Dark clouds coiled above Wano Country, thunder rumbling through the heavens.
Kaido stood within the storm, his massive frame outlined by flashes of lightning. His hand pressed against the deep gashes across his abdomen, blood seeping through his fingers. Yet, instead of pain, a grin spread across his face.
"Heh... the taste of blood," he muttered darkly. "It's been far too long since I've felt something that reminds me I'm still alive."
He stared at his crimson-stained hand, then lifted his gaze toward the figure standing across the sky — Shirogai. His lips twisted into a sinister smile, laughter spilling out like thunder.
"Wehahahaha! Boy, being invincible isn't as fun as you thought, is it? You're starting to understand me, huh? Bored of all these predictable, dull battles!"
Shirogai's expression didn't change. Calm, composed, he let a faint smile cross his face.
"I don't detest battle," he said quietly. "I just know it's a means — not the end. You, Kaido, mistake war itself for meaning."
Kaido threw his head back and laughed, the Club crackling with energy in his grip.
"Wrong! Ohahahahaha! You've got it backwards, brat! This world is unfair — people's worth is decided the moment they're born! It's pathetic!"
He raised his club to the storm.
"But war... war makes everyone equal again! Only through battle can we decide who deserves to stand at the top! The slaughter itself is the fairest game there is!"
Kaido's voice shook the clouds. His wounds stopped bleeding almost instantly, regenerating under sheer vitality. Flesh twisted and knit together — the mark of the strongest creature in the world.
Shirogai watched him, then chuckled — a low, mocking laugh that carried clearly through the sky.
"Fair? That's the biggest joke I've ever heard."
He covered his face, laughing harder.
"Hahahaha! You think war is fair because your body's a weapon by birth. You take no real damage, while a single strike from you obliterates everything in your path. Of course you'd think battle decides worth — you were born unbeatable!"
Shirogai's voice grew colder.
"You're no different from nobles who think wealth and bloodline make them gods. You just measure worth with violence instead of money."
His dragon eyes gleamed with contempt as he stared down the Emperor.
"In the end, you're just another arrogant fool who uses his own power as the standard for everyone else's existence."
Kaido's smirk vanished. His face hardened, his golden eyes narrowing dangerously. For the first time in a long while, someone's words had cut through his drunken haze.
His life had always been one of slaughter — war was his identity, his meaning, his addiction. Without it, Kaido would be lost. And yet, hearing Shirogai's words forced him to confront something deeper — an emptiness he couldn't fight his way out of.
"Brat," Kaido growled, his voice rising to a roar. "It's not your place to lecture me! And don't think you can hide behind your fancy tricks — I've already learned your moves!"
Kaido's body suddenly exploded with power, his massive frame turning into a crimson blur.
"Drunken Dragon Claw: Dragon Swing!"
The air shattered as his attack tore toward Shirogai.
Shirogai grinned.
"Oh? You're using my move now? How flattering."
He lifted his hand, and liquid wax poured from his palm, hardening instantly into a massive spiked club wrapped in jet-black Armament Haki.
"Descent of the Three Worlds…"
Shirogai leapt into the air, twisting his body as Haki flared around him, merging into the spiked club. The weapon crackled with dark lightning.
"Infernal Pull!"
He swung downward, his club colliding with Kaido's attack.
BOOOOM!
Conqueror's Haki erupted in waves, tearing the sky apart. The impact hurled Kaido backward, sending him plummeting toward the sea below.
For a brief moment, silence followed — then Kaido's laughter echoed again through the storm.
"Shirogai, you brat, I like you more and more!"
Flame clouds erupted under his feet as he launched himself back into the air, eyes burning with battlelust.
"Don't think I'm done yet!"
"Neither am I," Shirogai replied, tightening his grip on the club.
Lightning crackled around his weapon as Haki gathered once more, glowing deep blue beneath a sheath of jet-black aura.
"Drunken Wheel Lightning: Infernal Pull!"
Kaido's eyes widened slightly. He burst out laughing.
"Bring it on!"
Kaido roared, swinging the Club downward. His weapon pulsed with red Conqueror's Haki, the air splitting under the pressure.
"Great Might: Thunder Bagua!"
Purple lightning tore the sky apart as both weapons clashed midair.
BOOM!
Before their clubs could even touch, the sheer force of their Haki detonated, creating shockwaves that spread across the horizon.
The air screamed, black lightning spiraling between them as energy built to a breaking point.
"You really think you can defeat me, brat?!" Kaido snarled, veins bulging across his arms. "I've fought endless battles — and I'm always the one left standing!"
Shirogai's expression remained calm, his voice steady.
"Maybe... but I'm still standing with you now, aren't I?"
A crimson light flickered in his dragon-like eyes.
"That means you're not as untouchable as you think!"
He roared and drove his weapon forward with explosive force.
"You're simply not as good as me!"
CRACK!
The air itself split apart. The clashing Haki, compressed between their strikes, suddenly erupted.
BOOOOM!!!
A blinding explosion of black lightning engulfed them both, shockwaves ripping through the clouds as Kaido and Shirogai were blown back in opposite directions.
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