"What kind of fruit is it? Why not try it yourself?"
Sage curled his lips into a grim smile as he shifted his stance. Kaido similarly took a step forward, and they faced each other at the same time.
With a height of five meters, Sage seemed like a child compared to Kaido's human-beast form of over ten meters. But at this moment, their formidable aura made one unable to ignore Sage, subconsciously equating him with this top supreme being of land, sea, and air.
One lowered his dragon-like head, the other lifted his fiery skull, and as their gazes met, black and red thunder clashed with purple lightning.
"Oh! A rare powerhouse; just looking at you makes my blood boil!"
He untied the wine gourd stamped with the word 'Heaven' from his waist and extended it toward Sage, "At this moment, only a drink would make it more enjoyable!"
Sage stomped his foot on the ground, causing two large stones to tremble free. With a swift touch of the fist's back, the stones' edges shattered, one turning into an afterimage and flying towards Kaido.
Smack.
Kaido reached out and caught it, upon closer inspection, the large stone had turned into a smooth stone bowl.
"I don't like sharing a gourd with someone else," said Sage.
"Such precision technique!"
Kaido didn't hold back his praise, first filling his own cup from the wine gourd before tossing it to Sage.
Sage caught it and poured nearly transparent liquid into his stone bowl, then tossed the gourd back to Kaido.
Raising the stone bowls, they clinked them from afar and took a draught.
Sage smacked his lips, frowning slightly, "Sweet wine?"
Kaido glared, "Don't underestimate sweet wine!"
Sweet wine getting one drunk is not a problem; after all, strong sweet wine seems harmless at first but opens its eyes in the grass once you exit the door.
He simply couldn't fathom why such an intimidating figure would favor sweet wine.
After finishing their drink, they simultaneously tossed down the stone bowls, staring up and down at each other.
"Come on!" Kaido grasped the Wolf Fang Club planted on the ground.
"Alright!"
Bang!
With a fierce shout from Sage, a massive fist accelerated like a cannonball, landing a punch on Kaido's stomach and embedding itself within.
With just one punch, Kaido's body visibly buckled for a moment, instinctively opening his mouth and spewing some droplets of blood.
He gritted his teeth stubbornly, his crimson eyes glancing downwards, spotting a swift afterimage rushing forth.
Bam!!
That dragon-like face received a heavy kick, the tremendous force propelling his body uncontrollably, flying backward like a fired projectile.
Sage hovered in mid-air, having kicked forth not needing to change his posture, step out along a smoke circle, and with a burst in the air, chased after him, his speed surpassing Kaido's backward flight.
Twenty times the weight amplification, under the hundred times speed enhancement, wasn't merely fast, now each of his punches and kicks were akin to a heavy cannon with immense propulsion.
Coupled with the unique power of Conqueror's Haki, that was truly what blasted Kaido away.
Sage just appeared above the flying Kaido, feet poised to stomp forcefully, as he noticed his opponent's crimson eyes flashing, though flying backward, yet gripping the iron club tighter, coiling with purple thunder, and fiercely swinging it upward.
"Thundering Hakke!"
Sage's eyes widened, his grin expanding instead of dodging, launching his feet against the approaching iron club.
Boom!!
In the air, a colossal force dispersed, covering half the island with an electrified shockwave, repelling the descending storm, even slightly halting the accompanying fierce winds.
This time, Sage wasn't knocked into unconsciousness by that strike.
Having endured the third strike head-on, such a thing wouldn't happen anymore.
Feet clashing with the iron club continued to stalemate, steadily releasing bursts of Haki, as Kaido's other hand gripped the club, preparing to boost its attack strength when his mouth suddenly opened.
"Hot Breath!"
Rapidly emitting blazing flames from his mouth, simultaneously exerting force with both hands, the iron club swung upward.
Sage kicked again, utilizing this momentum to swiftly leap away, evading the blazing fire column.
"Vajra·Arrow!"
As soon as his body hovered in the air, Kaido's swung iron club unleashed an impact like an arrow, aimed directly at Sage.
"I can see it! Moonwalk: Instant Sky!"
Thud!
Smoke rings dispersed under Sage's feet, his form disappearing in mid-air, as the Haki shock passed through his previous location, his figure already flashing to Kaido's side above.
"Oh! Waiting for you!"
Kaido laughed heartily, his iron club rotated twice at this moment, forcibly twisting his body in mid-air, swinging the club directly towards Sage.
"Thunderous Hakke!"
In those eyes, a playful intent appeared.
Fast?
Then timidly dodge...
However one dodges, he would still capture his target like playing with a rodent!
"Who do you think I am!"
Sage received that look, his eyes roundly widening, his Haki condensing further, enveloped in lightning, striking Kaido sharply with a hand chop.
The future against the future.
Sage could see Kaido's subsequent moves, so he would dodge in advance. Likewise, Kaido could also foresee what Sage was going to do.
In that flash of a moment, they predicted the short future and made corresponding actions instantly, so it wouldn't turn into a situation where they were just guessing and not moving. Since time was short, they had to react immediately with no order of precedence.
Kaido knew Sage would dodge, and Sage also knew Kaido would definitely attack after his dodge. Whether it was a frontal assault or a dodge, it would inevitably result in the current situation.
It seemed like having no Observation Haki, but if Sage didn't have Foreseeing the Future... he wouldn't even be able to achieve this scenario.
With this ability, you can stand on the same level as the enemy. Without it, if you don't want to fight, that's fine; if you must fight, you can only take a beating passively no matter how fast you are!
Right now, there's a chance to fight!
Just as the iron club was about to smash down, Sage's body suddenly flickered, clearly speeding up, and moved close to Kaido.
"Vajra Continent Splitting Slash!!"
The hand knife crackling with lightning, as it was swung by Sage, went down like a crashing thunderbolt, slashing into Kaido's chest. Simultaneously, the swinging iron club also heavily struck Sage's chest.
Boom!!
The thunder-infused shockwaves exploded violently, causing the island to tremble. Two figures descended quickly from the sky, blasting two deep pits in the ground.
"Oroororororo!"
In the pit, Kaido's body quickly leapt up and landed heavily. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and a vertical wound appeared on his chest. He covered his chest with one hand, blood continuously seeping through his fingers.
"Well done, Sage! This is enough to leave a scar!" Kaido laughed.
In the other pit, Sage also shot out, landing similarly.
His condition was slightly worse than Kaido's; the club's blow had caved in his ribcage, but with his formidable recovery power, his chest heaved and restored, white steam rising, only leaving thick blood clinging to his chest.
Sage narrowed his eyes slightly, exhaling slowly.
In this state, he needn't care about injuries; any severe wound could heal... but it was too heavy!
The earlier strike had drained a lot of his strength.
This fight couldn't continue this way, or he wouldn't last long.
"No choice then..."
Sage twisted his neck with a crack, "You truly deserve the title of the world's strongest on land, sea, and air, the most formidable in single combat."
"Ready to admit defeat?"
Kaido laughed, "According to my offer, you could become the fourth big board under my command!"
"You're quite the climber, aren't you!"
Sage raised his fist, "I just wanted to say..."
"When I defeat you, the title of the world's strongest becomes mine!"
"Oroororororo! If you can, then bring it on!"
Kaido gripped the iron club, "It's been a long time since I felt what failure is!"
He had indeed failed before, but that was in his younger years. Since seizing the position of the Four Emperors, he hadn't experienced failure.
The title of the strongest in single combat wasn't just boastful talk; it was genuinely earned through battle!
Only Joyboy could defeat him?
He didn't believe in such prophecies. He wanted to prove it to the world!
Even if it meant death, he'd choose his way of dying, not because of some Joyboy!
Even if it's this powerful and promising man in front of him, it's still no!
Thud!
Kaido stepped forward, shot straight into the sky, and first roared out a Hot Breath. As flames spouted, he transformed into dragon form, his body twisting while summoning bolts of thunder amidst the storm, sealing Sage's movement space with thunderbolts, and simultaneously conjuring whirlwinds containing Wind Blades.
Elemental Power is something that Haki cannot grasp!
Sage dodged the incoming Hot Breath. Seeing thunderbolts about to strike within his range, he stomped heavily, blasting a mass of stones. With a sweep of his hands and high-speed amplification, he disappeared rapidly, hitting the stones, and simultaneously applying his power.
"Southern Dipper Meteor Strike!"
The enlarged and accelerated stones soared like meteors crashing into the falling thunderbolts. At the same time, his right hand nestled into his left palm, gathering a streak of black-red lightning, and with a mighty 'Annihilation Slash,' it roared into the swirling tornado.
No need to bother with those tornadoes; the main point is to hit the person first!
"You've got a bit of that old lady's style! 'Vajra·Arrow!'"
Like an arrow, carrying the shock of Conqueror's Haki, it clashed within the Haki shockwave. As the two attacks met and stalemated, a massive humanoid figure flashed within the encroaching tornado, its iron club spinning above as if a rotor. Purple lightning spun, instantaneously filling the sky, making the cloud layers flash with thunder.
"Descending the Third Realm..."
The iron club sliced down swiftly like a lightning bolt.
"Hiki Naraku!!"
Sage steadied his stance, his aura condensing more solidly, twirling like a hurricane, swiftly shooting towards the sky.
Can he dodge?
Under Foreseeing the Future, even dodging is futile, so it's better to leverage the speed advantage for continued combat.
And then...
"Triple!!"
Within the hurricane, Sage roared, and his size suddenly surged dramatically.