"Wahaha...!"
Black and red lightning materialized around Kaido's powerful body, crackling wildly.
With the lightning surging around him, Kaido clashed his spiked club against Whitebeard's naginata, throwing his head back in hearty laughter.
Whitebeard, gripping the naginata with both hands, steadily pressed down while calmly watching the laughing Kaido. The dark red lightning danced around the naginata, heightening the tension between the two.
"Newgate! You must have realized by now..."
Kaido's laughter faded, and his cold eyes, glowing with a fierce light, locked onto Edward Newgate—Whitebeard. "The winner between us, after defeating Nicholas, will stand at the top of this sea!"
"Gurararara... you brat," Whitebeard's lips curled as he looked at Kaido and said calmly, "That's just the top in your mind. I've got no interest in such things. I'm here to take you down because you hurt my family!"
"Family? How ridiculous, are you Vin diesel or something? Even though you've regained your youth, your heart is still old and feeble. No wonder you've become a relic of a bygone era."
Kaido sneered with undisguised contempt, mocking Whitebeard's status as a 'loser.'
Whitebeard didn't respond, instead focusing on exerting force with his naginata.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, Kaido was sent flying.
As he was flung back, Kaido unleashed a continuous stream of scorching flames at Whitebeard.
"Heat Breath!"
In an instant, the intense flames were right in front of Whitebeard.
Kaido dug his heels into the ground to halt his momentum, and as soon as he stopped, he launched himself at Whitebeard again.
Transforming mid-charge into his beast form, his immense dragon head became coated with Armament Haki, and the terrifying creature rushed at Whitebeard with unstoppable force.
"These flames are better suited for lighting birthday candles."
Whitebeard effortlessly sliced the incoming flames in half with a swing of his naginata.
At the same time, his left fist shimmered with a pale light, surrounded by both Armament Haki and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. He then unleashed a devastating punch at the charging dragon.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the dragon's head, covered in Haki, was stopped dead in its tracks. Whitebeard's immense strength had performed the incredible feat of halting the dragon's charge with a single hand.
He followed up with a mighty swing of his naginata, sending Kaido's massive body flying once more.
Throughout the entire exchange, Whitebeard's expression remained serene. He had faced countless battles of this level before, whether it was against Rocks, Shiki, Roger, Garp, or Sengoku—those were true life-or-death struggles.
In his prime, a fight against Kaido didn't bring him much pressure.
"It's time to finish this."
As Kaido was sent soaring, Whitebeard stepped forward, shifting his body forward as he raised his naginata.
The black and red lightning of Conqueror's Haki and the pale glow of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit encased the blade.
In the next moment, a fierce slash lit up the sky, slicing through Kaido's colossal body.
Slash!
Blood rained from a massive wound that appeared on the dragon's abdomen.
"Gwah!"
Kaido coughed up a large amount of blood from the sudden severe injury.
Along with the blood, Kaido's body plummeted.
As the massive dragon crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, spectators watching the live broadcast fell silent.
First Charlotte Linlin, then Barrett—was another Emperor-level powerhouse about to fall?
The sheer strength, unrivaled power—these scenes replayed over and over in everyone's minds.
Whitebeard's overwhelming might left an indelible impression on all who witnessed it.
So this is the power of a legend of the sea...
Under countless watchful eyes, Kaido's enormous dragon form lay sprawled on the ground, stirring up dust.
In an instant, Kaido reverted to his normal form, holding his spiked club while cautiously eyeing Whitebeard in the distance, wary that the old man might take advantage of his injured state.
"Cough, cough..."
Kaido coughed lightly, blood dripping through his fingers to the ground.
The awakened power of his Mythical Zoan fruit allowed his wounds to heal rapidly.
Though he had taken numerous hits earlier in the fight, none were particularly serious, all within acceptable limits.
But the slash Whitebeard just delivered—infused with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Conqueror's Haki—had inflicted severe damage.
Especially the tremor energy, which had wreaked havoc on his internal organs.
Even with his tough physique, it would take time to recover from the internal injuries.
Kaido glanced down at his chest, his eyes sweeping over the gaping, blood-soaked wound.
"That old guy's really unreasonable..."
Kaido muttered, then refocused on Whitebeard in the distance, gripping his club tightly.
Despite Whitebeard's formidable power, Kaido wasn't one to back down.
Black lightning crackled along the spikes of his club.
Kaido's muscles bulged as he swung the club with all his might.
With a thunderous blast, the lightning-infused club once again rushed toward Whitebeard.
And without a hint of retreat, Whitebeard raised his naginata and slashed at Kaido.
The clash sent both figures flying backward amidst the explosion and dust.
As Kaido burst through the dust cloud, he summoned dozens of massive green wind blades.
Swish—swish—!
The instant the wind blades formed, they tore through the dust and flew toward Whitebeard at incredible speed.
Seeing the incoming blades, Whitebeard calmly raised his left hand, clenched his fist, and struck out.
With the sound of glass shattering, the blades and the air in front of Whitebeard fractured like a broken mirror.
As the green blades shattered, a massive flaming dragon hundreds of meters long appeared before Whitebeard.
Kaido had no illusions that his earlier attacks would pose any real threat to Whitebeard—they were just distractions.
"Flaming Drum Dragon: Rising Flame Bagua!"
The flaming dragon, with a menacing expression, lunged at Whitebeard with jaws wide open.
Anything touched by the flames instantly melted, and the Conqueror's Haki entwined around the dragon's head tore through the air with explosive force.
"Gurarara! Now that's more like it!"
Facing the fearsome dragon, Whitebeard showed no fear, laughing heartily.
With an ear-splitting boom, a massive mushroom cloud rose from where Kaido and Whitebeard clashed. The immense dust cloud covered the battlefield, and the resulting shockwaves were so intense that they even drove back the airborne camera snails.
Viewers watching the broadcast strained their eyes, desperate to see who would come out on top, but all they could see was swirling dust.
"Is that Whitebeard? Truly a monster."
[AN- I can imagine the amazing fight between WB and Kaido.... Spectacular.]