The moment Kaido spoke, Sali's pupils shrank sharply.
It had been his own decision to face Kaido alone. After encountering Kizaru in Dressrosa, he wanted to measure the gap between himself and the true monsters of the sea, Admirals and Emperors.
Only after exchanging blows did he fully understand that gap.
Kaido had done nothing fancy, just swinging his kanabo again and again, yet each strike carried overwhelming force. Facing it head-on, Sali felt the crushing weight behind every attack.
Fortunately, the White Sage Beast Fruit granted more than control over ice and lightning. It also enhanced his Observation Haki.
Unlike Tsuki, who was on the verge of a breakthrough, Sali's Observation Haki had already reached a higher level. Not only could he hear the Voice of All Things, but he could also glimpse brief moments into the future during battle.
That ability was the only reason he had managed to endure so far, appearing battered but never truly collapsing.
But the instant Kaido spoke, his Observation Haki screamed in warning.
In that brief vision, Sali saw himself struck down instantly.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Kaido's kanabo, wrapped in black and red lightning, tore through the air toward him.
Sali did not hesitate. He retreated at full speed.
Ash had made it clear, taking every attack in a fight was not strength, it was stupidity. A real fighter avoided damage while creating opportunities.
As he moved, Sali thrust his left hand forward.
Moisture in the air condensed instantly, forming a thick wall of ice between them.
At the same time, he drew his Golden Horse-Slaying Blade forward. Armament Haki alone was not enough. White lightning surged across the blade, coating the massive black weapon in crackling energy.
Using the momentum of his retreat, he swung the blade in a full arc, bringing it back in front of him with force.
In the next instant, the ice wall shattered.
Kaido burst through it without slowing down, his kanabo descending like a falling mountain.
"Boom!"
The collision exploded with force, lightning scattering in every direction.
The blade could not withstand it.
A crack formed, then spread instantly. The entire weapon shattered under the impact.
Sali felt blood rise in his throat but forced it down.
The attack did not stop.
With the blade gone, the kanabo continued forward toward his body.
But Sali had already prepared for that.
In that split second, he layered his defenses to the limit, shifting toward full beast form, reinforcing his body with ice, and hardening himself with Armament Haki.
"Bang!"
The impact sent him flying, blood spraying through the air.
It looked similar to the future he had seen, but the difference was crucial.
In that vision, he had been knocked unconscious instantly.
Now, he was still conscious.
Kaido stepped forward, intending to follow up and finish the fight, but before he could strike again, a bolt of lightning descended from above.
It was Sali's final setup, the lightning he had guided into the sky earlier.
The strike landed cleanly.
Kaido's head smoked slightly as the lightning dispersed.
A brief moment of stiffness passed through his body, but it was only temporary.
By the time it faded, Sali had already regained his footing.
"So this is Conqueror's Haki coating."
He wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes steady.
"Good. Now that I understand it, I can adapt. Next time, I'll withstand it completely."
Kaido burst into laughter.
"Excellent! You are truly excellent!"
He showed no real damage from the lightning strike. Instead, his excitement grew.
Sali had endured a Thunder Bagua and remained standing. That alone placed him among the very few of the new generation who could achieve such a feat.
Kaido wanted him.
But first, he needed to break him.
The battle intensified.
Thunder Bagua, once a finishing move, became a repeated attack.
Sali found himself under constant pressure.
His elemental attacks were largely ineffective. Kaido countered both ice and lightning with blasts of Boro Breath, dispersing them before they could land.
Armament Haki could still hurt Kaido, but closing the distance came at a cost. Every time Sali struck, he risked taking a direct hit in return.
And in those exchanges, Kaido always came out ahead.
Sali held back his full transformation, only activating it briefly when he had no choice but to defend.
He knew Kaido had not yet used his hybrid or full dragon forms. If he exhausted everything now, he would have nothing left for what came next.
The logic was sound.
But the gap between them was greater than he anticipated.
Kaido was not like Rayleigh.
Rayleigh relied on speed and technique, which allowed Pini and Youki to fight him together.
Kaido was different.
He had overwhelming strength, speed, endurance, and stamina. His body alone was a weapon.
In his hands, Conqueror's Haki coating was not a trump card, it was something he could use repeatedly without strain.
After enduring several more strikes, Sali finally reached his limit.
His vision blurred.
His body gave out.
He collapsed, unconscious.
Kaido laughed as he stepped forward, ready to claim his victory.
But before he could act, two figures moved at once.
Youki and Wyper had been waiting.
Learning from Sali's defeat, Youki abandoned close combat immediately and activated his Devil Fruit ability.
A thunderous surge erupted as seawater rose violently, forming a massive dragon head that charged toward Kaido.
No matter how powerful Kaido was, he was still a Devil Fruit user.
Seawater was not something he could ignore.
Kaido swung his kanabo again.
Another Thunder Bagua tore through the air, generating a violent shockwave that shattered the water dragon instantly, scattering it into rain.
At that exact moment, Wyper's attack arrived.
The lightning he had been gathering surged forward, using the scattered seawater as a conductor.
In an instant, a dense web of electricity spread outward, engulfing Kaido completely.