Kaido had overcome his fear and declared that he would not be afraid.
But the next second, Valthior's foot slammed hard into Kaido's abdomen. The powerful force sent Kaido flying.
Immediately following that, Valthior delivered a sweeping elbow, roaring as it plowed directly into Charlotte Linlin's chest.
With two resonant thuds, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were sent flying backward one after another.
At the same time, Valthior gathered strength in one foot and shattered the ice beneath him. His figure accelerated, sweeping past Charlotte Linlin, who had crossed her arms into a guarding stance, and chased after Kaido farther away at extreme speed.
When fighting one against two, how did one break the situation?
The answer was to focus on the weaker one first. Beat him until he was stunned, and the situation would naturally break open.
After several exchanges today, Valthior had already reached a conclusion.
Charlotte Linlin was clearly much stronger than Kaido. As for Kaido, who would one day be known as the strongest in a one-on-one fight, right now he was still only a silver-tier player. He was not weak—but he was far from qualified to stand among the true top powerhouses.
So there was no need to think too much.
Hammer him first.
Kaido had just been kicked in the abdomen by Valthior. The Conqueror's Haki pierced through his scales, making his stomach churn. A foul breath rose in his throat, about to burst out. The wound he had forcibly "stitched" shut split open again, and blood surged out.
Before he could suppress that condition—
Valthior had already caught up.
Jewel-like ice crystals quickly spread over Valthior's iron fist, wrapping around it as Conqueror's Haki coiled within.
There was nothing flashy.
First, Valthior grabbed Kaido's horn with his left hand, locking his body in place. Then he punched Kaido hard across the bridge of the nose.
With a heavy bang, Kaido's nose broke directly. Blood flew everywhere. Kaido cried out in pain and felt his head spin.
But his instincts were still working. His thick arm quickly rose to guard his face while the tail behind him whipped toward Valthior.
However, Kaido was not the only one with a tail.
Valthior had five.
The moment Kaido's dragon tail swept toward him, Valthior had already entered his hybrid form. His body became even taller and more muscular, and his silver-white fur reflected a dazzling light.
The five tails behind him surged out at the same time.
One quickly tangled around Kaido's dragon tail. The other four locked Kaido's arms and legs, preventing him from pulling away from Valthior.
Then, countless fist shadows erupted between them.
In that instant, Valthior threw dozens of punches. Every blow struck flesh. A series of sharp impacts exploded between them.
Kaido's indigo scales and crimson blood sprayed wildly, quickly staining Valthior's elegant silver-white fur red.
Kaido, reeling from the relentless barrage, could see nothing but darkness. Even so, he let out a furious roar.
There was no need to see.
Their tails were already locked together.
Just trade blows.
Kaido gave himself over to the madness. Roaring all the while, he swung his heavy fists at Valthior again and again.
That effective counterattack slightly slowed Valthior's punching rhythm. Fist marks continued appearing across his body. The jewel-like ice crystal armor shattered layer by layer, bursting outward into icy mist. It mixed with Kaido's scales and blood, flying everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, only three to five breaths had passed, yet the two had already exchanged over a hundred punches.
A moment later, Valthior's tails loosened. At the same time, his left fist smashed into Kaido's temple, directly sending him flying.
Kaido, who had still been counterattacking just now, suddenly lost strength the moment his arm rose again. His arm fell naturally, and his body crashed into the ground in the distance.
Again—the same point remained.
He was still only a silver-tier player.
Once again, Valthior had knocked him unconscious with a barrage of heavy punches.
After landing, Valthior pulled out a mirror-like surface in his hand and said in a low voice, "Frost Sky Mirror Image…"
The instant his figure disappeared, a lightning laser pierced through the ice and struck the place where he had just landed.
Immediately after, Charlotte Linlin rushed over on Zeus.
However, Valthior had already opened the distance.
Charlotte Linlin hesitated for a moment and did not continue chasing. Instead, she stood protectively beside the unconscious Kaido and kicked his thigh hard.
"Idiot, you went down again!?"
Valthior stood in the distance and raised a hand to pat the ice-crystal dust off his chest. A large amount of shattered ice fell to the ground.
Aside from that, there did not seem to be many visible injuries on him at all—as if Kaido's counterattack just now had been completely weak and powerless.
In truth, the jewel-structured ice crystal armor had extremely strong defense, and it was further reinforced by Valthior's Conqueror's Haki. For Kaido to shatter that armor in such a rushed exchange was already very impressive.
At the same time, the force of his punches had still seeped into Valthior's body, leaving his chest slightly tight. His chest and abdominal muscles carried a faint tearing pain and a dull, throbbing ache.
But that was the extent of it.
He couldn't be said to be uninjured.
Still, it wasn't a serious problem.
"Ugh…" Kaido, who had been unconscious, suddenly groaned. Then he jolted and abruptly sat up again. He stared blankly around him before finally seeming to realize what had happened.
And that's a cheat-death revival! (Count: 2)
"Hahahahaha! Mythical Zoans really are amazing. I understand that feeling all too well…" Valthior laughed loudly as he looked at the dazed Kaido.
In terms of pure physical talent, Kaido could be called top class. His body was already extremely tough and resistant to beatings.
Now, with the power of the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon added on, his stamina and recovery ability went without saying.
Even though he had not awakened the full power of his Mythical Zoan, pulling off a few miraculous recoveries in a short period was no problem at all.
After all, he was a Mythical Zoan.
How could a Mythical Zoan stay down?
His peers would laugh at him!
Valthior had the power of Besshi Hachiman, plus an awakened Mythical Zoan. When he fought Harald and Garp, he had gotten back up plenty of times himself.
There was nothing shameful about it.
Feeling the pain coursing through his body—especially across his chest and abdomen, where Valthior's heavy punches had landed head-on—Kaido grimaced. His flesh was swollen, his scales had split apart, blood seeped beneath his skin, and several of his ribs seemed to have cracked.
This long-lost pain made Kaido bare his teeth.
But he still rose quickly, controlled his ability, and used both his Mythical Zoan recovery and his own natural healing talent to suppress his injuries. Scales grew again over his body.
He even forced himself to endure the discomfort, glared at Valthior, and gritted his teeth. "Good that you know it. Mythical Zoans cannot be beaten down! I can keep fighting you for ten days!"
Although he said that, the look in Kaido's eyes as he stared at Valthior was full of wariness.
He had been knocked unconscious twice.
If Linlin had not been beside him, it could already be called a defeat.
And he had been defeated easily by Valthior.
This proved that, right now, there was an uncrossable gap between his strength and Valthior's.
That feeling reminded him of when he had faced Garp alone back then.
So much time had clearly passed. Kaido believed that in order to catch up with Linlin, he had already grown much stronger.
But that sense of helplessness told him clearly—he was still far from enough.
"Idiot, stop embarrassing yourself!" Charlotte Linlin angrily cursed Kaido. Then her gaze darkened. "You should understand this guy's strength now. So stop acting recklessly. Follow the original plan…"
"Fine. You take the lead. I will support you!" Kaido did not stubbornly argue this time and agreed in a low voice.
This had been Charlotte Linlin's original plan.
She would attack head-on, and Kaido would assist, turning it into a prolonged battle to see if they could defeat Valthior that way.
But Kaido had refused at the time. He believed he was not weaker than Valthior, so he insisted on fighting Valthior head-on and deciding who was stronger.
As for the result—well, it was obvious.
He had already done two comebacks.
So Kaido had accepted it in his heart.
If he could not win directly, then they would follow the plan.
As a strong person, Valthior naturally had the ease of a strong person. Besides, this was not a personal grudge or a fight to the death. Valthior had already said from the start that he would spare their lives, so he looked calm and unhurried.
With a relaxed smile, he looked at Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
"Finished discussing? If you are, then I am going to make my move."
As he spoke, his gaze locked with Charlotte Linlin's once more, which served as her silent response.
In the next instant, Charlotte Linlin drove both fists together before her chest. Two ghostly green soul halos quickly spread over her fists. Then she pushed off with her feet and charged toward Valthior.
Kaido did not rush forward this time. Instead, he took a deep breath, his eyes fixed firmly on Valthior. Between the two horns on his head, lightning energy kept gathering, as if it could shoot out at any moment.
At the same time, his throat rolled back and forth. Black smoke and sparks occasionally escaped from his nose—clearly, he was holding a Bolo Breath in his throat.
Looking at his hands, sharp wind pressure like slashes kept flashing between the claws of his dragon hands, ready to be thrown out at any time.
This was his support.
As soon as Charlotte Linlin revealed an opening, he would cover it, leaving Valthior no place to exploit.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but in reality, only an instant passed.
In the blink of an eye, Charlotte Linlin had already rushed in front of Valthior. She raised a fist wrapped in soul power and pressed it toward Valthior's chest.
Valthior did not dodge. He used the same familiar method.
Jewel-like ice crystals suddenly rose over his body, forming armor to protect him. At the same time, he raised his fist and punched toward Charlotte Linlin.
Relying on her iron-like body and Haki defense, Charlotte Linlin did not dodge either.
In that crossing instant, Charlotte Linlin's fist smashed into Valthior's chest, and Valthior's fist slammed into Charlotte Linlin's left cheek.
The corner of her mouth split open. Her beautiful face twisted under the pressure of the punch, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from Charlotte Linlin's lips.
But in the next moment, Valthior was forced back several steps. His eyes also became unfocused for an instant before he steadied himself and looked at Charlotte Linlin in surprise.
The ice crystal armor on his body had not broken at all.
It was as if that punch just now had not struck him. It had not even been as forceful as Kaido's punches. That completely did not match Charlotte Linlin's monstrous strength.
But…
That moment of dizziness and heaviness was absolutely not fake.
"You thought that after we parted on Cake Island, I never spent these years thinking about how to deal with you?" Charlotte Linlin grinned fiercely.
As she spoke, she raised her fist again. The ghostly green soul halo around her knuckles still burned like flame.
"This strike has nothing to do with the flesh. It reaches straight into the soul!" Charlotte Linlin said in a deep voice.
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