Above Kaido's head, a pitch-black horn stood high, arcs of electricity constantly flickering across its surface like nimble little snakes, ready at any moment to release power that could destroy heaven and earth.
Behind him, his thick, powerful dragon tail swung with excitement, stirring up a fierce wind that sent dust flying all around.
The Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his Hassaikai was even more terrifying. It surged like a storm made solid, twisting the space around him so violently that strange vortexes began forming one after another.
"A power that can destroy an island in one strike, huh?"
A trace of disdain and challenge appeared in Kaido's eyes.
"Then I'd better test how strong it really is!"
His words were filled with confidence and arrogance, as if nothing in the world could stop him from moving forward.
Then he abruptly turned his head and looked toward Ron on the bridge.
At that moment, blazing battle intent burned in his dragon eyes, as if the flames were about to burst from his sockets.
"Brat, you don't mind if I take the first move, do you?"
His voice was loud and forceful, carrying a tone that allowed no argument.
Ron stood quietly before the control console, both hands lightly resting on Pluton's controls. A faint smile appeared on his face, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Go ahead. Just be careful. Try not to get yourself killed."
His tone was casual and calm, as though everything before him was still under control.
"Killed? Wororororo!"
Hearing that, Kaido burst into wild laughter again.
He pounded his broad chest hard, producing a metallic boom that rang through the clouds.
"I'm the world's strongest creature!"
His declaration echoed between heaven and earth, showing his unmatched confidence and pride.
At that suffocatingly tense moment, the whole world seemed to be wrapped in invisible pressure.
Then—
The dim sky suddenly underwent a world-shaking change.
The blood-red giant eye hanging in the heavens, like an evil demon god waking after a thousand years of sleep, suddenly opened wide.
The power contained in that eye seemed capable of piercing the soul, making people shudder.
Immediately after, a dark-red laser with a diameter of over a hundred meters shot out from the giant eye.
It was like a hideous fire serpent, tearing through the once-calm sky with mountain-crushing force.
Everywhere it passed, even the brightest light was mercilessly swallowed in an instant. Darkness spread like a tide, dragging everything around it into deathly silence and fear.
"Good timing!"
Kaido roared boldly, his thick dragon claws tightening around Hassaikai.
In an instant, Conqueror's Haki gathered around him like a surging flood made real, gradually forming streaks of black-red lightning.
Those bolts wove and tangled together, flashing with a light that chilled the heart.
"Let me show you… the real Thunder Bagua!"
Kaido's voice rang through heaven and earth like a great bell.
He swung his dragon tail violently, and the force of it striking the air created a powerful sonic boom, roaring like thunder and making everyone's ears ache.
His entire body shot upward against the heavens like a blue-black meteor, carrying unstoppable momentum.
Hassaikai fused perfectly with his surging Conqueror's Haki, instantly transforming into a gigantic energy kanabo.
Radiating light and power strong enough to shatter stars, it smashed fiercely toward that terrifying laser.
"Break for me!"
Kaido poured all his strength into that roar, his voice filled with resolve and fearlessness.
The instant the two forces collided, time truly seemed to stop.
The whole world fell into an eerie silence.
But that silence lasted only for the briefest moment.
Then a deafening explosion erupted, loud enough to shatter eardrums.
Black-red energy and dark-red energy tore into each other like two crazed beasts.
The shockwave born from their collision surged outward like a raging tsunami, shredding layers of clouds into countless fragments that scattered through the sky, like the beginning of an apocalyptic disaster.
"Guhah!"
The powerful backlash forced Kaido to spit out a mouthful of blood. His nearly indestructible dragon scales cracked apart inch by inch, and his whole body flew backward like an out-of-control meteor.
He tore through the air with unstoppable force, smashing through three magnificent floating islands in a row before finally managing to stop his rapid fall.
Meanwhile, the destructive laser that had seemed impossible to stop exploded violently in midair.
Blinding light burst open, turning into a rain of blood-red radiance that scattered across the vast sea and dyed the surface a shocking crimson.
"Cough… now that's got some bite!"
Kaido struggled out of the ruins and slowly stood up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes shining with firm, fanatical light.
There was not the slightest hint of retreat in his dragon pupils.
Instead, his fighting spirit burned even fiercer than before, as if that brutal clash had been nothing more than a warm-up.
"Now that deserves to be called Uranus!"
He shouted loudly, his voice filled with respect for a powerful opponent and the resolve to challenge it again.
On Pluton's bridge, Ron quietly watched everything and gave a slight nod.
"It really does have some skill."
A trace of approval showed in his eyes.
Then he slowly raised his hand and signaled to his subordinates.
"Medical team, go fish that mad dragon back."
In the dark, gloomy sky, the blood-red giant eye, like a nightmare given form, slowly narrowed.
Deep within that eye seemed to burn endless anger and madness. Scarlet light flickered uncertainly like two leaping flames, enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
With that movement, the surrounding air seemed to ignite, twisting and surging violently as if some invisible power was gathering in secret.
The blood-red eye seemed completely enraged.
The energy inside it began to condense wildly like a raging tide, and its increasingly thick, terrifying aura spread outward, filling the entire space with oppression and despair.
Below, on the battlefield, Kaido's massive mountain-like body had been blasted away in miserable fashion.
He carved a long arc through the air, raising clouds of dust and shattered debris before crashing heavily to the ground and sending up a huge plume of smoke.
The once-unstoppable arrogance on his face had already vanished.
In its place was shock and disbelief.
...