The massive fire dragon descended from the sky. With the force of Kaido's blow, its impact would likely reshape the entire battlefield, incinerating Wano's rebelling forces to ashes.
Even the Beast Pirates stationed a little farther away would probably lose more than half of their ranks in the aftermath.
On the entire battlefield, only characters like the Nine Red Scabbards, the Tobiroppo, or Hiyori and Tama, with their defensive barrier, could hope to survive Kaido's attack. Most others could only rely on luck and distance to avoid being scorched to cinders.
The stronger warriors could barely withstand it by using haki but would still suffer severe injuries.
As Kaido plunged downward, the battlefield erupted into chaos.
Not only were the regular foot soldiers panicked, but even the Tobiroppo fled as fast as they could.
The Wano rebels were disoriented, yet instead of retreating, the Nine Red Scabbards and others charged toward Kaido, clearly intending to block him.
"Leave this guy to me!" Shin called out to the crowd, bracing himself for the onslaught. He regretted sealing his chakra again at the start of the fight with Kaido; without access to chakra, he could only rely on it passively, unable to use any active jutsu.
Though he didn't fear for his own life, Shin lacked the strength to shield others effectively.
As he spoke, Shin unleashed the full power of his Munch-Munch fruit. His body swelled like a balloon, and a large volume of compressed metal from his dark space melded into his form, transforming him into a giant hundreds of meters tall.
Shin's agility dropped in this state, and his haki became diluted across his massive frame, lowering his defense. Though he gained immense strength, his combat effectiveness actually declined. He rarely used this mode.
But given the fire dragon in the sky, he couldn't worry about flexibility. Even after pushing his Munch-Munch fruit ability to its limit, Shin's massive form was still dwarfed by the dragon, making him resemble a larger-than-usual mouse. Compared to the colossal fire dragon, his entire height barely matched the dragon's head.
Furthermore, with the compressed metal weighing down his body, Shin could hardly jump, let alone float.
Fortunately, he had already integrated a design template for this contingency. A pair of flight mechanisms unfolded from the back of the giant metal body, lifting him directly into the sky.
Boom!
A blazing sun burst into the sky, unleashing a terrifying wave of heat and pressure that swept across the battlefield. Countless fighters were thrown into the air, and the blinding white light that radiated from the explosion made the earth tremble, crack, and swell as searing temperatures scorched the ground.
The flames from the fire dragon cascaded onto the earth, instantly melting the ground beneath it. In the aftermath, the world seemed to recover from its momentary standstill.
A massive black shadow crashed to the ground and transformed back into human form. Kaido, breathing heavily, blood trickling down his forehead, grinned fiercely.
"Kid, you're something else!"
As his voice faded, one of Kaido's enormous horns snapped off, leaving his entire face bloodied and bruised.
In the clash just now, Shin had charged straight into the fire dragon, concentrating his haki into a single hand that morphed into a long blade, nearly decapitating Kaido in one stroke.
Luckily for Kaido, he reacted quickly and blocked the blow with one of his horns, preventing a fatal strike. However, the hardest horn on his head was severed entirely by Shin's ruthless attack.
Kaido clutched his head, feeling an exhilarating rush. This thrill of facing life and death hadn't surged through him in a long time.
"Oh ho ho ho! How long has it been since I felt like this?" Kaido laughed, turning his gaze toward Shin, who lay charred on the ground.
"Even fighting the old man Whitebeard wasn't this satisfying."
"It's a shame… HAHAHA! Why did you have to die now? Such a waste. I may never find another opponent like you again!"
Kaido's voice was filled with lament as he raised his head to the sky in a mournful howl.
"Bastard! Die already!"
Before Kaido could fully express his regret, a flaming fist crackling with tiny bolts of lightning smashed into his face, sending him reeling backward.
"Ace…"
Ace appeared in the center of the battlefield, rage etched into his face. As a Flame-Flame Fruit user, the flames didn't harm him, and the blast's shockwaves barely touched him. He had remained on the battlefield without retreating.
Shin's final attack had absorbed the brunt of Kaido's Rising Dragon strike, sparing Wano's forces from total annihilation. However, the explosion's aftermath still swept away many of Wano's warriors, leaving only Ace standing firm.
"It's time to take you down, Kaido. I'm making Wano my own base."
Kaido, dazed from the blow, clambered to his feet. Ace's fierce aura flared with Conqueror's Haki, the intensity of which almost made Kaido spit blood.
Though Kaido had sustained numerous injuries and lost considerable stamina in his battle with Shin, he remained confident. Even with his reduced strength, he doubted these "upstarts" would pose a challenge.
Even though Ace had grasped the advanced haki technique of Conqueror's entanglement, Kaido considered him only a minor inconvenience.
"You monster!" came another defiant voice from behind Kaido as Yamato, wreathed in frost, charged forward.
"Damn you! You killed Shin!" Yamato's face contorted in rage as she brought her ice-coated club down on Kaido, coating it with haki. The force of her strike knocked Kaido back a few steps.
Kaido glanced at the weapons in Ace and Yamato's hands. Though he'd missed the details of Ace's earlier strike, Yamato's blow made him notice that their weapons had been enhanced, boosting their combat abilities significantly.
"Hmph, so this is your ace in the hole? Still, you're far too young. Maybe you could stand a chance against me in another ten years!"
"Yamato, I'll give you one last chance to return to the Beast Pirates!"
Yamato sneered, her gaze unwavering. "Don't daydream! We're taking you down here and now."
"Then I'll kill you all!" Kaido's face twisted into a vicious smile, only to notice the stunned expressions of Yamato and Ace.