Luffy's eyes narrowed, and he was about to throw a punch to block when Kaido's club came crashing down.
This time the speed was several times faster than before.
Luffy's Observation Haki triggered a frantic warning, but his body couldn't react in time.
The Hassaikai slammed into Luffy, Luffy him flying like a cannonball, crashing through the dome of the Skull Palace.
Gravel rained down, Luffy beneath the rubble.
"Cough cough~"
Luffy coughed up blood and quickly crawled out of the ruins.
He shook off the rubble, braced his fists again, and showed no sign of backing down.
"Again!"
Luffy pushed off with his feet and lunged at Kaido once again.
The fists, Conqueror's Haki Coating, clashed wildly with the Hassaikai.
This time, Kaido didn't hold back; each strike carried a terrifying power capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks.
Two figures engaged in an unprecedented battle atop the Skull Hall.
But anyone could see that Luffy was clearly at a disadvantage at this moment.
Although he had mastered the knack of Conqueror's Haki Coating, he still seemed too inexperienced in the face of Kaido's absolute power.
Each collision sent him staggering back several steps, the muscles in his arms going numb from the repeated shocks.
Kaido's attacks grew increasingly ferocious.
In his hands, the Hassaikai became a weapon of pure destruction, each swing creating a huge crater in the ground.
Wherever the two went, rocks flew everywhere and explosions rang out continuously.
While everyone's eyes were fixed on the final battle atop the Skull Palace—
The entrance to Wano Country.
A small Marine warship quietly approached the massive waterfall that encircles Wano Country.
Fujitora stood at the bow of the ship, his blind cane tapping against the edge.
With his eyes closed, the power of the Press-Press Fruit silently enveloped the entire warship.
The gravitational field around the ship is being slowly altered, and the waterfall, which should have been cascading vertically, is now beginning to converge towards the bottom of the warship under the influence of gravity.
The rushing torrents formed a rising column of water at the bottom of the ship, slowly lifting it upwards.
Ryokugyu stood behind Fujitora, arms crossed, his Woods-Woods Fruit powers allowing him to extend his senses to the waters surrounding the warship.
He would immediately notice anything unusual approaching.
Garp leaned against the mast, unusually refraining from eating senbei (rice crackers).
Those bloodshot eyes stared intently at the faintly visible firelight in the direction of Onigashima in the distance, as silent as a stone.
Sengoku stood beside him, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his wrinkles much deeper than they had been two years ago.
He knew what Garp was thinking, and it was precisely because he knew that he had to come along.
" Garp, I know Luffy is your grandson."
Sengoku lowered his voice, his tone serious.
"But this time it was a direct order from the Five Elders, and Akainu has already formulated a detailed capture plan."
Don't let your emotions get the better of you.
Garp didn't speak, he just clenched his fists.
Sengoku sighed and said nothing more.
Under Fujitora's gravity control, the warship silently rose to the top of the waterfall.
Fujitora put away his cane, and the warship smoothly sailed into the Wano Country Sea.
The moonlight shone on the deck, casting long shadows of the four men.
"In the direction of Onigashima."
Ryokugyu pointed to the outline of the skull-shaped island in the distance.
"The energy fluctuations over there are extremely intense."
The battle between Kaido and Straw Hat Luffy is likely still ongoing.
"Let's wait until they finish fighting."
The Sengoku said in a deep voice,
"We'll make our move after both sides are severely weakened."
Regardless of who wins or loses, we must ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Fujitora and Ryokugyu nodded.
Garp remained silent, but his gaze never left the direction of Onigashima.
Luffy, you have to hold on!
Meanwhile, on the roof of the Skull Palace.
Luffy crouched on a sloping stone slab, his shoulders heaving from heavy breathing.
His right arm hung at his side, his fingers trembling involuntarily, the tips still gleaming with the afterglow of black and red Inazuma.
Sweat streamed down his face, dripping onto the stone slabs beneath his feet, mingling with the bloodstains.
Kaido emerged from the pile of rubble, his steps steady.
A faint bruise appeared on his shoulder, but it was fading at a visible rate.
Apart from that, there were almost no other visible physical injuries on his body.
Kaido looked at Luffy's state and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
"What? You're already failing so quickly?"
Luffy gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand up straight.
He clenched his fist again, but the black and red Inazuma failed to condense on his fist.
He could feel the power within him being drained away little by little.
The temporary fixation Luo made was no longer holding up.
Each impact sent piercing pain through the bone fragments in his chest, and his ruptured internal organs bled continuously under the shockwaves of the Conqueror's Haki Inazuma.
The resilience brought about by Life Return recovery is indeed amazing, but even the most amazing resilience cannot withstand continuous severe damage.
Even more devastating is the depletion of physical strength and Haki.
While the power of Conqueror's Haki Coating is undeniable, the consumption of Haki within it is also staggering.
Every time he concentrates his Conqueror's Haki in his fist and clashes head-on with Kaido's Conqueror's Haki, he needs to consume a massive amount of Haki.
However, his reserves of Haki are far inferior to Kaido's.
Kaido has fought for decades, and his accumulated Haki has reached an extremely terrifying level.
Unleashing dozens of Thunder Bagua in succession was as easy for him as breathing.
On the other hand, Luffy has lost count of how many punches he's thrown and how many blows he's taken since the start of the fight.
Each head-on collision drained his already limited Haki, and he had no time to stop and recover.
Where did that arrogance go, saying you'd beat me to a pulp?
Kaido slung the Hassaikai over his shoulder, his voice full of mockery.
"Why can't you even speak now?"
Luffy did not answer.
He just stared intently at Kaido, the light in his eyes still undiminished.
But my body had reached its limit—my legs were shaking uncontrollably, and my clenched fists were trembling slightly.
"Kid, you really have amazing talent."
Kaido's tone suddenly turned low, and the Conqueror's Haki Inazuma began to dance on his spiked club again.
"In all my years of life, you are the first person to master Conqueror's Haki Coating in such a short time."
But talent is talent, and ability is ability—you're still far from that level.
The words had barely left his mouth when Kaido's figure flashed by.
Its massive form transformed into a black and red afterimage under the moonlight, and the Hassaikai crashed down on Luffy with a world-destroying momentum.
Luffy raised his arms to block.
A faint layer of Conqueror's Haki Inazuma barely condensed on his fist, but it was almost useless against Kaido's absolute power.
Luffy was sent flying, his body carving a long furrow in the ground before finally coming to a stop after smashing through several raised stone slabs.
He lay in the rubble, struggling to get up, but his body was no longer entirely under his brain's control.
Every time he tried to exert force, the sharp pain in his chest caused his muscles to spasm involuntarily.
But Luffy still managed to struggle to his feet.
He used his fists to brace himself against the ground, slowly lifting his body out of the pile of rubble.
His legs were trembling violently, and he staggered with every step, but he still made it to Kaido.
"I... said..."
Luffy looked up, and despite his blood-stained face, his eyes still shone with an astonishing light.
"I'm going to... beat you to a pulp..."