"You damn brat, Yamato is my daughter!!"
Kaido's furious roar shook the heavens and the earth.
With a single step, the entirety of Onigashima trembled, the ground cracking open into deep, spiderweb-like trenches, the hideous fissures spreading for several miles.
The Conqueror's Haki and Devil Fruit power surging within him completely converged, as black-purple lightning fiercely coiled and condensed around the spiked club, "hassaikai," seeming to drain all the violent energy from the heavens and the earth!
"Haaah—!!"
The moment the club swung out, the intensely condensed black-purple lightning suddenly erupted, exploding like a nuclear bomb. A devastating torrent of energy tore through the air, crushing down toward Luffy with the might of incinerating mountains and boiling seas!
"Heh heh..." A calm smile curved Luffy's lips, but his gaze instantly sharpened like a knife.
"The promise I made, I will absolutely fulfill, even if it costs me my life!"
Crackle crackle—!!
Black and red Conqueror's Haki lightning burst forth around him, roaring like ten thousand thunder dragons dancing wildly, confronting Kaido's purple-black lightning from afar.
The two abyssal, heavy Four Emperors-level auras fiercely collided in the void, unleashing a roar that shook the universe!
Thousands of black lightning bolts suddenly soared into the sky, and a magnificent pillar of aura piercing the heavens violently struck the firmament!
...The members of the Beasts Pirates were horrified, the world before their eyes seemed to completely invert at this moment, all color draining away, leaving only monotonous black and white.
It must be noted that those who could board Onigashima to participate in the battle were all elite pirates skilled in using Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Yet, under this level of Conqueror's Haki shock, fewer than a hundred people among the tens of thousands of pirates managed to remain conscious.
—In front of Four Emperors-level monsters, they were no different from cannon fodder waiting to be slaughtered!
The aura emanating from Luffy continued to climb endlessly, the black and red lightning soaring straight into the sky.
Visibly, Armament Haki spiraled and surged along his arm like flowing water, solidifying as if cast from steel. The surrounding space was twisted and vibrated by this powerful momentum.
The fighting spirit within him boiled to its peak!
Mind, body, and technique achieved perfect unity at this moment, leaving not a single flaw!
"Break—!!"
When the punch struck, the roar of Conqueror's Haki rolled like thunder, and the punch wind transformed into a devastating hurricane sweeping across the world. The black and red energy violently collided with Kaido's purple-black lightning once more!
"Damn brat!!"
Kaido roared, increasing his strength, and the air currents wrapped around the spiked club turned into a vast storm.
Centered on the two of them, the storm spread wildly in all directions. The expanding torrent of energy violently pressed down, cracking the earth for several kilometers around and raising gigantic, layered waves of rock and soil.
However, this time, it was no longer an equal match!
Thud—!
With a muffled sound, a massive figure plummeted from mid-air like a kite with a broken string.
Carrying a destructive momentum, he slammed into the ground, forcibly carving out a gigantic trench dozens of meters deep and stretching for several miles. Amidst the spreading dust, shattered stones and debris rained down.
Kaido knelt on the ground, his vertical pupils filled with disbelief. He stared intently at his trembling right hand; the muscles in his arm were still twitching from the impact.
—With that last punch, Luffy's strength had actually overwhelmed his?!
Looking back at Luffy, the fierce light in Kaido's eyes grew even more intense.
—Previously, this brat only wanted to fight him intensely, but ever since Yamato appeared, his intentions had clearly changed!
This kid clearly wants to defeat him and then brazenly abduct his daughter!
"Wororororo—!!" Kaido burst into a rough, wild laugh, his voice filled with arrogance and disdain.
"If you have the guts, then try it!"
Before his voice faded, a blazing Haki storm surged around his body once more. Black and red Conqueror's Haki lightning crisscrossed like a spiderweb, making the surrounding air sizzle.
Stomping fiercely into the void, Kaido's figure transformed into a beam of purple-black electricity, carrying an aura of destruction as it shot straight into the sky!
The winds rose and the clouds surged; the world changed color!
Gusts of fierce wind howled past, sweeping up shattered stones and debris, as if the end of the world had arrived.
Within the sea of clouds, a massive shadow that blotted out the sky slowly moved, dragging visible chains of lightning around its body. Every movement caused the heavens and the earth to tremble.
The next second, a hideous dragon head, comparable in size to a mountain peak, slowly emerged from the thick clouds.
—Its dragon horns were like colossal pillars supporting the sky, reflecting a cold metallic sheen;
Its scales overlapped layer upon layer, shimmering with a faint blue-dark light under the reflection of the lightning;
A pair of vertical pupils were as deep as an abyss, exuding the terrifying pressure unique to a superior being, instantly sweeping across the entire island of Onigashima!
"Ka-Kaido-san!!"
Even though he had seen it several times before, King looked at this colossal creature in its Azure Dragon Form, still unable to hide the fanaticism and awe in his heart, a light bordering on faith burning in his eyes.
—This was the "Savior" he had followed his entire life, the monster standing at the pinnacle of the world!
"Kaido...?"
Yamato gritted her teeth, her fingernails digging deep into her palms, desperately suppressing the fear that originated deep within her bones.
This was no longer a simple crushing difference in strength, but absolute suppression on a biological level!
Kaido in his Azure Dragon Form was undoubtedly an existence at the very top of the food chain. The pressure emanating from an ancient ferocious beast nearly suffocated her.
—ROAR!!!
Azure Dragon Kaido let out a deafening roar; the sound waves spread out as tangible shockwaves, causing the sea of clouds to churn incessantly.
He slowly opened his enormous dragon mouth, revealing sharp white fangs. Terrifying energy capable of incinerating the world condensed within, and a destructive aura spread, causing the entire island of Onigashima to tremble continuously!
"Bolo Breath!"
Roar—!!!
Azure Dragon Kaido's roar shattered the sky, and a column of intensely surging crimson Dragon Breath erupted from his massive mouth, pouring down like a river of magma from the heavens, carrying heat that could incinerate all things, violently striking down toward Luffy below!
"Luffy!!"
Yamato violently broke free from her fear, her crimson pupils filled with terror as she looked at the incredibly tiny figure beneath the blazing column of fire.
She rushed forward recklessly, trying to grab something, but was violently blocked by the scorching heat waves rising from the Dragon Breath, forcing her to retreat repeatedly.
Just then, she saw clearly—the figure engulfed by the flames actually had an extremely arrogant smile playing on his lips?!
—Swoosh!
The space slightly vibrated, and Luffy's figure appeared out of thin air directly above Kaido's head in his Azure Dragon Form, his clothes flapping wildly in the fierce wind.
Blazing golden flames instantly engulfed his entire body, like a miniature scorching sun suspended high in the sky. The brilliant light dispersed the gloom over Onigashima, even suppressing the heat of the crimson Dragon Breath somewhat!
He abruptly extended his right arm. Blazing flame runes flowed and inscribed themselves onto his skin like living things, while pitch-black Armament Haki tightly coiled in a spiral, compressing the rampant energy to the extreme.
He gathered power into his fist, the punch tip shimmering with a sharp cruciform star pattern. It condensed world-destroying power, as if a stellar core had collapsed, and the surrounding Haki shockwaves twisted and warped space!
"Playing with fire against me? You're a hundred years too early, Kaido-sensei!"
As his laughter faded, he unleashed the punch!
The golden fist shadow burst like a scorching sun, carrying the might to tear the heavens apart, violently smashing toward Kaido's dragon head.
—"Gomu Gomu no Fire Fist Gun!!"
"Nani?!"
Kaido's vertical pupils contracted frantically, and a sense of fatal danger instantly spread throughout his body!
However, his massive body, comparable in size to Onigashima, had now become an unavoidable living target.
Boom—!!!
The fist struck the dragon head violently, like a meteor hitting the earth, and savage energy instantly erupted!
Kaido's enormous figure, which had been blocking out the sky, plummeted from high altitude like a kite with a broken string, crashing onto the ground of Onigashima and shaking the entire island violently.
A towering pillar of fire suddenly rose up, dazzling like a bursting sun. The shockwaves formed layered cloud rings, spreading out over the entire sky above Onigashima!
The golden firelight completely illuminated the dark sky, sweeping away all gloom!
In that instant, King and Yamato simultaneously felt their scalps tingle and their minds violently shaken.
"This level of flame?!" King's face became unusually pale, and huge waves surged in his heart.
—Even an awakened Mera Mera no Mi could never reach such terrifying power!
"Luffy is this strong?!"
Yamato looked at the dazzling golden figure high in the sky, her expression extremely complicated.
There was undisguised adoration and admiration in her eyes, yet a faint hint of inferiority quietly flashed across them.
—Does someone this powerful truly still need her support?
"Wororororo!!"
The domineering and wild laughter pierced the clouds, shaking the cloud layers into turmoil!
Kaido slowly rose from the scorched, smoking deep pit. He was covered in blood, his scales were charred and peeling, and his wounds were still sizzling with heat, yet his vertical pupils still burned with an unquenchable fighting spirit!!
"Straw Hat, you have completely earned my recognition!"
Kaido's eyes were bloodshot, and he laughed wildly. His injuries did not weaken his momentum; instead, they caused his savage, domineering aura to climb steadily.
"Come! Take the title of the [Strongest] from my hands!!"
He fiercely gripped the spiked club "hassaikai" with both hands. The shaft trembled slightly, unable to withstand the surging power.
The next second, Kaido transformed into a streak of purple-black light, violently leaping out of the deep pit and charging straight toward Luffy high in the sky!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!
Purple lightning suddenly erupted across the sky, twisting and surging like ten thousand long snakes, instantly covering the entire void and dyeing the horizon a frightening dark purple.
The extremely condensed power of lightning surged like a tide toward Kaido's hands, then spread along the spiked club, causing "hassaikai" to flash with world-destroying lightning!
He locked onto the thin yet dazzling figure high in the sky. His arm muscles bulged, and the spiked club swung out violently with the might to tear the heavens apart:
"Great Majestic Virtue: Thunder Bagua!!"
The power of that strike was like a nuclear explosion. The terrifying energy fluctuations made the pirates below feel their scalps tingle, and their breathing momentarily stopped!
"Is there a difference? You just come up with fancy names! Kaido-sensei!"
Luffy grinned. The moment his fist clenched, lightning and fire intertwined and burst forth, black and red Conqueror's Haki wrapped around it in layers. The energy condensed on his fist shone like a galaxy, and carrying an indomitable conviction, he violently met the strike!
The two figures rapidly approached each other high in the sky, and then—violently collided!
The world seemed to fall into dead silence, and time itself paused at that moment.
Dazzling white light instantly swallowed everything between heaven and earth. A purgatorial energy storm materialized out of thin air, sweeping up debris and lightning, raging in all directions.
The earth-shattering roar shook the universe, and the entire island of Onigashima trembled violently, as if it would fall apart the next second!
However, Kaido's vertical pupils suddenly became bloodshot, and the wild laughter on his face froze.
—His "hassaikai," which contained the ultimate power of lightning, was actually forcefully pushed back by Luffy's fist?!
Luffy's crimson pupils were full of exhilarating satisfaction... The pleasure of breaking through limits by defeating the once insurmountable mountain of the "Strongest" was thrilling to the bone!
"How is that possible?!"
Kaido's angry roar caused the void to hum, his vertical pupils filled with frantic disbelief.
"Your strength, physique, speed, Haki... how could they grow so quickly?!"
Above the Emperor level, strength is long solidified; even minor progress is incredibly difficult. How could this kid undergo such a transformation in just one battle?!
"Kaido-sensei, I owe all of this to you."
A psychologically devastating smile curved Luffy's lips. He slowly increased the force in his arm, and the black and red Haki surged violently again along his fist tip.
"What kind of joke is this?!"
Kaido's heart was violently shaken—was it because of him?
Did this brat become so terrifying by using their battle?
How did he not know he had the ability to 'power up his sparring partner'!?
...He would never admit this, even if he died!
"Kaido-sensei, you are already... no match for me!"
Boom—!!!
The moment his voice fell, Luffy suddenly exerted force. The airspace for several kilometers was instantly crushed into a vacuum by Haki. Thunder clouds churned wildly, and violent air currents rushed back and forth, forming a terrifying energy vortex!
Kaido was hit hard, his massive body violently sent flying backward again. Like a collapsing mountain, he crashed heavily toward the ground.
The mountains along his path were forcefully leveled by his body. Amidst the spreading dust, another bottomless giant pit was abruptly formed!