A massive dragon soared through the sky. Dark clouds rolled, thunder roared, all of it weaving together into an oppressive tableau.
The Azure Dragon, a beast that should only exist in myth, exhaled fire and raging wind from the corners of its maw. It should have been the overwhelming monster that plunged all who looked upon it into despair and awe.
Yet right now…
The one who truly controlled the center of the battlefield was a single, seemingly tiny figure. It felt like the entire world was trembling around him.
"Hey, Cutie."
Ozz slowly exhaled a mouthful of steam. The terrifying energies around him tilted and boiled, kinetic force turning into scorching heat that baked the air itself.
He grinned ferociously as he lifted his gaze to the dragon in the sky. He did not even spare the two All Stars nearby a glance.
"You are not going all out with just that, are you? If you do not use your full strength… you are going to die."
"Worororororo…"
The wounds on Kaido's body were slowly starting to close, trying to scab over and stop the bleeding, but it was not something that could be finished in a short time.
Still, as long as the damage was not fatal, he could always sit up again like doing a basic sit up.
"What a delightful fight. It is about time we settled this."
The flames at the corner of Kaido's mouth surged wildly. His aura exploded, and his body began to grow. From hundreds of meters, to thousands, to tens of thousands…
A mass of flame the size of a small island wrapped around his entire body. Then the flames tightened and shaped themselves into a gigantic, enlarged version of his form.
A colossal Fire Dragon.
Sizzle sizzle.
The air itself was scorched so badly it seemed to twist. The Seagull King watched this scene, his pupils trembling.
As a Mythical Zoan himself, he could feel the sheer terror behind this power. This was a higher ranked beast.
There was no need to test it. Even if he unleashed his strongest storms, he probably would not be able to harm that titanic Fire Dragon.
He might not even be able to blow out a single patch of flame. At most, he would fan the blaze higher.
Even among Mythical Zoans, there was a gap.
King stared blankly at Kaido's new form, especially at that terrifying inferno. The dragon's tail idly swept across a mountain in passing, and the entire peak melted cleanly in half.
This level of heat had already gone far beyond ordinary fire.
Even as a Lunarian, born with mastery over flames, he could not reach such terrifying temperatures.
"That body that puts even Sea Kings to shame… so this is…"
"The World's Strongest Creature."
As for Queen, he had been crushed so hard by Ozz's presence that when he saw Kaido in that overwhelming form, the pressure on his heart finally eased.
His exhausted, ball shaped body went soft and he collapsed to the ground.
After wiping off his sweat, he suddenly bounced back up and launched into one of his ridiculous dances.
"If I get out of this alive, Lord Queen is going to eat three whole tubs of red bean mochi soup…"
"No. Ten tubs."
The flames scorched the air. Conqueror's Haki poured out at full strength and fused completely into that enormous body.
Most of the houses around the Flower Capital were made of wood. Half the city surrounding the battlefield was already a sea of fire. Countless citizens either fled as far as they could, or were swallowed by the flames.
Obviously, those people could not draw Kaido's attention at all.
And Ozz, who usually did not bother with such things, was even less likely to care in his drunken state.
The blaze lit up Ozz's face, tinting his features blood red, but there was not a trace of panic on that handsome face.
The alcohol in his system had burned off a little. In this half drunk, half clear headed state, his earlier manic grin had faded a bit, but there was still some lingering thrill in his expression.
He stood there as if he were enjoying a sunbath. His shirt and cloak vanished in an instant, and he simply bathed in the light.
Aside from Rocks, this was already the strongest attack he had ever seen.
Even when he fought Whitebeard in the past, they had pulled their punches and never fought to the death like this. He had never truly felt this kind of life and death struggle before.
Every hair on his body stood on end. Ozz did not feel any fear of death, but he could tell this move would definitely not be easy to take.
He spread both hands.
Black Gun and Ace appeared in his grip at the same time, one black blade and one black spear. His lonely silhouette stood before the sun like radiance of the colossal Fire Dragon.
"Good. Keep dancing."
Ozz laughed excitedly. This drunken battle fought with complete abandon filled him with a sense of freedom he had never felt before.
He could even feel his own spirit, his aura, growing stronger.
"With power and scale like this… Kaido, I acknowledge you."
"Of all the beings I have fought in this world, no one can match your endurance and vitality."
"I, Ozz, am willing to call you the strongest creature."
The dragon wrapped in flames also heard his words and erupted into booming laughter.
"Wororororoso… It is only by defeating monsters like you that I feel truly alive."
"Let me taste the strongest and wildest war this world has to offer again."
The World's Strongest Creature vs The Next Generation's King.
Ozz's form slowly split into two overlapping silhouettes. Blade and spear crossed and interlocked. A bone deep sense of death flooded Kaido's entire body.
Even shrouded in fire, he felt a chill that reached all the way into his bones.
He did not back down. The savagery in his eyes only burned brighter. More flames erupted in his gaze as he used the remnants of his drunken momentum to roar at Ozz.
Words he had always wanted to say.
"Celestial Dragons. Dark Emperor. Stop playing at those childish games, Ozz."
"The strong are born to rule everything. That is the only eternal truth."
"Wealth, fame, power. The so called One Piece Roger left behind was always meant for the victors after the greatest war, was it not?"
"Yet this sea is still full of fools who dream of sitting on the throne forever, or challenging opponents they can never hope to defeat. It is laughable."
The flames wrapped around the Fire Dragon compressed and spun, swirling tighter and tighter. They coated his entire form as he charged, colliding head on with the black and red radiance of blade and spear.
Then he dove.
"Only beings like you and me can decide where this world is headed, can create a war that engulfs the entire world."
"In the end, there will only be one king on this sea."
Ozz stared fixedly at the dragon head coming down at him, a savage smile pulling at his lips.
Conqueror's Haki wrapped his blade at full strength. At the butt of Black Gun, a twisted black sphere of warped space appeared.
"Well… you are not wrong."
"A world spanning war that sweeps up everything. Just hearing it sounds like a grand stage. I am looking forward to that day too."
There are two kinds of villains in this world.
One is like Kaido. They have their own unique views about the world, and they pursue power to realize their ultimate life goal. It might look evil and cruel in the eyes of others, but they are true to their hearts and possess iron wills.
The other is like Ozz.
No grand reason.
He is just bored and thinks it would be fun.
Cruelty for entertainment.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom.
"Flame Dragon Torch!"
"Extinguish, Overlord Sea!"
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