Kaku charged forward, dual blades in hand. Xiaohu drew the Longquan Sword and met him head-on.
"Xiaohu, your swordsmanship isn't much to speak of." Kaku whirled his twin blades, stepping up the frequency of his attacks. In less than a moment, several new cuts appeared on Xiaohu.
"Wind Art: Wind Blade!" "Storm Leg!" The two forces collided and dissipated. Kaku followed up with a dozen rapid-fire slashes from his legs: "Tempest Kick: Chaos!" "Celestial Wind Cloud Body Art!"
Exchanging blow after blow, Xiaohu gradually grew accustomed to the rhythm of Kaku's attacks.
"Oh? You're actually learning in the middle of a fight?" Kaku stepped back a few paces. "No wonder you were able to defeat Blueno. Give you a bit more time, and I'm afraid even this old man's swordsmanship wouldn't keep the upper hand."
At that moment, the broadcast outside rang out:
"Shut down the Buster Call immediately! Do you have any idea how terrifying a Buster Call is? The entire island will be wiped out!"
"Idiot! The Buster Call has already been launched, how could it possibly be stopped? But it doesn't matter anyway. To prevent the pirates from escaping, what does it matter if a few thousand soldiers on this island are sacrificed? Besides, I'll soon have the power to conquer the world."
"You... you left your Den Den Mushi broadcast running!"
"Ah... Damn it! *Click.*"
"..."
"A Buster Call?" Xiaohu and Kaku both froze in surprise.
"That foolish commander actually went and triggered a Buster Call. It looks like I'll need to wrap this up quickly. Very well, Xiaohu, let me show you the new ability I just acquired."
Seeing Kaku halt his attack, Xiaohu looked on with curiosity. "A new ability?" Suddenly, Kaku's neck began to elongate, and his entire physique swelled, growing larger and larger until it slammed into the ceiling.
"This... is also a Devil Fruit ability?" Watching Kaku's head pierce right through the ceiling as the roof began to cave in, Xiaohu hurriedly dodged the falling tiles. But the floor cracked open as well. Xiaohu used his flying sword technique to lift off the ground. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw a gigantic giraffe flailing wildly as it plunged downward.
"Blast it, I meant to transform into my hybrid form, but I accidentally went full beast!" shouted the giraffe—no, Kaku.
Kaku's transformation completely wrecked the room, sending him crashing down into the floor below. Xiaohu followed on his flying sword. In the room downstairs, a gigantic werewolf stood face-to-face with Zoro and Sogeking.
"Galley-La shipwright? What on earth are you doing?" Zoro kept dodging the rocks tumbling down from above, while the Sogeking in his grip shrieked at the top of his lungs.
"Roronoa Zoro, what... what are you guys doing now?"
At that moment, Sogeking's body went rigid as he clung tightly to Zoro's arm. Whenever Zoro had no room to dodge, he swung his blade to smash the falling rubble. The rocks shattered right past Sogeking's face, keeping his screams from stopping for even a second.
"Oh, this is my new weapon. It's called Nose-storm," Zoro said casually once the rocks were cleared.
"You bastard! I almost got crushed by those boulders just now! You barbaric idiot!" Usopp roared, pressing his nose right against Zoro's face.
"Wahahaha! Kaku, is that your Devil Fruit ability? That is fantastic!" Zoro's former opponent, the werewolf from CP9, burst out laughing upon seeing Kaku's new look.
"Shut up, you don't need to tell me, Jabra! This old man is quite satisfied with his own power!" Kaku shook his head and said.
"Hey, Galley-La shipwright, did you find the keys? Sogeking and I are locked in Seastone handcuffs." Zoro raised his hands; sure enough, he and Sogeking were cuffed together at the wrists. No wonder they had been forced to fight in such an awkward posture.
"Not yet. I haven't won my fight up here either." Xiaohu glanced over, then suddenly noticed something strange. "A spiritual qi fluctuation... Water-attribute Spirit Stones?"
"What Spirit Stone? This is Seastone," Sogeking said. Xiaohu stepped forward, carefully examining the dull, unassuming handcuffs. A pure and surging spiritual qi was contained within them.
"I see. Spirit stones imbued with ocean energy?" Xiaohu placed his hand over the Seastone, drawing the spiritual power into his body. Moments later, the Seastone handcuffs shattered into pieces and fell away.
"This... how did you do that?" The other four people present stared in utter shock.
"I've never heard of anyone being able to shatter Seastone. We cannot let this fellow live," said Jabra the werewolf.
"Hey, Jabra, he's my prey," Kaku said with displeasure.
"You can actually unlock Seastone? Then we don't have to waste time looking for keys. Quick, let's get out of here and go find Robin," Sogeking said.
Xiaohu looked at Kaku and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to defeat this guy. I apologize for not being able to help you."
Zoro wore a smile as well. "That's right. The enemy is right in front of us, how could we run? Sogeking, go stop Robin immediately. Right now, only you can do it. Go do what you have to do!"
Sogeking muttered to himself, "The only thing I can do... I, I understand! Zoro-kun, I leave this place to you. I know what I must do." Sogeking turned and dashed off.
"Hey! You're not going anywhere! Tempest Kick!" The werewolf raised his leg and fired a slash toward Sogeking.
"Hey, hey! You stupid dog, you are not allowed to lay a hand on my comrade!" Zoro flashed forward, blocking the werewolf's attack.
"Roronoa, how about you leave that wolf to me?"
"That deer is a swordsman who uses blades, too. Let's swap opponents—this stupid dog is getting on my nerves."
"I'll say it again! I'm a wolf, not a dog! I'm going to tear your flesh off piece by piece! Finger Pistol!"
"Shut up, stupid dog, this doesn't concern you right now! Three-Sword Style: Wolf Blade Flow!" Zoro dodged the werewolf's attack in a flash, spinning his three blades to slash at the enemy.
"Iron Body!"
Watching Zoro and the werewolf trade blows back and forth, Xiaohu turned to Kaku. "All right, let's continue."
By now, Kaku had shifted into his giraffe hybrid form, sporting an elongated neck and holding swords in his hooves—a truly comical sight. Xiaohu's expression turned peculiar. "Don't you plan to change back?"
Kaku let out a huff. "Don't you underestimate this old man's current form. A giraffe's destructive power is quite astonishing. Behold... Giraffe... Nose Pistol!" Kaku whipped his neck around, violently lunging toward the spot where Xiaohu stood. Xiaohu sidestepped, and Kaku's long neck whizzed right past him, stabbing directly into the wall.
"The destructive power is certainly astonishing, but in that state, your target is far too obvious." Xiaohu swung the Longquan Sword, slashing toward Kaku's neck. However, Kaku nimbly pulled his head back, causing Xiaohu's blade to slice through empty air. Unfortunately, he used too much force pulling back and smashed straight into an ornamental rockery in the room, shattering it to pieces.
Seeming to sense Xiaohu's strange gaze, Kaku flew into a rage. "That was just an accident! Now watch this: Giraffe Whip Pistol!" Kaku whipped his head around again, but Xiaohu employed the Celestial Wind Cloud Body Art to dodge his storm of... head-swinging attacks. Within moments, everything in the room was reduced to a pile of rubble.
When Kaku finally stopped, his eyes glazed over, and with a sudden *blech*, he threw up.
"So basically, you inflict eight hundred damage to the enemy while destroying a thousand of your own?!" Xiaohu covered his eyes, unable to bear looking any longer.