Despite my initial assumption that our battle was not going to last long, now that we fought with a whole new level of strength, it took much longer for our wounds to finally start accumulating to a dangerous degree, nearly four days and nights, yet even then, neither of us wished to stop, our haki was still raring to go.
Knocking Kaido away with a swing of my bo-staff, he landed on the skull, stopping his momentum by digging his feet into the ground, only to retaliate with a slash of his kanabo, launching a powerful blade of sharp wind that viciously sliced through the air while heading right for me. Taking the attack with a grin, I felt myself tremble all over as the attack collided against my haki-clad body, only to leave behind a deep gash atop my already wounded torso; at this point, he was merely adding insult to injury.
'Heh, you can even see some of my ribs.' Thought Diddy with a feral grin as he looked down at his chest, only to spot his sleek white bones with a blackish tint, causing him to raise his head while landing on the ground.
I wasn't the only one Injured to such an extent; chunks of Kaido were missing from his body; matter of fact, he reminded me of Operation the board game. However, despite our wounds and bodies that were on the literal verge of collapsing, our spirits didn't waver in the slightest; I'm sure if our bodies would allow us to, we wouldn't stop fighting for weeks.
"Worororo, tired yet, Kong?" Asked Kaido with a feral smile as he heavily panted while resting his kanabo atop his shoulder, only for Diddy to chaotically chuckle.
"Hahahaha, tired!? That word isn't in my vocabulary." Replied Diddy with a ferocious expression as he gasped for breath while his glowing red eyes stared fixedly at Kaido.
Although we wanted to continue, both of us could tell the other was merely spouting lies; our bodies wouldn't last much longer; yet, from our grins, we wouldn't stop until one of us collapsed to signify the victor of our battle.
Taking a deep breath, I tightly clenched Naga-sa before pushing off the ground, destroying the skull beneath my feet as I lunged towards Kaido while he did the same, charging right for me with his wings flapping to increase his speed.
As our haki-clad weapons clashed for the umpteenth time, we firmly planted our feet on the ground and wildly attacked each other, seemingly having a silent yet mutual agreement not to move until a winner was decided. For what felt like hours, Kaido and I fought without retreating a single step, our weapons, fists, and feet smashing against our bodies with such force that it only brought out more ferocity since if we didn't, we wouldn't last.
With each one of Kaido's attacks, the desire to fall grew; I could vividly sense my legs nearly giving way when his blows landed atop my body; it felt like the weight of a mountain was forcing me to the ground, and the only thing keeping me going was the desire to best the beast who kept fighting with such fierceness all while smiling.
"HAHAHAHA!!" "WORORORORO!!" Yelled Diddy and Kaido, respectively, as they fiercely fought with everything, ignoring the cries of their bodies while their eyes shone brightly with vigor.
"Beastly Extinction!" "Warai Jogo Ragnaraku!" Stated Diddy and Kaido as they powerfully swung their weapons, hitting each other in the head with such force they were sent flying in opposite directions.
Reorienting myself while in the air, I spread my body, slowing me down as I landed on the edge of the skull, though just as I took a step forward, I collapsed onto the ground while grabbing my chest in pain.
'Urgh, f-fuck. U-Using my Sulong form so long isn't good.' Thought Diddy with an ugly expression as he held his chest while his fur slowly lost its lustrous sheen.
"Not yet." Muttered Diddy sternly as he clenched his chest while gritting his teeth, causing his fur to retain its silver sheen, if just barely.
Grunting in pain, I stood up with help from Naga-sa while gazing at Kaido in the distance, who was leaning onto his kanabo, causing me to smile as I took a deep breath before standing upright, nearly falling over in the process while I rapidly expanded my bo-staff until it reached the water, prompting it to greedily absorb the ocean.
While it did that, I watched how Kaido raised his kanabo into the air before releasing a breath of flames, setting his weapon ablaze with fire, only for him to gaze at me with a massive grin, to which I responded in kind. Once Naga-sa had absorbed enough water to the point where it was difficult to wield even in my sulong form, I lifted it out of the water while coating it with lightning, causing arcs to fly off in all directions aggressively.
"Hehehehe." Muttered Diddy with a ferocious smile as he leaped into the air before speedily dashing toward Kaido, kicking the air with such force it shook Onigashima.
Watching Kaido lunge right for me, I flexed my muscles and raised Naga-sa above my head, and when we neared each other, only then did I swing it down using all of my remaining strength with the sole desire to defeat the monstrous beast standing before me.
"BEASTLY ANNIHILATION!!" "DEATH DESTROYER: THUNDER BAGUA!!" Yelled Diddy and Kaido fiercely, their mighty voices echoing throughout Onigashma while every being felt the final clash that would decide the victor.
Just as I smashed Naga-sa onto Kaido's face, his kanabo slammed into my stomach, and never before have I received such a powerful attack; while I spat out whatever I had left in my stomach with Kaido coughing blood, our eyes didn't once break contact while we endured each other's full strengthened attack.
After a few moments, we were once again sent flying through the sky as we left the confines of Onigashima and soared across the ocean of Wano, though after a while, I eventually regained my bearing and quickly headed back towards the island.
Just as I landed on the ground, my sulong transformation receded while I shrunk back to my normal appearance; as for Kaido, it seemed he could no longer maintain his awakened form and reverted to his normal self, not even his human-beast form.
"Hehehe; you're strong, Kaido." Muttered Diddy weakly as he slowly approached Kaido while dropping Naga-sa onto the ground, causing him to chuckle softly.
"Wororo, no one in all my life but one person has ever given me such a beating, not even that man from twenty years ago." Replied Kaido softly as he dropped his kanabo while lifting his head and looking at Diddy, who faintly smirked.
"Heh, I don't know who you're referring to; just know next time we fight, I'll for sure take that title of The Strongest Creature." Said Diddy with a feral smirk as he eyed Kaido, who ferociously smiled, seemingly accepting his challenge.
After a few moments of staring at each other, we both promptly collapsed onto the ground, landing right beside each other with our faces less than a foot apart; it was pretty awkward, but we were both far too exhausted and injured to move, so there was nothing to do.
"Hey… Kaido?" Asked Diddy softly as he glanced at Kaido before closing his eyes, taking every chance he had to gasp for air.
"W-What?" Replied Kaido curiously, his chest rapidly heaving up and down while looking at the rising sun, their battle lasting for five full days.
"O-Once we awaken, l-let's have a drink." Stated Diddy with a smirk, his words causing Kaido to raise an eyebrow.
"Heh, w-what was that about not liking alcohol?" Asked Kaido with a slight smirk as he eyed Diddy, who coughed blood instead of chuckling.
"I-If it's you, I-I don't mind making an exception." Replied Diddy with a smirk, causing Kaido to softly chuckle before nodding.
"Wororo, l-let's do it then." Said Kaido with a grin as he looked at Diddy, who yawned, causing him to do so as well.
"W-Well then, I'm going to sleep." "Yes, sleep." Muttered Diddy and Kaido, respectively, as they closed their eyes, only to fall into a deep slumber a few moments later.
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Yawning, I rubbed my eyes while rolling over onto my side, yet despite my hardest to ignore the chatter, I still heard several people talking, one of them being Grand's loud voice.
"Ugh, shut up!" Stated Diddy in slight anger as he sat upright with a groggy expression while gazing at everyone in the room, causing them to instantly quiet down.
Staring at my crew, I couldn't help but grunt in annoyance, yet just as I was about to fall back to sleep, I couldn't help but frown when I noticed that Trenza was missing.
"Hey, where the hell is Trenza?" Asked Diddy with furrowed brows as he hopped off the bed while glancing at everyone, yet other than silence, no one spoke.
Their silence began to really piss me off, causing me to snap my head to Sebas, yet, he wasn't even paying me any attention and was quietly sipping tea with a rather solemn expression. Seeing Sebas's behavior, my body couldn't help but react in kind as my heart rate increased while I felt nervous for some reason.
"Tch, enough! Someone better speak this instant, or someone is dying!" Declared Diddy angrily as he dangerously bared his fangs at everyone, and although he was still wounded, none doubted his words.