"He actually managed to hurt Kaido…" Kyoshiro gasped, his chest burning under the crushing pressure that dominated the battlefield.
He knew very well just how terrifying Kaido's defense was.
The creature known as the strongest in the world was not called "invincible" for nothing. Swords shattered. Bullets ricocheted. Cannons barely left a mark. For years, countless warriors had tried to bring him down—and all had failed.
Behind Kyoshiro, Kozuki Hiyori hid herself, her eyes blinking repeatedly, fingers covering her mouth in a mixture of shock and disbelief.
Her heart pounded erratically.
Could the dragon looming over this country… also be wounded?
Could that twenty-year nightmare finally bleed?
"Captain Kaido!"
King beat his wings violently. Without even glancing back at Zoro, he dove toward Luffy like a black projectile cutting through the sky.
But Luffy had already anticipated it.
"How about tasting a waterspout?" he said with a grin.
He raised his hand, his fingers closing with absolute precision.
In an instant, the sea suspended in the sky responded.
Nine water dragons surged from the elevated ocean like living entities. Their colossal, translucent bodies coiled before wrapping around King.
The impact was immediate.
The very same trick once used against him by Shiki the Golden Lion was now flawlessly replicated by Luffy.
The irony did not go unnoticed.
King's eyes widened.
The nine dragons spun around him and rapidly contracted, compressing into a massive sphere of water.
A liquid prison.
"I… can't… move…"
Trapped within the watery sphere, he immediately lost the ability to resist. The crushing pressure pinned his wings, restricted his movements, and drained his strength.
Just as Kaido used to crush subordinates like children… now his own commanders were being treated the same way.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi was truly formidable.
Controlling seawater—even suspended in the sky—could be called the natural enemy of nearly all Devil Fruit users.
"Luffy… Is that Pluton?" Zoro sheathed his sword, his gaze fixed on the warship hovering above the Flower Capital.
The entirely dark battleship was colossal.
The cannon at its bow was even more terrifying, wide enough to swallow an entire house.
An Ancient Weapon.
"Yes, but it doesn't have enough power to activate," Luffy replied casually.
It was somewhat similar to Enel's Ark Maxim, both using electricity as a power source.
He even suspected the Ark's blueprints had been copied from Pluton.
Of course, Pluton was far more complex.
Its size alone was dozens of times greater than the Ark's.
Compared to Pluton, the Ark Maxim was nothing more than an expensive toy.
"That hurt…"
At that moment, Sanji approached, holding his nose, clearly irritated.
Facing Kaido head-on had not been a wise idea.
He had only avoided losing consciousness thanks to the enhanced physique granted by his Devil Fruit.
Shortly after, Marco returned quickly, supporting Ace.
"Ace! Is he okay?" Ayu asked anxiously.
"He just lost consciousness," Marco replied while enveloping Ace in his regenerative blue flames.
Ahead of them, Kaido remained the strongest.
Stronger even than old Edward Newgate.
At least, that was what everyone had once believed.
All eyes turned to Kaido.
He had been punched by Luffy, his head smashed into the ground. Now he lay motionless atop the cracked earth.
Silence spread.
"No… It's not time yet…"
Boom.
Kaido pulled his head out of the ground as if emerging from soft sand. He slowly rotated his neck as he stood up.
A trace of blood lingered at the corner of his mouth.
But nothing more.
He did not appear to have suffered significant damage.
[Like the moon, you know nothing of the dawn. If there is a burning wish that must be fulfilled, it will be when nine shadows intertwine across twenty years of moonlit nights. Only then will you understand the splendor of the dawn.]
The prophecy echoed in his mind.
Eighteen years ago, he had killed Kozuki Oden, whose wife, Amatsuki Toki, had left those words before her death.
Twenty years had not yet passed.
"You still believe in prophecies?" Luffy mocked.
"Ooooooh… Should I call you Straw Hat Luffy—or Joy Boy?"
Kaido smiled as he wiped the blood from his mouth.
"That punch just now… hurt!"
Luffy stepped forward and vanished.
When he reappeared, his fist was already coated in Conqueror's Haki.
Kaido swung his kanabo, likewise clad in Conqueror's Haki.
Boom!
The two attacks collided.
The surface of the suspended sea split in half.
Wind exploded outward in all directions, the roar echoing through the Flower Capital.
The mere leakage of their clashing energy was enough to alter the weather.
Black clouds churned above, blocking out the midday sun.
Kaido laughed.
"Joy Boy is Joy Boy. I am me. Nothing more, nothing less." Luffy laughed as well.
A Zoan fruit carries a will.
When awakened, if the user is not strong enough, the fruit's will can overpower them.
In Impel Down, many Jailer Beasts had awakened in that way—and lost their identities.
In the original course of history, when Luffy first awakened, he had been influenced by Nika's will and needed Kaido to knock him back to his senses.
But now things were different.
He had awakened by consuming the fruit in its already awakened state.
Nika's will had never had a chance to dominate him.
"What was your purpose in killing Kurozumi Orochi?" Kaido asked.
Black and red Conqueror's lightning crackled violently around them.
"And does that really matter to you?" Luffy shot back.
"Of course not!"
Kaido narrowed his eyes.
"Straw Hat Luffy… I've been very patient with you!"
"I noticed!" Luffy grinned.
He had seen that kind of "patience" before.
Boom!
The explosion raised a thick cloud of smoke.
Kaido was forced backward by the impact, carving long trenches into the ground with his feet.
He drove his kanabo into the earth, being pushed dozens of meters before stabilizing himself.
What monstrous Armament Haki!
Kaido was shocked.
He had only seen something like that once before—in his former captain, Lux, during the days of the Rocks Pirates.
"Is your goal Pluton?"
Kaido glanced at the sky.
The dark battleship.
The elevated sea.
It could only be that.
"That thing needs an enormous amount of electricity to start up. Unfortunately, for now, it's just a piece of iron." Even as he answered, Luffy was already charging again.
He appeared before Kaido and passed him like a blur.
"What absurd speed… this brat!"
Kaido was struck in the abdomen and kicked high into the sky.
The attack power was still within an acceptable range.
But the speed…
Perhaps twice the speed of sound.
Moreover, he could not hear Luffy's "voice" through Observation Haki.
He could not foresee his future.
Only instinct remained.
Raw experience.
And that turned the battle into something brutal.
A one-sided beating.
(End of Chapter)