Chapter 79: Emperor Kaido VS Ryuma Shimotsuki, the Dragon Slaying Samurai
Boom!
Ten minutes later, on the distant horizon, a blue dragon soared into view, baring its fangs and flaunting its massive claws.
Before the dragon even arrived, a terrifying surge of Conqueror's Haki swept forward like a combined landslide and tsunami. An invisible force of impact enveloped the entire Flower Capital, exerting an overwhelming, suffocating pressure.
The Haki was so extreme that people began to collapse before the Emperor even reached the city. Inside the Flower Capital, countless citizens' eyes rolled back as they lost consciousness instantly.
Feeling this immense Conqueror's Haki, the Haki dormant within Kazuma Yumesaki's body immediately triggered a counter-attack.
Flashes of black and red lightning exploded violently.
A Conqueror's Haki even more domineering than Kaido's surged forth, colliding with the Emperor's will. At that moment, the layers of clouds in the sky were completely torn asunder.
Everyone looked up to see the sky itself appearing to crack, forming a terrifying, jagged rift.
Under the clash of these two monstrous Haki signatures, the remaining residents of the Flower Capital could no longer endure the strain. They fainted in droves. The once-bustling capital fell into a deathly silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Shortly after, a wild, boisterous laughter echoed from the heavens.
Kaido was getting excited.
He had just received word that a mysterious group had appeared out of nowhere to attack the Shogun's residence, planning to liberate Wano Country. Initially, he assumed it was just some nobodies making a futile stand. He hadn't expected to find a "deep-water crocodile" hiding here.
A Conqueror's Haki of this caliber... even he was slightly outmatched. Without a doubt, this was a peak-level powerhouse. Though he had no idea where such a person came from, as long as there was a fight to be had, Kaido was thrilled.
And so, he decided to offer a proper greeting.
Hovering in the sky, Kaido took a deep breath, opened his massive maw, and unleashed a devastating blast.
"Bolo Breath!!!"
A cascading wave of flames poured from the sky, hurtling toward Yumesaki's group. The fire carried unprecedented piercing power; even a mountain peak would have been vaporized instantly.
Just as Hashirama clapped his hands together, intending to intercept the technique—
*Swooosh!*
Ryuma Shimotsuki, who had been sitting atop the roof of the Shogun's residence, suddenly leaped into the air. The famed blade Shusui left its scabbard with decisive speed as Armament Haki exploded forth.
"Flying Slash!!!"
A sword strike stretching a hundred meters long, wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki, sliced through the air toward Kaido.
The *Bolo Breath* descending from the heavens slammed into the black slash, but instead of consuming it, the fire was split clean in two. The slash continued its upward trajectory, tearing through the flames and appearing before Kaido in the blink of an eye.
*Danger, danger, danger!!!!*
Kaido's Observation Haki screamed a warning, allowing him to see a glimpse of the future three seconds ahead. His body, legendary for its invulnerability to blades, was about to be torn open, the wound reaching all the way to the bone.
In that critical instant, Kaido's massive draconic form shrank, shifting into a hybrid man-dragon form several meters tall. He coated his club in powerful Armament Haki and swung it with everything he had against the incoming black arc.
"Raimei... Hakke!!!!"
Boom!
Two entirely different forces collided, producing a thunderous roar followed by a massive shockwave. The very space beneath the impact rippled with transparent, circular waves. Violent, terrifying, and overflowing with destructive energy, the shockwave formed a massive ring in the air, rippling outward in all directions.
Fortunately, the collision happened high in the sky. Had this occurred on the ground, half of the Flower Capital would have been reduced to dust.
After shattering the black sword slash, Kaido was sent flying upward like a cannonball, soaring a hundred meters before finally coming to a halt. He glanced at the base of his thumb—a small amount of blood had surfaced. His expression turned grim.
With just one move, he had been injured.
Even if it was a negligible scratch, it proved that this newcomer's strength was not below his own. What shocked him even more was that the person who released that Conqueror's Haki and the person who launched that *Flying Slash* were clearly not the same individual.
One possessed an absurdly powerful Conqueror's, while the other had an unbelievable Armament and was a peak-level Great Swordsman.
*Isn't this lineup a bit overkill?*
Nobody had warned him this group was this strong.
Kaido felt a pang of regret for his recklessness. The moment he heard someone wanted to liberate Wano, he had rushed here alone without assessing the situation. In a one-on-one, he was confident he wouldn't lose to anyone. He was Kaido of the Beasts, after all.
But the problem was: what if the other side didn't care about sportsmanship and decided to gang up on him? Two hands have a hard time fighting four.
Should he head back for now and come back with his army?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Kaido cast it aside. Retreating was impossible. In this lifetime, running away was simply not an option.
Did Kaido not have pride?
If he ran back pathetically now to call for backup, word would spread. Everyone would think Kaido was afraid. In the world of pirates, what mattered most? Prestige. If he dared to flee today in front of so many witnesses, the news would blanket Wano by tomorrow, and everyone would view him as powerless.
Not just the other Emperors—even the lowliest trash would find the courage to laugh at him.
So, running was out of the question.
Since he couldn't run, he could only move forward. The enemy was strong, but that didn't mean Kaido was weak. He refused to believe a group that appeared out of thin air could truly take him down.
With that thought, Kaido kicked off the air. The atmosphere exploded beneath him with a massive bang. A ring-shaped air pressure wave burst under his feet as he propelled himself like a falling shell, hurtling toward the swordsman. He raised his club high, swinging it down at Ryuma, who was still mid-air.
"Daitoku: Raimei Hakke!!!"
Terrifying Conqueror's Haki enveloped the club. Bolts of lightning, compressed to their absolute limit like a nuclear explosion, hammered down toward Ryuma Shimotsuki with the weight of thousands of tons.
"Dragon Slaying!!!"
Facing Kaido's full-throttle assault, Ryuma Shimotsuki didn't hesitate to unleash the legendary strike capable of grounding a flying dragon. The pitch-black Supreme Grade Meito and Kaido's club collided with a world-shaking force.
Boom!
A roar like a nuclear detonation echoed through the sky. A gargantuan shockwave swept in every direction. The wind turned into a raging tornado, shredding everything in its path. The sheer power of the impact affected the ground below as well.
Inside the Flower Capital, any building over twenty meters tall met a disastrous end. They were swept away by the residual shockwaves and instantly crumbled into dust.
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