"Clang—!"
The Longsword and Hassaikai slammed together violently amid streaks of black lightning.
Immediately after—
Kaido was sent flying by Sherwin slash.
"What?!" Jack and Who-Who at the side could hardly believe what they were seeing.
However, Sherwin felt no joy at having knocked Kaido away, because he knew very well that the reason he had won just now was purely because he had caught his opponent off guard.
Kaido Thunder Bagua a moment earlier had only been a casual swing. Even though he had hastily reinforced the move after sensing something wrong, Scarlet Sky: Dragon Grudge Slash was still the strongest technique Sherwin could currently unleash.
Using it against a Kaido who was not fighting at full strength was not a problem.
In fact, that slash had even successfully broken through Kaido defenses, carving a shallow wound into his shoulder.
But that was as far as Sherwin could go.
Unlike the aged Rayleigh or the sword-specialist Mihawk, Kaido was not only in his prime, his body was also far more resilient than that of the vast majority of people in this world.
Even with deliberate calculation against an unguarded opponent, Sherwin had only barely managed to break his defense.
Trying to take advantage of the situation to inflict a more serious injury was nothing but a fool dream…
Sherwin even suspected that his slash might not have been enough to sober Kaido up, considering that even after Fourth Gear Luffy had hammered away at him for so long, Kaido was still drunk.
So how on earth did Kin'emon and the others in the manga manage to injure Kaido with nothing but Armament Haki coating?! Was the Wano Country Ryuo technique really that powerful?
Sherwin cursed under his breath, quickly chugged a bottle of recovery potion, and then charged forward again before Kaido could even get back on his feet.
Monster Hunter Style: Crimson Radiant Meteor!
"Worororororo!" Kaido laughed loudly as he swung his club to block Sherwin attack, his eyes filled with delight.
"Your name Sherwin, right? Ever thought about becoming my subordinate?"
Sherwin slash just now had not caused Kaido any serious damage, but to Kaido—who loved recruiting talent—anyone capable of injuring him was someone he naturally did not want to let slip away.
"Sorry, I have no interest at all in becoming a pirate!"
Sherwin rejected him decisively.
"Is that so? What a shame."
Kaido said that, but there was little disappointment on his face. After all, he had never cared about the other party wishes when recruiting.
Agreeing was best refusing was fine too—he would just capture them and throw them into the quarry at Udon to grind away for a while, and sooner or later they would agree.
With his vast "recruitment" experience, Kaido twirled the Hassaikai in his hand and smashed it toward Sherwin.
Sherwin twisted his body to evade, then slashed back toward Kaido right flank.
Monster Hunter Style: Wind Fang Tornado!
At the same time, Seijuro Meow figure appeared behind Kaido. Raising the Shusui he had yet to switch back, he thrust it toward Kaido head.
"Water Breathing: Seventh Form — Droplet Ripple Thrust, meow!"
On the other side, Suika Meow staggered over as well. While rapidly enlarging her body, she swung the Ibuki Gourd and smashed it toward Kaido left shoulder.
"Four Heavenly Kings Secret Art: Three-Step Ruin, meow!"
"Worororororo… well done!"
Under the combined assault, Kaido was not angered but delighted. The speed at which he swung the Hassaikai suddenly increased, smashing it violently in all directions around him.
"Gundari: Dragon Prosperous Army!"
Although it was a flurry of strikes similar to a demon-like rampage, it was obvious that Kaido did not take Seijuro Meow and Suika Meow, these two "cat Felynes," very seriously.
He only casually smashed two blows toward them, while the rest of his attacks were aimed at Sherwin.
However, while the bonus effects of the cursed blade and Link Time were still active, Sherwin still managed, with great difficulty, to take on the attacks that came at him.
On the cat side, Seijuro Meow relied on the agile physique of a Felyne to evade Kaido club and successfully stabbed him in the neck.
Suika Meow also shrank her body, turning the gourd that was originally meant to smash into Kaido shoulder so that it instead struck his knee.
It was just that, like most people attacks, theirs failed to break through Kaido freakish level of defense.
As expected… one look was enough to tell—this was someone they couldn't beat…
Feeling a slight numbness in his palms, Sherwin let out a bitter laugh in his heart.
Although he had once again blocked Kaido attack and had not been injured because of it, if one really compared them, the impact of Garp Fist of Love and the slash when Mihawk crossed blades with him had both been even stronger.
But the key issue was that the current Kaido was still in his normal form. He hadn't even used his Devil Fruit ability, and he wasn't even sober yet.
Yet even so, Sherwin was already feeling the strain. If Kaido were to go all out, Sherwin felt that he could probably last at most three to five minutes, and that was with drugs boosting him.
If he brought the cats along and fought in their full Monster Hunter form, they could last a bit longer, but under the current circumstances, Sherwin naturally had no intention of fighting Kaido to the death.
From the very beginning, he had never planned to defeat Kaido. Everything he was doing now was merely preparation for making a getaway later…
And thanks to the long-standing atmosphere of the Beasts Pirates, after Kaido made his move, Jack and Who-Who did not dare to interfere.
They only stood by and watched, which was precisely what gave Sherwin and the others an opening to exploit.
"Admiral!" Taking advantage of the brief opening as Kaido withdrew his strike, Huamei Meow flashed into view and thrust a sword toward his abdomen. "Lightning Iris · One-Point Plum Meow!"
"Fire Release · Boom Boom Sparks Meow!"
A crimson four-leaf clover unfurled in midair, and streams of flame shot toward Kaido, as well as toward Jack and Who-Who in the distance who had yet to make a move.
Flying toward them as well were more than a dozen Reaper Missiles and countless Armament Haki bullets.
The moment Huamei Meow and the others attacked was the signal they had agreed upon beforehand, and Sherwin decisively activated Link Time once more.
Monster Hunter Style · Ferocious Round Dance! Starry Heavens and Moonlit Earth! Calamity Overturning the Sky!
He unleashed as many of his large-scale, high-profile techniques as he could, and once again included Jack and Who-Who within his attack range.
"You bastard… take this seriously!"
Although Kaido still did not understand why Sherwin was doing this, he was furious that Sherwin dared to divert his attention to attack his subordinates while fighting him.
Enraged, Kaido switched into his hybrid form. Ignoring the attacks smashing into him from the cats, he swung the Hassaikai straight at Sherwin.
"Great Mighty Thunder Bagua!"
(=`ω=)┫く
Having prepared long in advance, Link Meow raised his shield and stood directly in front of Kaido.
Even though it was a perfectly timed, fully charged shield parry, the gap in strength between the little leopard cat and Kaido was simply far too great, so he failed to reflect the Great Mighty Thunder Bagua back.
However, as a technique that Sherwin classified as an ultimate move, the perfect shield parry defensive effect was nothing to scoff at.
Although it did not succeed in countering the blow, it did force Kaido Hassaikai to veer off to the side.
The price was that Link Meow was sent flying straight back. He was caught just in time by Seijuro Meow, who immediately poured a bottle of recovery potion into the little leopard cat mouth as he rapidly lost his fighting capability.
"Boom—!"
The deflected slammed viciously into the ground, blasting out a massive crater, and Kaido body was knocked back by the recoil of his own attack, making him stagger slightly.
Monster Hunter Style · Secret Art · Scarlet Sky Sakura Slash!
Sherwin seized the opportunity. Using the very last sliver of link time, he cut Kaido once more.
However, even though the Sakura Slash erupted from within, aside from the single strike Sherwin personally delivered, it still failed to leave any additional wounds on Kaido body.
"Well done, you guys… huh?"
Kaido, having just been hit by a full combo from Sherwin and the Felynes, was about to give his usual appraisal when he suddenly felt his hand go empty.
It turned out that Suika Meow had taken advantage of the moment when the Eight Precepts hit the ground, rushed forward, and activated her ability, shrinking it down to only the size of Kaido palm—disarming him in a different way.
"…Turn my weapon back to normal!"
Kaido roared as he transformed into his enormous Azure Dragon form, soaring into the air and opening his jaws, preparing to spew flames at Sherwin and the others.
"Lightning Release · Kirin Meow!"
At that very moment, from the sky that had somehow already filled with dark clouds, a colossal lightning Kirin thrust out its head and smashed straight into the Azure Dragon that had just taken flight.
Within the flashing lightning, one could faintly see the silhouette of a long-horned, ape-like figure at the center of the thunder, then a fist slammed squarely into Kaido open mouth.
Under the combined assault of the lightning Kirin and the Dodo Gold Lion, Azure Dragon Kaido not only swallowed back the heat breath he was brewing, but was also smashed back down onto the ground.
"C2 · Gold Rathalos Meow!"
"Gale · One-Plum Cut Meow!"
"Flying Cat Sword-Riding Style · Moon Fang Sky Piercer Meow!"
"17, 66, 3—fire, meow!"
"Fire Shot · Earth Spirit Mobility Round Meow!"
(((レ(=`ω=)
Monster Hunter Style · Ruinous Sky Collapse!
Sherwin and the others also seized the moment to launch their attacks at Kaido.
Meanwhile, the Dodo Gold Lion that had smashed the Azure Dragon down kicked off hard with its legs and leapt toward Sherwin and the others.
"Four Trees · Catapult!"
Four gigantic arms formed from countless smaller arms worked together like a catapult, hurling everyone toward the Dodo as it ran over. The Dodo opened its outer protective barrier just in time and caught them.
"Big sister Shermie! Klee is here to help, meow!"
The small ragdoll cat that landed on the deck immediately rushed into the engine room to join up with Shermie.
At the same time, the Dodo Gold Lion suddenly lowered its body, then sprang high up into the air.
"Boom—!"
As the Dodo Gold Lion leapt, its tail detonated violently at the same time. Using the thrust from that explosion, the Dodo charged into the air at an even faster speed.
This was precisely the rapid disengagement device made by Purah Meow that couldn't be used earlier at Marineford…
In essence, this thing was a one-time propulsion launcher modified from Klee Meow push bombs, similar to the Sunny Coup de Burst—except it didn't require charging, and its thrust was far stronger than Coup de Burst…
After all, the power source came straight from Klee Meow.
The Dodo that was "launched" rapidly completed its transformation in midair.
And just as the propulsion was about to run out and the ship speed began to drop, the Dodo—now switched to its Valstrax form—seamlessly sprayed long streams of flame crackling with electricity from the claw-like twin wings on both sides.
Driven by this combined lightning-and-fire power, the Dodo Valstrax continued flying skyward at a speed no slower—if not even faster—than during the initial burst.
At this moment, Kaido was still sprawled on the ground, shaking his head, clearly not yet recovered from the Dodo sudden assault.
"Hah… we finally got away…"
With the Dodo taking off, even if Kaido wanted to give chase now, he couldn't catch up.
Only then did Sherwin let out a huge sigh of relief. The Felynes—especially the few who had just exchanged blows with Kaido—also showed expressions of lingering relief.
Only after truly facing Kaido head-on did Sherwin and the Felynes gain a concrete understanding of what the title of "Yonko" really meant.
However, just as everyone relaxed, a completely unfamiliar figure to Sherwin abruptly passed straight through the outer protective barrier, appeared out of thin air on the deck of the Dodo Advance, and swiftly placed a hand on Robin shoulder.
Immediately after, right before Sherwin and the other eyes, the two vanished just as abruptly as they had appeared.