Throughout the night sky above Wano Country, people paid close attention to the tremendous sounds periodically erupting from Onigashima in the distance.
However, they had no way of knowing what was actually happening and possessed no reliable channels to discover the full story behind the explosive battles.
That changed when certain exceptionally powerful individuals managed to access live broadcast footage from hijacked Visual Den Den Mushi, rapidly spreading the relevant information throughout the isolated nation.
In an instant, news that a pirate crew was directly assaulting Kaido's fortress stronghold spread across the country as if it had grown wings.
The population's feelings were deeply conflicted. On one hand, they felt genuine relief that someone had finally dared to challenge the seemingly invincible Emperor. On the other hand, they experienced profound disappointment that these challengers weren't the legendary samurai they had desperately hoped for—nor the prophesied figures mentioned in ancient Wano legends—but rather another group of pirates.
Moreover, Kaido's image as an absolutely invincible force was already deeply embedded in their collective consciousness. Most citizens simply couldn't bring themselves to believe that anyone could truly defeat the King of Beasts.
In the Flower Capital, both the Oniwabanshu ninja forces and the Mimawarigumi samurai units—Wano Country troops directly affiliated with Shogun Orochi—received urgent orders almost simultaneously and went on high alert throughout the night.
Onigashima, Skull Dome
Seeing that Kaido had absorbed his devastating surprise attack and still managed to stand up before quickly returning to active combat, Jerry gripped his fishing rod tightly. He swung it gently through the air and sighed with grudging respect. "As expected of Kaido—you really are ridiculously durable."
At this moment, the legendary sword scar originally carved by Kozuki Oden on the right side of Kaido's ribs was now joined by a massive new wound. Blood and torn flesh were clearly visible, exposing gleaming white bone beneath.
"Kid, you actually managed to interfere with my Observation Haki's predictive abilities just now! Was that one of Red-Hair's techniques?" Although Kaido phrased it as a question, there was no doubt whatsoever on his scarred features. He spoke with complete certainty.
Jerry shrugged casually. "Red-Hair can do that too? News to me."
"Hmph! You little brat, even though I've repeatedly raised my assessment of your capabilities, it seems I still managed to underestimate you..." Kaido glanced down at the fresh scars covering his massive frame and spoke with self-deprecating honesty. "It's about time I paid the price for my carelessness."
A fanatical expression gradually spread across his draconic features as he changed his tone entirely. "From this point forward, I'll be taking this battle completely seriously! Come on, Leviathan! Let me finally enjoy the fight I've been anticipating for so long!"
"Haha! Such passionate enthusiasm! Kaido, maybe I've got the same feelings burning in my heart," Jerry replied, seeming to catch his opponent's infectious battle fervor. His own fighting spirit surged dramatically. "So from here on out, you're just going to have to take a proper beating from me!"
Before finishing his declaration, Jerry gently waved his left hand. A stream of seawater gathered and then receded, revealing a second figure that stepped forward from directly behind him. This was his water clone—an identical "Jerry" in every visible aspect.
Kaido's eyes moved between the two identical fighters for several moments before he grinned with savage anticipation. "Then you'd better be prepared to get completely crushed by me as well!"
Without further warning, Kaido suddenly swung his spiked kanabo with tremendous force. In an instant, countless razor-sharp wind blades sliced through the air, heading straight toward both Jerry and his duplicate.
Jerry and his water clone didn't even make eye contact or exchange signals. They dodged left and right simultaneously with perfect coordination, rapidly drawing semicircular paths around their target. They avoided the lethal wind blades while rushing directly toward Kaido's stationary position.
Unexpectedly, Kaido suddenly pivoted and swung his weapon, charging toward the water clone at absolutely astonishing speed.
"Thunder Bagua!"
The water clone maintained a completely blank expression, showing no surprise whatsoever at this sudden assault. It maintained its high-speed charge and closed the distance to Kaido in a split second.
The duplicate twisted its body and extended both arms, completely ignoring the massive club about to connect. Instead, it pressed a rapidly rotating sphere of compressed water—hidden behind its back until this moment—directly toward Kaido's muscular torso.
"Water Release: Great Ball Rasengan!"
Kaido's kanabo was utterly unstoppable. With a single devastating blow, it completely shattered the water clone, transforming "Jerry" into countless droplets that splashed spectacularly through the air.
But the water sphere expanded rapidly as it made contact, striking Kaido's abdomen immediately and completely covering his previous battle scars.
Even with his legendary thick hide and the powerful Armament Haki he released for defense, Kaido was still launched backward by the explosive water technique, retreating involuntarily from the tremendous impact.
"Don't you dare underestimate my clone!" Jerry's fishing rod danced with incredible force as he lashed out at Kaido's airborne form.
"Water Blade: Dragon's Tail Sweep!"
Fierce winds howled around the attack, raising tremendous clouds of dust and debris. Just before Jerry's fishing rod could connect with its target, overwhelming Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted from Kaido's position.
The Emperor suddenly spun around while still carrying the expanding water sphere on his body. Amid crackling black lightning, his kanabo became wreathed in explosive Conqueror's Haki that had been building to maximum intensity.
"Raging Thunder Bagua!"
This counterattack completely refreshed Jerry's understanding of Kaido as the ultimate hexagonal warrior. He had never expected that the King of Beasts would still possess the strength to launch such a shocking response while being hit by his water technique.
Two tremendous impacts occurred almost simultaneously, merging into a single earth-shaking sound.
Both fighters' attacks struck each other without mercy, causing each combatant to be launched away involuntarily. They smashed through everything in their respective paths like human cannonballs before hitting the ground heavily at opposite edges of the skull dome, creating two enormous craters.
Blood gushed from Jerry's mouth as his body tumbled through the air. He managed to grab the edge of the dome's platform, avoiding the fate of falling completely off the massive skull fortress.
"Heh, I didn't expect that getting caught between attacks could be so brutal. Guess I was being careless," Jerry muttered after several seconds of recovery. He pushed off with his feet, used Moonwalk to step through the air, and rushed back toward the central battlefield.
Kaido's devastating counterattack forced Jerry to regain his usual combat focus. Although his opponent could no longer predict his movements through Observation Haki, he still needed to maintain peak alertness and couldn't rely entirely on his own future sight abilities.
After all, the instantaneous attack speed of many of Kaido's techniques already exceeded normal human reaction time. Even if Observation Haki could foresee incoming strikes, by the time his body could respond, those attacks might have already connected.
As Jerry landed swiftly back on the main platform, he spotted Kaido's towering figure walking steadily toward him from the distance.
At this moment, Kaido's right abdomen was still a bloody mess. Even with his extraordinary natural recovery abilities, such severe injuries wouldn't heal completely in a short timeframe. Additionally, their previous exchanges had left a long, fresh scar across his left ribs.
Correspondingly, Jerry's own left side felt distinctly uncomfortable. Kaido's earlier blow had already cracked several of his ribs.
Beyond the scars from their most recent clash, neither fighter had been spared punishment. Both warriors bore multiple wounds that were slowly but visibly healing.
"Wororororo! This is absolutely exhilarating! It's been far too long since I've experienced such a satisfying battle!" Kaido laughed thunderously while staring at Jerry, whose lips were obviously moving as if preparing another quip.
"However, when I passed through their battlefield just now, your friend's techniques reminded me of something very interesting!"
Hearing this unexpected comment, Jerry looked genuinely puzzled. "Huh? What exactly did that hothead do now?"
Kaido's grin widened to terrifying proportions as he gently rotated his massive arm joints. Then he bellowed with earth-shaking volume: "Flame Dragon Torch!"
A layer of intensely burning flames suddenly ignited across Kaido's entire body while he maintained his hybrid Dragon-Man form. The incredibly high temperature was so extreme that it turned the sand and stone beneath his feet into bubbling, rolling magma.
Jerry stared at this devastatingly familiar scene with growing alarm. His expression shifted to something resembling pure academic horror as he slowly enunciated a single, perfectly descriptive word:
"Shit."
The flames surrounding Kaido's massive frame continued intensifying, creating heat distortions in the air that made the Emperor appear even more monstrous than usual. Jerry realized with sinking dread that this battle had just escalated to an entirely new level of lethality.
"Now then, Leviathan," Kaido's voice rumbled through the superheated air, "let me show you what happens when the King of Beasts stops holding back!"
Jerry tightened his grip on his fishing rod, water beginning to swirl around his own form in preparation for what promised to be the most intense phase of their legendary confrontation. The night sky above Onigashima seemed to hold its breath as two of the world's strongest fighters prepared for their ultimate exchange.