"Still too weak, Kaido!"
Shirogai smiled coldly as he extended his Dragon Claw, Haki Infusion surging through the scales like black fire. He grasped the pillar-shaped energy attack Kaido had unleashed and tore it apart midair with a violent twist.
"Completely insufficient!"
In the next instant, Shirogai's body flickered like black lightning, vanishing from sight. He reappeared directly in front of Kaido, his twin claws sheathed in dark Haki as he slashed downward.
"Is this all your strength, Kaido?!"
"So fast!" Kaido's eyes widened.
Bang!
Even though he had foreseen the strike, Kaido's reaction was a moment too slow. He barely had time to coat his body in Conqueror's Haki before Shirogai's twin claws struck, sending him hurtling backward.
Kaido spun through the air, his form expanding until the colossal Azure Dragon emerged once more.
"ROAR!"
He twisted his serpentine body in the air, sucking in vast amounts of wind before unleashing a torrent of razor-sharp air blades.
"Bad Wind!!!"
Dozens—no, hundreds—of blue-white wind blades tore through the sky toward Shirogai, their cutting force slicing the clouds apart.
But Shirogai only smirked. His claws merged, forming curved blades of wind and Haki as he slashed the air in rapid succession.
"Dragon Scales: Dragon Dance!!!"
Countless crimson wind blades burst from his strikes, colliding head-on with Kaido's barrage.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The air screamed as both attacks met, carving open the heavens themselves. A thick shroud of smoke and dust erupted, swallowing the battlefield.
Then—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Both combatants vanished from sight.
"Right fist to right fist…"
Each could sense the other through Observation Haki.
"Upper grab, right slash, left kick, reverse…"
Inside the storm of smoke, their fists and claws met again and again, invisible shockwaves bursting out in all directions.
Kaido had abandoned his kanabo. This was no longer a duel of weapons.
---
"Such speed… I can barely see their attacks!"
From below, the onlookers on Onigashima could only gape. The two figures—Kaido and Shirogai—were like shadows darting through lightning, their strikes too fast for the eye to follow.
Boom!
Boom!
Each impact sent ripples of force through the sky. They didn't rely on flashy techniques or named attacks; this was pure power, Haki against Haki, dragon scales against dragon scales.
Their scales gleamed dark green and black, each shimmering with Armament and Conqueror's Haki. When their strikes collided, streaks of black lightning erupted, tearing the air apart.
Every punch, every claw strike carried enough force to shatter a mountain—or sink an island.
Their battle was primal, stripped of excess, a perfect balance of offense and defense born from countless battles.
---
Bang!
Kaido's claw connected with Shirogai's jaw, sending him hurtling upward.
"What a thrill! What a thrill!!!" Kaido laughed madly, stepping on flame clouds to soar higher. He descended like a meteor, his massive claw glowing with violent energy.
"Die! Diamond Claw!!!"
BOOM!
The blow sent Shirogai plummeting through the air like a black comet, flames igniting around him from sheer friction as he crashed toward the sea.
Kaido grinned, watching him fall. "It's been a long time since I met someone like you! What a magnificent fight!"
BOOOOM!
The sea erupted as Shirogai hit the surface, sending towering waves into the sky.
"Kaido-sama won!!!"
The Headliners watching from Onigashima erupted in cheers.
Everyone knew the rule—Devil Fruit users couldn't swim. Once submerged, they were powerless. If Shirogai had fallen into the sea, that meant… defeat.
Or so they thought.
---
"What are you fools celebrating for?!" Kaido's voice boomed from the sky. His crimson eyes glowed with fury as he glared at the ocean below. "I haven't won yet!"
He grinned, sensing something strange. "Weaklings shouldn't use those ridiculous rules to judge the strong! That man won't die just because he touched seawater."
"Wait—look!"
A headliner pointed toward the ocean. "There's mist… ice mist rising from the sea!"
White fog spread across the waves, and then—
Crack!
In an instant, the surface of the sea froze solid. The freezing spread outward from the impact point, racing toward the horizon until the entire ocean around Onigashima was sealed in crystal ice.
The waves, frozen mid-crest, sparkled like glass in the pale light.
"W-what kind of monster can freeze the entire ocean?!"
A pirate with eight spider legs trembled as he stared at the impossible scene.
Even the winds had gone still.
---
Ulti clung to her younger brother, Page One, shivering. "Page-tan! Comfort me, I'm scared!"
Page One sighed, trying to hide his own fear. "Sis, don't be scared… because I'm even more scared! That monster is fighting our Captain head-on."
"What a terrifying man…" Black Maria murmured, her eyes locked on the slowly clearing mist.
As the fog dissipated, the outline of a lone figure appeared standing atop the frozen sea—unharmed.
Shirogai Yamikuro.
The ice glistened beneath his feet, his dark silhouette framed against the sky.
Black Maria's heart skipped a beat. She clenched her fan tightly. "Lord Kaido… please win…"
She had always believed Kaido to be invincible—unshakable. Yet now, for the first time, doubt crept into her heart.
Because standing before him was a man who could match him blow for blow… and freeze the ocean itself.
______
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