Clang!
Kaido's Haki surged and condensed around his head, allowing him to narrowly avoid Weiss's lethal blow. Once more, his entire body was cloaked in pitch-black lightning.
Roaring, Kaido swung his spiked kanabo directly at Weiss.
Weiss blocked the strike head-on, then swiftly retreated. After such prolonged high-intensity combat, most of his stamina had already been depleted. That he was only lightly wounded was thanks to his cautious nature.
He had to find a way to escape—relying on the Navy was out of the question!
"What's wrong, brat? Out of strength already?" Kaido sneered. He had taken on his half-beast form, his massive kanabo slung over his shoulder as thunder crackled behind him. He stood proudly amidst the ruins, not a single building intact around him.
"I've got strength left, alright—the question is whether you can take it." Weiss forced a smirk. He might be losing, but he wasn't about to lose in spirit.
"Then come on! Let's see if you can kill me!"
Kaido launched the next attack, his colossal form charging forward. The hundred-meter gap vanished in an instant. But Weiss was ready—his blade wrapped in bloodlust and Armament Haki, unleashing a radiant slash.
To his shock, Kaido didn't even flinch. Completely armored in Haki, he let the slash hit him head-on—and shattered the attack with brute force, a blow that could have annihilated pirates with bounties over a hundred million.
...
Weiss didn't retreat. He charged forward instead, cursing in his head: "So what if your Armament Haki is insane? Damn show-off."
Scarlet killing intent burst from him in full force, pushing back against the overwhelming pressure of Kaido's Conqueror's Haki. It was the only way to stay sane under the crushing aura.
Boom!
Blade clashed against kanabo, and a shockwave erupted from their impact. Wave after wave of destruction rippled outward, shattering the surrounding ruins to dust.
Weiss clearly wasn't built for brute strength. The sheer force launched him flying again. In midair, he narrowed his eyes, trying to calculate what kind of technique could actually injure Kaido—only then would he have a shot at escaping.
The Sword Domain technique was still incomplete—not usable in this kind of situation.
He flipped backward midair, gouging a trench dozens of meters long upon landing. Stabilizing himself, he looked up—Kaido was already charging again, lightning crackling around him like a wrathful god.
They clashed again and again. Each time, Weiss was pushed further back. More wounds appeared on his body, while Kaido looked completely unscathed. In fact, he had been worse off earlier—but he'd already recovered.
That was the brutal endurance of Zoan types.
"Still too weak…" Weiss muttered. "If I want to become someone like my master, there's still a long road ahead."
Slash!
Weiss landed a hit on Kaido's arm, drawing blood. Kaido howled into the sky and shifted fully into his dragon form. With a twist of his body, his massive tail slammed into Weiss.
Boom!
A human-shaped crater appeared in the ground.
Weiss leapt out of the pit, clutching his chest. If he hadn't covered his whole body with Haki just in time, he'd be gravely injured.
In today's world, if your Armament Haki can't cover your entire body, you've got no right to call yourself strong.
High above, Kaido opened his jaws wide, gathering a massive vortex of wind in his mouth. Seeing Weiss emerge from the crater, he released it in one devastating breath.
Wind blades twisted into howling tornados midair. Lightning danced along the currents, shredding the very sky. White mist coiled around the deadly cyclones like spectral serpents.
Weiss's eyes flashed with rage. "You think I'm some sick kitten just because I've kept my claws in?"
"Auto-Attack!"
Multiple slashes burst wildly from his blade, countering the calamity-class storm. This wasn't the time for clean, one-at-a-time strikes—he had to unleash everything in a storm of sword energy.
Crash!
His barrage cut through the tornados. Weiss vanished again in a flash. As Kaido's claws struck down, Weiss blinked past them, leaping onto his arm.
In just a few flickers, he made it to Kaido's back!
Standing atop the dragon's spine, Weiss let out a furious roar. He slashed like a man possessed, pouring sword energy into every swing. Kaido's scales were soon littered with thin, precise gashes.
"That's for breathing wind!"
"That's for breathing fire!"
"That's for your stupid lightning!"
"And that's for always swinging that dumb kanabo!"
"What kind of grown man plays with spiked clubs anyway?!"
"You think just because you have a mythical dragon fruit you're some kind of god?!"
The more he cursed, the harder he struck. The blade in his hands seemed to respond to his fury, growing sharper and heavier. Slash after slash, Kaido's back lit up with wounds. But he couldn't reach Weiss—he was too agile, dancing around like a ghost on the dragon's back.
"ROAR! You damn brat!" Kaido howled, slamming lightning after lightning down onto himself in rage. But not a single bolt found Weiss.
"Oh what, now you wanna die? Why fight back then? Just let me kill you! You really wanna die? Slap on some Seastone cuffs and jump into the ocean!"
"Or just eat two Devil Fruits and see what happens!"
Weiss's killing intent surged. He channeled every ounce of it into his blade—his Haki, his bloodlust, all of it condensed into one final strike. He sprinted across Kaido's back toward the tail, looking for all the world like a normal human being, invisible even to the sharpest eyes.
"Strike me with your tail again, I swear—you think you're a fish or something?!"
"Auto-Attack: Tail Severing Slash!"
The sword's intent, restrained to the extreme, exploded outward like a volcanic eruption. Crimson sword light shimmered with black markings, crackling with dark lightning.
CRACK!
The slash missed Kaido, carving straight into the ground below. It sliced through like tofu, vanishing into the earth and leaving a glowing sword mark behind.
BOOM! BOOM!
The energy detonated underground. The ground quaked like an earthquake, huge chunks of rock glowing red as they erupted into the air.
Kaido stared solemnly at the devastated earth. In that moment—he had felt danger. If he hadn't dodged, his tail might've actually been severed.
Weiss landed heavily, panting hard. That last slash had taken everything he had—his stamina, spirit, and willpower poured into it.
But Kaido had shrunk his form, avoiding the strike. That sword should've been aimed at his head.
"Looks like the 'Sword Demon' is nearly spent. Should we move in now?" Chaton turned to ask Momousagi, clearly eager to follow her lead.
"Fufufufu~ He's terrifying, really," Doflamingo chuckled before she could reply. "To be able to hold out against Kaido this long—and even almost cut off his tail…"
He was seriously re-evaluating how to deal with Weiss. Someone like that… was dangerous.
"You've got talent, kid. How about it? Join me, and I'll forgive everything up to now," Kaido said, glancing at the bleeding wound on his foot. Did that blade actually land a hit?
Though the wound was regenerating, the speed was much slower than usual. Not because Kaido was exhausted—but because some strange force was interfering with his healing.
He could now see Weiss's terrifying potential. Kaido had always prized talent—and if Weiss joined him, he'd even offer him the position of Vice Captain.
Young, gifted, and strong—he might even consider marrying his daughter to the kid!
"Bwahaha! Weiss, don't you dare say yes to that sea-scum!" a familiar voice rang out. Garp walked over from the distance, chewing on a donut as he laughed heartily.
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