Beneath the dark sky, the sound of clashing weapons rang out continuously, and the surging winds radiated in all directions.
Sparks flew endlessly in the void, and only Observation Haki could lock onto the position of each collision between the two figures moving at blinding speed.
"Get out of my way!" Kaido, in his dragon form, used his kanabo to flick Sakura away, his body leaping back to create distance.
After several backward jumps to a distant ice pillar, Kaido crouched on it, breathing erratically.
Originally, as an awakened user of the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Azure Dragon, he should possess the powerful endurance, recovery, and physical capabilities characteristic of Zoan users.
But now, his heart and blood were flowing very fast, and his stamina was draining several times faster than in a normal battle.
After only four or five hours of fighting, signs of fatigue were actually appearing on his body.
"It's you!" Kaido narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"
Releasing his meticulous Observation Haki, he carefully sensed every corner of the battlefield. Only then did he discover with surprise that within a dozen meters centered on Sakura, a vast malice filled every inch of space, so clear and distinct.
"Nothing much. I just accelerated the particle movement of your body!"
The girl in the pure white feather robe stepped forward a few paces. Her fair hand removed the mask hanging from her silver-white horns, revealing that delicate face.
The Odo Odo no Mi, her unique fruit, had the ability to interfere with temperature, fundamentally manipulating the thermal motion of matter.
From the Twilight Light, developed in the early days by combining heat cycles with electric currents, to the Evolution Technique - Decay, born later from Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu, both were essentially crude imitations of the fruit's ultimate form.
Now, with Sage Mode providing an all-around boost to her fruit's abilities, Sakura had touched one of the boundaries of her power ahead of time.
But gaining such powerful strength through unorthodox means naturally came with terrifying costs.
Simply maintaining a few dozen meters of reality distortion was already causing her vast amounts of Chakra and stamina to evaporate rapidly, like engaging in intense anaerobic exercise.
No wonder the strong in this world were reluctant to use this technique unless absolutely necessary… it was like Ultraman fighting a monster and only using his finishing move when his color timer started blinking.
After all, if you used your ultimate move and the enemy didn't die, then you would be the one to die next!
"Since neither of us has much time left, let's settle this quickly!"
Sakura tucked her cloud rope into her waist, coating her fists with Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
"Wororororo! That suits me just fine!"
Kaido gripped his kanabo tightly, and violent lightning burst from his hand!
In that instant, the observing Sato Sakura and Yamato felt a vibration that surpassed the roaring thunder.
It was as if the sky and the earth were howling.
The entire ice surface was shattered by the two violent forces. The three-kilometer distance was crossed by the two in the blink of an eye.
"Gundari Prosperous Dragon Army!"
Kaido raised his kanabo and swung it rapidly, creating an unavoidable space. This technique, with no blind spots, could cut off all of Sakura's escape routes.
"Sakura Blossom Impact - Hundred Flowers Riot!"
Clenching her fists, Sakura instantly refined Chakra into her right fist, completing the condensation and release of Chakra in an extremely short time, unleashing a barrage of blows combined with two types of Haki.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
A force surpassing that of a meteor impact burst forth, colliding dozens of times with Kaido's weapon, Hassaikai, in just a few seconds.
The powerful recoil pushed both figures backward like cannonballs.
In mid-air, Kaido moved his flame clouds behind him, using them as a foothold to launch forward again.
Holding his kanabo with both hands, lightning refined to its extreme resounded with his roar: "Great Virtue - Thunder Bagua!"
Sakura's closed-eye Observation Haki premonition screamed.
Her future-seeing Haki precisely saw the direction of Kaido's attack three seconds later.
Senjutsu Chakra churned. The Odo Odo no Mi's particle-accelerating effect was applied to herself, stretching her temporal perception, making the movement of things around her seem to solidify.
—Kami-e - Afterimage!
Sakura's figure vanished without a trace, leaving a few afterimages in place.
Kaido's kanabo smashed through her afterimage. Like a laser burst, it left a brilliant and dazzling purple beam in the air, extending straight forward.
"Not good!" Kaido's wide eyes shifted sideways.
But Sakura, who had already arrived behind him, clenched her fist and pressed down, her lower body rooting itself into the ground like a stake.
—Fish-Man Karate - Secret Art - Bullet Hammer!
The speed of her fist even broke through the impact of water molecules, pouring the violent giant force capable of moving islands into Kaido's body first.
The subsequent water impact became the second wave of attack, nearly bringing all the water in Kaido's body to a boil.
"Ugh... cough!"
Half-dragon Kaido raised his head and coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Carried backward by the residual force of the attack, he carved a tragic trench before crashing through four or five glaciers reinforced by Sakura.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the dragon-man barely raised his head.
Through the gradually dissipating ice mist, he could see a beautiful figure gently waving her hand, crushing four or five falling thunderbolts as she walked toward him step by step.
A chill ran through his entire body.
'Damn it. At this rate, I would really be beaten to death by this monster. There wasn't much stamina left. Was this my only option… a desperate final gamble?'
"Wororororo! Excellent! This is exactly what I wanted!"
Kaido slammed his kanabo into the ground, using it as a cane to stand up. His blood spilled all over the ground, quickly cooling and freezing into the glacier beneath his feet.
Activating his ability again, his body swelled several times over, becoming a complete dragon.
A solemn, cold will bloomed from the sky. The dragon's flames extended along with his will, converging and linking together, finally forming a flame cloak outside the giant dragon's body capable of melting everything.
—Fire Dragon Torch!
"Planning to risk it all?"
Sakura looked up at the sky, her fists clenched.
Natural energy rapidly gathered into her body. The fruit's ability expanded under the boost of Senjutsu Chakra, igniting a cluster of cherry-pink flames on her silver-white horns.
—Odo Odo no Mi - Decay Mode!
"Haruno Sakura, your abilities are indeed strong. But in this world... Haki ultimately reigns supreme over everything!" The dragon roared, carrying his extreme confidence and unbeatable will!
Kaido poured all his Haki into the flames capable of burning everything, making the flame light faintly tinged with bloody thunder.
"Then let's see whose Haki is stronger!"
Sakura also coated her nearly-burning fists with her Conqueror's Haki, letting a wisp of scorching red lightning dance between her fingers.
In the sky, the clouds churned faster under the collision of their two wills.
Finally, with a lightning strike as the clarion call for battle, Kaido in the sky dove down, while Sakura on the ground leaped upward.
"Rising Dragon - Flame Bagua!" / "Sakura Blossom Impact - Crimson Lotus!"
Boom!