BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Under a sky filled with dark clouds, thunder, and lightning, black and red streaks of lightning surrounded Kaido.
He poured his Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki into the "Eight Precepts," preparing to unleash the devastating move: "Roaring Thunder Eight Trigrams"!
Suddenly, the cracked, barren land that had been revealing the dry seabed began to shatter further.
A searing pillar of flame, exuding a brilliant white light, tore through the ground and surged into the sky.
The earth quaked violently, and even the surrounding space seemed to tremble under the immense heat.
It felt as though the very sun had descended upon the battlefield!
Kaido, standing amidst the chaos, felt the terrifying heat rushing toward him.
The moisture in his body was evaporating rapidly. Instinctively, he raised a hand in an attempt to shield himself.
But then—
Kaido's pupils widened in shock as a burning sensation radiated from the palm gripping "Eight Precepts."
Looking down at the weapon, his disbelief grew.
"This... This can't be!"
The Eight Precepts, a weapon tempered in Haki and famed across the seas as one of the hardest in existence—on par with the Supreme Grade swords—was burning.
Even seastone couldn't compare to its durability, yet here it was, succumbing to the intense heat.
The battlefield around him, once solid ground, was now melting. The horrifying realization dawned upon Kaido:
If he didn't stop this man, Bai Ye, right here, right now—everything would end.
"Kill him!" Kaido growled to himself.
Fueled by rage and desperation, Kaido tightened his grip on the "Eight Precepts." He poured every ounce of his Conqueror's and Armament Haki into the weapon.
He disappeared in a flash—his speed reaching its peak.
"David Thunder Eight Trigrams!"
This was no ordinary attack. It was the advanced version of Thunder Eight Trigrams—an attack so devastating it had nearly killed the era's destined hero in the future.
Kaido's figure blurred as he surged toward Bai Ye, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
But Bai Ye, ever calm, responded with his own speed.
"Shunpo."
In an instant, Bai Ye appeared directly in front of Kaido, meeting his ferocious charge head-on.
To an outside observer, it would have seemed as though the two disappeared entirely. Only the deafening sonic boom of their clash gave away their positions.
BOOM!!!
The moment their attacks collided, the battlefield was obliterated.
The dry seabed crumbled and rose into the air, disintegrating under the pressure. The earth, layers deep, collapsed into a massive crater.
A part of the force shot upward, piercing through the clouds and seemingly tearing the sky apart.
The dust and debris finally settled, revealing the aftermath.
Bai Ye stood tall, his black robes tattered and burned away, exposing the powerful muscles beneath.
Kaido, on the other hand, was kneeling—his chest heaving. His weapon, the once-proud "Eight Precepts," had been shattered into pieces.
Blood poured from a massive burn wound that stretched from his eyes to his chest.
Kaido gasped, trembling. "How... How is this possible?!"
For the first time, the unshakable confidence of the so-called "Strongest Creature" wavered.
If not for the incredible durability granted by his Zoan Devil Fruit, he would have already been dead.
But even now, Kaido felt the weight of his mortality.
"I'm Kaido! I can't die here!" he roared, slamming a fist into the ground to support himself.
Bai Ye, standing a short distance away, watched him impassively.
"The resilience of the Zoan Devil Fruit is indeed impressive," Bai Ye remarked. "Your body can withstand injuries that would kill anyone else. But even so..."
He gestured toward the fiery battlefield, the scorching heat reducing everything to ash.
"You can't escape this inferno. Even if I stand here and do nothing, the flames will consume you. It's over, Kaido."
Kaido gritted his teeth, his mind racing.
But before he could act, a sudden, deafening sound filled the air.
BOOM!!!
Both combatants turned their attention skyward.
The clouds, stretching for thousands of meters, began to part. A dazzling white light emerged, radiating an aura of pure destruction.
Kaido froze. His usual confidence gave way to fear as he realized that this ominous presence wasn't from Bai Ye.
Bai Ye narrowed his eyes, his calm demeanor giving way to cold calculation.
"The World Government," he muttered.
He had suspected they might interfere, but the magnitude of this power caught even him off guard.
The blazing battlefield dimmed as the light in the sky grew brighter.
"So, this is their last resort," Bai Ye murmured. "They waited for me to weaken before making their move..."
The ground beneath his feet trembled as the destructive energy from above grew closer.
But even as the pressure mounted, Bai Ye's gaze remained steady.
"If this is their idea of stopping me, they'll have to try harder."
As the sky tore apart, revealing the World Government's trump card, Bai Ye readied himself.
The battle was far from over.