"Crossfire!"
"Whistling Arrow!"
"Speed Rounds!"
The battle erupted as Ace, Izo, and Yamato simultaneously unleashed long-range attacks. Faced with this barrage, Kaido let out a cold snort. He didn't move an inch, stoically tanking every strike.
Boom!
As the flames dissipated, Kaido's body remained entirely unscathed.
"How is that possible?!" Izo bit his lip, unable to believe his eyes.
Ace looked equally shocked. "I heard he was a Zoan-type user, not a Logia?"
"He possesses a Mythical Zoan ability, which is even rarer than a Logia. His physical toughness is beyond your imagination," Yamato explained, a flash of frustration crossing her eyes as she looked at her explosive shackles. "He's a monster. We must prepare for a prolonged struggle. This man is not an opponent who can be easily defeated."
Watching from the sidelines, Aokiji and the others were also stunned by Kaido's performance.
"Tanking that much damage with just his raw physical body... he truly lives up to his title as the World's Strongest Creature."
"It's too early to be surprised. He hasn't even warmed up yet," Aomori said, his fingers twitching. He felt a sudden surge of adrenaline, an urge to fight an opponent like this until the end of time. He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart.
Deep down, he wasn't a warmonger.
Kaido cracked his neck, his voice deep and rumbling. "Thanks to you lot, I'm mostly sober now."
His gaze swept past Ace's trio, landing on Aomori and the others. When his eyes met Aokiji's, they lit up. "Hahahaha! Marine Admiral Aokiji! Finally, an opponent worth my time. A pity there's only one of you; I doubt you can withstand me for long."
"Having a big name has its downsides; you're always the center of attention in a crowd," Aomori remarked with a smile.
Aokiji shook his head and replied loudly, "Kaido, I'm not here as a Marine Admiral. You don't need to worry about a Marine invasion. Besides, I am not your opponent."
"Oh?" Kaido's eyes roved over Aomori's group, finally settling on Aomori himself.
This smiling man was the only one he couldn't see through. There was a look in Aomori's eyes, a mix of strange admiration and pity, that stoked an inexplicable fire in Kaido's gut.
"Since you're here, how can we not have a fight?!" Kaido retracted his gaze and looked back at Aokiji. Gripping his kanabo, he ignored Ace and the others, striding toward the former Admiral.
"Wait! Your opponents are us!" Enraged at being overlooked, Ace willed an endless tide of flames to erupt from his body, turning the area into a sea of fire. Under his control, the flames converged into a towering pillar blocking Kaido's path.
"Flame Commandment: Fire Pillar!"
"Flame-Flame Fruit? Hmph. Don't flaunt your fragile fruit abilities in front of me." Kaido's eyes widened. His kanabo was instantly wreathed in dense lightning. With speed Ace couldn't even track, he shattered the massive fire pillar and slammed the club into Ace's body.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Bang!
A perfect home run. Ace's body doubled over as he was sent flying like a meteor, crashing into one of Onigashima's giant horns and coughing up blood.
"Ace!" Yamato's expression changed drastically. But the moment she turned to look at Ace, an unbearable agony bloomed in her abdomen.
Kaido swung his kanabo again, sending Yamato tumbling toward the horn on the opposite side.
"Idiot. After fighting me so many times, you should know the consequences of being distracted in battle." Like swatting away two flies, Kaido continued his march toward Aokiji without a second thought.
Suddenly, Izo was the only one left. Watching the approaching Kaido, he gripped his flintlocks with trembling hands and pulled the triggers with unwavering resolve. Two Haki-infused bullets spiraled from the barrels, surrounded by a vacuum-like pressure similar to a swordsman's flying slash.
"Slicing Round!"
Bang!
A second later, Izo lay on the ground, coughing blood with his eyes rolled back.
"Good technique. Haki's a bit weak, though." Kaido-sensei had taken down three people with three swings, yet he didn't forget to offer a constructive critique. Aomori's admiration for him grew even further.
However, everyone else was simply reeling from Kaido's overwhelming dominance.
Dammit... why are there so many monsters in this world? First Whitebeard, now Kaido... is this the power of the Emperors? Was all my effort just a joke to them? Crocodile clenched his fists, his heart full of bitterness.
Robin was simply paralyzed by the sheer terror of Kaido's aura, her legs feeling weak.
Aokiji stared coldly at Kaido, his heart filled with concern for the future of the Marines. Powerful pirates like Kaido will only become more common. Arrests alone won't stop them; only by tearing the problem out by the roots can true peace be brought to this world.
He glanced at the smiling Aomori and made a final decision.
"Aokiji, fight me!" Closing the distance, Kaido raised his lightning-wreathed kanabo and swung it down with crushing force toward... Aomori!
"!"
No one had realized Kaido's true target was Aomori. Aokiji had been ready to intercept, and even Aomori was slightly taken aback. He had sensed Kaido's aura locked onto Aokiji; the Emperor's attention hadn't been on him at all until the very moment of the strike, a feint that had fooled everyone present.
He actually noticed me despite my attempts to stay low-key? Aomori's estimation of Kaido rose again. As expected of a man with both brawn and brains, Kaido-sensei!
In the sparks of that split second, Aomori's thoughts raced. Facing Kaido's heavy blow, he didn't strike back. Instead, he grabbed Robin and retreated.
Because someone had already stepped in to block for him.
"Kaido! I told you, your opponents are us!" A bloodied Ace appeared before Aomori at a speed exceeding his limits, manifesting as a streak of fire. His blackened arm, wreathed in scorching flames, slammed into the kanabo with unstoppable momentum.
Boom!
A hurricane-like shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping in all directions. Aokiji and Crocodile were forced back several steps.
"That kid... he's actually matching Kaido's strength?"
The fist and the kanabo remained locked for several seconds. Ace gritted his teeth and held on, but as Kaido's face darkened and he applied more pressure, Ace was gradually pushed down.
"Don't forget me!" Yamato returned, rushing at Kaido with extreme speed. Her smaller kanabo slammed into Kaido's own.
"Divine Swiftness White Serpent!"
"Hah!" Under their combined strength, even Kaido was forced back a few steps.
This was the first time since the start of the battle that Kaido had retreated.
"You've got some skill, kid. What's your name?" Kaido asked Ace.
"Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division Commander, Portgas D. Ace!"
"So you're one of Whitebeard's boys. Not bad. I like you. Come join me—treasure, women, whatever you want!" Kaido reached out his left hand, inviting Ace to join the Beasts Pirates.
"No!" Ace rejected him without a second thought. "I will never betray Pops."
"Hmph. Then I'll just capture you first." Kaido suddenly pointed to Aomori, who was watching from the back. "Once I finish with these two, I'll come for you!"
"Looking forward to it," Aomori replied with a smile.
By now, Kaido's subordinates had rushed to the scene, drawn by the commotion. Upon seeing the combatants, they were shocked. "Is this an alliance between the Marines and Whitebeard?"
"Who cares? They're all invaders! Capture them!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Old Croc, Kuzan, that's your cue," Aomori reminded them.
"Hmph." Crocodile kicked up a sandstorm while Aokiji instantly froze over half the crowd, successfully stopping the interference from the small-time novices.
On the other side, the battle with Ace and Yamato entered its second phase. Kaido shifted his form, transforming into a massive azure dragon riding the clouds.
Fire, lightning, and wind fell under his command, becoming high-level area-of-effect attacks that left Ace and Yamato reeling.
"Dragon Twister: Demolition Wind!" The dragon-form Kaido roared, his voice shaking them to their core as he spun his body, unleashing a barrage of massive wind blades. The already shattered rooftop was torn to shreds.
Ace and Yamato were each struck by several wind blades, leaving deep, bloody gashes. They fell one after another, unable to stand again.
"Only lasted until the second phase, huh? There are still so many forms left," Aomori shook his head. It seemed that Yamato, restricted by her shackles, and the current Ace were only roughly at the level of Gear 4th Luffy from two years later.
"Bolo Breath!" Kaido looked at Aomori and unleashed a pillar of flame several kilometers long, a display that would make Ace's fire look pale in comparison.
"Why so impatient?" Aomori set Robin down and leaped into the air. Lightning wreathed his body as he flew upward, slicing the Bolo Breath in half until it dissipated into nothingness.
He flew right in front of Kaido. "Are you sure you want to fight me in this form? To me, you're just a massive target."
"Hahahaha! Then let's take this to the ground and settle it!" Kaido usually only used his dragon form to clear out fodder; when fighting true powerhouses, he preferred his hybrid Dragon-Human form.
Amidst his laughter, Kaido's body shrunk back toward a human shape, though his skin became covered in dragon scales and his thick hair draped over his back like a heavy cloak. In this form, Kaido possessed human agility combined with dragon-like destructive power, and his defensive physique was multiplied.
Aomori landed in front of the hulking Kaido, looking up at him like a child. Their eyes met, and their fighting spirit soared until nothing else existed in their world. The immense pressure descended silently upon everyone else's hearts. They stopped their skirmishes and looked at the two figures with panicked expressions.
"It's finally starting, the duel at the pinnacle of the world," Aokiji watched with burning intensity.
"When will I be able to join their ranks?" Crocodile murmured. "Was I really on the wrong path?"
Robin bit her lip and hugged her arms, staring up stubbornly. "Chairman, go for it!"
Ace, Yamato, and Izo also regained consciousness. They sat up, unwilling to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The battle that would decide the fate of the world was about to begin!
"Hero Association Chairman, Aomori."
"Beasts Pirates Captain, Kaido."
After exchanging names, their eyes flashed as they charged simultaneously.
"Thunder Bagua!" Kaido unleashed his signature move, but this time, the kanabo was wreathed not only in blue sparks but in trailing black lightning. He had opened with Conqueror's Haki infusion!
Aomori's arms were similarly wreathed in lightning and holy light. With the conviction of certain victory, he unleashed hundreds of heavy punches in an instant, exploding with full power.
"Thunder-Light Duality: Meteor Destruction Fist!"
BOOOM!!!
A terrifying shockwave radiated outward. The ground beneath them shattered instantly, and the resulting stone fragments were sent flying like cannonballs by the air pressure. The spectators were forced to abandon their viewing and flee to a safer distance to avoid the aftermath.
Treading on the debris, Aomori and Kaido leaped into the air, exchanging a relentless stream of blows. Every collision between fist and kanabo was accompanied by a powerful impact.
"Not enough! Faster! Stronger!" Aomori was getting into the zone. He mobilized his life force, his three energy types (Lightning, Light, and Dark), and his soul, slowly condensing them into a single point under his deliberate control.
Knowing that combining soul with the physical body produced an effect similar to Armament Haki, he had been trying to integrate his energy as well. However, the results had been poor; it was merely a surface layer of attachment rather than a true polymerization.
Aomori planned to use Kaido's overwhelming pressure to force his physical body, soul, and energy to fuse together, seeing if a new element would emerge to boost his strength.
However, he found that Kaido's pressure still wasn't quite enough.
"Hey, Kaido, is this all you've got?" Aomori didn't hide his disappointment. He sent Kaido flying with a punch, landing back on the ground.
"You bastard!" Kaido patted his chest as if nothing had happened. "Your attacks aren't doing anything to me either."
"Heh. Compared to your offense, your defense is indeed worth praising," Aomori landed and replied. "But I'm sorry to say, I have a lot of experience dealing with thick-skinned guys like you."
"If you can knock me down, then try it!"
"Fine." Aomori nodded, and his figure suddenly vanished.
Behind me! Kaido's Observation Haki was also at the top level, catching Aomori's movement in advance. Yet, just as he was about to turn, a pain he had never felt before flared up inside him.
"Exploding Heart Release Fist: 1024-Hit Combo! Ora ora ora...!"
His fists fell like illusions upon Kaido's back. The force bypassed the scales and struck directly at his internal organs. Despite his inhuman physique, the pain was unbearable.
"Aaargh!" Kaido roared and leaped away, spinning his body to bring his iron club crashing down on Aomori.
"Kosanze Ragnaraku!"
BOOM!
The psychic barrier and energy shields shattered one after another. The kanabo slammed into Aomori's raised arm, hammering him into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Hahaha... that's it!" Aomori laughed as he stood up. "Kaido, again!"
"Come!"
Amidst the mad flickering of black lightning, Kaido and Aomori collided once more.
————
NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]