Flame Dragon Torch

High above the ground.

Kaido's expression changed completely the instant Rock took that stance.

It wasn't anger or excitement, but something etched almost into his bones—

Panic, as instinctive as a reflex.

In that instant, his mind was dragged back to a memory he could never erase.

That devil-like Vice Admiral Garp.

With nothing but his fists—

The terrifying figure who had chased him, Whitebeard, and Linlin across an entire island.

Where those fists fell—

Mountains crumbled.

Seas split.

The world fell silent.

"Hey, hey, hey!!!"

Kaido's eyes flew wide, and the words came out in a near-roar.

"You learned that too?!!!"

But—

It was already too late.

Before he had any time to react, thunder exploded.

Rock vanished from sight.

The sky suddenly darkened.

Then—

Crackle—!!!

A bolt of lightning tore straight down from above the clouds!

Space was pierced by force.

Rock was already directly above the head of Kaido's Azure Dragon Form.

So close he could see what flashed through the dragon's eyes for an instant—

Shock.

A vacant stare.

Kaido had no time to roar, no time to summon his Haki.

Because that punch—

Had already fallen.

Rock's right fist slowly tightened.

Armament Haki compressed to its limit, wrapping his bones like black steel;

Black-and-red Conqueror's Haki lightning coiled and burst across his knuckles, forming a halo of force that seemed to warp the air.

The air collapsed.

Rock's voice rang out like the Thunder God passing judgment.

"Fist Bone—Impact!!!"

The next instant.

The world took that punch—

Head-on.

Boom—!!!

It was no ordinary explosion.

Kaido's dragon head had become the epicenter of an earthquake made by human hands.

Rock's right fist slammed squarely into the center of the Azure Dragon's head, meeting no resistance!

Scales—

Shattered on contact!

Bone—

Cracked with a teeth-grating sound and