Lying amidst the rubble, Vlad felt dizzy after Kaido's tremendously powerful punch landed on his head. Such a punch isn't something just anyone can withstand; indeed, on the high seas, only a handful could endure it.
That Vlad received hardly any serious injury is even more extraordinary and somewhat terrifying to contemplate. His Zhu Rong mode isn't merely an enhancement of speed and strength; it comprehensively boosts his defense. Without such an all-encompassing enhancement, Vlad wouldn't dare face one of the Four Emperors head-on. After all, the weakest aspect often limits one's power.
Monkey D. Luffy's Gear Fourth inflates his entire body—bones, muscles, skin—all reinforced by Haki to greatly enhance the elasticity of his rubber properties, thereby gaining tremendous strength and defensive capabilities.
Vlad's enhancements go even further. Fire gives him explosive power; Haki provides protection and increased toughness. Every part of him is enhanced—bones, muscles, skin. He has no weak points under Zhu Rong's mode; his defense speaks for itself. Even in his normal state, just by his dragon scales, Vlad possesses exceptional defensive capabilities. With Zhu Rong activated, even without using Haki, he can withstand a punch from Kaido without much trouble.
"Whoosh!" Debris scattered as Vlad flew up into the air, his expression a mix of shock and confusion as he looked toward Kaido in the distance.
"So fast!" Vlad pondered internally. "How can he be this quick?" Kaido's direct, clean hit stunned Vlad, raising questions about what was happening.
Just moments ago, Kaido, seemingly outmaneuvered by Vlad's speed, had suddenly caught up, although he still hadn't reached Vlad's level of swiftness.
But from that one strike, it was evident that Kaido's reaction speed and the velocity of his attacks had improved dramatically, casually dispatching Vlad, who had yet to react.
"What's going on with him?"
"What's the matter? Too arrogant, kid!" Kaido said with a grin. "Aren't you attacking? Don't you want to use your unbeatable speed to attack?"
"That won't work, Mr. Kaido," Vlad responded; though his heart was heavy, his tone remained light. "It seems my speed isn't much use against you right now. Attacking directly now wouldn't turn out well for me."
"Ha ha ha, kid, are you scared?" Kaido slightly lowered his head. "I'm nothing like those make-believe enemies you've faced before!!!"
"GIAAAAAAA!!!!" The ground erupted with dust as the surface beneath Kaido shattered, his form vanishing instantly.
"So fast!!!" Vlad exclaimed genuinely as Kaido's speed vastly surpassed his earlier performance, closing the distance to Vlad in the blink of an eye.
"Puff!!!!" The empty ground beneath him caved in without warning, creating a huge crater.
Vlad felt the rush of wind as a vast shadow loomed before him, and in just a moment, Kaido appeared before him.
"He's completely different from just now!!!"
"Kid!!!" Kaido roared, his fist barreling towards Vlad.
"Speed is fast enough, but how about the power?" "Bang!!!!" After transforming into a dragon, Vlad reached a height of five to six meters, quite large compared to an ordinary human, but still slightly less so next to the monstrous, eight to nine-meter-tall Kaido. However, the size of their fists was similar.
"Bear!!!!" Their fists collided, creating a fierce explosion that sent white-gold flames skyward, the violent wind and surge of shockwaves plowing through the surroundings. Even though they were high above, the impact still shattered the ground below.
"The power hasn't changed?" Kaido didn't push Vlad back; under Zhu Rong mode, his explosive power was also significantly boosted. Although not as strong as Kaido's, the instant burst of power enhanced by his flames was comparable.
Since Kaido had already attacked, Vlad wasn't going to hold back. He swung his right arm back, closed in, and clenched his left fist, flames jetting from his elbow as his muscles bulged.
"Dragon Fist: Super-Ikkotsu!!!!" His fist, loaded with terrifying power and fiery blasts, smashed towards Kaido's head.
"That punch packs some power!!!!" Kaido matched him without showing weakness, channeling his formidable strength into a counterpunch that met Vlad's fist head-on.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!" "Boom!!!!" Amidst the earth-shattering
"Boom!!!!" Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, Vlad laughed heartily, "Kaido, Beast Kaido, truly worthy of the name Beast Kaido!!!!" Despite his attack not being successful, Vlad was not disheartened; after all, his opponent was one of the Four Emperors, Beast Kaido. It would be surprising if he could easily achieve a victory.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!!" Vlad's fists flew as if he had dozens of arms, hammering down on Kaido like a machine gun.
"Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!!!!" With a wild smile, Vlad kept shouting as he attacked.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!!" The continuous explosions ensued as Vlad's rapid-fire punches were all caught by Kaido, whose speed was astonishingly fast. It's worth noting that Kaido can't fly, yet he could battle Vlad in the air just by having leaped up, and even now, after a furious exchange of blows, he had not yet fallen; only a little time had passed.
Even with Vlad's strong Observation Haki, his cognitive ability was limited during such intense combat.
"Boom!!!!" A gigantic fist, wrapped in dark Haki, heavily smashed into Vlad's face, blanking his mind with its terrifying power, even stronger than before! Kaido's strength was still increasing!!!???
At the same time, Vlad's fiery punch landed heavily on Kaido's face.
"Sizzle!!!!" The intense heat made a sound like fat sizzling on a flame from Kaido's face, but Vlad noticed that the damage was quickly lessening—was Kaido gradually adapting to Vlad's high temperatures???
"Boom!!!!"
"Whoosh!!!!" Kaido was slammed hard by Vlad's punch, shattering the already devastated ground.
At the same time, Vlad was blasted into the sky by Kaido's punch, distancing him from the ground.
"So," Vlad suddenly realized something.
"Is this the so-called strongest creature?"
"Is this the Beast?"