In the space between heaven and earth, a world-shaking duel was underway.
"Hmph!" Kaido snorted coldly, his entire body's muscles abruptly tensing. Gripping his spiked club, the Hassaikai, with both hands, he raised it high above his head. Accompanied by a roar that shook the skies—"Kaishin: Inazuma!"—the entire sky darkened.
The already gloomy weather instantly turned darker. Thick, black clouds churned with thunder and lightning; countless silvery serpentine bolts of lightning slithered within the cloud layers. As if guided by some mysterious force, all this lightning converged onto the Hassaikai in Kaido's hands. The light of the flashes illuminated his ferocious face, adding to his menacing aura.
Kaido bent his knees slightly, concentrating all his power to its limit. With a fierce shout, he leaped upwards, his entire body shooting into the air like a cannonball. Set against the backdrop of lightning, his silhouette resembled a wrathful deity descending, cleaving down towards Garp with a world-obliterating momentum. This strike contained a terrifying force sufficient to level an entire city; the compressed air emitted a sharp, explosive shriek.
Facing this heaven-shaking blow, Garp's expression turned serious but not panicked. He took a deep breath, his feet planted as firmly as rooted trees. He slowly drew his right fist back to his waist, and the moment Kaido was about to hit him, he unleashed a devastating uppercut: "Gunkotsu: Shooting Star!"
Two forces powerful enough to reshape the terrain collided violently in mid-air.
BOOM—!
In the deafening roar, heaven and earth seemed to transform. A visible shockwave radiated outwards from the collision point. Wherever it passed, rocks shattered, and trees turned to splinters. The entire small island, unable to bear this force, was split cleanly in two from the center. Seawater rushed in madly, forming a new strait at the island's heart.
"Urgh..." Kaido was sent flying high into the sky by this punch, tumbling dozens of times before barely regaining his balance. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a hand, yet his eyes glittered with excitement. "Now this is interesting!"
Garp stood at the fractured edge of the island, the sea breeze ruffling his grey-streaked hair. He looked up at Kaido in the air, a note of appreciation in his voice. "Kid, your strength has improved quite a bit. But..."
Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot, reappearing behind Kaido in the next instant: "You're still far from ready!"
Kaido's pupils contracted sharply. Relying on beast-like intuition, he swiftly raised his club to block.
BANG!
Iron fist and weapon clashed, erupting in a shower of brilliant sparks.
Garp's offensive came like a sudden storm, each punch carrying the power to split mountains and shatter stone. Wherever his fist passed, the air was compressed into visible shockwaves, leaving white trails in the sky.
"Wororororo...!" Kaido let out his signature manic laugh, the Hassaikai in his hands whirling into an impenetrable barrier. Their exchange was too fast for the naked eye to follow; only countless afterimages could be seen crisscrossing in the air. The clang of metal was incessant, every clash triggering violent energy fluctuations. The entire island trembled. The sea surged with waves dozens of meters high. The dark clouds in the sky were torn open by the energy impacts, leaving huge gaps.
"Tornado: Kaifu!"
Kaido suddenly opened his maw, unleashing countless sharp wind blades that instantly formed a giant tornado over a hundred meters in diameter. Where the wind blades passed, the ground was carved with countless deep trenches; hard rock was sliced apart as easily as tofu.
Facing this heaven-and-earth-scorching onslaught, Garp simply crossed his arms calmly: "Tekkai: Steel!" His body was instantly sheathed in pitch-black Busoshoku Haki, his skin taking on a metallic sheen.
Amidst a cacophony of ting-ting-tang-tang, the wind blades left countless white marks on Garp's body but couldn't breach his steel-like defense. He stomped hard, shattering the ground beneath him, and shot towards Kaido like a fired cannonball: "Gunkotsu: Meteor!"
This punch seemed to truly concentrate the power of a celestial meteorite. The air around the fist was compressed to its limit, emitting a piercing sonic boom.
A flicker of gravity passed through Kaido's eyes as he unleashed his Haoshoku Haki at full force: "Daidai: Raimei Hakke!" The Haki coiled around the Hassaikai instantly swelled, dark red lightning illuminating half the sky.
KABOOM—!
The collision of the two forces produced an explosion comparable to a nuclear blast. A crater hundreds of meters in diameter was blasted into the island's center. The shockwave swept out, flattening everything within a radius of several kilometers.
As the dust slowly settled, two figures still stood firm.
Garp's shirt had long since been reduced to tatters in the battle, revealing a muscular torso covered in scars. Dozens of fresh, small wounds now marred his bronze-colored muscles, blood trickling slowly down the contours of his defined abs.
Kaido's condition was no better. His azure-blue scales were cracked in multiple places, the most serious being several broken ribs on his left flank. Yet, the fighting spirit in his eyes burned hotter than ever.
"Exhilarating!" Kaido roared towards the heavens, the sound waves causing the distant sea to churn once more. "This is a true battle! Garp, let's keep going!"
Garp wiped the blood from his mouth and clenched his fists again. "As you wish, kid!" Their figures collided once more, the battle entering an even more intense phase.
"Raimei Hakke!"
"Gunkotsu: Meteor Shower!"
"Kundali: Ryuseigun!"
"Gunkotsu: Impact!"
Technique after technique collided incessantly. The entire island continued to sink under the force of their battle. Seawater flooded into the newly formed ravines, only to be evaporated into steam by the residual energy of their clashes.
Garp suddenly changed his move, a heavy fist aimed straight for Kaido's face: "Gunkotsu: Meteor!"
Kaido hastily blocked with his club, but was sent stumbling back by the punch. Regaining his footing, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. "Old man, you haven't lost a step!"
"Hahaha!" Garp laughed loudly, charging forward again. "This old man can fight for another hundred years!"
The battle intent in Kaido's eyes flared brighter. "Then let's see who's left standing in the end!"
Their battle raged on for a full five days and five nights. The entire island was utterly destroyed, sinking completely beneath the waves under their conflict. As the last piece of land vanished from the sea's surface, the two battered figures were still clashing fiercely in the pouring rain. Every collision between them stirred up mountainous waves; the clashing of their Haoshoku Haki caused the black clouds in the sky to boil and churn incessantly.
This battle had transcended the understanding of ordinary men. It was as if two ancient titans were locked in an endless contest. On the sea's surface floated countless shattered rocks and the remnants of trees, bearing witness to this earth-shattering duel.
The Beasts Pirates, observing from afar, had long since boarded their ship and retreated to a safe distance. Every one of them was awestruck by the scale of this conflict.
In the end, the battle concluded in a stalemate. Kaido transformed into his Azure Dragon form and, carrying the pirate ship, flew away from these waters.
***
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