At this moment—
Big Mom and Akainu were also in the midst of a heated, climactic battle.
To call it a battle wasn't even accurate—one-sided beating was a better description.
The Akainu of his early thirties was not yet the same man who, at Marineford, could blast half of old Whitebeard's face away with a single punch.
Under Big Mom's wild assault, he could only grit his teeth and hang on, his body covered in blood and scars.
If not for his Logia body allowing him to repeatedly shift into magma to avoid fatal strikes, his condition would already be far, far worse.
On the other side, Big Mom—
Whether it was Akainu's Haki or his scorching magma, all it left on her body were faint traces, doing practically nothing to the flesh of the "Iron Balloon."
"Don't you dare talk to me in that tone, Kaido! You don't have the right!"
Hearing Kaido's angry roar, Big Mom's eyes gleamed with menace, giving him no face at all. "Embarrassed? Hah! Once I crush this little magma brat, I'll take my time torturing that other one to death, no rush!"
"But you, Kaido!"
She slammed her fist down, smashing Akainu into the ground, then tilted her head back and laughed wildly:
"Ma—ma—ma—ma~! One trusted underling dead, the other about to fall, and you yourself powerless to do a thing. Your guts must be churning so bad you're about to piss yourself, right?"
"Damn fat hag…"
Kaido's face was so grim it looked like it was about to drip with water, yet he was powerless to retort.
Because, just as Big Mom said, after "Famine" Arno was killed, "Plague" Sena was being wantonly brutalized by Nao and was at a complete disadvantage!
Losing one Calamity was already an extremely heavy blow to the Beasts Pirates, but if both of them were to die... even he, Kaido, would be completely unable to accept it!
Boom! Boom!
Just then, the Golden Buddha landed a fierce blow on Kaido's dragon back with his right palm. Kaido endured the attack head-on, then turned and let out a dragon roar that sounded like thunder at Sengoku, who was about to hit him again!
ROOOAR!!!
The terrifying soundwave burst out, forcing even Sengoku in his giant Buddha form back several steps, arms raised instinctively to shield his face.
And when Sengoku put his right arm down and looked again, he saw that Kaido had used this opportunity to transform back from his dragon form to his human form.
With a speed too fast for the naked eye, he charged from the sky toward Nao, who was fighting the Triceratops several hundred meters away!
"Not good!"
Sengoku's expression changed drastically. He didn't hesitate to step and cross the battlefield, chasing after him, but he was still a step too late.
"You dare to kill my subordinate! I'll send you on your way to bury with him, brat Nao!"
Kaido, now at Nao's side, swung his massive kanabo down with a ferocious snarl—
"Thunder… Bagua!!"
BOOOM!
A deafening impact shook the battlefield. Lightning exploded outward from the kanabo, arcs snapping through the storm, rattling hearts to the core.
Yet—
Nao, who had taken the blow head-on, stood unmoving. The Armament Haki covering his back cracked and shattered, but his body itself remained unshaken, rooted firmly in place.
What?!
The pirates witnessing this scene bulged their eyes, jaws practically hitting the ground.
—They had just seen a Marine Vice Admiral take a direct strike from Kaido-sama… and come out completely fine?!
Even Kaido's pupils shrank in disbelief.
Nao took this opportunity to force the charging Triceratops back with a single slash, and only then did he have time to turn around and meet Kaido's gaze, who was right in front of him.
"Was that supposed to tickle me?"
He grinned, full of mocking scorn. "So this is the strength of a so-called Emperor? Is that all you've got, Kaido?"
A mere Thunder Bagua, and you thought you could take me down from behind? Don't look down on me like I'm Monkey D. Luffy!
"Arrogant brat!!"
Enraged beyond reason, Kaido roared and unleashed a storm of swings, his kanabo hammering down dozens of times within mere seconds.
RUMBLE!!
The ground caved in, cracks spiderwebbing outward in all directions. Marines and pirates alike scrambled to retreat from the destruction.
But when the onslaught—enough to be called "Thunder 182 Bagua"—finally ceased, all it had left on Nao's chest and abdomen were some dents.
Dents that, before their eyes, healed over in seconds, flesh restoring to perfection.
"Impossible…"
Kaido's voice trembled. How could this brat's body be so freakishly strong?
This kind of terrifying defense is simply something a human shouldn't be able to achieve. It's already infinitely close to my own!
For a moment, a ridiculous thought popped into Kaido's head: Who is the "Strongest Creature" of all land, sea, and air?
"Kaido!!"
There was no time for him to think. In a flash, the Golden Buddha behind him had already caught up.
Sengoku, who had been left behind, felt humiliated. His eyes were now angry, like a Buddhist guardian. As his giant palm, glowing with golden Buddha light, came down, he was using all of his power, making this attack even more terrifying than any before!
Even Kaido didn't want to take this palm head-on. He immediately rolled back on the ground, narrowly avoiding the Buddha's hand.
Whoosh!
The endless rain around it instantly evaporated, as if it was going to burn everything around it to ashes as it poured toward Nao.
The rain around them evaporated instantly, and the hellish breath poured straight toward Nao.
"Perfect timing!"
Feeling the terrifying, scorching heat in the dragon breath that was enough to warp the very air around it, Nao's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't hesitate and swung his Wind Sword, a horizontal slash!
Wind... Barrier!
The fierce wind howled, and a wind wall, about thirty to forty meters wide, suddenly appeared in front of him.
The dragon breath, which had been coming at him with such a ferocious momentum, seemed to enter another dimension the moment it touched the wind wall. It was completely annihilated, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
"…What?"
The blue dragon, which Kaido had transformed into, was stunned at this bizarre sight. Its eyes were filled with shock and bewilderment.
Clearly.
Even with his vision, he had no idea how his dragon breath had been inexplicably swallowed whole.
But that didn't affect his murderous intent. The next moment, the blue dragon roared, opened its mouth, and consecutively spat out several fireballs.
FWOOSH!
The moment these fireballs came into contact with the outside air, they burst into roaring flames and expanded rapidly. Each one was several times the size of a building.
From a distance, the fireballs raged and surged, forming a continuous stream. Their momentum was powerful enough to easily incinerate an entire city.
This was no exaggeration.
In fact, during the battle in Wano a year ago, Kaido had transformed into a dragon and, with a single breath, had effortlessly burned the entire Flower Capital to ashes.
However.
When these fireballs entered the range of the Wind Barrier, their fate was no different from the dragon's breath.
The air seemed to warp for a fleeting moment, and then all the fireballs vanished into the gloomy, rainy sky.
What kind of swordsmanship is this??!!
This feeling of landing a heavy punch only to hit a cotton ball enraged Kaido even more, stirring up the deep-seated cruelty and tyranny in his bones.
ROAR!!
He threw his head back and let out a dragon roar, his claws extended, about to swoop down from the sky. But Sengoku would not give him another chance to attack Nao. He let out a furious roar and sent the giant dragon flying several hundred meters with a single punch!
"What kind of skill is it to bully the younger generation? Your opponent is me, Kaido!"
Bully? Are your eyes just for show? Where did you see me bullying that brat?!
Kaido was so angry his lungs felt like they would explode. But with all his attack routes blocked by the Golden Buddha, he could only shoot Nao a look of bitter resentment before he returned to fighting Sengoku with all his might.
And so...
The Triceratops, who had been slammed into the ground and had just struggled back to her feet with great effort, was still breathing heavily, unable to catch her breath.
Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she watched in horror as Nao's sandbag-sized fist came crashing toward her eye...
...
In the sky in the distance.
The hot air balloon was in a deathly silence.
The expressions of the World Economic Journal subordinates were as if they had been carved from the same mold. They were shocked and numb, and it took them a long time to regain their senses.
"What kind of monster is that guy..."
"He took out one of the Calamities, then took Kaido's attacks head-on without a scratch..."
Is he even human?
A subordinate in a black suit swallowed hard. He turned to look at Morgans in front of him and said in a daze, "President, you said before that the headline could be drafted in advance, but now..."
Another colleague next to him immediately gave him a kick and a pointed look, making him swallow the rest of his sentence.
"...I was too hasty before."
Morgans, holding the binoculars, was also trembling slightly. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "However, even though the situation has changed again, it won't be that easy for the Marines to win…"
"You mean..."
"It all depends on that crazy hag, Charlotte Linlin."
Morgans' eyes were sinister. As he said this, he suddenly seemed to notice something, and his spirits lifted. He grinned. "Just look over there..."
"Sure enough, that G-1 Branch Commander, Sakazuki, has held on until now, but he's just about at his limit..."
BOOM!
With a loud crash, Akainu's figure fell from a great height, slamming into the ground and spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
"Damn it..."
He clutched his caved-in chest, his head lifted with great difficulty. He looked at Big Mom in the distance, his gaze somber and filled with indignation.
"Mamamama, you've done pretty well to last this long against me, magma brat!"
Big Mom gripped her Emperor Sword and walked step by step. Each step made the ground beneath her feet rumble. Her massive black shadow was getting closer and closer, full of pressure. "But I'm tired of playing with you. It's time for this to end..."
"Emperor Sword: Dawn Blade!"
She raised the long, slender blade in her hand high. The flame on it burned brightly. With a horrifying speed that made one's blood run cold, it came straight down toward Akainu's head!
Swoosh!
The blade hadn't even reached him, but a terrifying, suffocating heat came rushing at his face. The waves of heat rolled in, as if they would melt everything around them into thin air.
This power is worthy of a Sea Emperor. She's too strong...
Akainu lay listlessly in the ruins. He watched the blade get closer and closer, a feeling of powerlessness rising in his heart, but what he felt more was indignation.
No, I can't give in and fall like this!
The battle with Nao was not over yet, and Admiral Sengoku couldn't break away from his intense battle with Kaido. He was the last line of defense!
If Big Mom were to be freed up and join the battle, the situation, which the Marines had finally managed to turn around, would instantly be reversed again, or even completely fall apart, with their forces crumbling like a mountain!
He, Sakazuki, would not allow such a thing to happen!
Thud!
He slammed his fist on the ground. Akainu used the recoil to flip and leap to his feet. The scorching magma in his right arm boiled and gathered. He used the last of his strength to roar and charge at Big Mom head-on.
At this moment, he exuded a sense of ferocity. His eyes were as vicious as a rabid dog's!
"Inugami... Crimson Lotus!"
BOOM!
The blade wreathed in Busoshoku Haki clashed with the magma dog. In the intense heat, Big Mom's eyes were fixed on Akainu's as she grinned and put more and more strength into her attack.
And the already-critically-injured Akainu, even with his life on the line, could only watch helplessly as the front of his Crimson Lotus magma was constantly devoured and the blade got closer to the vital parts of his chest...
Buzz!
Just then.
A magnificent sword slash, like a giant white python, suddenly tore through the entire rain curtain, raising a monstrous wave of air as it surged toward them.
The terrifying sound instantly made them both turn their heads instinctively. Akainu hadn't even reacted when he saw the powerful sword slash hit Big Mom dead-on.
The latter was caught off guard and was instantly swept away by the fierce wind. She grunted in pain, her large, corpulent body flying high like a severed balloon. It went through several walls before finally crashing heavily into the ground directly below the fortress building.
The next second, a familiar voice came from behind Akainu.
"My apologies, Vice Admiral Sakazuki, I'm a bit late."
He turned around blankly, just in time to see the handsome, black-haired young man, his upper body bare, smile apologetically as he landed from the sky, walking toward him through the puddles and shattered stones.
"You took her on for Gion for so long. Now, it's my turn to step up."
Rumble!
Another clap of thunder rang out, lighting up the sky. With the flash of lightning, Akainu's gaze went past Nao to the distance behind him.
He saw a huge figure, over twenty meters tall, lying on its back and drenched in the rain, bleeding profusely, its eyes closed, its life unknown.