Chapter 140: The Dragon's Escape! Maximizing the Prey!
"Just as expected!"
The collective thought echoed in the minds of the dark forces' big shots—the Underworld Emperors, the spies, and the surviving guests. Their hearts simultaneously sank, dropping into their stomachs like heavy stones.
There was a strange, paradoxical certainty in their reaction. It was a mix of "it's no surprise" that the monster survived, blended with a deep, primal shock and fear regarding that terrifying vitality.
"As expected of the 'Strongest Creature'!" Stussy whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she peered over the edge of a broken wall. "He still hasn't fallen, even after... that?"
The smoke and dust from the previous cataclysmic impact slowly began to dissipate, carried away by the sea breeze of Totto Land.
In the center of the massive, cratered pit—which looked more like the impact site of a meteor than a battlefield—the azure body of the divine dragon was still coiled.
However, his appearance could only be described with one word: miserable.
It was a sight that shattered the worldview of everyone present. Kaido, the indestructible entity, the man who jumped from sky islands for fun, was broken.
His originally indestructible azure dragon scales, usually shimmering with a luster harder than diamond, were now dull and covered in spiderweb-like cracks. Large chunks of these scales were peeling off, revealing the bloody, mangled muscle tissue beneath. It looked like a porcelain doll that had been smashed with a hammer but refused to shatter completely.
One of his ferocious, spiraling dragon horns—a symbol of his demonic majesty—was snapped in half. Blood, thick and dark like magma, continuously streamed down his massive head, blinding one eye and staining the biscuit ground a dark, ominous crimson.
Haa... Haa...
Every breath he took was a struggle. It was accompanied by a grating, wet sound, like a broken bellows trying to force air into punctured lungs. His aura, usually a raging fire that consumed everything, had weakened to the extreme, flickering like a candle in a hurricane.
However, to everyone's surprise, this time, Kaido did not charge toward Hashirama like a mad beast.
Within his massive golden dragon eyes, although the raging fury of a humiliated Emperor still burned, deep down, there was a trace of... calmness.
Or rather, it was a terrifying clarity forcefully hammered into him by absolute power and the looming shadow of death!
Kaido's mind was racing. The alcohol had long since evaporated from his system, replaced by cold, hard adrenaline.
I can't win.
The realization was bitter, but undeniable. He finally understood that he wasn't facing some "newcomer" trying to make a name for himself. He wasn't facing a rookie he could crush with Haki.
He was facing a monster. A creature that stood on the same peak—no, perhaps an even higher peak—than himself.
That wood... that life force... it's endless, Kaido thought, his gaze darting to the man in red armor standing calmly on the battlefield.
And it wasn't just him.
Kaido's peripheral vision caught the other threats. Not far away, the black-haired man, Uchiha Madara, stood with his arms crossed. He hadn't even attacked yet, but his mere presence felt like a blade pressed against Kaido's throat.
And then there was Suzaku. The Captain. The man who commanded these monsters. He was watching with a smile that made Kaido's scales crawl.
And the final nail in the coffin?
Linlin.
Kaido glanced at the other Yonko. Charlotte Linlin was standing amidst the ruins of her Chateau. She wasn't preparing to help. She wasn't charging up a combined attack. She was wearing a face that screamed 'enjoying the show.' Her eyes were gleaming with greed, calculating how she could benefit from his fall.
That old hag... she would absolutely never help me. She's waiting for me to die so she can take my territory.
If he kept fighting, he would truly die here today. The era would end, and he would be nothing but a footnote in Suzaku's legend.
Survival first.
As long as the green hills remain, there will always be wood to burn! Revenge could wait. Reclaiming his title could wait. Living was the priority.
Of the tactical options available, retreat was the only logical path.
"Roar...!!!"
Kaido suddenly opened his massive dragon maw. The air around him distorted as he gathered his energy.
"Rending Wind!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he spat out an overwhelming barrage of wind blades! These weren't just gusts of air; they were invisible scythes, sharp enough to slice through mountains, aimed directly at Hashirama to create a wall of destruction.
And that wasn't all!
"Heat Breath!"
Immediately following the wind, Kaido's throat glowed with an intense, blinding orange light. A scorching dragon breath, hot enough to instantly vaporize stone and melt steel, mixed into the wind storm.
Whoosh!
The wind fanned the flames, transforming the attack into a world-destroying torrent of fire and cutting force that shot toward the Wooden Golem!
RUMBLE!!!
The two streams of energy triggered a fierce explosion on the Wooden Golem. A mushroom cloud of fire and smoke rose into the sky, creating a screen even thicker than before, completely obscuring everyone's view of the battlefield.
"Did he do it? A desperate counterattack?" Morgans shouted, snapping photos frantically.
However, just when everyone thought Kaido was about to make a final, desperate stand inside that inferno, the massive dragon body suddenly twisted.
With a movement that defied his size, he turned his tail... and ran!
That's right!
The dignified Yonko, Kaido of the Beasts, the Governor-General of the Beast Pirates, the man who sought a glorious death... after using the last of his strength to unleash two long-range attacks as cover, chose to flee!
He was sobered! He was terrified!
This man, Hashirama Senju, had single-handedly driven him into a corner.
Kaido used every ounce of strength he had left. His massive azure body transformed into a bolt of lightning, frantically clawing at the air, creating clouds under his feet to propel himself away from Whole Cake Island. He fled toward the distant sky with the desperation of a prey animal escaping a predator.
Faster! Faster! I have to get out of his range!
However, the moment he looked back over his shoulder to check the distance, his vertical dragon pupils suddenly constricted to the size of pinpricks!
"No..."
From within the explosion smoke and dust that obscured the sky, a figure emerged.
He wasn't rushing. He wasn't panicked.
Hashirama was standing steadily atop the head of a newly formed, smaller wooden dragon. The wooden beast undulated through the air, cutting through the smoke like a ship through water.
He was moving at a speed that was not the least bit slower than Kaido's desperate flight. He was following "leisurely" right behind him!
Hashirama's expression was calm, almost peaceful. It was the look of a hunter who knows the prey has nowhere to go.
As if asking silently: Can you truly escape?
Kaido was scared out of his wits. His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum. He accelerated desperately, pushing his Devil Fruit powers to their absolute limit.
Just then, he saw Hashirama on the wooden dragon slowly bringing his hands together in a seal once more.
Clap.
The sound of the hands clapping seemed to echo directly in Kaido's soul, louder than the wind.
Hashirama's gentle face carried a hint of apology. It was a sincere look, which made it all the more terrifying. It was as if he were saying, "I'm sorry, I won't mess up this time. I'll make sure to hit you properly."
"Sage Art: Wood Release..."
Hashirama's voice resonated through the heavens.
"...True Several Thousand Hands!"
BOOM!!!
The world shook. The ocean below trembled. The clouds above shattered.
A colossal statue—a wooden avatar of a Thousand-Armed Kannon—erupted from the ground right behind Kaido.
It was immense. It was impossible.
It was easily ten times larger than the previous Wooden Golem. It appeared as if it would fill the entire sky, blocking out the sun and casting a shadow that enveloped the entirety of Whole Cake Island.
The gigantic Buddha statue was solemn and majestic, radiating a golden aura of natural energy. From its back, countless, densely packed giant arms extended outwards like the feathers of a peacock, forming a halo of destruction.
There were thousands of them.
Every single arm was the size of a mountain range. Every single palm was large enough to crush a battleship.
Looking at this giant Buddha, a construct that transcended the limits of Devil Fruits and Haki, Kaido's dragon soul was nearly frightened out of his body!
What the hell is this thing?!
Is this a god?!
He could even feel that the moment the colossal Kannon appeared, the space behind him had been completely sealed off. The air pressure alone was pinning him in place.
"Wood Release: Top Transformed Buddha!"
Hashirama's solemn voice sounded like the final judgment of a deity.
The next second, Kaido witnessed the most magnificent yet most despairing sight of his life.
The statue moved.
Those thousands of sky-obscuring giant arms detach from the back formation. Like a downpour of God's Punishment, they transformed into a golden ocean of fists.
They swept down... upon him!
There was absolutely no way to dodge. The attack covered every inch of the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sound was deafening. It was the sound of the world ending.
Countless massive wooden fists, each carrying the power to crush stars and coated in Armament Haki, caught up to Kaido's figure with flawless precision.
They struck his enormous dragon body one punch after another, relentlessly!
Smash! Crack! Crunch!
That was true "Buddhist Retribution"!
Kaido's proud body as the "Strongest Creature," in this ocean of fists, was reduced to nothing more than a ragdoll. He was like a small boat engulfed by a tsunami.
Instantly, he was battered until scales flew off like confetti. Flesh was mangled. Bones shattered.
"Gaaahhhhh!"
Kaido screamed, but his voice was drowned out by the rhythmic pounding of the wood.
However, precisely because of this, a strange phenomenon occurred.
His massive body was being subjected to the continuous, enormous thrust in a single direction. The punches were so powerful and so frequent that they acted like a propulsion system.
Bang!
Kaido accelerated away from the battlefield, like a launched cannonball.
He flew. He flew faster than he had ever flown in his life.
He streaked across the sky in a wretched, staggering, bloody arc.
When the final punch landed, sending a shockwave that cleared the clouds for miles, Kaido's figure had already become a small black dot on the distant horizon.
He vanished.
Completely removed from everyone's sight.
He "ran."
But he did so in the manner of being "punched away" to the other side of the world.
Silence returned to Whole Cake Island. The giant statue slowly crumbled into particles of wood and energy, returning to the earth.
Seeing this, on the ground below, the atmosphere shifted.
Buzz.
Ulquiorra's hand drifted to the hilt of his blade. Albedo's black wings flared, her golden eyes locking onto the direction Kaido had vanished. Their auras stirred, dark and menacing. They were prepared to pursue and finish the job.
"No need to pursue him."
Suzaku's calm voice rang out, cutting through their bloodlust like a command.
Albedo stopped instantly, though her expression remained intense. She turned to look at her master.
"Why, Lord Suzaku?" Albedo's beautiful face was filled with genuine confusion. She tilted her head slightly. "This is the best chance to completely eliminate a Yonko! He is broken. He is weak. We can end the Beast Pirates today."
Hearing this, Suzaku's lips curled slightly, revealing a meaningful, calculating smile. He didn't look at the horizon; he looked at the nearby ruins.
He glanced specifically at Morgans, the News King, who was still excitedly taking photos of the dissipating wooden dragon, his hands shaking with the thrill of the scoop.
Suzaku turned back to Albedo and slowly began to speak.
"My goal is to gain fame!"
He gestured towards the battlefield where Hashirama stood victorious.
"Today, Hashirama, relying on his own strength, whipped the 'Strongest Creature' like a leather belt. He humiliated him. He forced him into a miserable retreat... Just based on the photos Morgans took today and previously, it is enough for Hashirama and Madara to 'shock the world'!"
Suzaku's eyes gleamed with intelligence.
"Think about it. The System rewards Legend Points based on renown and impact. We have achieved the maximum impact for this event."
Albedo was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. Her eyes widened in realization.
Suzaku continued, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial tone.
"A dead Kaido means his territory will instantly be carved up by countless jackals. The Marines, Blackbeard, maybe even the Revolutionary Army—they will all swarm Wano. When we go to take over the territory, we will fall into endless trouble dealing with these pests."
He shook his head.
"But a living, defeated Kaido? He is a placeholder. He returns to Wano, licks his wounds, and keeps the territory secure for us. Neither he nor his territory can escape. His territory will just be waiting there for us to retrieve it when we are ready!"
His voice carried an air of composed plotting and planning, like a grandmaster moving pieces on a board that spanned the entire ocean.
"After the whole world has digested the news of us 'beating up a Yonko,' our reputation will soar. Then, when the time is right, we will descend upon Wano Country."
Suzaku clenched his fist in front of him.
"We will personally take his head in front of the entire world and claim his intact territory... This will be the second wave. It will be an even grander instance of 'gaining fame.' We get to defeat him twice. We get the rewards twice."
He smiled, a look of pure confidence.
"Let the bullets fly for a while first! Killing two birds with one stone, enjoying double benefits—why rush such a good thing?"
After hearing Suzaku's explanation, the killing intent in Albedo's eyes slowly receded.
It was replaced by deep, fanatical reverence and admiration. She looked at Suzaku as if he were the center of the universe.
He thinks so far ahead...
"Truly worthy of being... Lord Suzaku!" she whispered.
He had already foreseen the final outcome of this game before the first move was even made!
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