"You're all talk, kid! I've already killed hundreds—no, thousands—of people who thought they could bring me down!"
Big Mom radiated overwhelming presence as she rode Zeus down from the sky. Napoleon in her hands suddenly transformed into a nearly ten-meter-long blade, crackling with thunder and wreathed in flames as she brought it down with devastating force.
Facing this mountain-splitting blow, Ace suddenly spread his arms wide.
"Flame Commandment: Fire Pillar!"
Extremely hot, pure white flames erupted from his body, spinning rapidly and condensing into a massive column that shot straight toward the heavens.
In an instant, the air itself was burned and distorted, while dazzling light illuminated both sky and earth.
Big Mom simply sneered at the pillar of pure fire rushing toward her. She commanded Prometheus to release flames that surrounded her entire massive frame. Keeping her sword steady, she intended to cleave Ace in half with a single devastating blow.
"You're such a fool! Your pathetic flames have no effect on me—"
The pillar of pure white fire slammed into her, completely engulfing Big Mom's enormous body and cutting off her contemptuous words mid-sentence.
"AGHHH! How is this possible?!"
Within the flames, the Emperor suddenly let out a scream of genuine pain as her massive form was launched high into the air.
The next moment, she twisted her body and instantly escaped the fire column's range, only to be caught by Zeus who rushed over from the side.
"How could you burn me?! Prometheus! What's going on?!" Big Mom roared furiously, her voice echoing across the battlefield.
As she bellowed, the orange-yellow flames covering her body suddenly gathered together, reforming into Prometheus like a miniature sun.
"Mom, it's... the temperature of that flame was too high! I couldn't absorb it fast enough..." Prometheus stammered dejectedly, his usual confidence completely shattered.
"WHAT?!" After hearing this explanation, Big Mom flew into an absolute rage. "Temperature?! You use fire too—"
She paused mid-sentence, suddenly grasping the crucial point. When Prometheus had been created, the flames she'd used might not have been as intensely hot as what Ace was wielding now.
Big Mom's eyes blazed with fury. "Damn brat! You—"
She glared downward with ghostly eyes, only to be shocked at finding empty ground below.
The next moment, a powerful gust of wind and Ace's voice suddenly rang in her ears.
"Hey fat old hag, are you putting on a one-woman show up there?"
Ace had silently soared into the air, appearing directly behind the Emperor. He twisted his waist and raised his leg, pure white flames wreathing his sharp, Haki-coated right limb. It traced a graceful arc through the air like a falling meteor.
"Flame Commandment: Flame Dragon King!"
Big Mom tried to command Zeus to carry her away and turn around, but found she couldn't avoid the lightning-fast kick.
There was a dull sound of impact against flesh. Fat rippled outward in waves as the Emperor plummeted toward the ground.
With a tremendous crash, Big Mom's body slammed heavily into the earth, creating an enormous crater in the already devastated terrain.
"Sacred Fire: Shiranui!"
Ace pursued from above, raising both arms to perform twin spear-like flame attacks.
However, these fire spears were also pure white in color, streaking toward the massive crater at incredible speed as if intent on incinerating everything in their path.
On the other side of the skull dome, feeling the intense heat waves radiating from the distant battle, Jerry's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Kaido, who was fighting him, had fierce light flashing in his eyes. His massive body suddenly moved with astonishing speed, appearing directly in front of Jerry.
"When you're fighting me, you can't afford to be distracted!"
His steady voice brought Jerry—who had been momentarily focused elsewhere—back to immediate attention.
Kaido wielded his spiked kanabo with both hands, violent Conqueror's Haki wrapping around the weapon. The air itself seemed to explode as the club approached Jerry before he could fully react.
"Thunder Bagua!"
With a thunderous impact, blood sprayed through the air as a figure was launched at sound-barrier-breaking speed. Jerry smashed through several raised rock formations before finally hitting the ground with tremendous force.
"Cough, cough... damn it, Teacher Kaido really knows how to seize an opportunity," Jerry wheezed, slowly dispersing the water shield that had been rotating around him and the thick Armament Haki coating his body.
He'd just been admiring Ace's fire development in his heart, silently cursing the kid for not mentioning his successful breakthrough, when he paid the price for that momentary lapse in concentration.
Jerry quickly rolled over, clutching his ribs as he felt the tearing pain throughout his body. He grinned despite the agony. "Since that guy's gotten so strong, I can't afford to lose either."
Releasing his left hand to let his enhanced recovery abilities handle the healing, he shouted toward the sky: "Kaido! Come on! Let me show you how I'll pay you back for that hit!"
The next second, his vision was shrouded in shadow as a powerful gust of wind rushed toward him.
The already sunken ground was smashed through by the impact. Cracks spread in all directions as dust filled the air.
Jerry's figure flashed far away, maintaining maximum power with his Observation Haki while locking onto his enemy's position. He complained aloud: "Damn it, why are you so obedient? I tell you to come and you actually do it?"
After missing his target, Kaido immediately transformed into his massive Blue Dragon form, hovering in the sky. He said casually: "Then should I leave instead?"
Hearing this, Jerry's mind went blank and he blurted out: "Why would you leave? I'm already here—"
A beam of scorching energy erupted from the dragon's open maw. In the next second, Kaido's movements suddenly shifted.
His long dragon tail rose high, then swept downward vertically in an instant.
But as the dragon's tail moved, a tiny figure had already rushed out from the gradually dissipating heat breath's range.
"Water Blade: Spiral Maelstorm!"
Jerry teleported to the middle of Kaido's serpentine body like a phantom, swinging his fishing rod rapidly. A 360-degree slash appeared out of nowhere, spreading in all directions with himself as the center.
However, Kaido seemed to have anticipated this perfectly. The moment Jerry launched his attack, the enormous dragon suddenly contracted, returning to his hybrid form in the blink of an eye.
The extremely sharp water-enhanced slash cut through the sky, carving through the skull dome's rocky formations with unstoppable force.
"Don't think you're the only one who can see the future!" With a roar like thunder itself, Kaido's figure appeared above the airborne Jerry, striking downward with tremendous power.
Jerry used Moonwalk to dodge the kanabo with fluid grace.
Then he spun in the air like a nimble bird, launching a kick toward his opponent—only to have it easily blocked by Kaido, who had foreseen the attack.
What followed was an almost choreographed exchange. The two fighters launched dozens of attacks in rapid succession, each one anticipated, dodged, and counterattacked by the other in advance.
Jerry's fishing rod swept in wide arcs, creating water-enhanced slashes that Kaido either deflected with perfect timing or avoided entirely. Meanwhile, Kaido's kanabo traced devastating paths through the air, each swing precisely intercepted or evaded by Jerry's superior mobility.
"Your Observation Haki has improved considerably since our last encounter," Kaido noted with genuine approval, even as he pressed his assault. "But can you maintain this level of concentration indefinitely?"
"Ha! Same question back at you, old man!" Jerry retorted, using his fishing rod to pole-vault over a particularly vicious swing. "Though I have to admit, fighting someone who can match my future sight is pretty exhausting!"
The two combatants separated momentarily, both breathing heavily from the intense exchange. Around them, the skull dome bore the scars of their battle—deep gouges in the stone, shattered rock formations, and the lingering effects of their Conqueror's Haki clashes.
"This is what a real fight between legends looks like," Jerry thought to himself, watching Kaido carefully for any sign of his next move. "No tricks, no deception—just pure skill against skill."
Kaido seemed to share the sentiment, a genuine smile crossing his features. "It's been too long since I've faced someone who could match me like this. You've truly grown into a worthy opponent, Jerry!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere!" Jerry called back, though he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at the acknowledgment from one of the world's strongest creatures.
The brief respite ended as both fighters simultaneously sensed their opponent's next move through their advanced Observation Haki. They launched themselves forward in perfect synchronization, their attacks destined to collide in a spectacular display of power that would shake the very foundations of Onigashima.