Deep within Palmade Island.
RUMBLE—!
The sudden, violent roar of thunder approached from the distance. Kaido knew that sound—it was the sonic boom of an object traveling faster than sound. Aeridar was coming back for more.
Sure enough, Kaido looked up to see Aeridar's brawny silhouette, every bit as massive as his own, tearing through the air at high speed as he closed the gap.
BOOM!
A look of pure madness crossed Kaido's face. He kicked off, the ground trembling as his massive frame shot upward, leaving behind a deep, concave crater.
"AERIDAR!!!"
"KAIDO!!!"
Both men roared in unison, unleashing their strikes the moment they collided.
CRACK!THUD!
Aeridar threw a punch, the Bear King Pillar, slamming it directly into Kaido's face. Kaidou swung his mace, the massive iron club crashing brutally into Aeridar's side.
A ring of white shockwaves erupted from the point of impact, pulverizing everything within hundreds of meters. The very soil was plowed away in layers, kicking up a wall of dust that reached the clouds.
Simultaneously, both were sent hurtling back like black streaks, each flying hundreds of meters in opposite directions.
Before the dust could even settle, the two demon-like figures charged again. Their sheer size and speed generated a terrifying gale capable of shredding an ordinary man.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The two titans clashed in a high-speed exchange of blows. The iron mace and jet-black fists collided over and over with savage intent. Their competing powers produced deafening explosions, sending out ripples of air that swept away endless dust and debris.
The island groaned under the weight of their might. Deep, bottomless fissures and craters resembling meteorite impact zones continuously scarred the landscape.
Aeridar, in his giant form and fueled by the Awakened Impact-Impact Fruit, packed enough raw strength into every punch to literally explode the air. Even Kaido's mace couldn't withstand the pressure; several of its iron spikes were snapped clean off by the frontal force.
"DIE!!!"
Suddenly, Kaido's black hair flew wildly as he let out a guttural, primal roar. His muscles bulged and expanded. In an instant, a massive spectral image of a bull's head appeared behind him, a legendary demon god radiating a suffocating aura of slaughter.
The Demon God!!!
His iron mace took on a deep, metallic black sheen, with visible currents of black energy swirling around every spike. As he swung, the air shrieked in agony, and a visible distortion, a warped trail in the atmosphere, followed the weapon's path.
This strike possessed enough power to twist the very air.
Aeridar's pupils constricted. In a flash, he vanished from his position.
BOOOM—!RUMBLE!
The pitch-black mace slammed into the earth. The absolute, terrifying force detonated, instantly tearing through the island's crust and the bedrock beneath. A massive canyon was formed, racing forward until it reached the very coastline.
The entire island buckled under the weight of the blow, simulating a magnitude 9 or 10 earthquake. The shockwave transformed into a localized hurricane that scoured the land.
Looking down from above, the surface of the island had been reduced to ruins, a wasteland of shattered earth and a labyrinth of deep, intersecting fissures. A haze of yellow dust swallowed the island in a murky fog.
"Whoa, whoa! What the hell? Ptu! Ptu!"
Gilbert Arlan struggled onto the island against the gale, his mouth filled with grit and sand.
Stepping into the interior, Arlan thought he'd walked into a different world. Massive tectonic plates of earth had been upturned; the landscape was now a chaotic mess of cliff-like cracks and craters dozens of meters wide.
"Captain! Captain Aeridar!"
Arlan stood on a tilted slab of rock and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Whirr—
Suddenly, the sound of something cutting the air came from behind him. Before the attack even landed, the razor-sharp gale, strong enough to rend flesh, had already reached him.
"Hm?"
Arlan's expression sharpened. He twisted his waist and threw a counter-punch behind him.
The moment he turned, he saw a multi-meter-long metal mace swinging toward him with apocalyptic force. His fist collided with the metal weapon in a split second.
KABOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. Intense flames and thick black smoke swallowed the area for dozens of meters, accompanied by a violent wind that swept outward.
The massive mace was blown back, spinning dozens of times in the air before flying a hundred meters away and landing with a heavy thud.
"What insane power... Kaido, I presume?"
Arlan was shaken. His knuckles throbbed with pain, and the rock slab beneath his feet shattered into a web of fine cracks.
"WORORORORO!"
"Another decent fighter joins the fray? Come on, then! All of you, step up and let's have a real fight!!"
A massive roar came from the distance, followed by a gust of wind that forcibly cleared the dust. The demon-like silhouette of Kaido appeared in Arlan's vision, radiating an invisible, crushing pressure.
"Enough, Kaido! We're done for today!"
Before Arlan could react, a clear voice rang out from the sky above. Arlan recognized it immediately, it was his captain. He exhaled a small sigh of relief. To be honest, facing a monster like Kaido alone was a bit much, even for him!
Aeridar descended slowly from the clouds, hovering ten meters above the mangled ground.
Hearing Aeridar's words, Kaido erupted in fury. "You bastard! You think you can just come and go as you please? Who do you think I am? Your damn sparring partner? You piece of work!!!"
The roar formed a literal wall of sound, sweeping across the ruins like a storm.
"Calm down, Kaido," Aeridar commanded sharply. "If you still want to achieve your dream and keep expanding your army of Gifters, then stay your hand!"
Pausing, Aeridar looked down at Arlan. "Is it Dressrosa or Clifford?"
"Captain, the Donquixote Family sent word. The Straw Hats are with them!" Arlan answered quickly.
Kaido, who had been about to throw another punch, froze. He asked in a low, rumbling voice, "What's that supposed to mean? You threatening me?"
"No," Aeridar replied, looking up with a grim expression. "The scientist responsible for the Artificial Devil Fruits has been kidnapped by those 'Worst Generation' brats. I'm going to go settle this matter personally."