from his cigar.

So deeply—it burned down to the stub in a single pull.

Fwooo...

He exhaled thick smoke, curling like a dragon of its own.

And then—

Magma exploded from beneath his feet. The ground split open, and Sakazuki shot into the sky like a cannonball.

Half his body had transformed into searing magma—molten rock glowing at thousands of degrees. Only his heavy, snow-white coat remained untouched, its solemn weight flowing in contrast against the raging fire.

He looked like a feral dog unleashed, a beast charging into the heart of an inferno—

Charging straight toward the king of beasts.

He swung his molten fist.

"Great Eruption!!"

Time froze.

Magma and dragonfire collided in the sky, a cataclysmic clash that split the heavens.

But the stalemate lasted only a second—

"Magma... is superior to flame!!!"

Sakazuki's voice howled through the firestorm like a death knell.

BOOM!!

His magma punch tore straight through the Fire Breath.

The dragonfire exploded, scattering into countless burning meteors that rained down like falling stars.

Kaido's eyes widened. The searing heat of the magma forced his body to twist midair in an evasive lurch.

Ssshhh!!

The magma grazed his scales, scorching a blackened streak along his flank.

"Damn Marine!! Then how about this?!"

Enraged, the wounded dragon roared. His massive form suddenly compressed, shifting into a monstrous humanoid figure.

With gravity on his side, he plummeted at terrifying speed.

Gripping a massive, jet-black kanabo in both hands, crimson lightning surged around the weapon. He raised it high—

And brought it down.

"Three Worlds Conquest: Ragnaraku!!"

CRASH!!

Sakazuki's depleted body slammed into the earth like a meteor. The blow carved out a vast crater, the shockwave rippling outward as the land cracked and heaved.

The island shook.

The earth split open.

It was as if the world itself were breaking apart.

...

Eventually, the storm calmed.

Ash and smoke hung heavy in the air.

Dark red magma bubbled up from the fissures, coalescing into a human silhouette.

Staggering forward, drenched in blood and ash-white, Sakazuki looked like a man carved from ruin. He stumbled—nearly fell.

A Marine tried to help him, but he shoved the soldier aside.

He stared ahead at the scorched wasteland... empty.

His eyes—cold, bloodshot, filled with rage—gleamed like dying embers.

"Inform HQ. Kaido of the Beasts has appeared. The mission to capture Douglas Bullet... has failed."

He paused.

His teeth clenched. Words hissed through them like venom.

"Mission target Douglas Bullet, along with..."

He spat it like a curse.

"Marine Commodore Rogers Darren... has been taken by Kaido..."

"...Status—Unknown."

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To be continued...