Refusing to waste any more words, Ryuma drew the black blade Shusui and slashed violently at Kaidou in an instant!
"Half-Moon Divine Slash!" Ryuma roared at the top of his lungs.
At that exact moment, a brilliant arc of sword light soared into the sky, cutting directly toward Kaidou's head. But to everyone's utter shock, Kaidou headbutted the incoming slash head-on!
Ryuma's heart skipped a beat.
This Kaidou is far too horrifying!
If anyone else had taken that strike, they would have been stripped of a layer of skin if not outright killed on the spot. Yet Kaidou had tanked the flying sword aura through sheer physical resilience alone!
That was no small feat!
It couldn't be denied—Kaidou's move was reminiscent of Diamond Jozu, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates during the Paramount War, who nearly lost his life blocking a single slash from Hawkeye Mihawk...
Taking a deep breath, Ryuma steeled his nerves.
BOOM!
The collision between the sword aura and Kaidou's skull detonated like a storm clearing away clouds, sending a colossal heatwave crashing outward against everything in its path!
Kaidou's skull seemed utterly unharmed; if anything, the impact only appeared to have hardened it further!
Reaching out, Kaidou grabbed a massive sake jug and slammed it directly over his own head!
His head remained unscathed, while the jug shattered into pieces.
Wiping the alcohol from his forehead, Kaidou's lips curled into a slight smirk as his face twitched subtly. He let out a cold snort and grunted, "Not bad, not bad at all... You're the first person in a long time who managed to make me draw blood. In that case, I can't afford to underestimate you anymore."
Ryuma gritted his teeth, knowing Kaidou was about to get serious.
Just how terrifying is Kaidou when he takes a fight seriously?
Most likely... not even a Marine Buster Call could budge him an inch!
In the next second, Kaidou's body rapidly transformed into a colossal Eastern dragon. Towering and majestic, the dragon's deep-blue scales shimmered with an imposing aura, looking no different from a legendary divine dragon.
Fixing his concentrated gaze upon Ryuma, Kaidou made Ryuma look like nothing more than an ant standing before him.
Watching the dragon soar into the sky, Ryuma took a deep breath. Tightening his grip on Shusui, he leaped up and clashed head-on with the dragon's head!
An earth-shattering roar echoed through the heavens!
To Ryuma's surprise, the sheer shockwave rebounded off Kaidou's rock-hard scales, flinging his body back through the air!
Regaining his footing, Ryuma stared straight at the giant beast and murmured under his breath, "Looks like you really are a tough nut to crack..."
"Likewise! But don't blame me for saying this—your attacks are far too weak! Why don't you put some real muscle into it? Or is this pitiful amount of force all you've got?" Kaidou sneered.
Without warning, Kaidou grabbed a massive stone stele nearby and hurled it straight at Ryuma!
Ryuma's pupils shrank as he ducked and darted out of the way.
Yet as he caught sight of the slab, anger surged within him!
Is that... a Poneglyph?!
Poneglyphs were crucial relics scattered across the world—around thirty in total, including four Road Poneglyphs and nine Information Poneglyphs.
The Road Poneglyphs were crimson-red and revealed the path to the final island, while the rest recorded the century of void history. Though non-road Poneglyphs were less vital for navigation, they were still irreplaceable relics!
The missing century of history coincided with the birth of the World Government, suggesting they went to great lengths to erase all records—making the Poneglyphs the sole surviving evidence of the truth.
Yet Kaidou was tossing a Poneglyph around like a common brick!
What an absurdly wasteful bastard!
"Kaidou, since you refuse to show any respect, don't blame me for going all out!"
With a sharp command, a pair of massive wings erupted from Ryuma's back!
Spanning nearly four meters wide, the majestic wings were the undeniable manifestation of the Immortal Phoenix Fruit!
Seeing the wings, Kaidou paused, a look of bewilderment flickering in his eyes. He had never seen such a transformation before.
"Stunned, are you? This is the power of the Immortal Phoenix Fruit. You must be quite familiar with the name, aren't you?" Ryuma teased.
Kaidou had been relentlessly hunting down powerful Zoan-type Devil Fruits for years. A fruit like the Immortal Phoenix Fruit was undoubtedly high on his list!
Ryuma brought it up purely to rile Kaidou up and prove that his intelligence network was by no means inferior to Kaidou's.
Kaidou's brow furrowed sharply. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible... Where on earth did you get the Immortal Phoenix Fruit?! I've been searching for it for ages without a single clue—how could a brat like you get your hands on it?!"
Ryuma chuckled. "Where I got it is none of your business... But I'll tell you this: if you back down now, there's still time. You are no match for me."
"Even if you were the King of Heaven himself, I'd still beat you to death today!" Kaidou roared.
Grabbing his massive kanabo, Hasset Suishokutou, Kaidou hurled the giant spiked club straight toward Ryuma with crushing force!
Feeling the terrifying momentum, Ryuma's heart sank.
The giant kanabo tore through the air with a deafening screech, creating a pressure wave that caused the surrounding atmosphere to vibrate violently—it was as if the very wind was aiding Kaidou's strike!
Ryuma had initially assumed the gap between them wasn't insurmountable, but now he realized the difference in raw power was like night and day.
When Ryuma finally halted his momentum, he coughed softly, his face pale and strained. It was obvious he was struggling to hold his ground against Kaidou's relentless assault.
Yet Kaidou stood completely unfazed, looking completely refreshed.
BOOM!
In the very next instant, Ryuma was blasted backward again. Struck directly by the kanabo, he crashed onto the ground like a broken puppet, paralyzed and unable to move.
It took a long moment before Ryuma shakily forced himself back to his feet, his gaze cold and detached.
Meanwhile, outside the main hall, the three Lead Performers exchanged looks filled with uncertainty and concern.
Judging strictly by the flow of the battle, Ryuma was completely outmatched by Kaidou!
If the fight continued like this, Ryuma's death was only a matter of time.
Though they couldn't see the interior directly, the earth-shattering impacts spoke volumes.
Queen grinned weakly and took a sip of red bean soup. "Awesome, awesome! They're really tearing each other apart in there! Should we go in and lend a hand?"
King shook his head slightly, his tone grave. "I don't think things are that simple... Do not act recklessly just yet."
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