At that moment, Ryuma's mouth twitched slightly, his voice cold as he said, "Honestly, I'm impressed. I've lived this long, and you're the first person to call me a fake."
Without wasting another second, Ryuma drew his black blade, Shūsui, and swung it fiercely toward Kaido.
"Half-Moon Divine Slash!" he roared.
A blade of energy shot upward, aiming straight at Kaido's head. But no one could have expected that Kaido would simply block it with his skull—head-on!
Ryuma's heart skipped a beat. This Kaido was terrifying beyond imagination. Anyone else struck by this attack would be severely wounded or worse, but Kaido had shrugged it off as if it were nothing.
This was no small feat.
Ryuma recalled the Marineford War, when Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, the Diamond, barely survived a lethal slash from Dracule Mihawk. The memory made him take a deep breath.
The clash of sword energy and Kaido's skull sent a fierce shockwave roaring through the air like a violent storm. A massive wave of heat and wind surged outward, but Kaido's head seemed unaffected—if anything, it grew even tougher.
Casually, Kaido grabbed a giant sake jug and smashed it against his head. The jug shattered instead.
Wiping the sake off his forehead, Kaido smirked, his lip twitching slightly as he coldly said, "Not bad… You're the first to draw blood from me. I can't underestimate you anymore."
Ryuma gritted his teeth. He knew Kaido was getting serious now.
And when Kaido got serious, just how terrifying could he be?
Probably… not even the Navy's Exorcism Order could faze him.
Suddenly, Kaido's body transformed into an immense Eastern dragon. It was majestic and deep blue, just like the legendary Yanhuang dragon.
Kaido fixed his gaze on Ryuma with full concentration. To this giant beast, Ryuma looked like a mere ant.
Ryuma watched as the dragon soared into the sky, took a deep breath, and tightened his grip on Shūsui. With a clash that shook the heavens and rattled the earth, Ryuma's blade struck against the dragon's head armor.
To his shock, Ryuma's body was forcefully bounced back by Kaido's impenetrable scales.
Staring at the man before him, Ryuma muttered between clenched teeth, "Looks like you really are tough to deal with…"
Kaido sneered in response, "Likewise. But I have to say, your strikes lack strength. Why don't you put some real power behind them? Is that all you've got?"
Without hesitation, Kaido grabbed a massive stone monument and hurled it at Ryuma.
Ryuma's pupils contracted sharply as he swiftly dodged the deadly projectile.
Anger surged within him.
That monument… was one of the poneglyphs.
Poneglyphs were the historical texts that spanned the entire world, about thirty in total—four road poneglyphs and nine information poneglyphs among them.
Road poneglyphs, marked in red, recorded the lost history of the Void Century—the century the World Government tried to erase from existence. Though other poneglyphs weren't as crucial as the road ones, they still held key secrets.
And yet, Kaido was casually tossing poneglyphs around like they were nothing.
How extravagant!
"Kaido," Ryuma growled, "if you're going to show me no respect, don't blame me for not holding back."
As he spoke, wings sprouted from his back.
They spanned nearly four meters—a clear sign of the Phoenix fruit's power.
Kaido blinked in surprise, his mind racing. He'd never encountered a fruit like this before.
"Speechless, huh? This fruit is called the Phoenix Fruit. You're probably familiar with it, aren't you?" Ryuma teased.
Kaido had been relentlessly hunting for powerful Zoan-type Devil Fruits, hoping to find one like this Phoenix fruit.
Ryuma's words were meant to needle Kaido, to show that his intelligence gathering wasn't any weaker.
He just wanted to prove a point: his information skills rivaled Kaido's own.
Kaido furrowed his brow. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible… Where on earth did you get the Phoenix Fruit? I've been searching for it forever and never found it. How could some punk like you have it in your possession?"
Ryuma smiled and replied, "That's none of your business… But I'll tell you this—if you back down now, it's not too late. You're no match for me."
Kaido roared back, "Even if you were the Heavenly King himself, today I, Kaido, will kill you!"
With that, Kaido hefted his massive spiked club and hurled it straight at Ryuma.
Ryuma's expression tightened, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face.
The gigantic spiked club sliced through the air with a fierce roar, the surrounding atmosphere trembling violently—as if even the wind was helping Kaido!
At first, Ryuma had thought their power levels weren't that far apart, but now it was clear: the gap between them was like heaven and earth.
When Ryuma finally came to a halt, he let out a soft cough, his face grimacing in discomfort. It was obvious he was struggling, his strength waning.
But Kaido remained expressionless, calm and unbothered, as if nothing had happened.
"Boom!"
In the next instant, Ryuma was sent flying backward, crashing hard to the ground like a lifeless dog, completely immobilized from the blow of the spiked club.
A long moment passed before Ryuma shakily rose to his feet, his expression cold and unreadable.
Outside, the three others exchanged looks—cold, puzzled, and uncertain.
From the battle alone, it was clear: Ryuma was no match for Kaido.
If this fight continued, Ryuma's death was inevitable.
Though they couldn't see what was happening inside, the sounds alone told them everything.
Quin grinned and said, "Fantastic, fantastic! They're finally fighting inside. Should we go help?"
King shook his head gently. "I don't think it's that simple… We shouldn't act rashly just yet."
ps: read advance chapters at my https://www.patreon.com/c/Seraphim777