On the shattered land of Onigashima, the royal duel raged on.
Chi-chi!
Rumble!
A storm of black lightning tore through the sky as if the heavens themselves were being split apart.
Kaido, in his Dragon Man form, had fully entered the state of Nine-Dragon Eight Trigrams. His power, instead of waning, surged to new, terrifying heights.
The mace wrapped in Conqueror's Haki lightning clashed again and again with Sugisawa Yuuto's black thunder-coated fists.
Each impact shook the island's foundation—stone splintered, air cracked, and the world trembled beneath the power of two true emperors.
Blood scattered across the battlefield.
Some of it belonged to Yuuto—
But most, to Kaido.
For a quarter of an hour, the clash continued without pause.
Until, finally—
The trembling of Onigashima subsided, leaving only a suffocating silence.
Kaido stood amidst the ruins, covering one eye with his massive hand. His voice, once the roar of a dragon, trembled with exhaustion and sorrow.
"Heh… pathetic. Twenty years of building my fortress, destroyed so easily. My subordinates—those who trusted me—I couldn't even protect them…"
The mighty Emperor of the Sea, the feared Kaido of the Beasts, sounded almost… defeated.
He was drunk again.
"Eh?"
"That's… Kaido?"
"Is this one of Perona's ghosts?"
The Fairy Tail girls turned toward Perona, blinking in confusion.
"It's not me!" Perona waved her hands frantically, pale as a sheet.
The next second—
"Waaaahhhhh!!!"
Kaido burst into tears without warning.
"Wait, wait, is Kaido crying!?" Nami shouted, her jaw dropping.
"Was he actually beaten into tears by our Guild Master?!"
Juvia shook her head in disbelief. "That's supposed to be one of the Four Emperors?"
Runti stepped in, explaining quickly, "No, this is Kaido's Wine Dragon: Eight Trigrams Mode. His emotions go completely unstable when he's drunk—he can switch from crying to killing in seconds."
"I see…" the girls said, though they looked anything but reassured.
Mira narrowed her eyes slightly. "Runti-chan, you seem to know a lot about Kaido…"
But she left it at that.
Across the battlefield, Kaido's tears turned to rage.
"Charging into my territory without permission, rampaging without permission, challenging me without permission—
You worthless brat! Even if you die a hundred times, it won't be enough to ease my rage!"
The dragon man roared, his breath thick with alcohol, his killing intent unleashed.
Yuuto inhaled deeply.
Then opened his mouth.
Thunder Dragon King's Roar!!!
A beam of black thunder burst forth, tearing through the battlefield like the wrath of a god.
Even as Kaido swung his mace up to block, the destructive force sent him flying backward.
The Supreme Kanabo, tempered for decades in Kaido's Haki, cracked faintly along its shaft.
"Damn… that hurts! My body's numb… can't you be a little gentler, brother?"
Kaido's tone suddenly turned soft—almost flirtatious.
"???"
Every Fairy Tail girl froze.
"Ewww!"
"That's not a drunk mode—that's a pervert mode!"
"Someone gouge out my eyes!"
"I can't unsee it! A giant dragon acting cute—it's burned into my soul!"
Yuuto's expression twitched uncontrollably.
The attack he'd been preparing stopped in midair.
"There's your opening!"
Kaido's demeanor flipped again—from coquettish to killer.
He opened his mouth and spewed forth a blazing inferno.
Dragon's Flame Breath!
But Yuuto only smirked. "Fire doesn't work on me."
"I know that!" Kaido's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Yuuto's eyes widened.
Kaido had already vanished from the front—appearing right behind him.
"Roaring Thunder: Eight Trigrams!!!"
A strike faster, heavier, and more violent than any before crashed down.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
This time, Yuuto was sent flying—hundreds of meters across the island, smashing through stone and steel alike.
"Nice hit, Mr. Kaido!"
Plague Queen, half-machine and half-human, cheered drunkenly—only to cough up black smoke as his circuits shorted out.
Electric sparks burst from his body, and he collapsed unconscious with a thud.
Even in defeat, he didn't understand how the small figure before him—Wendy—had turned into a relentless demon of combat.
At first, her attacks barely stung.
But then, one heavy strike changed everything.
After that, she became a whirlwind—devastating, merciless, impossible to endure. Within a minute, he was done for.
"I'm heading back," Irene said calmly, carrying Carla in her arms as she left the field, glancing at Yuuto's distant form as he fell. "He'll be fine."
"Wendy, you did amazing out there," someone called as the Fairy Tail girls rushed over.
"Those last moves were beautiful!"
But Wendy collapsed the moment she touched the ground.
"The strongest substitute… offline," someone muttered.
"Manxueli, start healing—now!" Violet ordered.
"Yes!" The tiny princess clasped her hands together, releasing her healing light.
Thankfully, Wendy and Carla were only briefly knocked out. Their breathing soon steadied.
"That just leaves Erza and the Guild Master," said Lisanna.
"They'll be fine," Mira said confidently.
"Yeah," the others nodded, firm belief shining in their eyes.
Back on the battlefield—
Kaido laughed, heavy and harsh.
"Not enough! I know it's not enough—but I won't stop!"
Black lightning flickered.
Sugisawa Yuuto reappeared amidst the ruins of the skull dome, cracking his neck with a grin.
"That last one actually hurt a bit," he said.
"Oh, you'll feel much worse in a moment!" Kaido snarled, rushing forward.
King's Might—Thunder Eight Trigrams!!!
A strike even stronger than before crashed down with a roar.
Yuuto raised his hand, calm and composed.
Instantly, a grid of black lightning formed in the air—a web of destruction and resistance combined.
Kaido's devastating blow slowed, its power drained away piece by piece.
In that moment, Yuuto stepped forward, gripping Kaido's mace with one hand.
Chi-chi! BOOM!
Black lightning surged up his arm.
A sharp crack split the air.
"Nani!?" Kaido's pupils constricted.
The Supreme Kanabo, the weapon he had forged and fed with Haki for decades—was splitting apart.
CRACK! BOOM!
It shattered completely.
Yuuto exhaled slowly. "It's about time we end this."
Kaido smirked through bloodied teeth. "I think so too."
His form began to swell, muscles stretching, scales gleaming.
The Dragon Man transformed fully into his Azure Dragon form, his body spiraling through the clouds.
Flames burst from his jaws, enveloping his massive body until he became a colossal Fire Dragon.
"Fire Dragon Torch!!!"
The battlefield lit up like the surface of the sun—
And the final stage of their battle began.
...
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