After exchanging blows, Maude came to a clear realization.
This monster of a Yonko before him, who almost seemed to enjoy taking punishment, could have easily dodged many of the attacks—yet time and again, he chose to take them head-on with a brazen confidence.
It was as if only by doing so could he project the overwhelming aura of: "I'm strong. Submit."
It gave off the illusion that—
"Kaido, the Yonko?"
"Not a big deal. I land hits on him all the time."
But the reality, the actual process and outcome, was far more brutal—
Yes, you hit Kaido. But Kaido didn't even flinch. Then he swung his club, and you were gone.
That was Kaido's signature style of combat—overwhelming, unshakable, and unmistakably ruthless.
In truth, every blow he chose to tank was the result of calculated judgment.
If the attack posed no threat, he'd eat it without hesitation, flaunting his kingly might.
But if he judged it dangerous, he would neutralize it completely, not giving even a sliver of an opening.
Whether it was Maude's Shadow Cutter earlier or Shiryu's poison-laced slash just now—
Kaido handled them effortlessly, dismantling the attacks with terrifying ease.
This was a beast who only looked reckless—beneath that wild exterior lay a terrifying cunning.
Just like the true nature he kept hidden behind his brute façade.
Still, with Aokiji here and strong, capable allies backing him, Maude believed they had a real shot at taking Kaido down.
But this was not going to be a short battle—not with the monster in front of them.
And therein lay the problem. Maude didn't have the luxury of time to drag this out. He needed to end it fast.
Once again, Kaido transformed into his Azure Dragon form, riding clouds high above, his serpentine body coiling through the sky as he looked down upon the members of the Maude Pirates.
From their clash, Maude had gathered valuable intel—and Kaido had done the same.
Among everyone on the field, only Maude, Aokiji, and Shiryu posed any real threat in Kaido's eyes. The rest were beneath notice.
"Worororororo…"
The night was long, and Kaido was determined to enjoy the carnage to its fullest.
"Ice Age!"
In a brief lull in Kaido's assault, Aokiji's freezing aura surged forth—like a bone-chilling wind with no escape—as it enveloped Kaido's massive form.
The airborne dragon was instantly frozen into a statue of ice.
But in the blink of an eye, the ice was melted away by Kaido's Flame Clouds.
The resilience of the Flame Clouds nullified Aokiji's freezing control almost completely.
Or rather—it rendered it nonexistent.
"…As expected."
Watching Kaido effortlessly melt through the ice, Aokiji scratched at his cheek with a finger.
His freezing powers held no sway over Kaido's natural heat generation. Whether Kaido could "react" in time or not didn't matter. The elemental clash rendered Aokiji's control meaningless.
It was the same as trying to freeze Akainu or Ace—completely unrealistic.
If the target had been Whitebeard, Aokiji might have been able to restrain him for a full second before the old man shattered the ice with his Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
But Kaido, Akainu, Ace, Oven—against elemental types like them, control effects were practically useless.
So instead of relying on freeze control, Aokiji had to shift focus—using his power to lock down Kaido's movements and attacks.
Which inevitably meant one thing—this battle would become a war of attrition.
And Aokiji had accepted that. He was prepared to go the distance.
What he didn't know was that Maude had no intention of dragging this out.
He needed to find Rayleigh as soon as possible. Time wasn't on their side.
Even if he did know, Aokiji would probably just be a little regretful.
Because tonight's battle might very well be the one that put a stop to Kaido's rampage.
As for the future of the New World…
It was already chaotic enough. One less Yonko wouldn't make it worse.
Up above, the massive Shadow Net that Kaido had torn apart reassembled under Maude's control.
The dense, deep black shadows gathered again—standing silently, yet exuding an oppressive pressure that choked the air around them.
Kaido stared coldly at the mass of shadows. His massive dragon body descended, slamming onto the ground before morphing back into his human form.
The spiked kanabo slung casually over his shoulder crackled with violet lightning, a sign that he was preparing to strike.
RUMBLE—
As soon as Kaido's feet touched the ground, the earth quaked violently beneath him.
Without warning, the terrain surged like an ocean wave. Countless swirling vortexes of sand and rock rose up, enveloping Kaido and forming a spiraling tower of stone.
This was Gaya's Float-Float Fruit at work—manipulating sand and rock to wrap around Kaido and crush him with brutal force.
BOOM!
No sooner had the high tower been formed than it was obliterated by a devastating shockwave from within.
The force blasted the debris aside, scattering it like confetti.
Kaido emerged from the rubble mid-swing, still holding his club.
Clearly, not even the crushing weight of earth and rock could hold him down.
At that moment, a figure flashed before him—Shakky.
Her slender hand, usually seen holding a cigarette, was now swollen several times over with powerful Armament Haki and slammed hard into Kaido's chest.
BOOM!
A deep, thunderous impact echoed as Kaido was sent flying backward.
"Fast reflexes, Kaido," Shakky said coolly, retracting her hand.
Kaido crashed into the ground, skidding dozens of meters before finally stopping.
"Worororo… Shakky?"
Lying on his back, Kaido burst into laughter.
"Been decades. You've lost your punch."
He stood up laughing, looking at her calm expression.
"It's not that I've gotten weaker," Shakky replied, eyes resting on Kaido's unscathed chest. "It's that you've grown stronger."
That blow had been a sneak attack, yet Kaido had still blocked it in time with Armament Haki.
Kaido's laughter faded as he looked expressionlessly at his former comrade.
They might both be from the Rocks Pirates, but Kaido owed Shakky nothing. And in that ruthless crew, no one expected favors.
His gaze lingered on her for a moment, then shifted to Gaya, standing not far behind.
The power that had bound him earlier—the Float-Float Fruit—had once belonged to Golden Lion, another member of the Rocks Pirates.
Old memories stirred.
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
Just as Kaido was lost in thought, a sudden roar rang out from the distance.
A roar, and the explosive sound of Geppo.
The sudden noise drew not only Kaido's attention, but also everyone else's.
They turned to see Luffy—now in Gear 4—blasting through the air with explosive speed, rage burning in his eyes as he charged at Kaido.
"LUFFY!!"
Sabo and Sanji's faces changed instantly as they saw Luffy launch his assault.
Maude, too, looked up at the furious Luffy and shook his head. "Some people never learn…"
Luffy's awakening had been too sudden—and with his airborne blitz, neither Sabo nor Sanji had any hope of stopping him.
Maude could have, but saw no reason to.
He simply watched coldly as Luffy rushed to his own doom.
"You again?" Kaido muttered, looking up at the boy charging at him—like he was watching a gnat fly into a hurricane.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Luffy, cloaked in the explosive bursts of Gear 4, flew straight into Kaido's range.
"Gomu Gomu no—!"
"Raimei Hakke!"
BOOM—!
Luffy barely finished winding up his punch when Kaido's Raimei Hakke struck him in the face with blinding speed.
The sheer force twisted Luffy's features into a grotesque blur.
The compressed air that had inflated his muscles was violently forced out of him all at once.
Whoosh—!
Luffy's body deflated rapidly, shooting down from the sky like a cannonball.
Boom!
The ground exploded as he crashed down, carving out a massive crater. A shockwave rippled outward, stirring up thick clouds of dust and debris.
"LUFFY!!!"
Sabo and Sanji dashed toward the impact site, where Luffy lay slumped at the bottom of the pit, barely clinging to life.
With his current level of Haki and Gear 4, taking Kaido's Raimei Hakke head-on didn't kill him on the spot—but it left him with one foot in the grave.
"Weaklings ought to know their place."
Kaido stared coldly at the plume of dust where Luffy had landed.
He didn't even consider Luffy a worthy opponent—wasn't even interested in finishing him off.
To be blunt, someone of Luffy's caliber didn't stir even a flicker of interest in him.
Maude, on the other hand, paid no attention to Luffy's condition. He sheathed Shusui.
"Blade."
Without a sound, the sniper rifle in Maude's hand transformed into a sleek, snow-white longsword.
He swapped the blade—White Weasel, once Bailey—into his left hand. With a thought, the towering shadows that loomed beside him surged forward, flowing like streams into the sword.
The shadows wrapped around the long blade like flickering flames, refusing to settle.
At the same time, the blade of White Weasel visibly grew longer and larger, its shape mutating as more shadow poured into it.
And as the sword swelled in size, Maude stretched his own shadow to expand his body—growing taller, larger—until he stood near the size of a Giant.
A few seconds later...
Maude stood over fifteen meters tall. The White Weasel sword in his hand stretched over seven meters long, its blade wreathed in flame-like shadows.
"Shadow Pressure."
Now towering above the battlefield, Maude swung the massive blade from a distance, cleaving toward Kaido with devastating force.
A massive cluster of shadows burst from the blade and slammed directly into Kaido's back.
Boom!
The crushing impact drove Kaido into the earth.
"Law."
Maude called out calmly.
Law understood instantly.
"Room!"
Expanding his Room to its maximum size, Law enclosed both Maude and Kaido in the spatial domain.
"Shambles."
With a flick of his finger, he swapped Maude—whose size now robbed him of agility—directly in front of Kaido.
Kaido's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he shifted into his rarely seen hybrid form.
Shhh—!
Twin dragon horns burst from his forehead. His eyebrows flickered like fire above eyes brimming with raw savagery.
Blue dragon scales rapidly surfaced across his cheeks and exposed skin. His already broad shoulders flared outward, wrapped in burning ribbons that extended to his wrists.
With a single motion, Kaido rose to his feet—shattering the shadow mass that had pinned him down into a flurry of black motes.
Crackle—!
Purple arcs of electricity danced madly across his kanabo.
Murderous intent surged from his eyes as he swung the spiked club with full force—his strongest strike since the battle began.
Swoosh!
But Law never dispelled the Room. With the seamless coordination honed through countless battles, he swapped Maude out again—without even needing a cue.
Maude vanished instantly—just as Kaido's thunderous blow came crashing down.
"Hmm?!"
His strike hit nothing but air.
The immense force of his swing tore into the ground, gouging out a massive semicircular crater. Forests disintegrated in the shockwave's path. Mountains split and crumbled.
The shockwave continued roaring across the island—then ripped across the sea, carving a straight path through the ocean.
Kaido's attack missed.
And in the next instant, the pale-faced Law swapped Maude back in—right before him.
Maude, who had already set his stance, delivered his strike the moment he materialized.
The moment White Weasel's blade touched Kaido's body, the shadows wrapped around the sword exploded outward, igniting in a flurry of shadowfire.
The force of the strike sent Kaido flying like a baseball hit by a slugger's home run swing.
In the blink of an eye, Kaido's massive form shot across the rocky shoreline and soared toward the sea.
Splash—!
The residual shockwave carved a towering wave across the surface.
A hundred meters… five hundred… a thousand…
Kaido's body flew over a kilometer before it finally arced down and plunged into the ocean with a massive crash.
For over ten seconds, the sea churned violently… then went still.
Back on the island—
Everyone—including Kuzan and Shakky—stood frozen, stunned by the colossal silhouette of the fifteen-meter-tall Maude.
That was Kaido of the Beasts…
And Maude had just sent him flying into the depths of the ocean—with a single slash?
"That was… sudden," Brook murmured.
"So… that Kaido of the Beasts… he's finished?"
"Normally, a Devil Fruit user falling into the sea… without rescue… that's a death sentence."
"This is…"
Everyone was reeling.
With his back to the group, Maude slowly deactivated his shadow abilities, returning to normal size.
Kaido had a page in his Hunter's Notebook.
If he truly died, Maude would feel it immediately through the feedback of experience.
But...
Maude didn't believe for a second that someone like Kaido—whose strength surpassed the realm of living beings—would die just from falling into the sea.
After all, the title of the "Strongest Creature in the World" didn't come without merit.
"All right. Everyone back to the ship. We set sail immediately."
With a single home-run swing bringing the battle to an abrupt end, Maude issued the order without delay.
The others snapped back to reality, pushing their shock aside and quickly mobilizing.
"Sabo—bring them over for treatment."
Before heading back to Thriller Bark, Maude glanced at the anxious-looking Sabo.
Aside from Sanji, the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates—including Chopper—had taken heavy damage.
And without Chopper to treat them, Luffy and Zoro—both gravely injured—wouldn't survive unless Maude intervened.
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