...
"Roar!"
Just as Luffy and Yamato were exchanging pleasantries, an angry dragon roar resounded throughout Onigashima. The sound wave swept over like a physical force…
Even the power it generated turned the surrounding rubble into powder and blew away all the smoke and dust on the ground.
The ruins exploded, and a blue figure shot into the sky.
Kaido once again transformed from human form into his Azure Dragon form!
That massive blue dragon body that covered the sky reappeared. The dragon scales gleamed with a metallic cold light, and his dragon pupils burned with the mad fighting spirit of one who had been provoked.
He coiled in midair, dragon mouth slightly open…
But the next second, when Kaido noticed Luffy and the dragon beneath him, Kaido's movements suddenly froze.
In front of him was actually another dragon coiling as well?
A pink dragon?!
Identical dragon scales, identical dragon horns, identical dragon pupil outlines, identical dragon body posture…
Except for the difference in color, it was simply his replica—exactly the same as him!
"This is… what thing?"
For the first time, Kaido's dragon eyes showed confusion and a trace of inexplicable dissonance…
Two giant dragons coiled in the sky. Kaido felt as if he were looking in a mirror. Momonosuke was like a mirror image of himself, except he had suddenly turned another color.
Facing the pink giant dragon before him, Kaido discovered that in the other's eyes there was no violence like his own—only protection.
Momonosuke coiled in midair, his dragon body trembling…
"I won't die!"
Luffy's voice came from atop the dragon's head, high and passionate.
He looked down at the blue giant dragon coiling in the ruins below. Looking at those eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny, the corners of Luffy's mouth slowly widened.
That was his signature smile, one capable of angering any strong person.
"Because…"
Luffy took a deep breath, then his gaze became firm: "I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Momonosuke's dragon body trembled slightly.
He also raised his head, looking at that boy standing atop him who, despite being covered in wounds, smiled brighter than anyone.
The man who will become the Pirate King—what arrogance, what swagger, how enviable!
"This one…"
As if infected by Luffy, Momonosuke spoke.
Although his voice still trembled a bit and the fear in his pupils hadn't completely dissipated, his dragon body was still shaking slightly.
But this didn't stop Momonosuke from making a change!
"This one's name is… Kozuki… Momonosuke."
He paused, gritted his teeth, and squeezed that name out from the depths of his throat: "I… am the man who will become the shogun of Wano Country!"
Yamato was stunned.
She looked at that pink giant dragon, at that dragon face exactly like Kaido's, at those eyes that were gradually igniting with a light completely different from Kaido's.
Then she smiled…
So that dragon was Momonosuke.
"Lord Momonosuke!"
Kawamatsu was also very excited at this moment. This kappa samurai who had always protected the Kozuki family now knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
"This world doesn't need two dragons."
Kaido's voice was cold as iron, interrupting all the emotion.
His gaze moved from Luffy and landed on Momonosuke!
This pink giant dragon that was so similar to him yet so different.
There was no fear in his eyes, no wariness—only some emotion close to annoyance.
As if seeing a mistake that shouldn't exist. Two dragons faced off in midair.
A Yonko famous for decades versus an eight-year-old child who had just awakened.
The difference in presence was obvious at a glance.
The killing intent emanating from Kaido had almost condensed into substance. That was the "aura" accumulated from decades of conquest and slaughter!
It was the brand left on his dragon scales by countless vengeful souls.
His dragon pupils were cold like a deity overlooking ants. Every breath carried a suffocating sense of oppression.
In contrast, Momonosuke—his body was still trembling slightly, and there were still remnants of fear in his dragon pupils.
His figure in the air was completely without form, maintaining the coiling posture purely by instinct.
He was just a child—an eight-year-old, or rather a child who had grown up overnight.
Outside God Valley, everyone's gazes fell upon that pink giant dragon, upon that massive yet trembling dragon body.
Could he hold on?
Would he turn and flee?
Would he…
These were some of the crowd's views on Momonosuke. After all, age was one aspect, and his mental state was another!
"Momo!"
Luffy's voice came from above. Momonosuke's entire body shook.
"What are you shaking for?"
Luffy's voice carried that familiar, heartless confusion, as if everything before them wasn't something worth fearing.
"That guy is the same as you! Even if there's any difference, it's just age. You're even younger than him!"
The entire field fell silent. The corner of Kaido's eye twitched.
"You're a dragon, after all."
Momonosuke froze.
Dragon…
Right. He was a dragon now.
Not that little brat hiding behind Kin'emon, trembling.
Not that coward who didn't even dare to look back.
He was a dragon—the dragon Wano Country had waited decades for.
He was the son of Kozuki Oden. He was… the man who would become the shogun!
After Luffy's encouragement, the fear in Momonosuke's eyes receded like a tide.
However, Kaido didn't give them more time.
"You two are really annoying!"
The blue giant dragon's mouth opened wide. Astonishing energy gathered in his throat and instantly condensed into a blazing ball of light.
That light was as dazzling as the sun. The temperature was so high that even the air was distorting.
Heat Breath!
One of Kaido's most signature moves.
This was a devastating breath capable of reducing an entire mountain to flat ground.
"Lord Momonosuke! Dodge quickly!"
Yamato's cry came from below, but it was already too late.
Heat Breath shot out like a laser, carrying scorching heat that could destroy everything, heading straight for Momonosuke!
"What… what do I do!!"
Momonosuke's pupils contracted sharply. Although he had barely overcome the fear in his heart, facing an attack of this level, he was still flustered!
He instinctively wanted to flee, wanted to close his eyes, wanted to hide somewhere safe… but there was nowhere to hide.
"What do I do… what do I do… what do I do!!"
Momonosuke's voice carried a crying tone. His body was so stiff he could barely move.
"Don't be afraid. You should spit something out too!"
Luffy comforted Momonosuke not to panic, then immediately began ordering Momonosuke to counterattack, but…
"Spit… spit what?!"
Luffy: "…"
Momonosuke was completely dumbfounded.
He had only just adapted to this body for less than an hour. Even flying was something he learned crookedly. How could he possibly know how to use a dragon's power to attack?!
He didn't even know how to "spit"!
Heat Breath drew closer and closer. Momonosuke closed his eyes in despair.
The next second, a force surged from deep within his dragon body. However, this wasn't something he actively controlled…
It was instinct!
It was this body's survival instinct automatically triggering at the moment of life and death.
Momonosuke's body moved as if pulled by an invisible hand, bending and twisting at an extremely strange angle…
Heat Breath whistled past, grazing his dragon scales. The scorching air wave scorched the edges of his scales but didn't truly hit!
He dodged!
"What?!"
Kaido's dragon pupils contracted sharply. That attack just now, although he hadn't used full power, was definitely not something that could be dodged so casually.
Based on his judgment of this "counterfeit" dragon, the other side should have been completely unable to react…
But that pink dragon, at the critical moment, used that inconceivable flexibility to dodge his Heat Breath.
That wasn't technique. That was the primal instinct of that body.
"Interesting…" A strange light flashed in Kaido's dragon pupils.
Meanwhile, Momonosuke still had his eyes closed, trembling all over, completely unaware of what he had just done.
"Hey, Momo! Nice job!"
Hearing Luffy's praise, Momonosuke carefully opened one eye.
He saw the trajectory of Heat Breath grazing past him, saw the scorched edges of his dragon scales, saw that he was still alive. His face visibly lit up with joy!
"I… I dodged?"
Momonosuke's voice was full of disbelief.
"Of course! Otherwise you'd be cooked by now."
Luffy said matter-of-factly: "Keep it up. Just don't let him hit you."
"But… but how do I attack?!"
"Didn't I say? Spit something out."
"I don't know how to spit!!"
"Then learn! Aren't you a dragon?!"
"But today is my first day being a dragon!!"
"So what? On my first day out at sea I ran into a massive monster, and didn't I still punch it over?!"
Momonosuke: "…"
Luffy and Momonosuke—one person and one dragon—actually started arguing in midair in this kind of situation.
They even completely ignored the Yonko on the opposite side who was preparing his next attack.