" Straw Hat Boy!"
Kaido's voice squeezed out from between his dragon teeth, carrying the slurred and violent tone typical of a drunkard.
Luffy didn't announce his name loudly as usual.
He simply took off his Straw Hat and solemnly placed it in Zoro's hand. This action surprised Zoro for a moment— Luffy never took off his Straw Hat before a battle.
"Hold this for me," Luffy said.
Then he bit his thumb and blew air into it.
The Gear Fourth Boundman form unfolded in the firelight—his arms and legs swelled to more than twice their normal size, and the jet-black sheen of Armament Haki covered the entire area from his fists to his shoulders, while dark red Conqueror's Haki Inazuma crackled around him.
His physique looked somewhat comical, but the sense of oppression he exuded was undeniable.
Kaido, watching Luffy's transformation, grinned in a ferocious arc. "Kid, you look quite interesting."
Luffy did not answer.
His knees bent slightly, and the clock tower beneath his feet collapsed under the pressure of this force.
Broken bricks and wooden beams fell downwards, but Luffy's body had already launched himself up like a cannonball, drawing a straight black trail in the air.
" Gum-Gum-- "
His right fist began to swell, Armament Haki condensed to its limit on the knuckles, and Conqueror's Haki Inazuma crackled and danced wildly across the surface of his fist.
Even before the force of the punch was fully released, the pressure alone had already torn the surrounding air apart with a piercing, explosive sound.
" King Kong Gun!!!"
Kaido did not dodge.
I don't know if he was slow to react because he was drunk, or if he simply didn't care to dodge.
The enormous dragon head remained suspended in mid-air, its vertical pupils reflecting Luffy's ever-approaching figure.
"Bang--!"
The fist slammed into the top of the dragon's head.
A sound as loud as thunder rang out at that moment.
The shockwave spread outwards from the point of contact between the fist and the dragon scales, shattering all the clouds within a radius of several hundred meters.
The smoke and dust from the collapse of the clock tower were swept away by the shockwave, and the still-burning building ruins on the ground were pressed down and spread close to the ground.
The ground of the Flower Capital trembled under the force of that punch, as if a small earthquake had occurred.
Kaido's dragon head suddenly plummeted downwards.
The immense force shattered Kaido's nerves, which were maintaining his balance while drunk, causing his dragon body to temporarily lose its coordination.
The dragon's head slammed down onto the ground, its body tumbling several times in the air before crashing heavily into the mountainside surrounding the Flower Capital.
The sound of the landslide was like the end of the world.
When the enormous dragon's body crashed in, a large chunk of the entire mountain was shattered.
Pebbles flew in all directions like a torrential rain, some of them as big as houses, splashing into the distant forest and kicking up clouds of dust.
After the smoke and dust cleared, Kaido stood up from the mountain ruins—he had transformed back into human form from his dragon form.
Standing nearly seven meters tall amidst the rubble, he was radiating heat, yet there wasn't even a red mark on his face where Luffy had punched him.
He shook his head, as if he had just woken up from a not-so-comfortable sleep, the punch having dispelled most of his drunkenness.
"Giggle..."
Kaido's voice was much clearer than before. He reached up and touched his forehead, feeling the patch of skin where Luffy had punched him.
"That's interesting."
Luffy on the roof of another building, breathing heavily.
The Gear Fourth gear form had taken a huge toll on his stamina; that collision just now felt like hitting a small mountain.
The force of the impact Luffy's arm to tremble slightly.
When Luffy saw that Kaido didn't even have a single scar on his forehead, his pupils involuntarily contracted.
The King Kong Gun, delivered with all its might, struck Kaido's head, but didn't even break the skin.
"Little brat."
Kaido pulled the Hassaikai from the rubble, hoisted them onto his shoulder, and grinned a genuine smile.
"You must be Straw Hat Luffy?"
There was no drunkenness or rage in that smile, only the exhilarating release of a long-suppressed fighting spirit.
Roy had told him this kid was tough, and Jack had told him this kid was unkillable. Now, having taken a punch himself, he finally confirmed it— Roy hadn't exaggerated.
This kid in the Straw Hat is definitely different from the cannon fodder who came to challenge him before.
That was a good punch.
Kaido emerged from the pile of rubble, each step causing the ground to tremble.
"But with just this one punch—it's still far from enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaido's figure vanished from the spot.
His nearly seven-meter-tall frame, when propelled by such speed, appeared to be teleporting.
Luffy sensed danger with his Observation Haki, but his body couldn't react in time.
The Hassaikai, imbued with Conqueror's Haki's Inazuma, slammed into his side; the force was beyond human endurance.
Luffy was sent flying, his body tumbling through the air countless times before crashing through several buildings and finally coming to a stop amidst the ruins.
"Wow--!"
Luffy, amidst the ruins, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"So strong!"
At the same time, Zoro moved the instant Kaido his staff.
All three swords were coated with Armament Haki, and their black and red blades looked particularly eerie under the moonlight.
He circled around to Kaido's side and unleashed three sword strikes simultaneously—the sword energy of the Oni Giri condensed into a straight line, aiming directly for the back of Kaido's neck.
Oh! Is there one more?
Kaido slammed his left fist into Zoro's blade, taking the full force of Zoro's attack head-on.
The blade left three shallow white marks on his fist, without even breaking the skin.
Zoro was thrown back by the force of the impact, tumbling twice in the air before barely regaining his balance. When he landed, his feet had plowed two deep furrows in the ground.
"Your swordsmanship is quite good."
Kaido glanced back at Zoro, his admiration genuine.
"You're the third swordsman to leave a mark on my fist."
Luffy crawled out of the ruins, a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, and a burning pain shooting through his chest where the Hassaikai had struck him.
But his eyes were still incredibly bright, and his signature smile returned to his lips.
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Luffy wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Kaido.
"You're really strong, Kaido."
"Oh?"
Kaido turned around, carrying the Hassaikai.
"Can he still stand up?"
Of course.
Luffy stretched his arm, which had gone numb from being hit.
"This little injury is nothing."
"I've decided to beat you to a pulp!"
Kaido stared into Luffy's eyes for a long time, then burst into laughter.
The laughter shook the surrounding rubble, but this time it wasn't angry laughter, nor was it mocking laughter.
It's a pure, heartfelt joy.
"Hehehehe-- Roy really didn't lie to me!"
Kaido slammed the Hassaikai into the ground, creating a huge crater.
" Straw Hat Boy, come on!"