High above the clouds, the collision of two Conqueror's Haki auras tore the sky apart. Every flying creature fled instantly and the clouds dissolved into the wind. The heavens themselves seemed to recoil from the overwhelming pressure.
"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson," Kaito murmured. His Conqueror's Haki surged again, deepening like a vast ocean. The balance between them shattered as Kaito's golden aura rolled forward in a sweeping wave that crashed directly toward Kaido.
Kaido snarled. "Damn you! You little brat!"
His colossal azure dragon form twisted, turning into a streak of blue light as he hurled himself at Kaito.
But even though Kaido's dragon body stretched hundreds of meters, it was nothing before the towering form of Kaito's Complete Susanoo. The massive construct, wrapped in dark blue energy, cast a shadow that dwarfed even the azure dragon.
Kaito knew Kaido's size was dangerous, but Wano's people watching below felt something entirely different.
To them, Kaido was the tyrant who had ruled with violence ever since defeating Kozuki Oden alongside Orochi. Wano had suffered under his heel for years. The sight of a giant humanoid warrior standing fearlessly against Kaido ignited a strange mix of fear, awe, and hope in their hearts.
The villagers recognized the dragon immediately as Kaido. He frequently transformed into a dragon while drunk and destroyed anything in his path. But none of them had ever seen a giant warrior like Kaito.
Yet instinctively, they cheered for him.
Kaido had turned Wano into a living nightmare. If anyone could challenge him, the people would cling to that hope.
Inside the Flower Capital, Orochi reclined lazily, listening to music while geisha danced for him. A servant suddenly rushed in, panicked.
"General! Something terrible has happened! Someone is fighting in the sky!"
"Hmph. What of it? Fights are nothing new. Can't you see I'm enjoying myself?" Orochi scolded, annoyed at the interruption.
"General… it's Kaido sama fighting a stranger," the servant whispered.
Orochi froze. "Kaido?!"
He dismissed it with a scoff. "Let them fight. That monster never dies anyway."
To him, many fools had challenged Kaido over the years. All had died. He no longer felt surprised.
But then the servant swallowed hard. "General… this time… Kaido is losing."
Orochi shot upright. "What? Are you certain?!"
"Positive! They're fighting above the clouds. If you look outside, you'll see!"
Orochi didn't wait. He rushed into the courtyard… and stopped dead.
"Nani?"
The sky was a battlefield of roaring energy. A gigantic warrior of blazing blue armor clashed with the titanic azure dragon. Each strike shattered the heavens. Kaido's attacks were being brushed aside, while every slash from Kaito forced Kaido to dodge desperately.
Orochi's heart dropped. Was this really the invincible Kaido he knew? The Kaido with impossible endurance, monstrous recovery, and an apparently unkillable body?
Where was that strength now?
At Amigasa Village, Komurasaki—living disguised as a woman once more—stepped outside and looked toward the battle.
"Someone has come to challenge Kaido."
All across Wano—Udon, Kuri, Ringo, and Rabbit Bowl—people gazed upward with trembling anticipation. After suffering so long, the people of Wano were united in a single hope: that Kaido would fall.
In the sky, Kaido's rage intensified. His eyes glowed with fury as he unleashed a torrent of crushing power. His claws could rip mountains apart. His strikes carried the weight of falling meteorites.
But every attack that struck Kaito's Susanoo created nothing but ripples.
"Damn you! You damn turtle shell!" Kaido roared.
Kaito didn't bother responding. Purple ripples spread through his Rinnegan as Susanoo raised its blazing sword.
Kaido charged again. Their weapons clashed mid-air with explosive force, sparks raining across the sky. The impact sent Kaido flying backward.
But he lunged back instantly, roaring, refusing to accept being overpowered. Their battle shook the heavens, each collision powerful enough to level mountains. Thankfully they fought in the air—if either touched the ground with that force, Wano itself would crumble.
Suddenly, Kaido slashed downward.
Five devastating claw marks split the air and carved into the land below.
The explosions were deafening. Villagers screamed as the ground split into five colossal ravines, each so deep they resembled bottomless abysses.
From above, Kaito's eyes narrowed. If he allowed Kaido's wild attacks to continue, Wano would suffer. He would need to restrain Kaido's strikes more carefully.
"How dare you let your guard down against me!" Kaido roared. His dragon tail swept forward, waves of power surging through it.
The impact thundered like the world breaking apart. The shockwave radiated in all directions, tearing across Wano. Wind roared like a violent storm, ripping apart weak buildings. Yet not a single citizen looked away from the sky.
Their lives didn't matter compared to the outcome of this fight. All they wished was for Kaido to fall.
Susanoo shuddered under the blow and was pushed backward. Kaido's chance came.
"Dragon Flame Breath!"
His maw opened wide, and condensed energy gathered like molten red light. The air trembled as the attack built. A blazing sphere formed, bright as the sun, filled with destructive power beyond anything Kaido had released previously.
Then it erupted.
A torrent of burning flames—thick as molten magma—unleashed toward Kaito. Its heat alone scorched the sky, and even hundreds of meters below, Wano's people felt the temperature spike as if summer had arrived in a single breath.
The flames streaked forward at impossible speed, heading straight for Kaito's Susanoo, aimed directly at its forehead.
______
Happy New Year!
The number of power stones I get is pretty low lately, which is kind of funny in its own way.
If you'd like to read ahead (about 60 to 90 chapters in advance) you can find early access on my Patreon.
Patreon.com/Zphyr_