He included both Bullet and Shanks within his attack range, showing no regard whatsoever for the scant bit of friendship built through his daughter between him and Shanks.
While evading, Shanks swung his blade again, using the force of Kaido's kanabo to adjust his posture. Though he deflected part of the power through technique and managed to block the strike, the blow still sent him soaring into the air.
From Shanks' perspective, the monstrous strength emanating from Kaido was far more terrifying than Bullet's.
The clash of weapons did nothing to slow Kaido's assault. Watching Kaido charge in, Bullet took a deep breath. The muscles across his body seemed to swell, and his arms began trembling rhythmically.
"Shockwave Cannon!"
The almost rule-breaking sensation coming from his fist startled Bullet for an instant, but an even greater surge of excitement quickly flooded his heart.
"You're way more to my liking than that b*stard who has lost his left arm!"
"Is that so? Too bad, someone like you is no longer to my liking."
Boom!
The ground beneath Bullet's feet cracked as his body was forced backward uncontrollably. Then a large number of purple squares suddenly extended from his legs. He was using the Clank-Clank Fruit to increase his traction.
"Unity!"
Now that Shanks had been dragged fully into the fight between the two, he naturally struck back as well. At this moment, he was similarly affected by the assimilation power; without showing any partiality, he unleashed a horizontal slash toward everyone simultaneously.
For Kaido, the optimal solution would have been to use Protect to block Shanks' attack, then take advantage of Shanks' attack to launch an even fiercer assault on Bullet. That would have been the most profitable strategy for him.
But Kaido didn't choose that. He had deliberately categorized Shanks as Bullet's ally precisely so he could enjoy a proper battle to his heart's content. Why would he seize an opportunity just to secure a quick victory?
That said, he didn't hold back either. That would have been disrespectful to the fight.
"Perfect. Let's try something new. Haven't used this before."
War accelerates technological progress, and battle accelerates the growth of strength.
Luffy trained under Rayleigh for two years, building two more floors atop the foundation Garp had laid for him, solidifying his base.
Kaido, on the other hand, could be described as: one swing to learn Ryuo, a second to grasp Conqueror's Infusion, a third to push toward awakening—the very model of a master teacher.
In battle, combat techniques likewise experience explosive growth. Yamato was a prime example, though much of it was specialized against Kaido, she was still growing.
To demonstrate his own teaching prowess, Kaido also embodied the virtue of lifelong learning, polishing himself from time to time. At this moment, he unveiled something new.
"Tsubame-gaeshi!"
Not the move Tsubame-gaeshi, but the original hereditary technique of Kojiro's family. (TN: Tsubame-gaeshi is the Japanese name of the move Aerial Ace.)
Kojiro had once tried to find someone to recreate his ancestor's move, but unfortunately, no swordsman capable enough existed at the time, so the matter ultimately fell to Kaido.
By Kaido's logic, a swordsman is simply someone who swings a blade to achieve their goal. It's just that the weapon was too light for his liking.
So he replicated it with a swing of his kanabo instead.
If you handed Kaido a sword, he might not become a supreme great swordsman, but with his strength and Haki alone, his achievements would certainly be extraordinary.
From Bullet's perspective, Kaido withdrew his offensive stance and performed a strange motion. Drawing back the kanabo at his waist, he swung it upward from below.
Accompanied by the rumble of black lightning, Kaido's kanabo seemed to split apart. Originally, the move was meant to seal both the front and rear, leaving no avenue of escape, but Kaido instead struck in three different directions.
Attacking Bullet, countering Red Hair's attack, and launching a counterattack toward Shanks—he accomplished all three simultaneously.
"He actually has a technique like this…"
Gryphon lay diagonally across his chest as Shanks blocked the kanabo Kaido sent at him. Though he had lost his left arm, the strength of his remaining arm was far from negligible. As a top-tier swordsman, Shanks could tell that Kaido's move wasn't really kanabo technique at all, it was more like a variation of a sword technique.
That strange swinging motion just now had clearly been imitating Iaido.
Unlike a rapid swing, this attack could be understood as swinging three times simultaneously. If Kaido hadn't directed them in three different directions, it should have been an unavoidable blow.
Bang!
Compared to Red Hair, Bullet's response was far more direct. He threw a punch at Red Hair's slash, while a solid shield formed from the Clank-Clank Fruit extended along his arm. Empowered by Haki, it blocked one of Kaido's strikes.
"Ha!"
With a furious shout, Bullet slammed his body forward. His upper body was completely coated in Haki, and the Haki around his head was especially powerful. With both arms already committed to attack, Bullet drove a headbutt straight into Kaido's chest.
"Worororo! You've got guts. Let's see which of us looks more like a demon!"
Kaido's Haki also gathered toward his forehead as he met Bullet head-on in the same manner.
The hot breath they exhaled blasted against each other's faces. At nearly zero distance, they could clearly see the strong battle intent in each other's eyes. But this contest of strength did not last long; it was forcibly interrupted by Red Hair's slash.
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Ultimate Cannon!"
"Kamusari!"
The clash had ignited the flames of war in their hearts. Kaido and Bullet grew more exhilarated the longer they fought, but the longer Shanks fought, the more bored he became.
Shanks was thinking about withdrawing, but Kaido and Bullet had no intention of letting him leave so easily.
Moreover, in both Kaido and Bullet's subconscious minds, Shanks had been categorized as a hostile force, which meant he had to deal with both of them at once.
After swinging out a powerful slash, Shanks began analyzing his next move.
Fortunately, he quickly found a way out—slack off.
As long as those two simple-minded brutes lost interest in him, he could naturally withdraw. With the time spent fighting here, he might as well chat with Uta about her recent life, or check on how Luffy had grown.
Even bickering with Olga or messing with Buggy, who's disappeared somewhere, would be more meaningful than this.
Bullet's actions disgusted him, but in the end, they hadn't caused any real consequences. If Kaido weren't here, he would definitely have a proper "conversation" with Bullet using his blade.
Now that this even more troublesome creature was present, it would likely teach Bullet a profound lesson.
Frankly speaking, Shanks felt that at this stage, Bullet was even more troublesome than Kaido. There was still a faint sense of order in Kaido, albeit one imposed by others.
Bullet, however, was simply stirring up meaningless chaos and destruction.
Of course, Shanks' first priority now was to get away from them.
The way to make battle maniacs lose their will to fight was to bore them. In a one-on-one fight, that wouldn't work.
But this wasn't a fair one-on-one. Whether it was Kaido or Bullet, each had a more enticing target right in front of them.
Having made up his mind, Shanks shifted to a defensive stance, withdrawing all the sharpness he had been radiating back into himself. Facing incoming attacks, he chose only to defend and evade.
It was fine once or twice, but as the clashes intensified, his lack of seriousness naturally drew dissatisfaction.
"You b*stard, fight seriously!"
Shanks remained silent in response, merely retreating gradually toward the edge.
He did not fear battle, but he did not enjoy it. In the past, even Hawk Eyes had to chase him around for quite a while just to spar with him. If not for Uta, Shanks wouldn't have joined in from the start.
Kaido and Bullet weren't so easy to fool. If Shanks wanted to disengage, it would take some time. Until then, the fighting on the island only grew more intense.
Several nautical miles north of the battlefield, Amazon Lily, an island that should not have been here, was placed atop an undersea mountain range.
Kaido had arrived here quite some time ago. When Shanks and Bullet first began clashing, Kaido had already reached the area, but he hadn't taken action.
Even while effectively flying under the influence of alcohol, he hadn't forgotten what he was supposed to be doing. So he hadn't gone mad enough to drag the Kuja into the fray. Instead, he found a suitable location and set Amazon Lily down.
After all, this was an island, not a ship. If you just tossed it into the sea, it wouldn't float; it would sink straight to the bottom. You had to find a proper seabed before letting go.
From that perspective, Kaido was surprisingly conscientious. Sure, he had gone off to slack during work hours, but at least he hadn't folded the contract he had just signed into a paper airplane.
However, Kaido's actions brought plenty of trouble as well. Most of the pirates' ships on the island had been absorbed by the Clank-Clank Fruit during Bullet's initial battle, ultimately turning into marine debris.
These things couldn't even be considered as makeshift rafts. Anyone who hadn't lost consciousness and fled too late had no choice but to swim. Some who had escaped early were still on their ships, but their pirate ships appeared precarious amidst the battle of the three Emperors.
In their eyes, Amazon Lily became a harbor of salvation, and the survivors of the battle began rushing toward it.
"Fire arrows! Don't let a single one of them come ashore! Show these bastards what we're made of!"
No matter the reason, the Kuja would never allow these pirates to land so easily. During the days Kaido had been flying, the people on the island had recovered from their battle with the Marines and quickly organized a new counteroffensive.
"All warriors, stay sharp! From now on, we'll be settling in the New World! Even under someone else's protection, battles like this won't be rare!"
"Wait, Snake Princess, there's a ship approaching… It's Lady Olga's Shadow Fox!"
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