You Have Grown Cowardly!
Kaido stared at the young man who had given him a thumbs-up, his eyes narrowing into slits.
"Player?"
He struck the stone platform beneath his feet with his spiked club, smashing a dent into the stone surface.
"What do you think this is? An amusement park?"
"What might be a pirate graveyard for you is just a playground for me."
Akuta stretched his arm, and the black and red lightning manifested by Conqueror's Haki still danced between his arms.
As Kaido looked at the lingering aura of the Overlord's Entanglement in his hand, which had not yet completely dissipated, he suddenly thought of someone.
He was once a captain, the man who slaughtered his way through the Valley of the Gods.
Lox.
He was the same way back then, standing there with a smile on his lips, never flinching in the face of any enemy.
Kaido shook his head, banishing the baseless thought.
He shouldered his spiked club and walked step by step toward Akuta.
"Kid, you shouldn't have chosen this path. With your current strength, you absolutely cannot defeat me."
Akuta did not retreat, but let out a cold laugh.
"Oh? We shouldn't have taken this route? But I don't think so."
Even if I can't beat you, it doesn't mean no one else can.
Just because someone else can't beat you doesn't mean no one will be able to in the future.
There is never anything that is forever the strongest on this sea.
Kaido's voice trailed off.
Are you lecturing me?
No, I'm telling you something you've forgotten.
Akuta raised his hand and pointed it sharply at Kaido, shouting forcefully:
"You've become a coward, you old man!"
"This world needs to be ruled by younger people!"
Cowardly?!
Kaido's pupils suddenly contracted.
In a daze, he recalled his past.
He recalled the days when he was young, following behind Rocks and charging towards Roger.
When exactly did he begin to hesitate?
Just like in Wano Country right now, why would Oden, who was clearly just one of Roger's subordinates, need to use hostages to buy time?
If it were the old him, he should have just led his men and charged in!
Even though he was the one with the advantage at this moment, for some reason, Kaido felt that the Akuta's aura was stronger than his!
Kaido suddenly felt his breathing become rapid.
He recalled his youth, on Rocks' ship, facing Roger, Whitebeard, or any other powerful figure, when he never thought so much.
At that time, he only knew one thing.
Beat!
If you can't beat them, fight again. If you still can't beat them, fight to the death. You might as well give them your life!
Back then, he never sought a safe excuse before engaging in battle.
All he knew was to fight relentlessly.
But when did he start to change?
Did it happen after he became the governor of the Beasts Pirates?
Or did it begin when he became one of the greatest pirates in the New World?
Was it when he started to fear losing these things?
Kaido's grip on his spiked club tightened slowly, his knuckles making a cracking sound.
He looked down at his hands, the hands that had once wielded a spiked club from apprenticeship on Rocks' ship all the way to the pinnacle of the New World.
But now, these hands were trembling slightly in front of an unknown nobody.
wrong.
Kaido suddenly raised his head.
He saw the Akuta's eyes.
He knew all too well what was burning in those eyes.
That was something he once had too.
That was a reckless, pure fighting spirit, devoid of any calculation.
It's the kind of madness that's willing to risk their lives no matter who's standing opposite them.
This is what pirates should be like!
"You've become a coward, you old man!"
Those words exploded in Kaido's mind once again.
Then, he suddenly laughed.
The laughter was different from before.
His laughter before was angry and mocking.
But this time, his laughter welled up from the depths of his chest, rough and unrestrained, like a wild beast finally breaking free of its shackles.
Hahahaha!
Kaido threw his head back and laughed, his shoulders shaking and the spikes on his spiked club trembling.
He remembered! He finally remembered!
Kaido once heard someone say on Rocks' ship that a person's Haki seems to be limited.
Although he didn't feel it very clearly, after becoming the captain, Kaido subconsciously limited his use of Conqueror's Haki to prevent himself from running out of Haki in the future.
For example, in battle, he will prioritize using fruits.
When the Devil Fruit power proved too much, he resorted to Armament Haki.
Conqueror's Haki is only used when there is absolutely no other way.
Perhaps it was from that time that he became 'cowardly'.
He began to fight cautiously and started to scheme when facing powerful enemies.
He's never been like this before!
"Akuta!"
Kaido abruptly stopped laughing, his eyes flashing like lightning as he stared directly at the young man opposite him.
"You're right."
He shouldered the spiked club, took a step forward, and crushed the pebbles beneath his feet.
"I have indeed become somewhat outrageous."
"But!"
Kaido removed the spiked club from his shoulder, gripped the handle with both hands, and black and red lightning surged wildly from his body, coiling around the entire club.
This time, the domineering entanglement was more intense, more violent, and more unrestrained than ever before.
You remind me of my past self.
Kaido's mouth split open, revealing a set of gleaming white fangs, and his smile carried an almost insane glee.
"As a thank you gift, I've decided to go all out against you."
Boom!
An extremely fierce Conqueror's Haki surged from Kaido's body, instantly dispersing the remaining dark clouds above the entire Onigashima and revealing the clear blue Sky Manipulation above.
All the pirates still remaining on Onigashima, no matter how deep or far they hid, clearly felt this Conqueror's Haki at that moment.
On the edge of Onigashima, Hanafuda, who had just returned on a pirate ship, looked up in the direction of Onigashima.
As the strongest pirate under Kaido's command, Hanafuda is not only Kaido's subordinate, but also Kaido's former enemy and current friend.
He sensed in an instant that Kaido was different.
The Conqueror's Haki was still incredibly heavy and terrifying, but something new had been added to it.
Something he hadn't felt from Kaido in a long time.
That pure, reckless, and seemingly all-consuming Conqueror's Haki!
He hadn't experienced that feeling in a long time.
"Kaido... it seems you've met a truly formidable opponent..."
Oni Island Battlefield.
Kaido's figure began to swell amidst the torrent of Conqueror's Haki, blue scales appeared on his skin, his muscles bulged, and his body grew larger at a visible speed.
He entered the human-beast form of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.
Blue dragon scales covered most of his body, and dragon horns protruded from his head, pointing straight to the sky.
His hands grew thick and strong like pillars, his fingernails transformed into sharp claws, and a thick, long dragon tail swept across the ground behind him, turning a nearby stone into powder.
"Akuta!"
Kaido's voice became deep and rough, each word sounding like lava rolling up from the depths of the earth.
"Didn't you want to fight Kaido?"
He raised his spiked club, the black and red lightning coiled around it now solidified into a tangible form, like a flowing layer of black and red armor.
"Now, the real Kaido has arrived!"