Luffy spun his arm once again and hurled Kaido into the distance.
But this time, Kaido managed to break free while still in midair. His massive body rapidly shrank as he abandoned his dragon form and returned to his normal size.
He landed heavily on the ground, sliding several meters before regaining his balance.
Although Luffy had managed to overpower him with brute force for several moments, the actual damage inflicted was still relatively limited.
At that moment, Kaido slowly stood up while holding his forehead.
His face carried an excited expression.
"What an absurd ability!"
He took a deep breath.
Playing around like that was one thing… but the real difficulty lay in dealing with those strange abilities.
It was simply far too troublesome.
Luffy grinned carefree.
"Are you going to admit defeat?"
"Hohoho… don't say that so soon!"
Kaido replied with a hoarse laugh.
"Is that so?"
As soon as Luffy raised his hand, the power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi was activated.
In the next moment, something began to vibrate in the distance.
The massive club that Kaido had dropped earlier in the streets of the Flower Capital began to tremble.
Then—
Whoosh!
It shot through the air as if pulled by an invisible force and flew straight into Luffy's hand.
Without hesitation, Luffy threw the weapon back to Kaido.
The club spun through the air and fell toward him.
"I'll give you another chance."
The veins on Kaido's forehead bulged.
He extended his hand and firmly caught the weapon.
In the distance, at the base of the stairs leading to the Flower Capital, Hiyori watched the scene with a completely confused expression.
"Why would he return Kaido's weapon?"
She frowned.
"What on earth is that man thinking?"
She simply couldn't understand.
But beside her, Kyoshiro seemed to understand perfectly.
This was not kindness.
It was something far more brutal.
Luffy was trying to completely crush Kaido.
Crush his pride and destroy his confidence.
"Luffy!"
Suddenly, a voice shouted from afar.
It was Zoro.
He pulled a black sword from his waist.
Then he threw it forcefully toward the sky.
"That's… Shusui?!"
Hiyori's eyes widened.
That was one of Wano's most precious swords.
A true national treasure.
Luffy stretched out his arm and caught the sword in midair.
The weight of the blade was extraordinary.
Then he heard Zoro shout again:
"I'm just lending it to you! Just don't break it! Fighting without a weapon isn't fair! That way you won't have any excuses for losing either!"
Kaido snorted, resting the club on his shoulder.
"You… who have been fighting with your fists until now… know how to use a sword?"
Luffy tilted his head.
"Swordsmanship?"
He blinked.
"Can you eat that?"
For him, using a sword was something very simple.
You just needed to hold a blade and cut.
Nothing more.
Luffy raised Shusui.
Just like the black blade Yoru, used by Dracule Mihawk, this was also a legendary black blade.
"High-frequency vibration."
With a simple movement of his hand, Luffy channeled the power of the Gura Gura no Mi into the blade.
In the next instant, a flickering white halo appeared around the black sword.
Then—
He swung the blade.
It was only a single strike.
But the result was terrifying.
The ground around the Flower Capital was instantly torn apart by the vibration.
A gigantic fissure opened, stretching hundreds of meters.
Seeing this, Kaido's pupils contracted.
That had only been a casual movement…
It was pure power from the Gura Gura no Mi.
The same fruit once used by Edward Newgate.
But developed in a completely different way.
Kaido showed a fierce grin.
"You're certainly… an interesting man!"
In the next moment he charged forward.
The club spun in his hands.
"Horai Hakke!!"
Holding the weapon with both hands, Kaido unleashed a devastating strike toward Luffy's head.
The club was wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.
It was an even more powerful version of the famous Raimei Hakke.
Luffy didn't understand much about swordsmanship.
But that didn't matter.
What truly mattered was Haki.
He raised the sword.
And responded with the same type of power.
"Bring it on."
The two weapons never even touched.
Before that could happen, their Conqueror's Haki had already collided in midair.
BANG!
A deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield.
Black and red lightning spread in every direction.
With the impact point as the center, the ground within a radius of several kilometers began to shatter.
The shockwave swept everything around like a typhoon.
The pressure was so terrifying that many people could barely keep their eyes open.
Kyoshiro immediately pulled Hiyori back and unleashed all of his Haki to protect her.
"Monsters…"
His heart trembled.
Even from such a distance, he could barely endure the aftermath of that battle.
If he were struck directly…
He probably wouldn't even know how he died.
Law took a deep breath.
"So this is the level of a battle between two Yonko…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"It's far beyond the reach of any ordinary person."
Zoro crossed his arms, his expression cold.
"Don't interfere. This is Luffy's fight."
Sanji lit a cigarette and looked up to continue watching the battle.
"Luffy has the absolute advantage…"
He slowly exhaled the smoke.
"But it may take a long time before the winner is decided."
Not far away, Marco held the unconscious Portgas D. Ace.
His voice was heavy.
"In a direct fight… Kaido is even tougher than the old man. But Luffy is above him now."
Marco looked toward the sky.
"Even so… neither of them can defeat the other with a single blow."
"This will turn into a war of attrition."
BOOM!
As if confirming his words, another shockwave spread.
Everyone was forced to retreat several meters.
Holding the third Road Poneglyph, Nico Robin seemed to understand something.
"Luffy…"
she murmured.
"He wants to defeat Kaido completely."
She knew that with the abilities Luffy possessed now, there were many easier—even dishonorable—ways to win.
But he wouldn't choose any of them.
He wanted to defeat Kaido for real.
At the center of the battlefield…
The clash between Luffy and Kaido continued for nearly three minutes.
Finally—
BOOM!
Kaido's Conqueror's Haki began to collapse.
It was like the fall of an emperor's domain.
The sky, which had been covered with black clouds, began to clear.
Kaido was blasted backward into the air.
Yet even after losing the clash of Haki, he showed no fear.
On the contrary—
His grin widened even further.
"Ooooooh!"
He roared.
"It's been a long time since I've had this much fun, boy!"
Still in midair, Kaido shifted his stance.
Conqueror's Haki once again wrapped around his club.
Then he descended like a meteor.
"Daiitoku Raimei Hakke!!"
Luffy simply raised the sword horizontally to block.
BOOM!
He was driven into the ground along with Kaido.
The moment he landed, the ground beneath his feet instantly collapsed.
A massive crater appeared, hundreds of meters wide.
"Don't you think you're being a little too careless?"
Luffy smiled.
The power of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika began affecting the world itself.
The ground beneath his feet became soft and elastic.
When Kaido pressed down with his attack…
The surface sank.
And then—
Rebound.
The returning force launched Kaido back into the sky.
At the same moment, Luffy jumped and chased after him.
"Ultra-frequency vibration!"
The vibration power within Shusui increased tenfold.
Luffy swung with all his strength.
Puff!
A massive wound tore across Kaido's chest.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Kaido's pupils shrank.
His Haki-coated body had been pierced.
His body, famous for being nearly indestructible…
Could not withstand that strike.
In the next instant, Luffy kicked him downward.
The two faced each other in midair.
Luffy looked straight at him.
"I held back against you."
His voice was calm.
"Because earlier, you held back against my friends."
(End of Chapter)