"It's not over yet!" Kai smiled slightly, raising both claws high above his head.
As Rayquaza, the God of the Sky, how could he not demonstrate his mastery over the Sky itself?
Rumble... rumble...
The previously clear sky suddenly darkened as storm clouds gathered with supernatural speed. Under Kai's will, countless dark clouds interwove, merged, and compressed until they completely blotted out the sun, plunging the world into an ominous twilight that made hearts race with primal fear.
Only the occasional flash of lightning deep within the storm clouds tore through the darkness, proclaiming that a world-ending calamity was brewing above.
Even Kaido, the battle-hardened Emperor, caught the scent of genuine danger in the air.
This was getting more and more interesting!
"That's enough." Sensing he'd reached his limit, Kai suddenly clenched both hands into fists. "Thunder!"
CRACK!
In an instant, the storm clouds boiled with violent energy. A bolt of black lightning so dense it appeared almost solid crashed down like divine judgment, threatening to pierce straight through the earth itself.
Kaido's eyes flashed with brilliant intensity. Using his future sight, his expression grew serious for the first time as he twisted his body and shifted into his hybrid form.
"Kid, I acknowledge you! This is the disaster I've been waiting for!"
Kaido laughed with pure joy as both Armament and Conqueror's Haki coated his massive kanabo in crackling energy.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Instead of retreating, Kaido charged forward to meet the apocalyptic lightning head-on, boldly swinging his weapon upward.
The kanabo, when faced with the heavenly lightning pillar over twenty meters in diameter, looked as thin as a pencil in a giant's hand. Yet even so, the descending thunder could not advance even an inch under Kaido's fierce resistance.
BOOM!!!
The pitch-black haki clashed against the lightning in a continuous explosion that shook the very foundations of the island. The ear-splitting sounds continued endlessly while scattered shockwaves hitting the ground triggered a chain of devastating explosions.
Even Kai, the attack's creator, was forced to retreat to a safe distance.
Reaching higher ground, Kai shielded his eyes and admired his handiwork with professional appreciation. Worthy of a technique with such devastating power. Even with his current limitations, it could match a Yonko's strike. If he could refine it further and create spherical lightning constructs like a certain "god" from Skypiea, he might truly be able to destroy nations with a single attack.
The only drawback was the charging time. This worked perfectly against Kaido, who enjoyed tanking powerful attacks, but against a more agile opponent, the hit rate would be questionable at best.
At the battlefield's center, Kaido bore the unimaginable pressure of directly confronting heaven's wrath. However, this pressure was like the finest liquor, making every drop of blood in his body boil and every muscle fiber roar with excitement!
His arms swelled even further as the ground beneath his feet collapsed into a massive crater, unable to withstand the enormous counterforce. Yet with even greater power, Kaido gradually began pushing back against the stalemate.
"Mere lightning! Get back to the sky where you belong!"
Kaido's eyes blazed as he erupted with maximum power. With the wild motion of a baseball batter going for the fences, he actually knocked the black lightning back along its original trajectory.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The reversed lightning exploded within the storm clouds, and the resulting shockwaves tore the cloud layer apart entirely. Long-missed, blazing sunlight once again bathed the earth in golden warmth.
"Exhilarating!" Kaido lowered his kanabo and laughed heartily before turning his satisfied gaze back to Kai. "I'm liking you more and more."
Although there had been an element of trickery involved, achieving this level of destruction with Devil Fruit abilities alone demonstrated the kid's incredible potential.
Kai transformed back to his human form and spread his arms in surrender. "Let's call it here, Kaido-san. I'm willing to join the Beast Pirates."
"Wororororo, cunning brat." Kaido chuckled, having thoroughly enjoyed his warm-up exercise. He didn't mind the calculated approach one bit. Creating a flame cloud, he positioned it before Kai. "Climb on, kid, and come with me! The title of the Beast Pirates' Third All-Star will be yours to claim!"
But Kai shook his head. His body twisted and expanded, instantly transforming into an Emerald Dragon dozens of meters in length.
Kaido's eyes lit up with genuine interest. "So this is your beast form? You can fly under your own power."
As an Azure Dragon himself, Kaido didn't possess natural flight and relied on grasping flame clouds to soar through the skies.
Kaido also shifted into his hundred-meter Azure Dragon form and took to the heavens.
Above the clouds, two massive divine dragons crossed the sky. Anyone witnessing this scene would surely believe that gods had descended to earth. However, compared to Kaido's serpentine form that stretched hundreds of meters and appeared capable of bearing mountains on its back, Kai's Rayquaza form seemed almost delicate by comparison.
During their journey toward the New World, the two dragons conversed.
"Rayquaza, the God of the Sky? Never heard of it, and it's not mentioned in any Devil Fruit encyclopedia either."
"Perhaps too few people have consumed it, or maybe I'm the first," Kai offered vaguely, unable to provide a better explanation.
Kaido didn't seem particularly concerned with this mystery. The seas were full of strange and inexplicable abilities. Instead, he inquired about Kai's lightning technique.
He could summon lightning himself, but compressing and condensing it to that degree... in his extensive experience, probably only the Rumble-Rumble Fruit could achieve such effects.
Kai saw no reason to hide his capabilities and spoke frankly: "My ability primarily involves weather manipulation. I can control wind, fire, thunder, shockwaves... I can even summon meteors from space."
The simple word "control" shouldn't be underestimated. Just in terms of commanding wind and rain, Kai's mastery far exceeded Kaido's abilities.
"Sounds somewhat similar to my powers, yet far more comprehensive. At least I can't manipulate weather at will. I can only summon basic storm clouds."
"Each ability has its strengths," Kai replied diplomatically. "Your flame cloud technique is incredibly versatile."
This wasn't mere flattery. Flame clouds were genuinely extraordinary, useful not only for flight but containing tremendous destructive potential. In the original timeline, Kaido had used flame clouds to physically lift and relocate entire islands, something impossible through raw strength alone.
"Kaido-san," Kai smoothly changed the subject, "could you teach me Haki training methods?"
"Of course! Though you're the first person brave enough to ask me to be your instructor!"
Kaido seemed to activate some internal switch and burst into booming laughter.
That's because you haven't experienced what I have, Kai thought wryly. Otherwise, you'd know exactly how famous Teacher Kaido's reputation really is. You're the pirate world's number one educator: one beating for basic Armament Haki, two beatings for advanced Conqueror's coating, and three beatings for Devil Fruit awakening.
As evening approached, the setting sun painted the sky in brilliant shades of gold and crimson. The vast clouds were transformed into a canvas of molten metal, creating a breathtaking vista that stretched to the horizon.
Having never witnessed such natural beauty before, Kai found himself completely mesmerized.
"So beautiful!"
"Beautiful? Kid, what kind of joke is that? This scenery is common as dirt on the Grand Line," Kaido scoffed with typical romanticism.
Kai's soaring mood crashed instantly to earth.
If he weren't completely outclassed in combat, Kai would have seriously considered punching the insensitive brute. Could someone please explain what "common as dirt" meant in this context?
With that interruption, Kai's appetite for scenic appreciation evaporated completely. The remainder of their journey passed in relative silence, focused purely on covering distance.
After flying through the night, the dawn's first light revealed an island surrounded by towering walls on all sides appearing on the distant horizon.