Kaido, having reverted to his human form, radiated a pressure even more terrifying than in his Azure Dragon state.
The spiked kanabo crackling with violet lightning in his hands exuded a menacing aura that made one's skin crawl.
This was the sheer oppressive force that only an Emperor of the Sea, reigning atop the world, could possess.
But Maude refused to be outmatched. As he lifted the limiters on his body, he layered himself with multiple enhancement abilities.
Clang—!
Maude raised his left arm, placing Shusui across it. With a subtle pull back, the blade scraped against his vambrace, throwing sparks.
The razor-sharp point of Shusui was trained directly on Kaido.
The aura of a Dragon Slayer surged unmistakably from the blade.
After all, Shusui was a black blade that had once severed the flesh of dragons.
"Oh?"
Kaido didn't strike immediately. Instead, his gaze was drawn to the sword resting on Maude's arm.
Even wrapped in Armament Haki and shadow energy, the blade of Shusui shimmered faintly with a deep, blood-hued red.
For some reason, just staring at the blade caused Kaido a sensation like needle pricks across his skin.
The aura radiating from the sword stirred a deep, inexplicable discomfort.
"This sword…"
A savage gleam flashed across Kaido's rugged face.
Needle pricks or irritation—it didn't matter.
He'd crush anything that annoyed him.
Raimei Hakke!
Kaido vanished.
In an instant, his enormous form moved with speed utterly unbefitting his hulking frame—so fast it defied logic.
The purple lightning wrapped around his kanabo compressed into a blinding, razor-thin bolt, streaking toward Maude faster than lightning itself.
An overwhelming sense of danger suddenly flooded Maude's surroundings like a thick, suffocating mire.
His heart jolted. Maude instantly pushed his Observation Haki to its absolute limit—his eyes gleaming with crimson light.
And then—
There was no time to hesitate or think.
In a seamless motion, Shusui, still resting on his arm, shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
CLANG!!!
The tip of Shusui met Kaido's onrushing kanabo in the blink between motion and stillness.
Two immense forces collided head-on.
A thunderous clash rang out, shaking the heavens. Violet lightning tangled with crimson-black arcs of energy, crackling violently between the kanabo and the blade.
The shockwave tore through the air, fracturing the ground around them with countless jagged fissures.
The sheer impact of this direct confrontation left everyone present—except Aokiji—grim-faced and silent.
"So this is… the power of an Emperor of the Sea!"
Urouge stared at the clash between Maude and Kaido, sweat slowly beading on his brow.
No one dared speak.
Even those outside the battlefield—members of Maude's crew and Sanji—watched the clash in astonishment.
"…Arara…"
Aokiji's expression remained unreadable as he kept his gaze on Kaido, cold mist drifting from his open palm, ready to strike at any moment.
His killing intent was undisguised—targeted and unwavering.
In a fight with someone else, having an Admiral watching your back would be a massive distraction.
But Kaido didn't care at all.
All of his focus was poured into the strike aimed at Maude.
"Worororo… You blocked it. But…"
Kaido's ferocious eyes gleamed past the dancing arcs of lightning, locking onto Maude's slightly furrowed brow.
"You can feel it now, can't you? The difference in strength. In Haki!!!"
With a sudden bellow, Kaido unleashed a monstrous surge of force through his kanabo, still pressed against Shusui's blade.
"...!"
Maude's eyes widened as the overwhelming force surged through his sword.
The stance he had crafted to intercept Kaido shattered in an instant.
BOOM!
With an earth-shattering blast, Kaido swung his kanabo with such force through Shusui that Maude was sent flying like a meteor.
BOOM BOOM—!
His body shot backward, trailing visible shockwaves through the air. In the blink of an eye, he was hurled hundreds of meters away.
"Captain—!"
"Maude!"
The crew cried out in alarm.
The relentless sonic booms alone told them just how devastating that blow had been.
High above—
Maude's expression remained calm. The world blurred around him as he soared at tremendous speed.
"The further you go, the more a half-star difference shows…"
"That's why… whether it's strength, Haki, or even physical durability… there's an undeniable gap between me and Kaido."
"This feels different from when I faced Whitebeard. This is… the power of a Yonko at his peak."
Thoughts raced through Maude's mind in an instant.
Then, he activated Phase Shift.
Flash!
In the next moment, Maude reappeared exactly where he had been.
He redirected all the kinetic force from the impact into a shadow medium he had swapped places with.
At that moment, Kaido still held the posture from his massive swing, leaving him wide open.
Dragon Slaying Slash!
Maude's blade sliced through Kaido.
A burst of black-and-red lightning flickered for an instant.
The next moment—
Maude stood behind Kaido, still frozen mid-slash.
A thin stream of blood splattered forward.
A shallow gash opened across Kaido's bare chest.
"Worororo… Not bad."
Kaido slowly turned to face Maude.
The shallow wound didn't faze him in the slightest.
But Maude had wounded him.
That alone was enough to stir Kaido's battle-hungry spirit—one that longed for a "perfect death."
"…"
Maude said nothing, his eyes fixed on the blood mark across Kaido's chest.
He had pierced Kaido's defenses… but it was shallow.
With his awakened Zoan regeneration, Kaido would heal this in moments. It was effectively nothing.
If this was the best Maude could do—
Then his chances of victory were zero.
"A monster who reigns atop the New World, huh…"
Maude's eyes shone with clarity.
Even if he could only deal superficial damage now, he didn't feel discouraged.
Quite the opposite—this moment filled him with anticipation for the future.
No matter how powerful the enemies before him, one day, they would all become stepping stones beneath his feet.
Until, within his dominion, only he remained standing.
Maybe not now—but someday.
Maude had absolute confidence.
His fighting spirit surged like a flood.
Shusui rang out with a resonant chime in his hand.
"I almost forgot… You've slain dragons before, haven't you, Shusui?"
He glanced at the blade and smiled. "Then let's go again. Doesn't matter if we drop from exhaustion."
As he spoke, Maude raised a hand, signaling Aokiji and even the distant Gaya not to interfere.
This was a rare opportunity—to face a Yonko one-on-one and clearly gauge the gap in strength.
Victory wasn't the goal. Maude needed to know—exactly where he stood.
Aokiji and the others were taken aback by the gesture.
Though they didn't understand his intent, they obeyed and stayed back.
Kaido saw the signal too. From their lack of movement, he understood.
Maude intended to challenge him solo.
And that bold, overflowing confidence?
Kaido couldn't help but admire it.
Wororororo!
He suddenly burst into booming laughter.
He had come here tonight to rip out the thorn in his side that was Maude.
But now, seeing Maude's unyielding will—he changed his mind.
"To kill you now would be a shame. Why not join my crew? There's a spot among my top officers with your name on it."
Kaido hoisted his kanabo onto his shoulder, his appreciation for Maude momentarily overriding grudges and vendettas.
This was Kaido's way—the iron-willed temperament of a Yonko.
Many of his top officers had been won over by exactly that kind of charisma.
But—
How could someone born with the Conqueror's spirit ever bow their head to another?
Maude's lips curled into a cold smirk.
His reply?
A roaring Hakoku slash flying straight toward Kaido.
"So that's your answer, huh?"
Kaido stopped laughing. With a casual swing of his kanabo, he batted away the approaching crescent-shaped Hakoku slash like it was nothing.
"Your Hakoku... doesn't come close to Linlin's."
After knocking away Maude's attack, Kaido's eyes gleamed with renewed bloodlust.
He valued strength. He admired powerful fighters and was always eager to recruit them.
But he also had a sharp eye—and it didn't take him long to see that Maude would never serve under him. The moment he confirmed that, his murderous intent ignited without hesitation.
Raimei Hakke!
Without warning, Kaido launched a killing blow.
A flash of violet lightning tore through the air.
It was the same blinding speed—too fast to react to.
At that velocity, if one's Observation Haki wasn't highly refined, it was basically useless.
Before the spectators could even register what had happened, Maude's sword, Shusui, suddenly sparked with an intense flare.
In the next moment, his upper garments split apart with a ripping sound.
Crimson blood spattered from the fresh tears in the fabric.
At the same time—
Kaido's figure appeared dozens of meters behind Maude, still frozen mid-swing with his kanabo.
"That actually hurt," Maude said with a wide grin, not looking at all like someone who'd just taken a hit.
Even though Maude had blocked Kaido's Raimei Hakke, the shockwave laced with Armament Haki had still traveled through Shusui and struck his body.
That was the power of top-tier Armament Haki.
For decades, the only person to truly master such a level of Haki was the Pirate King himself—Gol D. Roger.
But Kaido had incorporated this same technique into Raimei Hakke, bolstered by the lightning-speed amplification granted by his Azure Dragon Mythical Zoan powers.
He might not be quite at Roger's level, but he wasn't far off.
For Maude, whose Haki had reached the "9 Star" level, just blocking one of those strikes was already an incredible feat.
If Kaido landed a few more of those… his margin for error would shrink rapidly.
Maude knew it.
"Then I guess it's my turn now."
His eyelids lowered slightly as he pivoted, his toe brushing against the ground.
Ladle.
In an instant, Maude vanished.
The air stirred, dust rippling outward as if someone had tossed a stone into still water.
Kaido's eyes flashed red—he could track Maude's movements with ease.
With explosive power, he swung his kanabo at the seemingly empty space beside him.
If Maude didn't have the ability to switch places with his shadow medium, that strike—seemingly clairvoyant—would've landed squarely on his skull.
Shadow Ladle!
Before reappearing, Maude had swapped positions with a shadow medium he'd placed in advance.
Kaido's strike hit nothing but air.
And just like that, Maude appeared behind him.
Shadow Cutter!
He slashed toward Kaido's shadow.
But Kaido spun and punched backward—his fist crashing into the blade of Shusui.
Clang!
Where fist met sword, black and red lightning crackled violently through the air.
Unable to absorb the force, Maude was launched away by the impact.
A small spurt of blood, however, splashed from Kaido's fist.
"Tch… So you're switching up your fighting style now? Looks like you won't let me land a clean hit that easily."
As he tumbled through the air, Maude processed what just happened.
Kaido's defense just now was completely different from when he faced off against Luffy and Zoro—where he'd allowed them to unleash their attacks without much care.
This meant one thing: Kaido now saw Maude as someone he needed to take seriously.
"Doesn't matter…"
Once again—Phase Shift.
Maude reappeared at Kaido's side, attempting another Shadow Cutter.
But Kaido gave him no openings—his counterattacks were sharp, seamless. Another hit sent Maude flying again.
Still, Maude didn't relent. Using his shadows to rewind his position, he returned to Kaido's side repeatedly.
The cold gleam of Shusui danced like a storm wind, slashing toward Kaido again and again.
Unfortunately, Kaido had long abandoned his earlier reckless brawling style. His defensive counters were near flawless.
Maude's repeated attempts came up short every time.
Realizing that landing a hit on Kaido's shadow was practically impossible, Maude suddenly changed tactics and slashed at Kaido's side.
The blade flashed—
A jet of blood sprayed from Kaido's shoulder.
It hit—but only left a shallow wound.
Still, Maude didn't pause. Sensing the opening, he pressed forward with a flurry of strikes.
Shhk—shhk—
Several gashes appeared across Kaido's body in quick succession.
Maude tried to maintain the tempo—but Kaido cut him off with sheer brute force.
A kanabo strike, wreathed in violet lightning, slammed into Shusui.
The resulting shockwave tore through Maude's body, opening up several new wounds and sending him flying once more.
This time, Maude didn't try to return using his shadow.
He landed solidly on the ground.
Rip—
With one hand, he tore off what remained of his shredded upper garment.
The tattered fabric drifted in the breeze.
"I'm done playing."
Having gauged the gap between their strengths, Maude stopped pushing blindly forward.
Now it was time to throw everything he had at Kaido—
And bring this fight to an end.
"Done playing?" Kaido's eyes chilled as he stared Maude down.
Maude simply smiled and said nothing. With a thought, he unleashed the full power of his Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Shadow's Asgard!
Under the veil of night, upon the surface of the land—
Shadows answered his summons.
Like rivers merging into a mighty tide, they flowed toward Maude, gathering behind him.
There was no thunderous quake or dazzling light.
Only silence—
And the rise of towering mountains of shadow behind Maude, swallowing half the island into a sea of darkness.
The other half remained bathed in flawless silver moonlight.
"So that's your awakened ability…"
Kaido narrowed his eyes at the looming Shadow's Asgard.
But just as his focus locked onto the black empire forming behind Maude—
Aokiji, who had been observing the battle from afar, finally made his move.
Because when Maude said "I'm done playing," it was more than a statement—it was a signal to begin the full-scale assault.
Ice Time Capsule!
A sudden chill struck Kaido's back.
Crack—crack—crack—
In an instant, Kaido's massive form was sealed in a thick layer of ice.
And behind him, exuding cold air, Aokiji revealed himself.
—————————
Translator's Note:
This is a note the author wrote at the time when this chap was published:
"Damn you, Oda! I just wanted to see Kaido's hybrid form! But no—he didn't show it at all in the latest chapter, and on top of that, the chapter ends with a mysterious silhouette?! And next week is a break? Unforgivable! This is what I call a cliffhanger hell!"
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NOTE: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon!