"Hadō #90: Black Coffin!"
After using Kaido's ferocious blow to gain some distance, Lofan dispensed with the incantation.
A black, wall-like rectangular prism materialized out of thin air, enclosing Kaido.
All perception was cut off inside the Black Coffin, while countless Shadow Blades sliced away at its target.
Lofan knew this was not the end and immediately used Bakudō #26: Kyokkō.
Fashioning his Reiatsu into a transparent canvas and draping it over himself, Lofan concealed himself completely from sight.
He prepared to deliver a fatal blow once Kaido emerged.
Inside the Black Coffin, Kaido adapted to his situation in mere moments.
Ignoring the blades cutting into him from every direction, he transformed straight into his Beast Form: an azure dragon.
His enormous bulk warped the Black Coffin, pushing it to the brink of collapse.
Kaido had extensive combat experience, and he knew this move had been used deliberately.
Apart from briefly hindering him, it could inflict no real damage.
If that was its purpose, it had to be laying the groundwork for a killing move.
But his enormous size clearly made him an easier target, so why had Kaido chosen this approach?
In fact, both men had the same objective: to exploit an information gap.
The warped, distorted Black Coffin served only to tell Lofan: I've transformed!
Whose scheme would prevail would become clear in moments.
The Black Coffin suddenly shattered, revealing a glimpse of a coiling azure dragon through a broken corner.
Countless Wind Blades scattered from within, tearing through the island's surroundings.
Knowing his opportunity would last only an instant, Lofan unleashed all his Reiatsu, caring nothing for where his slash landed-only that it hit!
Whatever Kaido had planned, the power of this strike would shatter it all.
The instant Kaido noticed his senses returning, he canceled his Beast Form and searched for Lofan with Observation Haki.
The instinctive warning of death he felt when Lofan locked onto him made him subconsciously use Observation Haki to foresee the future.
This slash cleaved Kaido diagonally from his left chest down to his waist.
The immense, unknown energy surged straight from the blade into the two halves of his body, wantonly destroying his vitality.
Kaido's fierce eyes narrowed. He had no time now to shift into his Human-Beast Form and bring his strength to its peak.
He could only twist his body as far as possible and use his Kanabo to deflect Lofan's threatening, body-bisecting slash.
"Aah!!!"
On one side stood Lofan, solemn and silent, putting forth every ounce of strength.
On the other was Kaido of the Four Emperors, roaring with eyes stretched wide in fury.
Lofan landed his blow, but Kaido's resistance meant the blade penetrated only a third of the way into his body.
And by the time it reached his abdomen, Kaido had escaped its harm.
Never mind injuring his internal organs-with Kaido's regenerative ability, this amounted to little more than expending some stamina.
But the Reiatsu on the blade inflicted a second round of damage on Kaido as well.
Having committed everything, Lofan was left with an opening lasting several seconds.
Meanwhile, Kaido had fallen and rolled several times when blood suddenly spurted from his chest and welled from his mouth.
"What a pity."
"Huff!"
Exhaling a heavy, bloody breath, Kaido did not fly into a rage. Instead, he calmly stood where he was, leaning on Hassaikai as he recovered.
To break through Kaido's defenses and inflict real damage, Lofan mobilized all his Reiatsu with every attack.
He knew competing with Kaido in stamina would put him at an absolute disadvantage, but he had never expected that two attacks would yield...
Only this much.
He truly deserved his place as the most impressively formidable of the Four Emperors.
Kaido, currently at his peak, could probably stand toe to toe with Whitebeard at his peak.
Moreover, after exchanging blows with Kaido, Lofan still could not find any obvious weakness.
There was no terrain where he could not fight-sea, land, or air. He had numerous elemental attacks, formidable physical combat skills, and top-tier mastery of all Three Types of Haki.
Even his stamina and endurance were maxed out. If one insisted on naming a weakness...
It would probably only be that his offensive power was not the pinnacle of the pirate world, though it was still enough to contend with others on his level.
"Hahaha!"
Lofan laughed in exasperation. Which one of us is cheating here?!
Kaido did not seize the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
Faced with a young man capable of going back and forth with him in a fierce battle like this, he felt nothing but heartfelt admiration.
Had his opponent not been a Marine, Kaido would already have tried to recruit him.
"In a one-on-one fight, Kaido is the strongest. That's what people say."
Muttering aloud, Lofan recited the narration from his memories. Kaido naturally heard him and rolled his shoulders as he replied:
"Worororo, Lofan, you've got a good eye, kid!"
The wound on his chest had already begun to heal.
Though the flesh was still bloody, the bleeding was visibly slowing.
"Then let's have ourselves a good, all-out fight!!!"
Dragon scales emerged around Kaido, covering his body.
This was the Fish-Fish Fruit's Human-Beast Form; one could say his full strength was now unleashed.
At this moment, Kaido possessed not only the agility and speed of his human shape, but also the elemental attacks of his Azure Dragon Form.
It was a form born purely for combat.
His enormous dragon tail smashed the boulder behind him, and Kaido vanished from Lofan's sight.
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!"
In his Human-Beast Form, Kaido coated Hassaikai with Conqueror's Haki and, gripping it with both hands, launched a ferocious assault on Lofan.
This was an enhanced version of Thunder Bagua, but its power increased exponentially.
That ferocious physique and frenzied killing intent swept forward with an overpowering presence, blowing back Lofan's long hair.
He admitted it: with his current strength, he was no match for Kaido head-on.
But... this was not the full extent of his strength.
"What beautiful scenery."
Experiencing a life-and-death struggle like this for the first time, Lofan felt the great terror between life and death.
At the same time, he gained a sense of the world's great beauty.
The shattered island battlefield, Kaido bearing down silently like a thunderclap-an epic painting, breathtakingly vivid.
"Illusion."
Once released, Illusion could completely control all five senses of anyone who saw it, including their soul's perception.
There were only two ways to escape this rule-based power:
1. Never see the blade.
2. Touch the blade before Complete Hypnosis activated.
Though there were ways to counter it, who in this world knew them besides Lofan?
In other words, Illusion had no counter.
Even if you knew you had been hypnotized, you still had no way to break free.
And this, too, was a truth Lofan had learned only after obtaining the sword.
It turned out that the Zanpakuto in his hand had been in its released state from the very beginning.
There was no so-called Shikai at all, and even its appearance differed from person to person.
As for a release command, it both existed and did not.
The reason Lofan kept saying it was to suggest to everyone who knew about it...
That this hypnosis needed to be activated by the four characters of its name: Illusion.
It was a kind of misdirection, operating on the same principle as hypnosis.
And in the original work, "Shatter! Illusion."
Was actually a dismissal; the truth could, in fact, be glimpsed in the word "shatter."
But truth and falsehood mingled; mountains were mountains, and waters were waters.
Whatever the truth was, it was enough for Lofan alone to know.
In the pirate world...
Lofan had also considered whether the Future Sight of Observation Haki or a Devil Fruit Ability might be able to stop it.
But he truly could not think of a method. For now, this ability had no counter.
That was why Lofan had his greatest source of confidence, and why he dared to begin his plans without restraint.
Before you continue