The meteor shattered by Kaido's wind blades created a localized shower across a vast expanse of the sea.
Meteor fragments of all sizes, trailing intense flames, fell from the sky and crashed violently into the water.
Issho used his ability to soar upward against the shower.
With a reverse swing of his sword, a field of reversed gravity shot skyward, sending the falling meteor fragments flying right back upward.
Kaido hovered amidst the clouds, which were now thinned out by the meteor fragments.
Many burning fragments struck his massive body, but Kaido paid the minor impacts little mind.
His enormous dragon head turned, his eyes fixed on Issho flying upward.
"Your ability!" Kaido spoke, his voice rumbling like thunder as he looked at the floating swordsman.
Seeing Issho, Kaido inexplicably recalled a certain arrogant individual from his time in the Rocks Pirates.
Back then, he was just an apprentice, while the other was already a renowned pirate on the seas and a key member of the legendary crew.
That guy's ability was somewhat similar to this blind man's flight.
"Kaido, why did you attack our ship?" Issho faced the Emperor, his blank white eyes fixed directly on him.
"I do whatever the hell I want!"
Hearing Issho's question, Kaido raised his dragon head and let out a roaring laugh towards the sky.
"So that's what you thought? It seems I was being naive." Issho lifted his hand, gripping the inverted sword hilt, positioning it horizontally before him.
"Hell Trip!" Issho uttered in a deep voice.
Apart from his previous encounter with Cyrus, this was the first time in a long while that Issho had exerted his full power.
Instantly, the massive cloud layers shattered under the sudden eruption of immense gravity.
A giant, perfect circle appeared in the sky; outside the circle, dense clouds remained, but the interior had become completely empty sky.
Only Issho and Kaido stood facing each other in the clear air.
Of course, this situation changed in the very next moment.
The Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon granted Kaido the ability to manipulate flame clouds to fly through the sky.
But under the sudden pressure of this overwhelming gravity, his massive body paused before plummeting straight downward.
The flight ability provided by the Mythical Zoan Fruit simply couldn't counteract the tremendous gravity acting upon him.
Issho followed closely behind—he had already committed to using his full power.
This level of gravity wasn't something that could be easily shaken off.
If they were on land, Kaido's powerful physique might have withstood this gravitational pressure, but now, unable to find any solid leverage, Kaido twisted his enormous body but couldn't freely control his descent.
'So this is his ability?'
With his exceptionally rich combat experience, Kaido now understood the true nature of Issho's power.
The massive azure dragon body crashed onto the sea surface.
Just as his body was about to touch the seawater, the gravity that had been suppressing him transferred entirely to the sea surface.
The water within several kilometers trembled violently before suddenly sinking downward into a massive bowl.
The seawater outside the Gravity Fruit's effective range surged upward, forming massive tidal waves rolling outward in all directions.
Where Kaido had crashed, the seawater began churning even more violently.
Kaido's enormous azure dragon form had disappeared.
Spinning his massive spiked club with both hands, the generated wind pressure formed a huge tornado spreading outward.
Now in his Human-Beast form, Kaido stomped forcefully downward on the air itself.
The air emitted an explosive sound, and in the next moment, the club whirling like a propeller carried Kaido's towering body right before Issho.
"Thunder Bagua!"
The rapidly spinning weapon changed direction, its rotational force transforming into a devastating sweeping motion aimed directly at Issho's head.
Hum!
Issho sword became enveloped in dense Armament Haki.
The gravity-enhanced blade clashed perfectly with the incoming spiked club.
Black lightning sparks erupted, and Kaido's face showed surprise as he gripped the club with both hands.
He could feel the tremendous, crushing force transmitted through the weapon.
Issho's physical prowess was inherently extraordinary.
Even without his Devil Fruit ability, his physical strength and swordsmanship alone were enough to make him one of the rare top-tier powerhouses on the seas.
The swung blade, perfectly enhanced by the Gravity Fruit's power, could deliver ten times or more additional kinetic force.
Back in Alabasta, even Cyrus in his explosive state had been sent flying by a gravity-enhanced slash—of course, that was before Cyrus had broken through his physical limitations for the second time.
Even so, this demonstrated the incredible power of Issho's technique combining his Devil Fruit ability and swordsmanship.
The spiked club and Issho sword collided, causing both men's bodies to shudder before they were sent flying backward by the massive recoil.
"You bastard!" Kaido spat out as he was sent flying.
With such ability and strength, this guy actually had no reputation before?
Meanwhile, Issho was equally shocked.
At their level of power, a single exchange was enough to roughly gauge an opponent's true strength.
One could only say, he truly lived up to being one of the undisputed overlords of the New World.
Even with gravity-enhanced strikes, Issho couldn't gain the upper hand.
Moreover, that strange, invasive force transmitted from the blade to his body...
'This guy is using Conqueror's Haki Emission.'
After using gravity to stabilize himself mid-air, Issho looked gravely at Kaido, who had also steadied himself.
Kaido rapidly stomped the air with both feet, allowing his towering body to float securely.
In Issho's eyes, Kaido was the strongest opponent he had faced besides Cyrus.
Meanwhile, Kaido's eyes held deep suspicion.
That guy Cyrus was already troublesome enough, and now this blind man follower of him actually possessed such formidable strength.
Though part of the struggle was due to not having solid ground beneath his feet, from this single exchange, Kaido knew the probability of cleanly defeating Issho was very slim.
Since he couldn't achieve a guaranteed victory... Kaido prepared to retreat, because continuing to fight an endless battle would be meaningless.
Especially since this guy was connected to Cyrus.
Though he didn't know why Cyrus wasn't on the ship, nobody knew where Cyrus might be.
What if he was nearby?
Dealing with just Issho was one thing, but if Cyrus joined in, that would truly be fatal.
Though Kaido appeared cruel and reckless, he was actually more of a true pirate than Charlotte Linlin, Whitebeard, or even Red Hair.
He was deceitful, cunning, and highly strategic—far from the mindless brute he appeared to be.
After weighing the current situation, Kaido decided to withdraw.
But before he could act, Issho moved again.
He had no idea Kaido was planning to retreat.
In Issho's view, this New World overlord's sudden attack must have ulterior motives, possibly related to eliminating Cyrus's crew.
Since he had already engaged, he naturally had to go all out.
Moreover, the Gravity Fruit provided significant advantages in aerial combat.
With this thought, Issho's body created a massive sonic boom as it cut through the air, bringing him before Kaido in an instant.
His over-two-meter height seemed rather short compared to Kaido's massive frame.
But as Issho brought down his full-power slash, Kaido simply raised his spiked club to block before sidestepping.
Using the recoil from the collision, Kaido swung his club in a wide, devastating arc aimed at Issho.
A massive blast of energy fell from before Kaido, violently cleaving the sea surface below!
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