"Afraid?"
Hearing Renji's words, Kaido looked as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
His massive dragon body rolled through the sky.
The pain from his injuries had thoroughly stimulated his nerves, and at this moment, Kaido had finally begun treating Renji as an opponent on the same level as himself.
Not as a junior.
"I admit it."
"You're a youngster who has managed to give even me a headache."
"But..."
"You've only just stepped into this level of power."
"And I..."
"Have been immersed in it for decades!"
As Kaido's voice echoed across the battlefield, his body began changing once again.
Strands of black-purple energy swirled around him.
Gradually, they formed what looked like a suit of armor over his entire body.
"Full-body Armament Haki."
Renji frowned slightly.
"And a layered Haki armor at that?"
He immediately recognized what Kaido was doing.
At the same time, he couldn't understand it.
Since Kaido already knew that his Tremor-Tremor Fruit had awakened, why would he waste energy on something like this?
"But my Resonance can directly vibrate your Armament Haki itself and transmit the effect into your body."
"This technique might be an excellent defense against other opponents."
"It might even function like a suit of thorn armor that reflects damage."
"But against me, it's nothing more than a stamina-draining move with no real effect."
Since he couldn't understand it and didn't have time to think it through he decided to simply ask.
Maybe Kaido's answer would explain everything.
"Hahahaha!"
Kaido burst into laughter.
He was known as the World's Strongest Creature.
Even Roger had never gained much of an advantage against him.
The only person who consistently defeated him more often than not was Whitebeard.
And the main reason was Whitebeard's Resonance ability, which could bypass his defenses.
But...
After being hit by Resonance enough times, his body had gradually adapted to it.
It had developed resistance.
That was his confidence.
"Whitebeard's Resonance might be enough to give me trouble."
"But your Resonance..."
"An ability you only awakened recently..."
"How could it possibly break through my defenses?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaido's aura exploded outward.
That's right.
It exploded outward!
The Armament Haki armor that had originally been wrapped tightly around Kaido's body separated from his skin and hovered about three centimeters away.
This was a technique Kaido had specifically developed and prepared to deal with Whitebeard.
In simple terms, vibrations still require a medium.
Resonance was no exception.
As long as he could keep those vibrations from reaching his actual body.
Then even Resonance, which could bypass ordinary defenses, would become useless.
"Well, damn."
Seeing Kaido's preparation, Renji couldn't help but suck in a breath.
Even so, he wasn't particularly concerned.
If all he possessed was the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, then this newly awakened Resonance state might indeed be countered by Kaido's technique.
But...
He didn't only have the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
He also had the Glint-Glint Fruit.
A smile appeared in his eyes.
At that moment, Renji raised both hands toward Kaido.
One sword after another began forming around his body.
"Combination Technique..."
"Sword Graveyard!"
As the name of the technique left his lips, hundreds of Eight-Sided Han Swords made entirely of light appeared around him.
Each blade contained a considerable amount of Tremor-Tremor Fruit energy.
Under the influence of Resonance, the originally flawless swords seemed somewhat unstable.
Almost defective.
Yet it was precisely that imperfect appearance that caused Kaido's expression to grow serious.
"Come!"
Kaido spoke calmly.
Gripping his kanabo with both hands, he roared:
"Three Worlds Ragnarok!!!"
The instant he shouted the attack's name, Kaido swung his club straight at Renji.
At that moment Violent winds erupted around him, as though they intended to sweep everything in the world away.
Towering flames blazed into the heavens, as though divine fire sought to burn all creation to ashes.
Thunder crashed across the sky, like a wrathful god determined to destroy the world itself.
Thunder.
Flames.
Hurricane-force winds.
Observation Haki.
Armament Haki.
Even Conqueror's Haki.
Kaido unleashed every power at his disposal.
In this moment he was truly going all out.
Every ability he possessed was released without reservation.
"Excellent!"
Seeing this, Renji's eyes lit up with excitement.
With a casual wave of his hand, the hundreds of light-forged Eight-Sided Han Swords instantly converged toward him.
One after another, they fused together in his grasp.
The swords merged into one in Renji's hands.
Under his control, the imperfections that had once covered the blade seemed to vanish completely.
"Electromagnetic Resonance... Annihilation!"
As Renji shouted the name of the technique, he charged directly toward Kaido.
BOOM!
RUMBLE !!!
A world-shaking explosion erupted.
For an instant, Renji and Kaido became the center of a force so overwhelming that it raised waves tens of thousands of meters high.
The clouds above them were completely blown away, revealing the deep blue sky beyond.
Below, the sea itself was forced apart by their power, the ocean rolling back to expose the seabed.
The attack's area of effect was so vast that it seemed to encompass the entire surrounding ocean.
The nearest ships were instantly overturned.
And the attack made no distinction between friend and foe.
Whether it was the Beasts Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, or the vessels of the countless spectators gathered to watch the battle, all of them were affected to varying degrees.
Left with no choice, every ship began retreating as quickly as possible.
[You picked up a Devil Fruit Growth Experience!]
[You picked up an Armament Haki Insight Experience!]
[You picked up an Observation Haki Insight Experience!]
[You picked up a Conqueror's Haki Insight Experience!]
[You picked up Stamina!]
[You picked up Strength!]
[You picked up...]
As the battle between Renji and Kaido reached its absolute peak—
Renji began absorbing an endless stream of attributes dropping from Kaido.
In just three seconds of deadlock, dozens of attribute fragments had already fallen from Kaido.
"Incredible."
Looking at Kaido, Renji spoke with genuine admiration.
After all, he was the younger generation.
He felt no burden praising a worthy opponent.
"Damn you!"
Kaido, however, felt completely different.
To be forced into a stalemate with someone so young and then receive a look of approval from him to Kaido, that was an insult.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Seizing the moment, Kaido pushed himself even further.
He squeezed every last ounce of strength from his body.
In the end, he chose the attack he trusted most.
The technique he knew best.
His ultimate move.
"Is this your final gamble?"
Feeling the surge of Kaido's power, Renji took a deep breath.
He also began drawing out the little remaining energy left within his Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Glint-Glint Fruit abilities.
"Combination Technique..."
"Electromagnetic Oscillation!"
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