Cold wind swept across the shattered roof of Onigashima.
Snowflakes drifted lazily from the dark clouds above, instantly vaporizing into steam as they touched the heated, broken stones of the summit. The earlier battle had left the fortress roof a cratered wasteland of pulverized rock and splintered wood.
Standing amidst the wreckage, the two allied captains faced the rulers of the New World.
Beside the towering captain, the surgeon adjusted his spotted hat, gripping the hilt of his long nodachi.
Across the ruined expanse, Kaido rested his spiked kanabo against his shoulder. The dragon Emperor stared at the Strawhat boy. A few paces away, Big Mom gripped the hilt of her massive sword, Napoleon. Flames danced wildly across Prometheus, while Zeus crackled with restless electrical energy.
No words were exchanged. The time for declarations had passed.
The King of the Beasts moved first.
Closing the distance with terrifying speed, Kaido swung the heavy iron club in a horizontal arc aimed directly at the rubber captain's torso.
Instead of dodging backward, the pirate stepped smoothly into the strike's inner radius. Planting his lead foot firmly onto the stone, he raised his knee, blocking the massive iron club with his shin.
The impact generated a deafening shockwave, cracking the stone floor in a wide radius.
The block held perfectly. Channeling the incoming force, the pirate pivoted on his planted foot. The momentum fueled a blindingly fast, spinning hook kick.
Hwechook.
The heavy, black leather sandal struck the side of Kaido's face. The blunt force snapped the Emperor's head to the side, forcing the man to stumble two steps to the right.
Roaring in anger, Big Mom stepped forward to support her ally.
Raising Napoleon high above her head, the giant woman brought the massive blade down, seeking to cleave the Strawhat in half while his leg remained extended.
A faint blue hemisphere expanded instantly across the roof.
Room.
Before the flaming sword could descend, Trafalgar Law materialized in the weapon's path. The surgeon did not attempt a brute-force block. Integrating the teachings of the Moonlight Sword Style, his movements flowed like water reflecting a silver glow.
Drawing his nodachi, the blade seemed to shimmer and blur in the dim light.
Instead of meeting the heavy strike with opposing force, the surgeon angled his weapon perfectly. The edge of his sword caught the flat of Napoleon's blade. Guiding the tremendous weight of the Emperor's attack past his own body, Law stepped lightly to the side. The giant flaming sword crashed harmlessly into the stone floor, carving a trench into the roof.
Exploiting the opening, Law reversed his grip.
A pale, ethereal light coated the length of his nodachi. The Moonlight Sword Style prioritized rhythm and illusion, creating strikes that bypassed defenses by targeting the space around the opponent.
Swinging upward in a smooth, elegant arc, the surgeon delivered a precise cut across the giant woman's chest.
The blade did not pierce her impenetrable skin, but the internal shockwave carried the force directly into her ribs. Stumbling backward, Big Mom gasped, dropping her guard as the unexpected internal pressure disrupted her breathing.
Recovering his balance, Kaido swung his kanabo again, this time aiming a rising uppercut intended to launch the rubber captain into the sky.
Bo-bup.
The captain vanished from the weapon's path, leaving only a faint distortion in the air. Reappearing instantaneously directly above the dragon Emperor, the pirate positioned himself for a descending strike.
Coating his right leg in dense Armament Haki, the limb turned a gleaming, metallic black.
Bringing the heel down with devastating acceleration, the pirate executed an axe kick directly onto the crown of Kaido's head. The air pressure warped around the descending limb.
Sensing the danger, Kaido raised his thick, scaled forearm to block.
The Haki-coated heel clashed against the dragon scales. The resulting explosion shattered the remaining intact masonry on the left side of the roof, sending massive chunks of debris tumbling over the edge of the fortress. The downward force drove Kaido's boots deep into the stone foundation.
Furious at being pushed around, Big Mom commanded her elemental homies.
"Prometheus! Zeus!" the Emperor shrieked, pointing her sword at the surgeon. "Burn him to ash!"
A massive torrent of searing fire and a jagged, blinding bolt of lightning shot across the roof simultaneously, converging on Law's position.
Maintaining his calm demeanor, the surgeon did not retreat.
Shambles.
Swapping his location with a falling piece of rubble, Law vanished. The fire and lightning collided in the center of the roof, creating an explosion that temporarily blinded the combatants.
Materializing behind the giant woman, Law assumed a low, horizontal stance. The nodachi hummed with a quiet, pale energy.
Moonlight Flash.
Thrusting the blade forward, the attack moved without a sound. The spatial distortion bypassed the distance. The tip of the sword struck the center of Big Mom's back. Again, the impenetrable skin held, but the spatial shockwave rattled her spine, forcing the Emperor to her knees.
Shaking off the axe kick, Kaido swung his kanabo in a wide, sweeping circle to clear the immediate area.
Anticipating the sweep, the rubber captain dropped into a low crouch. The heavy iron club whistled mere inches over his straw hat.
Biting his thumb, the pirate blew a massive burst of air into his muscles, expanding his right arm. Retracting the giant, Haki-coated fist backward, he did not rely on elasticity alone. Applying the recoilless principles of his new martial arts, he eliminated the wasted energy in the wind-up.
Snapping the massive fist forward, the punch struck Kaido squarely in the stomach.
The Emperor folded slightly around the impact. Pushed backward by the overwhelming force, Kaido skidded across the stone, dragging his kanabo along the ground to arrest his momentum.
Dust billowed across the ruined summit, illuminated by the pale moonlight and the remaining patches of burning debris.
Standing twenty paces apart, the two factions faced each other once more.
The rubber captain rolled his shoulders, standing tall and relaxed. The surgeon rested his nodachi against his shoulder, adjusting his spotted hat. Across the cratered roof, Kaido gripped his iron club, a dark grin spreading across his face. Big Mom pushed herself up from the floor, brushing dust from her pink dress, her eyes burning with irritation.
Despite the incredible speed and devastating power of the opening clash, the atmosphere remained composed.
No ragged breaths escaped their lips. No signs of exhaustion marred their features. The four combatants stood in perfect condition. The initial exchange had merely served as a warm-up, a mutual testing of the waters to establish the baseline of the conflict.
Observing the two towering monsters, the surgeon lowered his sword slightly.
"Fighting them together is a mistake," Law noted quietly. "While one attacks, the other disrupts the counter. We cannot maintain a coordinated assault against their combined durability."
Looking straight ahead, the Luffy nodded in simple agreement. "Yeah. We need to separate them."
"Agreed," Law replied.
"Can you move one of them down to the lower floors?" Luffy asked, cracking his knuckles casually. "Just drop the balloon lady somewhere else."
Frowning under his hat, the surgeon shook his head.
"I cannot," Law explained, a trace of frustration coloring his voice. "Their Haki is too dense. Their willpower blocks my ability to teleport them. I cannot move them against their will."
"Oh. Okay," Luffy replied smoothly, stretching his neck side to side. "Leave it to me."
Before the surgeon could ask for clarification, the rubber pirate dropped his combat stance.
Walking forward at a casual, relaxed pace, Luffy strolled across the ruined battlefield. He did not coat his arms in Haki. He did not ready a punch. He simply walked directly toward the two most dangerous pirates in the world as if taking a leisurely stroll through a park.
Confused by the lack of hostility, Big Mom lowered Napoleon slightly.
"What are you doing, brat?" the giant woman demanded, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Closing the final few paces, Luffy did not answer.
Reaching out with both hands, the captain grabbed the thick, ruffled fabric of the Emperor's pink dress near her collar.
The sudden movement caught the giant woman off guard. Before Big Mom could swing her sword or summon her elemental homies.
Luffy stepped deep into her guard. Planting his hip against her waist, he performed a flawless, high-speed judo throw.
The leverage generated by the technique lifted the towering Emperor off her feet.
Swinging her massive body in a rapid arc, the captain did not aim for the floor. Releasing his grip at the perfect angle, he launched the giant woman toward the edge of the skull dome.
Sailing through the night air, a look of comical bewilderment stretched across Big Mom's face.
"Eh?" the Emperor squeaked, utterly confused by the absurdity of the maneuver.
Tumbling over the broken railing, the giant woman plummeted into the dark, empty sky, falling rapidly toward the treacherous ocean surrounding the island.
Dusting off his hands, Luffy turned around and pointed a thumb over his shoulder.
"Take care of her, Torao!" the captain called out cheerfully, flashing a wide, confident grin. "I will handle Kaido!"
Standing near the center of the roof, the surgeon stared at the empty space where the Emperor had just been standing.
The problem had been solved. The execution, however, defied every single logical law of combat, physics, and common sense. Throwing a Yonko off a roof by her collar belonged in a slapstick comedy, not a war for the fate of the country.
Silence settled over the remaining combatants.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Law closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Arguing with the stupidity of the rubber pirate yielded no results.
"Fine," the surgeon muttered bitterly.
Opening a spatial sphere, Law swapped his position with a falling rock, teleporting off the roof to intercept the falling Emperor and prevent her from returning to the summit.
The wind howled across the newly emptied battlefield.
Left alone amidst the rubble, the rubber captain and the dragon Emperor faced each other. The presence of the other fighters had vanished. The interference was gone. The stage was finally set for the promised duel.
A low, rumbling chuckle echoed from the King of the Beasts.
"You actually threw the old hag off the roof," Kaido laughed, the sound carrying a strange mixture of amusement and respect. "You are full of surprises, Straw Hat."
"I told you," Luffy replied smoothly, the cheerful demeanor vanishing instantly, replaced by absolute, focused intensity. "I am going to beat you."
Smiling fiercely, Kaido gripped the handle of his spiked kanabo with both hands.
"Show me," Kaido challenged.
Black lightning began to spark violently from the iron club. The jagged streaks of Conqueror's Haki danced across the weapon, tearing at the very fabric of the air.
Mirroring the escalation, Luffy widened his stance.
Red and black lightning erupted from the captain's arm, matching the terrifying display of the Emperor.
The atmosphere on the roof grew heavy. The spiritual pressure generated by the two fighters cracked the remaining stones beneath their boots, crushing the rubble into fine dust.
Kicking off the ground simultaneously, the two monsters charged.
Moving with blinding speed, the gap closed in a fraction of a millisecond.
Swinging the massive iron club horizontally, Kaido unleashed his signature, devastating technique.
Thunder Bagua!
Matching the timing perfectly, Luffy drove his Haki-coated fist forward, pouring every ounce of his strength and spiritual dominance into a single, straightforward punch.
Gum-Gum Supreme King Roc!
The fist and the kanabo collided in the dead center of the roof.
However, the weapons did not actually touch.
A gap of empty space, several inches wide, separated the pirate's knuckles from the spikes of the iron club. The collision of their advanced Conqueror's Haki created an invisible, impenetrable barrier of pure spiritual force.
The resulting shockwave defied comprehension.
A blinding flash of dark lightning expanded outward, consuming the summit. The impact blasted the remaining debris off the roof, flattening the architecture and sending an earthquake down through the very foundations of the skull dome.
The force traveled upward, striking the heavy, dark storm clouds hanging over the island.
Under the overwhelming pressure of the clashing kings, the sky itself tore open. A massive, clean fissure split the clouds in half.