At the edge of the cliff, two figures clashed like lightning.
Rhett wasn't using his Blood Prison Scroll to bully him. He wasn't hiding in the thick mist either. This was pure, physical combat.
Sparks from the collisions between the Black Tide Greatsword and Hassaikai exploded in the air. The sheer physical duel made the entire island tremble.
"Urororo! Now this is more like it!" Kaido sidestepped a sweeping blade and swung his kanabo upward from below. "Let me see how tough your bones are! You think you're better than me, don't you?! You bastard!!!"
Rhett leaned back to avoid the dangerous upward strike, then lashed out with his left leg like a whip. "Too slow."
"THUD!"
His shin, coated in Armament Haki, slammed against Kaido's dragon scales with a dull thud. Kaido spun his body to use the momentum, swinging his kanabo in a full arc toward Rhett's temple.
Rhett didn't retreat. He advanced instead. The hilt of his sword blocked the strike precisely, and his right knee drove hard into Kaido's stomach.
"Guh!" Kaido grunted, but grinned fiercely. His left hand suddenly grabbed Rhett by the collar and slammed him into the ground with a throw.
Dust exploded everywhere. But Rhett caught himself on one hand the moment he hit the ground, then wrapped his legs around Kaido's neck like scissors.
Their offense and defense switched places incredibly fast. In terms of pure physical technique, Rhett was definitely the more skilled. But Kaido relied on his monstrous body to tank hits. The two of them were evenly matched.
They rolled and crashed through rock walls. Kaido slammed his tail against the ground to stop himself, then hurled Rhett into the air.
"Dragon Fall Strike!" Kaido leaped into the air and brought his kanabo down with devastating force.
Rhett twisted his body in mid-air and raised the Black Tide Greatsword to block. "CLANG—!" The deafening clash of metal rang out. Rhett was driven downward by the force, but just before hitting the ground, he suddenly pulled his sword back and rolled sideways. Kaido's kanabo embedded itself deep into the rock.
"Opening." Rhett's elbow slammed into the back of Kaido's neck.
Kaido didn't turn around. His tail lashed out like a steel whip. Rhett ducked under it, his blade scraping along the tail and throwing off sparks. Both leaped back at the same time, then charged forward again.
"THUD! THUD! THUD!"
Kaido raised his arm to block. His right knee drove upward. Rhett raised his own knee to meet it. The impact of their shins colliding made Yamato, watching from a distance, wince.
"Go, Dad!" Yamato waved her little fists, her eyes glued to the battlefield. "Hit him in the chin!"
Kaido suddenly changed his technique. He faked a punch, but his tail swept around instead. Rhett seemed to have anticipated it. He backflipped out of the way, touched the tip of his sword to the ground to push off, and shot forward like an arrow.
"Shing!" The blade scraped across Kaido's chest, leaving a white mark on his scales.
"Didn't eat breakfast?" Kaido grinned and grabbed the blade, his right fist aimed straight for Rhett's throat.
"BOOM!"
Another punch collided. Both slid back more than ten meters. And the sword returned to Rhett's hand.
And so it went. The sun set and rose. Rose and set. Rose and set again.
In other words, six and a half days passed.
Kaido's breathing had started to become slightly irregular.
Rhett's forehead... well, his clothes were a little dirty. But both of their eyes burned just as fiercely.
"Now that's what I call a fight!" Kaido laughed wildly and tore off his shredded shirt. "Let's keep going!"
Rhett twirled his sword. "As you wish."
"BOOM—"
Kaido's massive azure dragon body coiled into the sky. He opened his jaws wide. A terrifying, blazing white light gathered in his throat.
"It's over, Rhett!" Kaido's roar made the entire island tremble. "Boro Breath—!!!"
Rhett: You're the one who used your Devil Fruit ability first. Don't say I'm bullying a kid.
The world-ending dragon flames poured down, turning the entire battlefield into a sea of fire. Rocks vaporized in the heat. The ground melted into flowing magma.
Yamato stood in the distance. Her small hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.
"Dad... that's so cool..." She watched the flames consume everything. She knew her father was the strongest. But suddenly, she felt an emptiness in her chest.
"Dad..." She muttered. "Don't burn..."
The words caught in her throat.
Yamato thought of that always-lazy man. She thought of the grilled meat he had casually handed her. Rhett had raised several children. He had a natural affinity with kids. He was just naturally likable. Could you handle that?
And Yamato didn't think of Rhett as some kind of irredeemable villain. In her mind, he was also a great warrior.
This was thanks to Kaido. In Yamato's mind, Rhett was always a great warrior. Her father had just barely lost.
Kaido would never downplay Rhett's strength. If you lost to a weakling, wouldn't that make you look weak too?
Kaido: "Rhett, Emperor of the Seas. He rules the entire ocean. The mere mention of his name makes pirates tremble in fear. Your father fought him for days and nights. In the end, I lost by a single move. But Rhett was also gravely wounded."
Yamato: "Wow! Wow!"
Kaido: "Rhett, my lifelong rival. I won't let him get away next time."
Yamato: "Wow!"
"Dad... maybe go a little easier on him?!"
Just then —
"Ah... what a pain..."
A lazy voice cut through the wall of fire, reaching everyone's ears clearly.
Yamato's pupils contracted sharply. In the center of the raging sea of fire, a tall figure was slowly stretching. Blood mist surged around him. The flames could not come any closer.
"I mean..." Rhett yawned. "Do you two have to make the exact same face?"
The blood mist coiled around his sword suddenly exploded.
"Mist God Style: Heaven Cleaver."
A calm voice cut through the flames.
In an instant, a crimson sword beam pierced the fire. It split the flames cleanly in half! The blade beam didn't stop. It literally carved a path through the clouds, turning an overcast sky into a clear one. The flames parted like a receding tide, creating a vacuum corridor in front of Rhett.
Rhett walked slowly out of the sea of fire, the Black Tide Greatsword slung over his shoulder. The blood mist still swirling around the blade caught the setting sun, refracting an eerie light. The hem of his coat fluttered in the heat, but there wasn't a single scorch mark on it.
"This is it?" Rhett tilted his head. "Kaido, you haven't improved much."
Kaido's dragon whiskers twitched violently. "You..."
Had it been so long since Rhett had fought that people had forgotten how he became an "Emperor of the Sea"?
"Mist God Style: Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin."
Rhett spoke the words lightly. The blood mist behind him suddenly erupted. Nine ferocious blood dragons burst out of the mist. Each one was lifelike. Their whiskers waved. Their claws and scales gleamed.
They circled above the burning battlefield, using Kaido's dragon flames as their backdrop, swimming and twisting through the fire.
Yamato's eyes went wide. Her small mouth dropped open. She watched the blood dragons weave through the flames. The blood mist covered the entire sky. At this moment, walking calmly through the fire and mist, Rhett truly was the Emperor who made the seas tremble.
The Mist Lord — had officially landed on Onigashima.
"So... so beautiful..." The little girl unconsciously took a step forward.
Kaido's dragon pupils contracted violently. He watched as his own dragon flames were devoured by those blood dragons one by one. Those damn mist creatures were using his fire as food!
"BASTARD!!!" Seeing the admiration in his son's eyes, Kaido could not stand it.