Boom!
A massive explosion, almost as intense as the earlier clash of the two dragons, echoed from the roof of Onigashima.
A blinding purple light drew the attention of the two dragons battling in the sky.
...
Kaido's Observation Haki suddenly sharpened as if sensing something unusual. His eyes widened.
Emerging from the explosion and the cloud of dust was a huge figure—King, fully transformed into his hybrid human-beast form, unleashing his full power.
But if you looked closely, you'd notice the pain etched on King's face.
His foot, the one that blocked Hancock's kick, was now emitting a faint white mist.
At first glance, it might seem like he was simply knocked back. But as King crashed into a rocky mountain on the roof of Onigashima, he grits his teeth, flaps his wings, and takes to the sky again, glaring at Hancock, who is crackling with purple lightning.
Outwardly, King remained stoic, but his fear was laid bare before Kaido's Observation Haki.
Without his wings, King would likely have been stuck against the rocky mountain or forced to the ground, unable to move.
Because...
King's foot was completely numb.
And he knew that if he didn't get medical attention soon, he might never be able to use that foot again.
The cells in his foot were rapidly dying—no, they were being destroyed.
Hancock's kick wasn't just powerful; it was a strike from another realm, the difference between ordinary Haki and Conqueror's infusion. It was the power of another dimension.
This power was called—destruction!
Before the destructive thunder was infused with advanced Armament Haki, King's Ancient Zoan durability, Lunarian resilience, and powerful Haki crumbled like paper before Hancock.
When the destructive force pierced through his Haki, Devil Fruit abilities, and racial defences, the cells in Jhin's foot were obliterated by the penetrating destructive thunder.
There was no doubt—Hancock's purple lightning was a power from another dimension.
Facing Hancock with this power, King had no chance of winning.
This power was the mark of the truly elite, the ticket to the highest level of the world.
*Swish*
After decimating King's foot with a single move, Hancock, still surrounded by crackling purple electricity, suddenly vanished.
With one foot out of commission and his fear of disrupting his Observation Haki, King's reactions were slower than usual.
Though he could sense Hancock's movement, his body couldn't keep up.
Just as he turned, ready to meet Hancock with his massive katana, instead of risking his body again, Hancock used her electric field to teleport behind him.
This time, Hancock didn't use her Lightning Kick to send him flying.
Instead, she grabbed King's large black wings with both hands, the corners of her lips curling into a cold smile, "500 million volts... discharge!"
*Zzzzzzzz...*
"Ahhhhh!"
Even among the strongest, there are levels, but that doesn't change the fact that they belong to the world's most powerful.
Just like social circles, power in the pirate world is also divided into levels.
If you can't enter the circle of the truly powerful, then even the weakest among them will be untouchable for those outside that circle.
This is especially true in the world of pirates.
For instance, take Admiral Aramaki. If Kaido hadn't been defeated, Aramaki wouldn't have dared to set foot on Onigashima because he knew he couldn't stand a chance against Kaido.
Among the top powers, Aramaki is undoubtedly weaker than the Four Emperors and the original three Admirals. But even the weakest of these superpowers could easily take down King and Queen in a matter of seconds.
However, the King and Queen were already badly injured in their previous battle with the Straw Hat Pirates.
Over the years, Hancock has not only increased her lightning power from 300 million volts to 500 million volts but also discovered and mastered the destructive nature of her lightning.
This characteristic is similar to Crocodile's Logia Sand-Sand Fruit, which has the ability to dry out everything it touches, turning it into sand.
Hancock's Logia Thunder-Thunder Fruit has a similar trait—destruction.
After mastering the Thunder of Destruction, Hancock's strength evolved from being comparable to second-in-command fighters like King and Marco to reaching the level of a deputy like Benn Beckman.
Although she hasn't faced them in combat yet, Hancock believes she's on par with the three Admirals of the Marine Headquarters.
In fact, as the strongest user of the Thunder-Thunder Fruit, Hancock considers herself superior to them.
Kahn knows that if Hancock were to fight one-on-one with any of the three Admirals, the battle would likely end in a stalemate.
In other words, Hancock's current strength is undoubtedly at the Admiral level.
Facing a much stronger Hancock, King now finds himself in the same position as when he faced Aramaki in the original story—they're on entirely different levels.
Covered in purple lightning, King could no longer maintain his calm demeanour and let out a pained scream.
Yes, King also lost feeling in his large black wings.
The sheer power of the electric shock caused him to lose consciousness and fall into a deep coma.
Soon after, the strongest member of the Beast Pirates was out of the fight.
"King!"
Sensing the change in King's aura, Kaido's expression shifted drastically as he prepared to fly down and intervene.
"Do you really have time to be distracted?"
At that moment, Kahn's voice reached his ears.
The massive dragon, who had been waiting for the right moment, seized Kaido in a tight embrace, just like before. Then, repeating the events of the past, Kahn clenched his fist and aimed a punch at Kaido's dragon head.
But this time, the punch missed its mark.
Having learned from his previous defeat, Kaido immediately released his full power, breaking free from the dragon's grip and plummeting towards the roof of Onigashima below.
"Hancock, stick to the plan."
Kahn flapped his wings and pursued him.
While flying, Kahn sent a coded message to Hancock below.
"Yes, master."
Hancock, who had knocked King unconscious, nodded obediently. Then, dragging King by his large black wings, she transformed into purple lightning and disappeared.
"You bastard, put King down!"
Helpless against Hancock's teleportation, Kaido could only roar in impotent rage.
After both Kaido and Kahn landed on the roof of Onigashima, the one-sided war finally reached its climax with a decisive battle between the two leaders.
This showdown was the only equal confrontation in the entire war.
Years ago, Kahn lacked the strength to match Kaido, so after cutting off one of Kaido's 'arms,' he didn't immediately retaliate against the Beast Pirates.
But now, this battle would be Kahn's victory.
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