A violent surge of purple lightning tore through the sky, unleashing a deafening roar.
Amid the blinding storm of light, Luffy and the others at the epicenter were nowhere to be seen—whether they were alive or dead, it was unclear.
Zoro, who'd wandered off yet again thanks to his chronic sense of direction, had unintentionally avoided the blast.
But witnessing his crewmates swallowed by the terrifying wave of purple lightning, Zoro's face twisted with fury.
"Three-Sword Style… Tatsu Maki!"
Enraged, Zoro drew his swords. Before the lightning had even faded, he poured all his strength into a single strike, unleashing a massive, whirling cyclone of sword energy straight toward the dragon in the sky.
Up above in the night sky—
Kaido, in his dragon form, immediately sensed the vortex of blades spiraling toward him from the ground below.
A glint of chilling light flashed in his fierce, indifferent dragon eyes.
Facing Zoro's razor-sharp Three-Sword Style – Tatsu Maki—
Kaido could've easily twisted his massive form to avoid it, but he saw no need.
BOOM!
The sword cyclone slammed directly into Kaido's massive dragon body.
But as the energy dissipated—
What looked like a powerful technique hadn't left so much as a scratch on Kaido. Not a single mark.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
Zoro stared in disbelief.
Kaido, in dragon form, lowered his gaze and sneered coldly,
"You challenge me with a 'Dragon Twister'? How foolish. Oi… open your eyes and watch carefully. I'll show you what a real dragon twister looks like!"
As he spoke, his massive body coiled and spun through the clouds, forming a spiraling vortex with physical mass.
Dragon Twister (Tatsu Maki): Kaifu!
As the enormous dragon spun, it released countless razor-sharp wind blades, which rained down toward Zoro like a storm of death.
There were too many. Any possible avenue of escape was instantly sealed.
And they were fast—faster than the eye could follow.
"Huh?"
Zoro's expression stiffened. With a hiss, he released Armament Haki, hardening his three blades, and slashed at the incoming wind blades.
He wasn't trying to cut them down completely—just redirect their path to weaken the assault.
But—
The moment his blades struck the wind attacks, Zoro realized how naive he'd been.
"This power…"
The crushing force surging from each wind blade sent bulging veins down his arms.
He barely deflected the first few, but the barrage threw off his rhythm.
More blades pierced through his sword guard and slammed into his body.
SHHHK!
Under the pale moonlight, severed flesh and a torrent of blood were flung into the air.
His weakened swords dropped to the ground with a soft, tragic clang.
Zoro's eyes widened in stunned disbelief. Blood gushed from his wounds, blurring his vision in red.
He could no longer see the colossal dragon circling the sky.
Nor the cruel, disdainful gaze bearing down upon him.
This was… the difference between them. Absolute.
Bleeding profusely, Zoro collapsed to the ground.
Elsewhere—
The aftermath of the purple lightning began to fade.
The earth had been scorched black.
Aside from Luffy—who appeared unharmed—and Sabo, who was barely managing to stay on his feet, everyone else lay motionless on the charred ground.
Kaido's thunderous strike had been so swift and overwhelming, it hadn't even given Bartolomeo time to raise a barrier.
"Everyone…"
Luffy looked around, shocked and furious, at his fallen crewmates.
His rubber body had immunity to Kaido's lightning, but the others hadn't been so lucky. One strike had leveled them all.
Sabo, relying on his superior Observation Haki, had managed to throw up an Armament defense at the last second.
Even so, the impact had left him wounded.
"The Emperor… Kaido of the Beasts!"
Sabo looked skyward, his face grim, as he identified the monstrous dragon looming above.
But at that moment, Luffy didn't care who or what Kaido was.
Before he could check on the rest of his crew, his gaze fell on the bloodied figure of Zoro, lying broken in a pool of crimson.
"ZORO!!!"
A wave of indescribable fury overtook Luffy's reason.
"Gear 4!"
Eyes blazing with rage, he bit into his arm and began inflating his muscles. His body swelled at a rapid pace.
In seconds, Boundman mode was activated.
"Luffy, don't rush in!"
Sabo called out, trying to stop him.
Too late.
Overcome with wrath, Luffy kicked off the ground, rocketing into the sky by launching off compressed air, hurtling straight toward the dragon.
Sabo could only watch helplessly as Luffy flew solo into battle against Kaido.
Frustrated, he cast one glance at the scorched and injured Straw Hats around him.
"Vanishing Flame."
He leaned forward—and in that instant, his entire body turned transparent and disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, a veil of invisible silk seemed to descend from the sky.
The Straw Hat crew, lying motionless on the ground, vanished silently from sight.
High above—
BOOM-BOOM…!
Luffy, now in Gear 4, soared like a thunderbolt, right to Kaido's face.
"Oh?"
Kaido looked down coldly at the transformed Luffy.
Though Luffy's appearance had changed, Kaido—who had a habit of recruiting powerful fighters—immediately recognized him as one of this year's Supernovas.
Under normal circumstances, Kaido would've beaten Luffy senseless with overwhelming power, then tried to break and recruit him.
But not tonight.
Tonight, Kaido hadn't come to scout talent.
The look in his eyes was filled with nothing but savage brutality.
But Kaido's killing intent didn't faze Luffy—not in this state.
"Shhh—!"
Luffy pumped more air into his arm, inflating it further. His fist swelled to massive size, pitch black with Armament Haki.
"Gomu Gomu no… Kong Gun!"
The enormous black fist hurtled through the air with terrifying force, smashing straight into Kaido's dragon head.
Kaido didn't move.
He preferred taking hits head-on.
That was how he measured his pleasure.
BOOM!
With a thunderous impact, Kaido's head warped slightly under the force of the blow.
Fueled by rage, Luffy had clearly hit harder than ever before.
And yet—
"Wororororo… Was that supposed to tickle?"
Kaido laughed, shaking his dragon head.
Raising his massive snout, he effortlessly shoved Luffy's fist aside.
The rebound force flung Luffy back through the air.
He barely managed to stabilize himself, bouncing off the air to hover again.
"That didn't even scratch him…"
Staring at Kaido, perfectly unharmed, Luffy trembled with disbelief.
Kaido stared down with a condescending gaze.
"It's nothing to be surprised about. In this world, there are only a handful of people who can hurt me."
"..."
Luffy gritted his teeth. No way he'd accept that.
He surged forward once more.
"Gomu Gomu no… Rhino Schneider!"
BOOM!
"Gum-Gum… Kong Rifle!"
BOOM!
"Gum-Gum… Gatling Elephant Gun!!!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…!!
A relentless barrage of shockwaves echoed high above the clouds.
Luffy, unleashing every ounce of his fury, poured his wild, all-out assault into Kaido.
It was fortunate, perhaps, that the one he was up against was Kaido.
Because anyone else would've seized the opportunity to counterattack. Luffy's offense left zero room for defense.
But Kaido wasn't just anyone. He didn't even try to interrupt. He let Luffy exhaust his entire hand.
By the end of the flurry, Luffy was panting hard, his stamina and Haki plummeting fast.
Even though Gear 4 had just begun, Luffy was already on the brink of collapse.
What might give out first, however, wasn't his body—but his spirit.
Because Kaido, who had taken every blow head-on, stood there… completely unscathed.
"So that's all you've got?"
Kaido sounded almost disappointed as he watched Luffy retract his fists, gasping for air like a spent animal.
He wasn't interested in dragging this out any longer. Opening his dragon's maw, he prepared to finish it.
Bolo Breath.
A razor-edged gale shot from Kaido's mouth, slicing into Luffy in an instant.
SHHHHHHK!
Gouts of blood burst from Luffy's inflated, rubbery frame, the air erupting in red as he plummeted from the sky.
The overwhelming power of the world's strongest Yonko crushed both Luffy's body—and his will.
"Luffy!!"
Having already evacuated Zoro and the others to safety, Sabo suddenly reappeared, leaping into the air just in time to catch Luffy's unconscious, whites-of-the-eyes face in his arms.
Then, glaring furiously into the sky, Sabo turned his gaze on Kaido.
What greeted him was a violet bolt of lightning, crashing down from above.
The crackling purple current bathed Sabo's enraged face in its ominous glow.
But before it could strike—
A dark figure flashed into view, stepping into the air between them.
Waves of shadow surged from the newcomer's body, rising like a tsunami to meet the descending bolt.
BOOOOOM!!!
The solid mass of shadows collided violently with the purple lightning, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the sky.
Moments later—
The darkness and lightning faded, revealing the clear night sky once more.
"Maude…"
Landing steadily, Sabo cradled Luffy and looked up at the man who had deflected the bolt.
The one who summoned the shadows to shield him—it could only be Bacardi Maude.
Just then, Sanji returned, his eyes wide with shock as he took in the battlefield.
"What the hell happened?!"
He'd dashed toward the coastline earlier, planning to swoop in like a hero rescuing a damsel in distress, and had avoided Kaido's wrath by sheer timing.
But after hearing the thunderous clash, he'd raced back full-speed.
Too late.
Luffy and Zoro had already fallen. And all that greeted him now was a battlefield in ruins, Kaido and Maude squaring off in the sky, and Sabo holding an unconscious Luffy.
No one had the time to answer Sanji's question.
But Sanji wasn't slow. His eyes gleamed red as he activated Observation Haki.
A second later, he sensed the aura of his crewmates, moved by Sabo beyond the battle zone.
He looked in their direction—and what he saw chilled him.
His friends, scorched black across their bodies, lay in heaps.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Sanji's eyes widened as dread gripped his heart.
SWOOSH—!
He launched himself toward them.
And as he got closer, it wasn't Nami or Robin—unconscious though they were—who first caught his eye.
It was Zoro.
His arms were completely severed, his body soaked in blood, the scene unimaginably brutal.
Compared to the others—struck down by the purple lightning but not in mortal danger—Zoro, who had taken Kaido's wind-element attack head-on, was one foot in the grave.
"Oi… Moss-head…"
Sanji's voice cracked as his face turned pale, dashing to Zoro's side.
"You'd better not move him."
A calm, emotionless voice cut in from nearby.
Sanji froze.
Turning, he saw Law, carrying Enma over his shoulder.
"Yeah… Law's right."
Standing beside him was Philo, her crow mask off, revealing her refined, elegant features.
If this were any other day, Sanji would've been head over heels in an instant.
But right now, his heart was chaos—there was no room for swooning.
Philo quickly crouched by Zoro, whispering urgently, "These injuries are severe. We need to stop the bleeding, fast."
"Allow me."
The voice came from Arthur, still wearing his undertaker's mask, holding a fine medical needle between his fingers.
Law and Philo exchanged a brief glance—then gave a nod.
Only the three of them had returned to this side of the battlefield. The others were tending to the outer perimeter.
With plenty of medical supplies on hand, Law decided he didn't need to act personally. His eyes drifted from the Straw Hats to the sky.
"Is he really planning to fight a Yonko here…?"
He frowned deeply.
Above, in the skies—
Maude hovered in midair, obsidian wings spread from his back, his calm gaze fixed on the dragon-form Kaido.
He'd just finished interrogating Ulti with less-than-gentle methods—and now Kaido had shown up in person.
No point in questioning Ulti anymore. Her boss had come knocking.
"Kaido of the Beasts… You came here looking for me, didn't you?"
Maude's voice was quiet, his eyes as dark and deep as a bottomless well.
He had been about to set out in search of Rayleigh—to get some answers. The last thing he wanted was to waste time here.
But now, he had no choice.
Kaido's dragon face twisted with murderous glee.
"Wororororo… So you know what's coming, don't you… Bacardi Maude?"
His only answer—
Was a blinding white pillar of energy.
Maude's Hakoku.
The piercing shockwave struck Kaido clean in the jaw, like a divine hammer crashing into him.
The sheer force sent the upper half of Kaido's colossal dragon body flipping backward.
"A body that size… what's it good for besides taking hits?"
Maude rolled his arm, letting the weight of Shusui rest heavy across his shoulder—Hakoku's opening stance.
"So go ahead. Turn into a dragon. See if that scares anyone."
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