Could it be… Whitebeard was just putting on a show?
Yeah. That had to be it. But wasn't it just a little too obvious?
If Whitebeard had simply pretended not to be injured, maybe Kaido would've bought it. But now the old man was strutting around like he was back in his prime—did he really think Kaido was some kind of fool?
The thought made Kaido's blood boil.
"ROAAAARRR!!!"
A guttural roar ripped from Kaido's throat. Black tribal patterns crawled over his skin, his horns sharpened to wicked points, and his face twisted into something truly monstrous. His body swelled, growing impossibly massive—until only the vague outline of a man remained.
No—Kaido, the "Strongest Creature in the World," wasn't even human. Like Chopper, he was a beast who'd eaten the Human-Human Fruit.
But Kaido's was no ordinary Zoan: it was the Mythical Zoan, Oni Fruit.
And Kaido's true form? Anyone paying attention to Wano's storylines could piece it together. Dragons kept appearing—Ryuma's legendary dragon-slaying, Momonosuke's Dragon-Dragon Fruit, the samurai's deep hatred for dragons. All of it pointed to one truth: the tyrant who ruled Wano with an iron fist was a dragon himself.
Kaido's obsession with Zoan-type Devil Fruits? Another clue. He'd devoured one himself, and it was the source of his monstrous power.
In his Oni form, Kaido's body ballooned to titanic size. With a lash of his tail, he launched himself straight at Whitebeard, who stood tall on the deck of the Moby Dick.
Both hands were wreathed in pitch-black Armament Haki, gleaming like forged steel. His claws sliced through the air, leaving sonic booms in their wake.
"Die, Whitebeard!"
Kaido's fingers, sharp as spears, shot straight for Whitebeard's chest.
Whitebeard just smirked, eyes burning with contempt. His voice thundered, "Kaido, you brat… you want me dead? You're a hundred years too early!"
A surge of raw power erupted from Whitebeard's body.
Devil Fruit: Second Awakening!
Tremor Domain!
With giant blood running through his veins and his prime restored by Kai, Whitebeard's recovery was nothing short of miraculous. In just a few days, he'd clawed back nearly all his strength.
Cracks spiderwebbed through the air at Whitebeard's command, racing toward Kaido. Both fists hammered out, unleashing spatial fractures so dense they shimmered like shattered glass.
Kaido, in Oni form, was blindingly fast. In a heartbeat, he closed the gap—dozens of meters—charging straight for Whitebeard.
But Whitebeard's attack landed first. The spatial fractures slammed into Kaido, splitting his massive body nearly in two. If not for a thin strip of flesh at his waist, Kaido would've been cleaved clean in half.
"How the hell…!? This is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's second awakening… That old bastard—how can he still use that!?" Kaido's mind reeled. He knew all about Whitebeard's awakened power, but seeing it up close was something else. Shock and terror warred on his face, yet he barely seemed to notice his gruesome wounds.
Staggering, Kaido grabbed hold of his sundered torso, forcing the halves together with brute strength.
Black flames flickered to life, burning across his wounds.
Moments later, the flames faded—and Kaido's body was whole again, not a scar in sight.
Dragons were legendary for their resilience and regeneration, and the Oni Fruit was one of the most powerful Mythical Zoans in existence. With these abilities, death was almost a joke to Kaido.
That's why, among the Four Emperors, Kaido was the wildest, the most reckless—he relied on his Devil Fruit's monstrous power to back up every insane stunt.
Whitebeard laughed, voice booming across the sea. "Gurarararara… So, Kaido, you still want to keep going? If you're up for it… I'll fight you all night!"
He leveled his naginata at Kaido, daring him to make the next move.
At the same time, a tidal wave of Conqueror's Haki crashed over the Beasts Pirates. Every crew member below officer level collapsed instantly, foaming at the mouth.
"Damn it…" Kaido cursed under his breath. Was this really the Whitebeard who'd supposedly lost to the Navy? Or had he truly regained his youth? How could he be so terrifying?
"Hmph… Whitebeard, this isn't over!" Kaido spat, turning to leave.
It wasn't that Kaido lacked the power to go toe-to-toe with Whitebeard. As an Oni Fruit user, he still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. The second awakening of the Oni Fruit was every bit as fearsome as Whitebeard's Tremor Domain. But Kaido hadn't come here for a death match—he'd never planned to see this fight through to the bitter end.
A battle between Whitebeard and Kaido was a clash of Emperors. From the moment Kaido sailed out of his territory toward Whitebeard's, the world had watched with bated breath. Plenty of pirates shared Kaido's ambitions.
But when word spread that Kaido was on the defensive for most of the fight, the world lost its collective cool. Not because of the Emperors themselves—but because if Kai had managed to defeat such a monstrous Whitebeard, then just how terrifying was Kai?
At that moment, Kai had already returned to Navy Headquarters.
Meanwhile, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was stepping into the halls of the World Government in Mariejois.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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