Kaido, who had been ferocious and unstoppable just a moment earlier, was suddenly beaten back into his original form.
The sight left everyone stunned and gave them a clear understanding of River's fighting strength.
At the same time, they looked toward the battle on the other side.
Rumble!
The unidentified Blind Swordsman was actually holding King the Conflagration firmly at bay. The shock waves from their clashes sent swaths of pirates flying into the sky or blasted them underground.
"That guy can change gravity."
"He's also a master swordsman! He's actually fighting evenly with Lord King!"
"And that former Marine Admiral Aokiji is just as much of a monster. Lord Queen probably isn't a match for him."
Trembling cries rang out among the Kaido Pirates.
For the moment, the battles involving those two had left them unable to break through. River's group might have been small, but every one of them was unimaginably powerful.
Boom!
Just then, an even louder crash rang out. Amid flying shards of ice, they turned to look behind them.
Kaido's enormous body lay on the shattered ice, gasping for breath. Wounds and blood covered him from head to toe.
"Captain Kaido is injured!"
"If this keeps up, he's going to lose to River!"
One pirate spoke in terror.
It was hard to imagine that, after defeating Whitebeard, River was now about to defeat their captain as well.
"Just how strong is this man?!"
Despair spread through the Kaido Pirates. River's terrifying strength had already made them feel its grip.
A cold wind swept past, scattering the ice fragments around Kaido and exposing his wounded body.
His cheekbones were caved in, his nose had collapsed, and his ribs had punctured his abdomen, leaving blood streaming out.
The gruesome sight made the pirates suck in sharp breaths.