Luffy's legs were trembling violently.
Every cell in the severely injured body was screaming, protesting, and telling him, "You've reached your limit."
His vision began to blur, Kaido's enormous figure before him became several overlapping shadows in the moonlight.
He blinked hard, trying to shake off the double images, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead.
Blood kept oozing from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his chin onto the stone slab beneath his feet, creating small, dark red flowers.
He had lost count of how many mouthfuls of blood he had coughed up, and how many blows he had taken.
But he was still standing.
On the fist, the black and red Conqueror's Haki Inazuma was still flickering, but much weaker than before.
An electric arc is like a candle flame in the wind, flickering and potentially going out at any moment.
Kaido, carrying the Hassaikai, stood less than ten meters away from him.
For Kaido, that distance is easily crossed in a single step.
But he didn't rush to make a move.
He simply looked down at the kid who was still putting on a brave face, a complex emotion flashing in his vertical pupils.
I appreciate it.
It's a pity.
There was also a hint of confusion that even he himself wasn't aware of.
"Kid."
Kaido's voice was hoarse and deep, no longer filled with mockery and excitement as before, but instead carrying a rare seriousness.
"Your body should have collapsed long ago."
At least five ribs were broken, internal organs were ruptured in multiple places, and the blood loss was enough to kill an ordinary person three times over.
He paused, as if confirming something. "But you're still standing."
Luffy did not answer.
Or rather, he simply didn't have the energy left to answer.
He simply stood there, staring intently at Kaido with his bloodshot eyes, his lips moving slightly, but no sound came out.
But his eyes said it all.
He will not fall.
On the high platform, Zoro was the first to sense that something was wrong.
His Observation Haki had been locked onto Luffy's aura, which had been steadily weakening since earlier and was now as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.
But his body still stood there, burning with the last embers of life.
Luffy...
Zoro exclaimed in surprise and drew three swords, the Armament Haki wrapped around them gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
He didn't turn around, but simply tossed a sentence to his companions behind him:
"That idiot is about to collapse."
Sanji remained silent.
He simply lit a cigarette silently, took a deep drag, and then threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.
He followed quickly, using the Geppo technique.
Kid's metal arm reformed, and magnetism crackled and pulsed on the surface of the armor.
Although he doesn't get along with Luffy, that Straw Hat- wearing jerk is a worthy opponent for him.
If I'm going to die, it can only be at his hands.
Just as the three were about to rush out, a white figure descended from the sky.
With a loud crash, it slammed down in front of them, creating a large crater in the stone slab beneath their feet, sending rubble flying in all directions.
Yamato, holding a spiked club called " Genzo," stood in front of the crowd.
The Okuchi no Makami Form has been fully revealed; her white fur gleams coldly in the moonlight, and Armament Haki covers her arms and spiked club.
"Get out of the way."
Zoro's voice was as cold as ice.
On the blades of the three swords, the power of Ryuo began to flow, the pink aura intertwining with the jet-black Armament Haki.
Yamato shook his head. "I can't let you pass."
I'm not discussing this with you.
Zoro pushed off with his feet, transforming into a black shadow as he lunged at Yamato.
The three swords slashed out simultaneously, and the sword energy of the Oni Giri drew three sharp arcs in the air.
Yamato raised his bat to block.
Genzo clashed head-on with the three knives, and the shockwave exploded from the point of impact, sending all the surrounding rocks flying.
Her arms were slightly numb from the shock, but she didn't take a single step back.
Zoro's pupils contracted slightly. This woman's power was far greater than he had anticipated.
" Three-Sword Style-- "
Just as Zoro was about to change his attack, Sanji had already cut in from the side.
The flames of the Diable Jambe drew an orange-red arc in the air, striking Yamato in the side.
" Diable Jambe - Neck Flesh Crusher!"
Yamato did not dodge.
She opened her mouth and exhaled a stream of icy blue air.
The freezing air collided with the flames in mid-air, producing a piercing hiss.
The flames shrank continuously under the pressure of the freezing air, forcing Sanji to retreat.
"You--"
Yamato was about to say something, Kid's massive metal fist slammed down from above.
"Get the hell out of my way!"
Yamato and swung Genzo to take the punch head-on.
The moment the metal clashed with the spiked club, her feet carved two deep furrows into the stone slab, but she still managed to withstand it.
He fought against three opponents single-handedly, refusing to yield an inch.
In the center of the battlefield, the real decisive battle is entering its final countdown.
Kaido stared at Luffy's still-burning eyes and remained silent for a long time.
He took the Hassaikai off his shoulder, and the spikes on his mace gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
Black and red Inazuma, Conqueror's Haki more intense than ever before, exploded from the staff.
"Kid, I acknowledge your will."
Kaido's voice was very low, so low that only Luffy could hear it.
But this time, there was no sarcasm or contempt in his tone, only a solemnity unique to the strong, towards another worthy opponent.
"But--"
The Hassaikai are raised high above the head.
The Conqueror's Haki Inazuma converged wildly, transforming from blackish-red to a nearly pure black dark red.
The spiked club was completely enveloped by this force, forming a dark red energy sphere that kept expanding and contracting.
The air around the energy sphere was violently distorted, and nearby rubble on the ground was sucked in and instantly turned into powder.
On this vast ocean, willpower alone cannot feed you!
Luffy watched the spiked club getting closer and closer and tried to raise his fist to block it.
But the sharp pain in his chest caused his muscles to spasm involuntarily.
I had only raised my arm halfway when I ran out of strength.
His arms hung limply at his sides, his fingers still trembling slightly.
He tried to lift it again, but his body was completely out of his control.
Those bloodshot eyes stared at Kaido, his lips moved, and he silently uttered his last few words.
"I... I'm going to... beat you to a pulp..."
" Thunder Bagua --!!!"
Kaido's roar shook the heavens.
The Hassaikai, imbued with earth-shattering power, crashed down.
The spiked club's head was larger than Luffy's entire body, and the moment it hit him, Luffy's consciousness was instantly shattered.
The ground suddenly sank down around him.
The entire area collapsed into a huge pit tens of meters in diameter, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading wildly in all directions from the edge of the pit.
Cracks pierced through the dome of the Skull Hall, ran through the entire roof of the hall, and some even extended into the walls, causing this magnificent building, which had stood for decades, to groan under its strain.
Pebbles rained down from the dome, splashing up clouds of dust as they hit the bottom of the pit.
The main hall was shaking violently. The stone pillars that had not yet collapsed were teetering on the brink of collapse. Several broken stone pillars finally could not hold on any longer and collapsed with a crash.
Luffy lay at the deepest part of the pit.
His Straw Hat flew off his head, tumbled several times in the air, and finally landed not far from him.
Luffy's aura was also dissipating at an alarming rate.
The heartbeat grew weaker and weaker, and the blood flow slowed down.
All the wounds that Law had temporarily fixed inside his body with the Op-Op Fruit burst open.
Blood seeped from countless wounds, pooling into a dark red puddle beneath him.
Breathing stopped.
My heart stopped beating.
Everything stopped.
silence.