"How can someone have such monstrous strength?" Kaido muttered, shaking his throbbing head.
His vision spun, and he slapped his massive face to stay awake.
Kuke stood at the edge of the deep crater, looking down into the dark, bottomless abyss.
No movement. After several minutes, a large hand emerged from the pitch-black hole, followed by Kaido's overwhelming presence bursting out.
Kaido casually stretched his body, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance.
"Not bad. You finally managed to wake me up. Not a bad effort." He grinned.
"Oh, so staying down there for a few minutes gave you time to recover, huh?" Kuke's voice cut through Kaido's attempt at composure.
Kaido's prideful expression froze for a moment. His eye twitched—he had been seen through.
Without a word, Kaido silently picked up his kanabo and shifted into his hybrid form. He dared not transform into his dragon form again.
"Forget what just happened. The real fight starts now," Kaido said, his bravado returning.
He eyed Kuke's physique. His plan to exhaust Kuke hadn't worked; maybe a battle of pure endurance would. He had faith that, in terms of resilience, he was unbeatable.
"Your mouth is tougher than your body," Kuke scoffed.
"Pathway to Hades!"
A massive slash of sword energy erupted from Kuke's supreme-grade sword, Ace, heading straight for Kaido as he charged forward.
"Indra Cannon!"
Kaido swung his kanabo, unleashing a similarly massive energy blast.
"Oh?" Kuke observed Kaido's choice with curiosity.
Instead of blocking the attack, Kaido charged through, opting to take the blow head-on while retaliating at the same time. A mutual destruction tactic.
BOOM
Both attacks landed on their respective targets, striking each other's chests.
"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Kaido laughed as he endured the blow, his eyes locked onto Kuke with a hint of smugness. "People aren't all built the same."
Even as Kaido was sent flying, his smile remained.
He stared at Kuke, expecting him to be blown back just as he had been. After all, Kaido could recover quickly.
But Kuke...?
Kaido's eyes widened, his grin fading.
Kuke hadn't moved an inch.
He had taken Kaido's attack head-on without flinching.
"Tch." Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood. "So it's just Haki, huh? Let's see how long you can keep that up."
Refusing to accept it, Kaido charged once more.
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Let's test that body strength of yours," Kuke said calmly.
He spread his arms, letting his supreme Armament Haki retract.
"Your Haki's gone? Did you already exhaust it?" Kaido's eyes lit up in delight.
So, Kuke was strong in bursts but lacked endurance. That meant Kaido had won.
The Thunder Bagua struck Kuke's body, reverberating with a thunderous crash. Kaido let out a triumphant roar, "I win! You're done—"
But the force in his hand felt off.
Kaido glanced down, stunned to see Kuke still standing firm. He wasn't blown away, nor was he bloodied or broken.
"That force is about as strong as the massages my beautiful crew members give me," Kuke said, pushing the kanabo aside.
Kaido stared at him as if he'd seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes desperately, but it was true—Kuke had taken the hit without Armament Haki, relying purely on his physical body.
"Impossible. There's no way," Kaido muttered, disbelief washing over him.
Even that old hag couldn't take Thunder Bagua head-on without using her body to shield herself.
"What kind of special ability are you using?" Kaido refused to believe it was merely raw strength.
It had to be some sort of special ability.
Rumors had long circulated across the seas about Kuke being a mysterious ability user—his regeneration, his impenetrable defense—but nobody had ever pinpointed exactly what his power was.
"Right, it must be that rumored invincible defense," Kaido convinced himself.
"So what if it's a power? If I test it a few times, I'll find its weaknesses." Kaido started to swing his kanabo with reckless abandon.
He was attacking wildly, pouring all of his strength into each strike with no regard for defense—this was Kaido's fighting style.
A style that had given many of his opponents severe headaches.
"Even Whitebeard never dared to fight me like this," Kaido sneered as he unleashed his fury.
The air cracked under the pressure of Kaido's relentless swings. Meanwhile, Kuke wielded his blade with precision.
A battle without defense? That was familiar to him.
Their attacks moved faster, and every strike seemed to carry the weight of mountains.
Any lesser fighter who dared to engage in such an exchange without defense would have been obliterated instantly.
Despite the chaos, there was no deafening clash of weapons. The two avoided directly clashing weapons, instead aiming only for each other's bodies.
Each attack landed without fail.
The area behind Onigashima was reduced to rubble under the pressure of their relentless exchange.
"It hurts," Kaido admitted, his eyes bloodshot, feeling as though he'd been slashed a thousand times.
But his glare hardened. If he was suffering, Kuke had to be suffering more, unable to endure it for long.
"He's bound to run any moment now... Oh, to hell with it!" Kaido cursed, staring at Kuke's unscathed figure.
Although Kuke was enveloped in Armament Haki, Kaido knew that such a frenzied exchange couldn't be fully mitigated by Haki alone.
"Is it not an ability?" Kaido's eyes widened.
There were no signs of any power in play—it was purely a combination of raw Haki and physical strength, resulting in an impenetrable defense.
"His Armament Haki isn't much stronger than mine, so why am I hurt, and he's not?"
Kaido's confidence started to crumble, a painful realization dawning on him—he now wore the same anguished expression that so many of his past opponents had.
"Judgment of the Three Realms! Bring Down the Inferno!" Kaido roared, his kanabo surging with the fierce crackle of Conqueror's Haki lightning.
"Divine Strike—Golden Crow Soars!"
Kuke charged at Kaido, aiming at his body with a powerful, Haki-infused slash.
Kaido shivered, hurriedly shifting his stance to block instead of attacking.
The clash of Conqueror's Haki ripped the sky asunder.
Kaido stumbled backward, each step causing the earth to quake.
Leaning on his kanabo for support, Kaido's breathing grew ragged. His chaotic breathing mirrored his mental state.
"What kind of monster are you?" Kaido asked, echoing the words many had once asked him.
He looked at Kuke, unscathed, and then glanced at his own battered form.
He couldn't accept it.
"Your body is weak," Kuke said with disdain. "Not even as tough as your words."
This wasn't satisfying at all.
Kaido's spirit broke completely.
Those words—he had heard them so many times before. Whenever he crushed a weaker opponent, he'd say them.
He never imagined that one day, someone else would ridicule his physique in the same way.
Kaido's face contorted as if he were on the verge of tears.
"No wonder that old hag is so obsessed with you," Kaido said, realization dawning on him.
Why Big Mom cared so much for Kuke made sense now—such a body was like an addictive drug to her.
"What?" Kuke's brow furrowed, Big Mom's unsettling image flashing in his mind.
"Looks like I took it too easy on you earlier," Kuke's eyes grew cold, his aura exploding with ferocity. "Playtime is over."
Kaido was stunned, blinking in disbelief.
Playtime?
It seemed he had provoked a true monster.
"That's not what I meant. It's the old hag's idea, not mine," Kaido hurriedly explained.
His response was met with a ferocious slash from Kuke.
Each strike hit harder than the last.
Every blow was a monstrous attack.
Seeing his own favored fighting style being used against him by Kuke, Kaido finally realized just how infuriating and oppressive it really was.
This time, he was on the receiving end—and it was unbearable.
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 40+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.
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Two hours.
Two hours had passed quickly.
For many powerful figures across the seas, two hours of battle was merely a warm-up.
But for Kaido, it was nothing short of hell.
"Conquered Three Worlds, Attracting Hell!"
Kaido strained every ounce of his strength to unleash his ultimate technique, desperately trying to block Kuke's assault.
Kaido tumbled across the ground, sweat mixed with blood soaking the earth.
"Are you not tired yet?" Kaido gasped heavily, glaring at Kuke, who was advancing on him again.
Two hours of relentless combat. Not a single pause, not a single break. Kuke had kept up the pressure without a moment of reprieve. How could he not be exhausted?
"Are you tired already? It's only been two hours—you said fifteen days, remember? There's still a long way to go."
Kaido's mouth twitched in frustration.
Hah. When he mentioned fifteen days, he hadn't meant this kind of relentless assault. He meant something else entirely. This wasn't fair.
"Wait," Kaido quickly said.
Kuke stopped, looking at him silently, his gaze indifferent and condescending.
That piercing stare stung Kaido's pride. He quickly pulled out the flask from his belt and took a massive gulp, swallowing the alcohol down in large gulps.
His eyes glazed over—he was drunk.
Kuke watched Kaido with curiosity. What was this? Drinking on the battlefield to boost his strength? Some kind of secret move?
"A hidden trump card?" Kuke wondered aloud.
It made sense. When Kuke had traveled through, Kaido had not yet fallen, and it wasn't impossible for Kaido to have something up his sleeve that he wasn't aware of.
"Hahaha! Facing an opponent like you makes it all worthwhile, but in the end, only I can be the victor," Kaido laughed, swaying on his feet as if he had regained his earlier arrogance and confidence.
"Drunken Dragon's Bagua!"
Kaido stumbled a step forward—his drunken steps surprisingly fast. A massive fist, like a drunken punch, swung at Kuke from an angle that was nearly impossible to predict.
"Drunken fist?"
Kuke blocked the punch with his blade, but a powerful shockwave penetrated through the sword and struck his body.
"So your strength increases too?"
Kaido's expression changed, growing enraged. "Still not defending yourself? You think I'm a joke?"
The energy of Kaido's drunken fists shifted. His strikes became more ferocious and scorching.
"With a monster like you around, who will ever claim that vacant throne?" Kaido's mood shifted again—his expression turned sorrowful and desperate. His fists shifted as well, alternating between ferocity, unpredictability, and subtlety.
It was a chaotic and nearly impossible series of attacks to defend against.
"Pointless showboating," Kuke muttered, not even bothering to defend himself. He ignored Kaido's unpredictable attacks and swung his own fist, smashing it into Kaido's head.
Kaido was sent flying.
"Damn it... damn it..."
Kaido climbed back to his feet, his eyes burning with rage as if constantly stuck in a state of uncontrollable fury. He launched another frenzied assault on Kuke.
"I thought it might be something impressive," Kuke shook his head. "Let me help you sober up."
He spun his blade, sweeping it horizontally.
"One-Sword Style: Thunder Dragon Glide!"
A dragon made of lightning and sword energy merged, sweeping through everything in its path, reducing steel to dust.
BOOM!
Kaido, in his drunken rage, had increased his strength, and his attacks had grown more wild and brutal. Given Kaido's size, this so-called trump card suited him well. But now, he was nothing more than a punching bag.
His body, under Kuke's relentless blade, was drenched in blood.
Another hour passed.
The massive jug of liquor Kaido had consumed finally wore off. He was sobering up—and nearing his end.
"Me?"
Kaido looked down at his chest, which had almost been split open. His dragon horns had been cut clean off his head.
He stomped on the empty flask, not bothering with idle threats anymore. He silently picked up his kanabo.
"It's not over yet."
With unwavering determination, Kaido charged at Kuke one last time.
"Thunder! Bagua!"
Kaido took one powerful step, and an enormous shockwave erupted from him, shooting into the sky, forming a visible column of energy that seemed to pierce the heavens.
In his hybrid form, Kaido gripped his kanabo with both hands, his arms swelling to resemble massive dragon claws. He poured every ounce of his strength and Haki into this final attack.
"Your final strength?"
Kuke also gripped his blade with both hands.
A similar tangible force burst from his body, but unlike Kaido's, which manifested visibly into the sky, Kuke's energy coated his body, enveloping him like armor.
The energy ignited, becoming a burning manifestation of his spirit.
"Conqueror Descends!"
Through the battle with Kaido, Kuke had come to understand his techniques at an even deeper level, merging them with his newly acquired ultimate physique.
The combination of ultimate physique and Haki forged an unstoppable force. The burning energy formed a shadow around Kuke—an ethereal giant version of himself that tore through the air.
"Slash!"
An immensely domineering strike fell.
The aura of the Conqueror faded instantly, merging with the blade. The supreme-grade blade roared, trembling violently.
"I WILL WIN!" Kaido roared, unleashing the strongest and final attack of his life.
The heavens and earth shattered—literally.
Onigashima's front lines.
Amidst the chaotic battlefield, every warrior instinctively paused, looking up. They watched the apocalyptic scene unfolding at the center of Onigashima.
"Could the fight be over already?"
Queen, the Plague, who lay sprawled on the ground, saw the scene, and a desperate glimmer of hope sparked in his eyes.
He heard Kaido's thunderous roar.
"Boss is going to win?" Queen staggered to his feet, his body trembling. "Hahaha, we've won!"
Nearby, King, the Conflagration, whose wings had been cut off and whose body was soaked in blood, cracked a faint smile.
"It seems our boss has won," King said, his mask shattered, a deep cut running from his face down to his torso.
He looked across to his opponent, Gion.
Gion, now in her hybrid form, appeared somewhat disheveled but stood firm. Her overall power level had reached the tier of high-ranking emperors, able to handle King and Queen simultaneously with considerable ease.
"You may be stronger than us," King said, sneering at Gion, "but our boss is stronger than your captain. Which means we win."
The outcome of the subordinates' battles couldn't compare to that of their leaders.
"Kaido has lost." Gion coldly glanced at the celebrating Beast Pirates.
Who told you Kuke was defeated?
Just because Kaido had been ranting occasionally?
To Gion, Kaido's roars sounded more like the desperate shouts of a man who knew he was about to lose.
"Hahaha, boss won!"
Even the heavily battered Jack, the Drought, was laughing hysterically, pounding the ground in excitement.
Next to Jack lay Who's Who, one of the Flying Six.
The two had teamed up, yet even together, they were no match for Shakky.
Sixteen-year-old Jack wasn't that strong yet.
Who's Who, lacking years of experience, wasn't ready either, and both of them were absolutely no match for Shakky.
Right now, Shakky was a solid commander-level powerhouse.
"It ended sooner than I thought," Shakky said, surprised, "I was ready to keep playing with you guys for a bit longer, but it seems your luck ran out."
A glint of amazement flashed in Shakky's eyes. "Kaido, an emperor of the sea, defeated in less than five hours. Just how strong is our captain now? Could he have already reached Rocks' level?"
Shakky never doubted that Kuke would win.
But in her estimation, the battle would have taken days, maybe nights. That was the standard for a clash between emperors.
A few hours?
How did he pull it off?
________________________________
DONT FORGET POWER STONE
________________________________
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 40+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.
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