Kaido removed his hand from his face, his vertical pupils burning with a fighting spirit more intense than ever before, yet also tinged with a faint trace of pity.
"Kid."
"What makes you think you can defeat me?"
Kaido laughed even harder.
This time, his laughter contained sarcasm, excitement, and a hint of anger that he himself was unaware of.
"Kid—you don't actually think that my previous antics were my true strength, do you?!"
Kaido slammed the Hassaikai into the ground.
Black and red Inazuma, Conqueror's Haki, exploded from within him, more violent than ever before.
The surrounding air was instantly frozen by this force, and the ground cracked in all directions from Kaido as the center, with the cracks extending dozens of meters away.
His momentum was rising, and in the blink of an eye, he surpassed the limits he had previously demonstrated.
Kaido's unrestrained aura instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.
Luffy felt the oppressive aura, and his pupils contracted slightly.
But instead of retreating, he clenched his fists, bent his legs slightly, and looked like a fully drawn bow.
"Whether it's their true strength or not, we'll only know after we fight."
"Yeah?"
Kaido grinned.
"Then I'll show you what true despair is."
Luffy's smile faded slightly.
He could sense that Kaido's aura was rising at an extremely terrifying speed.
The oppressive feeling was unlike any before, as if Kaido had only taken a nap, and now this true monster had finally awakened.
But Luffy did not back down.
He clenched his fist, and the black and red Inazuma began to dance on his knuckles again.
Whether you're joking or serious--
Luffy raised his head, his eyes showing no fear whatsoever.
I'll beat you to a pulp.
···········
In a room deep within Onigashima, Roy sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed.
His Observation Haki was like an invisible giant net, enveloping the entire battlefield.
Every collision of attacks, every change in Haki, and the flow of energy within each person's body were all so clear in his perception that it was as if he were witnessing it with his own eyes.
He naturally heard Luffy say that he would "beat Kaido to a pulp."
Roy opened his eyes, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.
"This kid is really confident."
He picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and the bitter liquid slid down his throat.
To be honest, Luffy's growth rate has indeed exceeded his expectations.
In a short period of time, he Conqueror's Haki Coating to being able to injure Kaido in a direct confrontation.
This talent is among the very best in the entire history of the One Piece world.
The problem is, Kaido was just playing around just now.
Fifth level of strength.
It might not even be five stories high.
Roy was well aware of Kaido's true strength.
That monster fought for decades in the New World, battling Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion. Countless brushes with death honed his strength to an incredibly terrifying level.
With multiple heart transplants, bloodline enhancements, and the Devil Fruit Awakening the Azure Dragon Fruit— Kaido is now even stronger than in the original storyline.
If Kaido in the original story was a ferocious beast, then the current Kaido is an ultimate biological weapon that has undergone comprehensive enhancement.
Although Luffy has mastered Conqueror's Haki Coating, compared to Kaido, he is far inferior in terms of the strength of his Haki, his stamina reserves, and his accumulated combat experience.
This battle was never a fair fight from the start.
Roy put down his coffee cup and tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.
He needs to Awakening Luffy 'Nika Form in a desperate situation, but if Kaido keeps attacking with only five-tenths of his strength, Luffy might not be able to trigger that critical point even if he fights until he's exhausted.
Kaido pushover.
Roy closed his eyes, Telekinesis surged from his body, like an invisible thread, precisely connecting to Kaido's consciousness on the battlefield.
Kaido.
"Um?"
Kaido's voice echoed in Roy's mind, tinged with impatience—clearly, he didn't like being disturbed during a fight.
"Stop holding back."
Roy's voice was calm but carried an undeniable captain's authority.
You've already seen Luffy's potential.
He is shrouded in Ryuo and Conqueror's Haki Coating, and he grows rapidly in battle.
But that's not enough—he needs even greater pressure, he needs to be on the verge of death to achieve his final Awakening.
"You mean?"
Show me your true strength.
Thunder Bagua, Drunken Dragon Bagua, Flame Dragon Torch —use everything that's available.
They pushed him to the brink, to the point where he had a slim chance of survival.
Roy paused, a rare hint of seriousness in his voice.
"But don't actually kill him."
Our goal is not to kill him, but to Awakening him.
You need to be careful to maintain a proper balance.
Kaido remained silent for a few seconds, then Roy sensed an extremely strong fighting spirit surging from Kaido's consciousness.
"Hehehe--You should have said so earlier! I've been holding it in for ages!"
Kaido's voice carried a long-suppressed excitement.
"This kid's talent is truly tempting to get a match."
Since you've put it that way, then I won't hold back.
Just remember to leave yourself some breath.
Roy instructed,
"Don't Awakening Awakening by the time you've killed someone."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Roy severed the Telekinesis connection, opened his eyes, picked up his coffee cup, and took another sip.
A deafening dragon roar echoed from the direction of the Skull Palace outside the window.
The oppressive aura of that Conqueror's Haki intensified once again, even causing Roy's room to tremble slightly.
" Luffy's going to get a taste of his own medicine now," Roy muttered to himself, a faint smile playing on his lips.
On the battlefield.
Kaido severed his Telekinesis connection with Roy and refocused his attention on Luffy.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Luffy pounced again, his fist Inazuma with Conqueror's Haki as he slammed into Kaido.
The injury he just inflicted on Kaido gave him a lot of confidence, and his punches became even more powerful and his movements more decisive.
Kaido parried Luffy's fist, but his expression turned completely cold.
"Kid, you just said you were going to beat me to a pulp, right?"
The Hassaikai swept across, Luffy dodged by leaning back at the last second, but the wind pressure generated by the spiked club still left a shallow bloodstain on his face.
"You think that just because you've mastered Conqueror's Haki Coating, you can be on equal footing with me?"
Kaido no longer held back.
The Conqueror's Haki Inazuma on the Hassaikai suddenly surged, changing from blackish-red to a dark red that was almost pure black.
The surrounding air was distorted and deformed under the pressure of this force, and the rubble on the ground was sucked in and instantly turned into powder.
"Let me show you what a real difference is!"