The eight-armed lava giant, its remaining two hands reached for the dragon's head.
Kaido's coiling dragon body thrashed.
Energy accumulated in its maw.
Watching the two giant hands draw ever closer to its head.
The energy in Kaido's mouth erupted:
"Heat Breath!"
Compressed by extreme heat energy, a golden beam instantly sliced through the sky.
Boom!!!
The lava giant's head was struck by the Heat Breath, instantly evaporating.
Simultaneously, the intense heat of the golden flames melted the magma.
Spreading downwards.
Below the evaporated head of the lava giant.
A semi-circular crater, tens of meters wide, was instantly melted.
A direct hit.
Yet Kaido's expression sank.
Where the lava giant's head had evaporated, the magma churned madly.
Within moments, it reformed.
And those two giant hands remained unaffected.
One of the giant hands gripped its dragon neck.
The lava giant bent down.
Seven hands coated with Armament Haki pressed Kaido to the ground.
Each one gripping Kaido's azure dragon body at a different point.
Preventing any struggle.
The remaining free giant hand balled into a fist.
Raised high.
Then, a deafening roar erupted from its shoulder and elbow.
The power of endless erupting magma surged forth from that arm.
The immense force propelled the arm, smashing towards Kaido's dragon head.
Kaido, who was struggling.
Watched the whistling giant fist descend, his dragon pupils shrinking.
Haki instantly covered its head.
Boom!!!!
A deafening explosion resounded.
Countless pirates who had already fled to the pirate ships covered their ears and wailed.
Centered around these two colossal beings.
Furious air currents swept outwards.
Kaido, struck directly by the fist, was dizzy and disoriented.
At this moment, the lava giant's arm was raised high again.
A strong sense of danger brought him back to clarity.
But the instinctual dizziness still prevented him from making any move for the moment.
Meanwhile, King, flying in the air.
Transformed into a pterosaur.
Steadying himself amidst the violent air currents.
His head pulled back like a slingshot:
"Sekizo!"
Then he released it, generating a powerful shockwave.
Whoosh—
Like a laser beam.
It shot towards the right half of the lava giant's body.
The raised arm and the ends of its two other arms.
Were struck and exploded by this laser-like shockwave.
Boom!!!
Directly severing the connection of these three arms to the body.
They fell powerlessly.
With the loss of control from the front three arms, Kaido's upper body struggled to lift itself.
At this moment, magma surged madly from the lava giant's shoulder.
New arms were about to form.
Kaido's body began to burn with intense flames from head to tail, enveloping him.
The extreme heat caused the rear giant hands to start melting.
Feeling his suppressed body loosen slightly.
Kaido exerted more force, and flames instantly engulfed his entire body.
His entire azure dragon form was enveloped by immense flames.
Transforming into a fire dragon:
"Hono Ryū: Enkai!"
"Ascending Dragon: Fire Eight Trigrams!"
Kaido, twisting his body, gathered flames at his head.
Simultaneously coating it with Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
The entire fire dragon slammed into the lava giant's chest at extreme speed.
Boom!!!
A fierce explosion and impact erupted at the center of the lava giant.
The entire upper body of the lava giant instantly shattered.
Transforming into magma meteors, scattering in all directions.
Kaido's figure rapidly shrank, reverting to his hybrid form. He shook his head.
The recent collision had not been easy for him either.
King, transformed into a pterosaur, landed beside Kaido.
The two stared intently at the remaining half of the lava giant.
Tap~tap~tap~tap~
Footsteps sounded from beneath the smoke-shrouded lava giant.
A human silhouette gradually emerged:
"It's still just something formed by an ability, after all."
"It breaks easily."
As the words fell, he walked out of the smoke, looking at Kaido opposite him.
Kaido gazed at the figure before him, hatred erupting.
His eyes turned blood red, and he gritted his teeth, stating clearly:
"SA!KAZUKI!!!"
Sakazuki chuckled lightly:
"That move back then didn't kill you after all."
"You're quite lucky."
Kaido thought of his vanished lungs, the torment of the after-effects over the years.
Hatred surged.
He transformed into a blur.
King hurriedly shouted:
"Brother Kaido!"
Then he too transformed into a blur, giving chase.
You can't act rashly at a time like this, Brother Kaido...
Meanwhile, Kaido's kanabō, which had appeared in his hand at some point, was coated in Haki.
Gripping it with both hands, faint lightning flashed on the kanabō:
"Ro! Ra! Ha! Gwa!"
Sakazuki grinned and flicked his right hand.
Countless magma rocks were flung from his hand and condensed.
Forming a kanabō.
Instantly coated with an immense amount of Armament Haki.
The pitch-black kanabō was incredibly hard.
He swung it back at the charging Kaido!
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal was instantly deafening.
Then, endless lightning erupted from the kanabō in their hands, shooting outwards.
Kaido, consumed by hatred, his face contorted:
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
An endless power erupted within him, pressing down on Sakazuki.
Sakazuki, feeling the immensely escalating force, his grin did not diminish.
His entire body transformed into the Red Lotus mode.
Volcanic shockwaves erupted from his back, shoulders, and elbows.
Instantly overwhelming Kaido.
Pressing him back repeatedly.
At this moment, King, transformed into a pterosaur, also arrived.
At extreme speed, he dived from the sky.
His right foot coated with Armament Haki, he kicked towards Sakazuki like an arrow.
Just as he was a few paces away from hitting Sakazuki.
The kanabō in Sakazuki's hand suddenly exploded.
Endless shockwaves surged towards Kaido.
Kaido was sent flying backwards like a meteor.
Then, his eyes, burning with golden light, looked expressionlessly at the kicking King.
King's heart sank, "Oh no... no time..."
Clang!
King's right foot struck Sakazuki's chest squarely.
Sakazuki, coated in Armament Haki, stood firm on the ground, not taking a single step back.
King frantically flapped his wings, trying to escape.
Sakazuki's left hand suddenly grabbed King's right foot.
He pulled down forcefully.
King was pulled uncontrollably towards Sakazuki.
Sakazuki looked at the charging King.
He circulated his ability in his right hand.
He punched King in the abdomen.
Crack!
A bone-cracking sound was heard.
King spat out a mouthful of blood:
"Ugh..."
Sakazuki's indifferent voice rang out:
"Great Eruption!"
Endless heatwaves erupted from the area around King's abdomen.
Sensing the violent, scorching energy, King's pupils contracted.
Boom!!!
Endless magma erupted from Sakazuki's fist.
If viewed from above the island.
Starting from Sakazuki's position, the magma ahead spread out like a giant fan.
Stretching for who knows how many meters, covering everything in front of it.
Until it reached the edge of the island and entered the sea.
Sakazuki looked into the distance at Kaido, who had already gotten up and was trying to escape.
He transformed into a blur and charged.
On the other side, King, struggling out of the magma:
"Cough... cough..."
He coughed up blood incessantly, when suddenly he felt a sense of being locked onto.
Without time to think, he shot up into the sky.
Swish swish swish swish—
Several whistling sounds pierced the air.
Flying sword energy struck where King had just been.
The Haki-coated sword energy exploded there.
King broke out in a cold sweat and looked towards the person in the distance.
Carole, appearing with Moon Walk.
Holding Sakura Ten, she looked at King:
"Ittō-ryū: Arashi Ame."
She swung a crescent-shaped sword energy, rotating towards King.
From large to small, from one to many.
Within moments, that single crescent sword energy split into countless fine sword energies.
Like a curtain of rain, it swept towards King.