On the other side of the battlefield, Jerry and Kaido approached each other like birds of prey soaring through the night sky. Just as they prepared to strike, both fighters suddenly froze mid-attack.
They turned their heads simultaneously, looking toward the same direction, and immediately abandoned their original assaults. Both disappeared from their positions, flying backward dozens of meters in perfect synchronization.
At that exact moment, a dazzling column of pure white flame energy streaked across the night sky like a meteor, flashing past the spot where they had just been hovering and leaving a burning trail in its wake.
"What the hell was that?!" Jerry spat out, but couldn't spare any more attention to investigate.
Kaido's spiked kanabo was already descending toward his skull, and if he continued talking nonsense, he'd probably get to test whether his head was more stubborn or the club was harder.
The massive weapon swung downward, but Jerry had already slid to the side with fluid grace.
"Kid, you're not a samurai or descendant of Wano Country, right?" Kaido asked suddenly, dodging Jerry's fierce retaliatory kick.
Jerry twisted his body with the momentum of his leg movement, raising his fishing rod to block the kanabo while responding casually: "Of course not. I don't have much connection with the people of Wano Country."
"Then why are you here? Why are you so willing to make me your enemy? You've already obtained the Laugh Tale pointer—you could head directly to that legendary final island!"
Hearing Kaido's question, Jerry spun around, stepped sideways, and swept out with his fishing rod in a wide arc. He grinned as he replied: "Like I said before, we have friends here who've suffered under your brutal rule for far too long. We made them a promise that even if we hadn't come this time, we would've come eventually, and..."
Jerry paused mid-sentence, a strange expression crossing his face. "Besides, I figure even if we do go to Laugh Tale, this is pretty much on the way there anyway..."
"Hmph! Such an arrogant little brat!" Kaido raised his arm to block the rapidly approaching fishing rod, then transformed into his massive Blue Dragon form, sweeping wildly with his serpentine tail.
Jerry sneered in response. "Tch, why are you acting all innocent? If we hadn't come to Wano Country first, I bet you would've gotten impatient and rushed out to sea looking for us—just like that old hag down there is doing."
He stepped into the air using Moonwalk, soared higher, and swung his fishing rod with tremendous force. The motion unleashed a massive water-enhanced slash that seemed capable of cutting the enormous dragon before him clean in half.
Kaido twisted his serpentine body and expelled countless wind blades from his maw, neutralizing the devastating attack. Several of the wind blades even curved around to strike at Jerry from unexpected angles.
"Should I say you're very perceptive, or just plain stupid? You know you're being targeted, yet you still dare to come directly to me?"
Jerry swung his fishing rod in complex patterns, weaving the fishing line into a protective net that shattered all the approaching wind blades. He rolled his eyes as he replied: "Kaido, do you want to check the situation below before talking? What do you mean 'delivering myself to your door'? I came here to accomplish one thing only—defeat you, end your tyrannical rule, and restore some semblance of order to this world!"
Jerry's serious expression and righteous words seemed to pique Kaido's curiosity. "So tell me, what kind of country do you intend to rebuild here?"
Hearing this question, Jerry blinked and looked genuinely puzzled. "Who the hell spread that rumor? When did I ever say I wanted to rebuild this country?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the air suddenly became deathly quiet.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WHAT'S THE POINT OF DEFEATING ME THEN?!"
A moment later, Kaido's thunderous roar echoed across all of Onigashima, his voice carrying notes of genuine confusion and mounting rage.
Ignoring the sonic assault, Jerry asked with complete bewilderment: "Huh?! Do I need to have grand plans for rebuilding Wano Country just to come here and kick your ass? Are you some kind of fixed quest NPC that's permanently spawned on this island?"
"Kid! Are you mocking me?! With that level of commitment, how could you possibly hope to defeat me?!" Fury instantly consumed Kaido's draconic features. He suddenly radiated overwhelming Conqueror's Haki and laughed with dark amusement:
"Though I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. In this entire world, there's nobody who can truly defeat me!"
After declaring this, Kaido suddenly accelerated forward, his Conqueror's Haki manifesting as crackling black lightning around his massive form.
"Thunder Bagua!"
His enormous dragon body didn't slow his incredible speed whatsoever. The spiked kanabo became a blur of devastating power in his grip.
However, Jerry had remained constantly vigilant and anticipated the attack that seemed to arrive instantaneously through sheer speed.
Powerful Conqueror's Haki that seemed almost tangible suddenly erupted from Jerry's entire body, madly enveloping Kaido in its oppressive presence.
"What?!" Kaido was momentarily disoriented, his vision blurring as he completely lost sight of Jerry's position.
The next instant, a fierce gust of wind suddenly appeared. Surrounding sand and debris were swept away into the distance as an extremely intense sense of crisis rapidly spread through Kaido's consciousness. He instinctively spun around to look behind him.
Jerry had appeared there at some unknown point, and wrapped around the fishing rod he thrust forward with all his might was what appeared to be a dragon constructed entirely from Conqueror's Haki and swirling water.
"Water God: Rising Leviathan!"
Kaido's pupils contracted sharply. His mind raced, but he discovered that all his defensive actions were no longer capable of resisting or evading the incoming attack.
The fishing rod struck true, and piercing pain instantly invaded every one of Kaido's senses.
The combined energy of water manipulation and Conqueror's Haki intertwined like an enraged leviathan emerging from the depths of the ocean. It soared toward the heavens, rapidly propelling Kaido's massive, sturdy body upward without stopping until it had traveled hundreds of meters into the sky.
The fierce aftermath created howling winds along its entire path, carving a wide, perfectly straight line through the landscape below.
Watching Kaido's figure flying through the air before eventually crashing down in the distance—and observing the dragon-shaped energy that continued shuttling upward into the sky until it disappeared entirely—Jerry took several deep breaths and murmured quietly to himself: "Maybe you're right about one thing. Under normal circumstances, there might not be anyone in this world capable of defeating you."
He paused, watching smoke rise from the distant crater where Kaido had landed. "But I'm not exactly 'normal circumstances,' am I?"
"Whoa! That was way too close!" Ace exclaimed with obvious relief, dancing to the side to avoid the dragon-shaped energy that had come streaking toward him from the distant battle.
After successfully dodging the stray attack, he turned his attention back to the dark, round figure before him. Big Mom was glaring at him with pure, undiluted hatred burning in her eyes.
"Hey! You crazy old hag, what the hell kind of ability was that supposed to be?" Ace stretched out his left hand to gently massage his right fist and wrist, feeling the persistent tingling pain there. Without any sense of boundaries whatsoever, he began casually probing for intelligence about her powers.
Recalling what had just transpired, Ace's eyes filled with genuine curiosity as he waited for Big Mom's response.
Time rewound slightly to just after the shocking collision between Ace and Big Mom, when both combatants had been launched backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
After what felt like an eternity, Ace had groaned and climbed to his feet, gently cradling the right hand that had delivered his attack. "Hiss... this fat woman hits like a freight train, doesn't she? I almost broke every bone in my arm... But she took that Sacred Fire technique head-on too. She probably can't get back up after that, right?"
Just as he finished speaking, he noticed a dark figure staggering upright in his peripheral vision. Raising his head for a closer look, he discovered it was indeed Big Mom herself.
The Emperor's skin was torn and blackened, her massive body charred from the intense heat. She looked absolutely miserable with smoke still rising from various parts of her frame. The pure white flames—like divine fire from the heavens themselves—had burned and ravaged her muscles and nerves. Her trembling figure was undeniably seriously injured, exactly as Ace had predicted.
But Big Mom's next actions were completely beyond Ace's expectations, leaving him stunned and speechless for several long moments.
"Damn little brat, just you wait!" Big Mom fixed Ace with a chilling glare and shouted with surprising clarity: "Life or death! I grant you life! Revive my muscles and skin and blood and bones..."
Ace's mouth fell open wider and wider as he listened to the Emperor methodically calling out the names of various bodily tissues and anatomical structures, her voice growing stronger with each declaration. The charred, damaged areas of her body began visibly regenerating as some mysterious power flowed through her massive frame.
"What kind of ridiculous cheat ability is that?!" Ace muttered in disbelief, realizing that this battle was far from over.