In that singular moment, it felt as though Kaidou had been dissected wide open before Ryuma's eyes—not just his outward appearance, but even his internal organs and vital structures lay completely bare to his vision!
Yet, the instant Ryuma's gaze locked onto the thickness of Kaidou's skin, he froze in sheer disbelief.
What on earth...?!
Normal human skin was at most around five millimeters thick—and that was on the extreme end. Yet the thickness of Kaidou's hide measured a staggering one full meter!
Just what kind of monster is this guy?!
Ryuma had initially wondered if Kaidou belonged to the Giant Race, but looking at him now, he wasn't a giant at all—he was a pure anomaly of nature.
Before Ryuma could spot a definitive weakness, Kaidou lunged forward once more, brandishing his giant spiked kanabo with crushing momentum!
"Thunder Bagua!"
Another devastating strike!
Ryuma's pupils contracted violently as he scrambled to throw his body sideways, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth!
He managed to steady his footing, though the effort left him stumbling awkwardly.
Panting heavily, Ryuma thought to himself... This guy's resilience is beyond absurd!
He took a deep breath, a grim, uncomfortable expression washing over his face as he stood his ground, gripping the black blade Shusui tightly with a trembling hand.
Truth be told, dodging that last strike was pure luck; whether he could dodge a third time remained a dangerous unknown.
Just then, Kaidou burst into a boisterous, mocking laugh!
"WAHAHAHA! What's the matter, brat? Turned into a cowardly worm all of a sudden?" Kaidou sneered, his lips curling into a smug grin.
"Hmph... In your human form, you're still no match for me," Ryuma replied with a cool, collected smile.
Ryuma had made up his mind!
Since Kaidou's human form revealed no exploitable openings under his enhanced perception, reverse psychology was the key—forcing Kaidou into his Dragon Form would inevitably expose a weakness!
After all, no creature was entirely flawless. Once transformed into an oversized dragon, a flaw was bound to show.
Generally speaking, Zoan-type Devil Fruit users had relatively weaker bodies before fully transforming into their beast forms—or at the very least, far less durable than their fully transformed state. Thus, Ryuma knew with absolute certainty that Kaidou's physical weakness was about to present itself!
Though Kaidou was ridiculously powerful, he was equally arrogant and could never tolerate mind games or provocation. Hearing Ryuma's taunt, his temper exploded!
"What did you just say?!" Kaidou growled through gritted teeth, his body expanding violently as he transformed directly into a massive Azure Dragon!
Watching the transformation unfold, Ryuma grinned internally. Perfect!
Re-activating Brain Point, he channeled his heightened perception to analyze the beast once more.
Sure enough, a critical vulnerability stood out clear as day!
Since Kaidou was currently a dragon, his structural physiology functioned similarly to serpentine beasts like snakes or wyverns.
And for any serpentine creature, two critical vulnerabilities always existed: the three-inch mark and the seven-inch mark!
The three-inch mark represented the weakest, most easily broken point along the spine.
If a serpent's spine at the three-inch mark was shattered, the nervous pathways connecting its central brain to the rest of its body would be severed completely. Even if it survived, its entire body would be paralyzed instantly!
As for the seven-inch mark... that was even more fatal.
The seven-inch mark was where a serpent's heart was located; receiving a heavy blow there meant instant death.
In a split second, the full tactical blueprint clicked in Ryuma's mind!
Striking the seven-inch mark directly would be nearly impossible right off the bat. After all, Kaidou was fully aware that his heart lay at the seven-inch mark in his Dragon Form, making him guard it with extreme vigilance. A direct blow there would kill him on the spot, so he wouldn't leave it exposed easily.
The three-inch mark, however, was a different story.
I'll strike his three-inch mark first to cripple his movement completely! Once he loses his combat mobility, I'll pierce his seven-inch mark, leaving him no chance to counter before sending him straight to the grave!
Taking a slow, steady breath, Ryuma tightened his grip on Shusui. In a flash, he leaped high into the air like an agile mountain goat, vaulting directly into mid-air!
With a sharp motion, Ryuma swung Shusui downward, aiming straight for Kaidou's head!
He had hoped to suppress Kaidou's movements with the strike, but Kaidou unexpectedly whipped his giant dragon tail around in a ferocious counter-attack, swatting Ryuma back through the air!
BOOM!
Watching the massive tail sweep back around, Ryuma realized the dire threat!
Kaidou was thoroughly determined to end his life right here and now.
If he stood there helplessly, the next tail strike—infused with wind blades—would tear his soul apart!
However, using his Shadow-Shadow Fruit to escape by splitting into a swarm of bats was too risky—the target area of hundreds of bats was far too large. If Kaidou coated his sweeping tail with Armament Haki, Ryuma would still be shredded to pieces!
Anxiety flared in his chest as his mind raced for an alternative.
What if I use the Shadow-Shadow Fruit to break my body down into fine, microscopic particles floating into the air instead?!
While controlling a few hundred bats was relatively straightforward, dispersing into microscopic particles ran the risk of being unable to reassemble his body, leading to permanent dissipation!
Yet there was no backing out now.
High risks yielded high rewards, and Ryuma would rather perish while pushing his limits than be crushed to death by Kaidou's dragon tail!
In an instant, Ryuma's body dissolved into a cloud of minute, dark particles, floating effortlessly into the atmosphere!
Unaware that his target had vanished into thin air, Kaidou brought his tail down with relentless fury, hurling wind blades repeatedly against the stone wall where Ryuma had just stood!
A dozen strikes per second rained down!
After thirty continuous seconds of relentless pounding, a deep, four-meter-wide crater was gouged out of the ground!
What a terrifying monster... Ryuma thought.
No matter how absurdly strong you are, today you fall!
Re-channeling the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Ryuma condensed the dark particles scattered through the air back into his physical form!
The instant his body reformed in mid-air, Ryuma bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Half-Moon Divine Slash!"
A brilliant, crescent-shaped sword aura erupted from Shusui, slicing through the air with devastating velocity straight toward the three-inch mark on Kaidou's dragon spine!
BOOM!
The strike detonated like a heavy artillery shell, blasting Kaidou violently onto the floor and sending his vision spinning in dazed agony!
Though Kaidou's hide was absurdly durable, Ryuma's attack wasn't meant to deal surface cuts—the focused force of the combat skill slammed Kaidou's massive frame directly into the ground, shocking his internal structure!
Seeing Kaidou reeling on the ground, semi-conscious and unable to move, Ryuma transformed into a Phoenix and swooped down, landing squarely over the dragon's seven-inch mark!
Kaidou had nearly lost consciousness from the spinal shock, completely oblivious to the fact that Ryuma was now perched directly on his back!
"The tide has completely turned!" Jack roared from outside the hall!
All three All-Stars stood frozen in sheer shock.
Moments ago, Kaidou had held an overwhelming advantage, pressing Ryuma so hard he could barely breathe. Who could have anticipated that in a single split second, the battle would flip entirely on its head, leaving Kaidou utterly helpless before Ryuma?!
Ryuma knew in his heart that his victory today wasn't earned through sheer power alone, but through a combination of sheer luck and Kaidou's fatal overconfidence!
Channeling the strength of Arm Point into his talons, Ryuma gripped Shusui tightly, coating both the blade and his claws in dense, jet-black Armament Haki before driving the weapon downward with everything he had!
SCHLICK!
An earth-shattering sound echoed through the ruined hall as Shusui and Ryuma's talons plunged directly through Kaidou's thick hide, piercing straight into his heart!
No matter how tough Kaidou's flesh was, or how thick his scales were, against a fully powered Haki strike targeting his vital seven-inch mark, his defense folded like paper.
Kaidou's dragon hide was pierced through completely!
Watching the colossal beast go limp beneath him, Ryuma let out a long, shuddering breath, reverting to his human form as he collapsed onto his knees, gasping frantically for air from utter exhaustion.
He had actually slain Kaidou!
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for defeating one of the Four Emperors! Rewards: 4 Gacha Chances and 4,611,100,000 Berries!
Hearing the system prompt, Ryuma was overjoyed, though a slight twinge of dissatisfaction lingered in his mind.
He was one of the Four Emperors after all... Only four gacha draws? That feels a bit stingy.
However, the Berry reward was undeniably massive!
After all, Kaidou's official bounty stood at exactly 4,611,100,000 Berries, matching the system payout down to the last coin.
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for acquiring the SSS-Rank Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon (Dragon-Dragon Fruit)!
Ding! Would the host like to devour the fruit now?
Ryuma hesitated for a moment. An SSS-Rank fruit was an exceptionally rare prize, and even if he used the system's fusion mechanics to create an SSS-Rank fruit manually, it might not necessarily match the sheer raw power of Kaidou's Azure Dragon Fruit.
A wave of excitement washed over him.
After a brief pause, he declared firmly, "Devour it!"
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully devouring the SSS-Rank Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon!
Ding! The host now possesses three Devil Fruit slots filled: Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Immortal Phoenix Fruit, and Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon. You still have two remaining Devil Fruit slots available.
Originally, Ryuma had planned a balanced distribution: two Logia fruits, two Paramecia fruits, and one Zoan fruit.
However, looking at his current lineup, that original blueprint was no longer applicable. With two Devil Fruit slots remaining, he resolved to reserve one slot for a top-tier Logia fruit and the final slot for a powerful Paramecia fruit.
This time, he wouldn't compromise—if he consumed two more Zoan fruits, his body would become an overstuffed menagerie, and he had zero intention of becoming a pure Zoan specialist.
Sheathing Shusui with a slow, deliberate movement, a sudden, searing wave of agony shot through his left arm the moment the blade clicked into place!
His arm felt as though the bone had cracked!
Ryuma gasped, his entire body shuddering from the intense pain.
Dammit... when I thrust Shusui into Kaidou's body earlier, the sheer impact force caused a hairline bone fracture in my arm!
Still, a faint smirk crossed his face despite the pain. At the very least, the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit was officially his.
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