Kaido's Defeat

He lifted the unconscious girl from the pit, and seemed to see the first time he lifted her up, feeling somewhat dazed.

But the next moment, he casually tossed it aside, and it landed squarely in Ace's hand.

"Now let's continue. Battles between adults are not so simple."

With the Hachisai Kai on his shoulder, Kaido turned his head and looked again at Cifer was sitting on a tall stone pillar waiting for him.

"Would you like some time to rest?"

Cifer stood up, the moonlight shining down and casting his shadow on the ground, making his demonic wings appear especially terrifying in this atmosphere.

He doesn't like taking advantage of others' misfortunes, nor does he need to.

"I'm just beating a good-for-nothing son; I'm not that old!"

A powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tidal wave, Kaido bared his sharp fangs at Cifer, his aura completely different from when they had just fought.

"Heat Breath!"

Kaido his mouth, and a pillar of fire shot towards Cifer.

"Hadō #31: Crimson Fire Cannon".

The latter extended his right hand, and a huge fireball instantly formed in his palm, which he blasted towards the pillar of fire.

The two flames collided and intertwined, forming a huge fire tornado in the air.

The temperature across the entire land soared, and even Ace was stunned into silence as he stared at the astonishing flames.

"I haven't met someone like you in a long time since then!"

Kaido his staff and charged forward, casually shattering the fire tornado, before flying towards the stone pillar where Cifer was.

"Bang!"

With a light tap of his feet, Cifer slammed the Hachisai Kai into the stone pillar, shattering it in an instant.

"Hadō #63: Raikōhō: Thunder Roar Cannon".

While in the air, Cifer tossed his hand downwards into the void, and a massive bolt of lightning crashed down, striking Kaido.

"Thunder Breath!"

Kaido his mouth and this time unleashed a thunderous attack that resembled a pillar of fire.

The two clashed again, but this time, the Thunder Roar Cannon shattered Kaido's lightning and struck him instead.

He fell from the sky and was embedded deeply in the ground.

"So strong..."

The Scabbard Nine were all dumbfounded.

The clash between the two most powerful figures in the world today is far more terrifying than the battle twenty years ago.

"It hurts... it hurts so much!"

Kaido leaped to his feet, his body charred black, and without warning, he covered his eyes and began to cry.

Already somewhat drunk, he encountered an opponent he could not match, and his son also wanted to kill him. Suddenly, a sense of grievance welled up in his heart.

"That's awful, Kaido."

Cifer in the air was somewhat stunned, then spoke calmly.

"Although I don't know what your strange ability is, there is only one truth: only Haki can overcome everything!"

Kaido wiped away his tears, his eyes now filled with a brutal glint, his entire body crackling with black and red lightning.

"Great Vajra Thunder Bagua!"

With all his might, Kaido leaped forward, transforming into a streak of light, and soared into the air towards where Cifer was.

The solidified, Conqueror's Haki almost covered the entire sky, and the spreading black and red lightning even crushed the ground.

"The Moonlight Sword".

A glint flashed in Cifer's palm, and in the blink of an eye, the highly condensed Reishi transformed into a hiltless longsword.

"Boom!"

The Moonlight Sword and the Hachisai Kai never actually clashed; the constant collision of Spiritual Pressure and Haki made it difficult for the others present to even breathe.

"This is... Conqueror's Haki?!"

Luffy, who had just woken up and returned to the battlefield, looked at the two figures locked in a stalemate in the air and his pupils contracted.

Although he had already taken several blows, he was still incredibly shocked to see such a use of Conqueror's Haki for the first time.

Can I do that myself?

"Wah la la la la~"

Kaido let out a maniacal laugh, flames swirling around his body, and the muscles in his arms bulged as if he were engaged in a close struggle.

"Go down!"

As Cifer increased his power, the situation began to turn one-sided. Kaido's Hachisai Kai were knocked away, exposing his chest to Cifer.

The Moonlight Sword sliced through his body as easily as writing on white paper.

"Puff!"

Kaido coughed up blood, and the scar on his chest, which ran almost across his entire upper body, gushed blood like a fountain.

He fell from the sky and crashed hard onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The terrain has been completely altered, resembling a ruin.

"This... this is how we won?!"

The Scabbard Nine Swordsmen were first stunned, then overjoyed, and then uneasy.

Because they had already heard that this man, like Kaido, was one of the infamous "Western Emperors" on the high seas!

"Don't underestimate me."

The burly figure rose again from the smoke, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, the ground already stained red with blood.

"Joy Boy...?"

Kaido recalled his conversation with King years ago.

At this moment, all the past events vanished like smoke, and he could no longer remember the way he came.

All he remembered was that if anyone could defeat him one day, it would be Joy Boy he and Jhin were both waiting for.

"A monster is a monster..."

Usopp trembled and hid behind Luffy and the others. He couldn't imagine what kind of creature could stand up and continue fighting after being so badly injured.

"Tornado!"

As the thick smoke dissipated, Kaido had transformed into a giant dragon. Although the shocking scars on his body were still dripping blood, his eyes were fierce.

His thick, long body spun continuously, whipping up pebbles and sand from the ground, forming several massive tornadoes that hurtled westward.

"The situation is not good, let's get away for now."

As the Gambler's Fireline was raised, the attic where Chopper and the others were sitting rose high, moving away from Cifer other two.

"Torao, whoever runs away is a low-level pirate!"

Luffy, that hothead, stood there with his arms crossed, staring at the tornado rushing towards him with a contorted expression.

"Huh? Why would I play such a boring game with you!"

Luo looked dissatisfied, but he didn't move.

"You idiot!"

Zoro couldn't stand it anymore, so he grabbed Luffy and ran away.

"ROOM: Shambles!"

Upon seeing this, Luo created a vortex in his hand, instantly teleporting his companions back below.

The rest of the group also left.

Only two fighters remained on the battlefield.

"Did you deliberately send them away because you wanted to say something?"

Cifer looked at the tornado that wasn't heading towards him at all and guessed what the other party was thinking.

"I just don't want the underlings making a racket here."

The flames Kaido spoke of began to spread and ignite his entire body, as if he had emerged from magma. The extreme heat enveloped the western island, even melting away the two horns of Onigashima.

"Flame Dragon Torch - Rising Dragon - Flaming Eight Trigrams!"

The burning dragon body spiraled upwards, and Kaido unleashed the strongest attack of his life.

"Garganta".

In return, as it ascends into the sky, the tip of the Cifer finger gleams with a darkness powerful enough to devour everything.

The two collided in the sky for only a moment, with light and darkness each taking their own place in the sky, and then the light disappeared completely.