Vivi decided to take back her earlier thought that Ace was more thoughtful than Luffy. Using Conqueror's Haki in the enemy's lair? Was the guy out of his mind?

The expression on her face darkened, and anger was quickly brewing in her mind. All she wanted to do was talk to her duck. Why did even that have to be a challenge?

She put the unconscious Smashi into her pocket. With the Nidai Kitetsu in her hand, she soared out.

In the air, she noticed that right after Ace unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, another wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from the same direction.

The two Haki forces collided intensely in the air, reminiscent of her own clash with Ace's Haki.

Vivi was puzzled. Who else on Onigashima, besides Kaidou, could use Conqueror's Haki?

Weren't there a little too many people with such Haki these days?

Their Conqueror's Haki engulfed the entire island. It affected everyone - the pirates, the captured Wano civilians, and even Vivi herself.

Naturally, she wouldn't show weakness. Conqueror's Haki? She had that too!

Her eyes reddened as her spirit, charged with her willpower and murderous intent, swept across the island. An invisible energy clash followed, securing a third of the territory under her Haki's influence as she entered the battle of wills.

The trio's Haki forces struggled against each other. Even though she and Ace were friends, there was no room for concession in this battle.

Conqueror's Haki inherently repelled all other living beings other than the user. Within its range, the concept of 'friendship' didn't exist.

To put it simply: I may know you, but my Conqueror's Haki didn't!

Retreating would be a blow to one's convictions and self-confidence. Fighting was Vivi's only option.

Vivi landed about thirty meters to the front left of Ace, carrying a strong aura of Conqueror's Haki.

She looked towards the diagonal opposite, where a woman in a white kimono stood. The kimono was decorated with diamond patterns on the chest. She wore wooden sandals and a huge nio dasuke around her waist.

The woman had two horns on her head and her face was concealed by a fierce-looking Hannya mask. Her hair transitioned in color from white at the top to green, then finally to blue towards the ends.

Most notable was the weapon in the woman's hand. It was a fearsome-looking club kanabo.

Unlike traditional kanabos, the spikes on this weapon were replaced with rounded protrusions, as if intentionally ground off.

Vivi was puzzled. She wondered who this person could be. Someone capable of using Conqueror's Haki was certainly no ordinary individual, yet she didn't recognize this person.

Since she didn't know, Vivi decided to ask directly, "Hey, woman, who are you?"

The woman in the white kimono holding the kanabo replied with a clear and heroic voice, "I am Kozuki Oden!"

"Pfft!" Vivi almost bit her tongue as she used her Conqueror's Haki to counter the two.

She felt that the woman was insulting her intelligence, "Nonsense! Kozuki Oden died fifteen years ago; every child in Wano knows that. Who are you really, pretending to be Kozuki Oden?"

The woman in the white kimono paused noticeably, "Kozuki Oden is the samurai I admire the most. Although it's hard to say, if you ask about lineage, then I must admit it. I am Kaidou's son, Yamato!"

Vivi examined the diamond pattern on the chest of the woman's kimono. The pattern stretched across a rather pronounced bust. That had to be a G-cup, right? Bulging like that, and you still say you're Kaidou's son? Whose son looks like this!

The woman's words seemed absurd, yet Vivi couldn't detect any deceit through her Observation Haki. It appeared that Yamato genuinely believed in what she was saying.

The constant clash of Conqueror's Haki was exhausting for all three of them. For an Emperor, this might be negligible in light of their abundant spiritual energy, but not for them.

Yamato was the first to reduce her Haki, followed by Ace, and then Vivi. They all eventually ceased their Conqueror's Haki. Prolonging the clash would have been a huge drain on their stamina and spiritual energy without any decisive outcome.

Yamato, wearing the Hannya mask and wielding her kanabo, seemed ready to leave. However, she suddenly paused, as if she sniffed something in the air. Then she addressed Vivi in a straightforward manner, "I don't know why, but you smell terrible to me. It's like a kind of instinctive animosity. Who are you exactly?"

"Hmph! From this distance, what smell could you possibly detect? Do you have a dog's nose or something?" Vivi didn't have any unpleasant odor; in fact, she carried a rose-like fragrance. She thought Yamato was insulting her and shot back.

The term 'dog's nose' visibly irritated Yamato.

Her subdued fighting spirit flared up again. She lifted her kanabo high. Vivi then noticed a pair of handcuffs on Yamato's wrists that were broken in the middle.

Yamato declared, "Even though I have various disagreements with Kaidou, since you came to Onigashima tonight and killed so many of Kaidou's subordinates. I can't just sit back and watch. I must take you down!"

"Take this! Narikabura Arrow!"

Her kanabo was enveloped in dense Armament Haki. After a brief moment of charging, she swung it violently!

The air was compressed under the tremendous force, and similar to a swordsman's technique, this move was essentially a long-range attack executed with the kanabo.

The 'Narikabura Arrow' had a wide attack range, covering both Ace and Vivi.

Ace's fists burst into flames, but Vivi held him back.

"As per our agreement, Kaidou is yours. His subordinates are mine. This one irks me. Step back, I'll take care of her."

She wasn't particularly keen on fighting, but there was something about Yamato that genuinely irked her. She couldn't identify the source of this awkward sensation, but decided to trust her instincts.

She drew her Nidai Kitetsu and pointed the blade at the ground. Like Yamato, she charged briefly and wrapped the blade in Armament Haki. Then she slashed upwards!

"Zanpa!"

Narikabura Arrow and Zanpa collided in mid-air, each carrying an enormous amount of kinetic energy. Vivi's Zanpa had an unparalleled sharpness, and Nidai Kitetsu, a cursed blade, added a sinister crimson hue to the slash.

Yamato's Narikabura Arrow was an equally solid strike.

The combination of Kanabo's unique material and Yamato's skill imbued the Narikabura Arrow with a layer of pale blue electric light, enhancing its formidable power.

Bang!

A thunderous boom sounded as the two attacks collided violently.

Narikabura Arrow launched first, followed closely by Zanpa. The power and Armament Haki of both combatants were almost identical, causing nearby walls and buildings to crumble under the explosive shockwave.

Despite the destruction around them, both women emerged unscathed, marking the first exchange as a draw.

(End of the Chapter)