"Worororo—!!"
Kaido's laughter rolled across the sky like muffled thunder; even deeply buried underground, that tyrannical aura still shot straight to the heavens, shaking the clouds into turmoil!
"Hoo... Kaido-sensei, aren't you going to fall yet?!"
Luffy hovered high in the air, heavily panting, yet a satisfied smile played on his lips.
Drops of blood trickled down his scarred limbs, tracing faint red lines in the air.
Unknowingly, this desperate, life-or-death battle had already lasted for more than half a day!
This defenseless, purely life-for-life, beast-like struggle had rapidly depleted both their stamina, leaving them covered in wounds of varying depth, yet their indomitable fighting spirit still burned brightly.
"Brat, let's decide this with one move!!"
Before the words faded, an earth-shattering dragon roar suddenly erupted from deep within Onigashima!
A massive, sky-obscuring shadow burst through the smoke and dust, soaring up as if riding the clouds.
— It was Kaido's Azure Dragon form!
The vast and ancient aura of a higher-tier creature swept across the surroundings, carrying incomparable pressure. As the colossal entity stretched its body in the sea of clouds, the aura continuously spread, causing fierce winds to howl, black clouds to surge, and lightning to flash and thunder to roll!
Sizzle—!!
Violent crimson flames suddenly erupted from beneath the Azure Dragon's scales, so hot they seemed capable of evaporating everything, turning into a viscous, magma-like consistency under the extreme heat.
The towering flames illuminated the pitch-black sky in crimson. The surrounding void twisted and trembled from the excessive heat, and even the light refracted at that moment!
"Kaido... is burning?!"
Yamato stood atop the ruins, her pupils dilated in shock. She had never imagined that her old man could be this powerful!!
That burning Azure Dragon was simply a walking disaster!
Thinking back to the hundreds of times she had foolishly "dueled" Kaido in the past, she couldn't help but feel that her former self had been ridiculously naive and childish.
"Boss Kaido...?!!"
King stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought, his gaze fixed on that invincible figure soaring through the sky.
The sky-obscuring Fire Dragon, the wildly spreading flames—every scale shimmered with a ferocious gleam in the firelight.
— This was simply the most perfect and destructive creation in the world!
"Straw Hat,"
Kaido's dragon roar shook the universe. The massive Azure Dragon mouth slowly opened, and flames and lightning fiercely intertwined within it,
"Take the title of the 'Strongest' from my hands!!!"
... The sky-obscuring Azure Dragon roared, its burning body carrying immense, extreme power, charging straight from the ground toward the heavens!
The atmosphere was struck, creating circular ripples. The momentum split clouds and shattered stones; even the sky and earth trembled under this pressure!
"The Strongest Strike?!"
Luffy slowly looked up, his short black hair wildly fluttering in the scorching wind, his crimson pupils burning with an unyielding fighting spirit.
In mid-air, he suddenly clenched his fist—
Armament Haki instantly burst forth, black as deep-sea profound iron, covering his entire arm;
Conqueror's Haki violently surged around him, transforming into intertwined black and red lightning that coiled around his arm, radiating an aura of destruction;
Golden flames ignited simultaneously, their scorching light dispelling the gloom between heaven and earth!
"Then bring it on, Kaido-sensei!!"
"Boom—!!!"
The world suddenly darkened, and a massive cross-shaped star burst open violently from his fist!
Black and red lightning danced wildly along his fist and arm; the thunder sounded like ten thousand drums beating simultaneously, and the entire sky seemed to be illuminated solely by him!
This punch, carrying the destructive power to crush mountains and rivers and tear the firmament, struck down fiercely, borne by lightning and flame!
"Great Fire Dragon Torch!!"
"Galaxy Impact!!"
BOOM!!!
The earth-shattering roar shook the universe, as if ten million nuclear bombs had exploded simultaneously!
Circles of violent air currents, mixed with flames, lightning, and debris, spread radially high in the sky, instantly filling the entire airspace above Onigashima.
Fierce winds swept everywhere, space twisted and collapsed, light and sound were completely torn apart at that moment, leaving only pure destructive energy raging between heaven and earth!
"It's too terrifying... power of this level?!"
King's voice trembled uncontrollably. Even from a great distance, the aura emanating from the full-power ultimate moves unleashed by the two fighters still left him deeply shocked and his scalp tingling.
It was no exaggeration to say that this power was enough to punch straight through the entire island of Onigashima, burying everyone along with it!
In the sky, Luffy's punch forcefully overwhelmed Kaido's Fire Dragon Flames!
In an instant, the entire sky seemed to collapse again. That power was irresistible, like the fall of a celestial body or the descent of a galaxy!
Kaido's massive dragon body exploded inch by inch beneath the force of the punch. Scales flew everywhere, and blood and flesh rained down like a storm.
However, just as the force of the punch was about to pierce the dragon body and strike Onigashima below, Luffy suddenly realized something.
— His fist could not advance another inch!
"Straw Hat, I lost!" Kaido glared fiercely, his vertical pupils filled with dense, horrifying blood vessels. His remaining Dragon Might still shook the heavens and earth,
"But your punch... absolutely cannot land on Onigashima!!"
Using his last reserves of strength, he forcibly blocked the punch from falling, protecting the island and his remaining subordinates below with his body.
In an instant, Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief, and then a wry, amused smile appeared on his lips:
"Darn it, I've become a famous teacher!!"
... The endless light slowly receded like a tide in the sky, fading toward the center along the trajectory of the dissipating power.
In the airspace that had just resembled a nuclear explosion, space itself shattered like broken crystal, dissolving into countless translucent shards, violently collapsing and annihilating amidst the residual energy, leaving behind twisted void patterns.
Hot waves centered on Onigashima, transforming into invisible shockwaves that infinitely extended outward. Wherever they passed, the sea surface steamed, creating a vast white fog!
After a long time, two bloody figures fell from the sky one after the other, piercing the silent firmament.
Boom!
Boom!
Two dull thuds exploded consecutively. The ground seemed to have been violently struck by a heavy hammer, letting out a painful groan.
Dust flew everywhere, creating two gigantic, bottomless craters on the ground. Debris and smoke filled the air, obscuring the sky.
In the craters, both Luffy and Kaido were covered in bone-deep wounds. Their clothes were long soaked in blood and torn, and the exposed skin was covered in burns and impact marks, presenting an extremely tragic sight, their breathing accompanied by heavy gasps.
"Boss Kaido!!"
"Luffy!!"
Sharp cries rang out simultaneously.
King vibrated his wings, which were burning with crimson flames, and dove down like a black lightning bolt next to Kaido. He knelt on one knee, extending a trembling hand, yet daring not to touch the dying body.
On the other side, Yamato rushed like mad to the edge of Luffy's crater, her eyes red, her voice filled with anxiety and worry.
King stared blankly at the weakly breathing Kaido. His usually cold and handsome face was now even icier, and monstrous rage surged in his eyes.
An invisible killing intent emanated from him, making the surrounding air feel as if it had frozen.
He suddenly looked up, his cold gaze locking onto Luffy in the other crater, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
"I absolutely won't allow anyone to harm Mr. Kaido!"
The long sword, burning with raging flames, tore through the void, carrying world-ending determination, and heavily slashed toward the equally gravely injured Luffy!
The speed of this slash was extreme; even Yamato nearby only saw a crimson afterimage and had no time to react, only watching helplessly as the blade approached.
— Clang!!
The deafening screech of metal colliding rang out. A silver longsword, emitting a chilling white light, firmly blocked the long sword burning with crimson flames.
As sparks flew, two powerful auras collided, forming a circle of invisible air currents that spread out.
King's cold gaze turned toward the newcomer, only to see Rayleigh looking composed, his silver-white hair gently fluttering in the wind.
Surging flames wildly encircled King's body. His momentum continuously rose, nearly breaking through its limits:
"The person who harmed Mr. Kaido... must die!!"
"I'm afraid not," Rayleigh smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing. His tone carried an unquestionable dominance,
"This is my apprentice. You cannot touch him."
However, King's expression didn't waver in the slightest. Instead, an unimaginable madness and determination surged forth, and the flames around him grew even fiercer, clearly showing he was prepared to die together.
However, just as he was about to swing his sword with full force—
"Enough, Abel."
A low, hoarse voice suddenly sounded, carrying an unspeakable exhaustion, yet still possessing the power to shake people's hearts.
Kaido lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling violently, breathing heavily. Although there was still unwillingness in his vertical pupils, he held no killing intent.
"I lost."
"Hehehe!!"
Suddenly, a burst of hearty laughter came from the nearby crater.
Luffy actually stood up slowly, dusting himself off as if nothing had happened!
His wounds had stopped bleeding at some unknown point. Although his clothes were still ragged, his complexion was rosy and his eyes were bright; there was no trace of a serious injury left.
In that instant, Rayleigh, Yamato, King, and Law, who was watching from afar, all froze in place, their faces filled with astonishment.
King, in particular, had his pupils suddenly contract, his face displaying utter disbelief; he could hardly trust his own eyes.
After fighting Boss Kaido all night long and enduring that world-ending clash of ultimate moves, this kid could still stand up completely unharmed?!
... Isn't this cheating?!
"Worororo—"
Kaido looked at the young man before him and suddenly burst into frank, wild laughter. The laughter contained a hint of relief and a touch of admiration.
"What an unbelievable brat... Come on, kill me!!"
As the former "Strongest Creature," he never accepted surviving after defeat. Only dying in battle was the destiny he recognized.
Unexpectedly, however, Luffy just grinned, waved his hand, and spoke with sincere delight:
"Kaido-sensei, fighting you was truly... amazing!"
"As for anything else, there's no need to say more!!"
He turned his head to look at the stunned Yamato beside him, reached out, and took hold of her fair, delicate hand.
Yamato's body instantly stiffened. Two patches of red instantly flew onto her beautiful face, like sunset glow staining white jade, making her lovely and captivating.
Her crimson eyes were full of shyness, mixed with poorly concealed excitement and yearning. Her heart hammered like a drum, practically leaping out of her chest.
"Let's go, let's go, mission accomplished!!" Luffy didn't linger. He simply gestured toward the sky.
The next second, a snow-white, fluffy cloud drifted down from the horizon and stopped steadily in front of him.
— This was the materialized product of nika's power of "Fantasy"!
His gains from this deadly battle with Kaido were truly immense.
[Devil Fruit Development: 85.2 → 87.9],
Now, even without activating the complete nika form, he could use his imagination to conjure simple things, such as goggles for battle, a temporary baseball bat, and this "Kinto'un" that could carry people...
"This...? Luffy, you're amazing!!" Yamato snapped back to reality, her eyes instantly filled with adoration.
She threw herself into Luffy's embrace without hesitation. Her silver hair fell to her waist, and her beautiful red star-like eyes gazed at him brightly, her voice full of excitement.
"Alright, alright, let's go!!" Luffy gently pulled her away, stepped onto the "Kinto'un" with a smile, and then reached out to pull Yamato up.
Kaido lay on the ground without speaking, merely watching the young figure calmly, his eyes filled with complex, indecipherable emotions.
Soon, the "Kinto'un" slowly ascended, carrying the four people, and flew toward the distance.
"Thank you very much, Kaido-sensei!!" Luffy turned his head, waved at Kaido on the ground, and smiled brightly.
"Worororo—!" Kaido threw his head back and laughed heartily, yet his tone was quite displeased, carrying a hint of stubborn tsundere pride,
"Straw Hat, I don't admit to ever having taught you anything?!"
The laughter echoed over Onigashima, fading into the sky along with the figure gradually disappearing on the Kinto'un.
This peak confrontation, which shook the entire New World, finally concluded with such a satisfying victory.