Meanwhile, on the warship's deck, Diarmuid and the others were also looking at Kaido's towering figure. The reason Diarmuid hadn't just killed King the Wildfire was that he wanted to see where he was going. But it seemed the guy wasn't very bright, since he led his warship right to Kaido. At this point, they could see Kaido, so there was no reason Kaido couldn't see them.
But looking closer, Kaido was standing with wide, angry eyes, gripping his club, as if ready for a big fight. He showed no fear at all. This greatly surprised Diarmuid. To be honest, with a lineup like theirs, they were more than qualified to take on Whitebeard, the world's strongest man. If Whitebeard were alone, they could actually defeat him. But Kaido was acting like he wasn't scared at all.
"Looks like I underestimated Kaido. Has that guy always been this brave?" Diarmuid couldn't help but ask.
Sakazuki narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Is Kaido looking down on us?"
"Arrogant!" Gion said fiercely, lightning flickering in her hand.
Garp, on the other hand, smiled and said nonchalantly, "Isn't it what we want that he isn't running? He's always liked to fight groups of people by himself... so this isn't too surprising."
"That makes sense," Diarmuid nodded. From what he remembered, Kaido did like to fight against a lot of people, stirring up trouble everywhere. He would annoy Newgate every now and then and occasionally harass the Marines. But in recent years, he had settled down a lot. Diarmuid hadn't thought much of it, assuming Kaido was just trying to build a reputation as a madman to mislead others. But now it seemed he had misunderstood. The guy was truly a brute!
While Diarmuid was secretly admiring Kaido's courage, he didn't know that Kaido was so furious he wanted to tear King apart. The closer the warship got, the more Kaido felt that something was wrong. This might be a disaster. It had been about ten years since he had been caught by the Marines. In the past, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but now his career had just started. If he were caught now, the losses would be enormous.
But it was too late to run. As the warship got closer, Kaido, one of the world's top fighters, was unwavering. He gripped his club, infused it with Haki, and sent a blow from a distance.
"Ocean's Roar!!!" Kaido roared.
A violent gust of wind burst from his club, tearing through the cloud-like sea and heading for the warship. But Diarmuid and the others didn't move right away. They just stood on the deck, stunned. When the gust of wind was about to hit the warship, Sakazuki couldn't take it anymore. He roared and threw a punch. A searingly hot torrent of magma instantly shot from his arm, turning into a giant arm that grabbed the gust of wind and squeezed it until it dissipated.
Although their attacks seemed fierce, they were just testing each other, not unleashing their full power. After Sakazuki pulled back, he looked at Diarmuid and the others. "What are you doing?"
Diarmuid scratched his nose awkwardly. "I thought Vice Admiral Garp would attack."
Garp was taken aback. "I thought Gion would attack."
Gion also looked stunned. "I thought you, Sakazuki, would attack."
Sakazuki: Are you guys trying to one-up me here? So if I hadn't attacked, this warship would have been sunk by Kaido? What happened to our Marine teamwork?
But he didn't pursue it further. Sakazuki snorted in annoyance, his gaze fixed on Kaido. Fine, since you all want me to go first, I will!
Sakazuki was already a hot-tempered person, so when he saw Kaido, he didn't wait any longer. He just had to fight! He stomped his foot, and his body shot towards Kaido like a cannonball.
It was a little awkward. Because they hadn't acted right away, Diarmuid, Gion, and Garp were a bit embarrassed. They had the same thought: they had to quickly take down Kaido, or it would be too embarrassing.
So as soon as Sakazuki charged out, he saw Diarmuid, Gion, and Garp had also charged. For a moment, the four looked at each other in the air, their expressions even more awkward. Their so-called teamwork was nowhere to be found! But since they were already out, they might as well fight together!
On the other side, Kaido was also baffled. All he did was say hello. He hadn't even made a threat yet. Why were all these Marines suddenly charging at him at once as if they were on a sugar rush!? But at this moment, Kaido had no time to think. He couldn't afford to be careless anymore.
With a roar, Kaido's already large body became even more ferocious. Dragon scales grew all over his body, a clear sign of his increased defense. He had entered his human-dragon hybrid form!
"Haaaah!!!" Kaido bellowed, raising his club to strike. But in the next instant, a powerful gravity field enveloped him, causing his smooth movements to pause. And just in that brief moment, two flashes of lightning shot toward his eyes.
Kaido's reflexes weren't slow. The lightning was too fast, and with the gravity pressing on him, he was a little slow to dodge. But he still managed to duck his head, so the lightning didn't hit his eyes. The lightning exploded on his horns, leaving no damage. But this pause and dodge made Kaido lose the first strike. Before he could make a move, Sakazuki's scorching magma was already right in front of his chest.
"Dai Funka!!!" Sakazuki roared. His fist instantly grew larger, becoming bigger than Kaido himself. The searing magma touched Kaido's face and then covered him completely. Kaido couldn't block the volcanic-level impact. Sakazuki's punch sent him flying, and the scorching magma exploded around him like fireworks, a magnificent sight.
But Kaido was too tough to be seriously hurt. He was able to endure the force, sliding backward for over a hundred meters before finally steadying himself. But just as he got his footing and before he could wipe the magma off his face, he instinctively felt a sense of danger. In the next instant, Garp's fist slammed into his nose, knocking Kaido to the ground, creating a huge, cracked crater.
In a single moment, Kaido was given no chance to fight back. He was pinned down by the four top Marines and pummeled!
King, who had his sword halfway out of its sheath, was completely dumbfounded. He had been with Kaido for a few years and had never seen him in such a miserable state. He couldn't even fight back!
As King stood there in shock, a flash of lightning shot past him. King finally came to his senses and tried to draw his sword to block, but it was too late.
"You have a lot of guts to get distracted in a fight of this level…" Gion's voice entered his ears. In the next second, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Gion's pale, long leg, crackling with lightning, had kicked his waist. Then, the volatile lightning energy was released, completely covering King in the blink of an eye. He was then sent flying with the lightning.
After kicking King away, Gion didn't pursue him. Kaido was the main event. What was a guy like King compared to that? This kind of opportunity to gang up on Kaido was rare. It might only happen once every few years. She had no interest in fighting some minion!
Just then, a scorching blast of air suddenly erupted from where Kaido had fallen, forcing Garp, who was about to throw another punch, to retreat.
"That's Bolo Breath! It's Kaido's ability!" Garp said, showing his extensive knowledge. He wasn't wrong. It was Kaido's Bolo Breath, or rather, his dragon's breath.
After exhaling a Bolo Breath, he finally bought himself some time. Kaido quickly climbed out of the crater, holding his club, with his Observation Haki fully active, looking ready to fight.
However, his nose was slightly crooked, and blood was running from his nostrils. It was clear that Garp's punch had broken through his defenses! But even so, it showed how monstrous his body was. A normal person would have been knocked out by a combined attack from the four of them, but Kaido seemed fine.
But that was just a facade. In reality, Kaido felt a heavy sense of defeat. Even after just a moment of fighting, he knew he couldn't win! What the hell? Who could win against this? At this moment, Kaido was thinking about how he could run away with some dignity.
"Oh my, the 'Strongest Creature,' is it? That physique certainly lives up to the name…" Diarmuid said, touching his sheathed Kokorowatari, his tone filled with admiration.
Garp just bumped his fists together. "A perfect warm-up for me!"
Sakazuki and Gion didn't say anything, but the four of them had now surrounded Kaido. Kaido held his club, and finally looked at Diarmuid. "Were you guys after me from the very beginning?"
"Maybe," Diarmuid said with a smile, not explaining any further.
The moment he spoke, the Kokorowatari at his waist was drawn, and as a flash of light went by, a dark, sinister, and evil aura burst out.
Kaido was visibly stunned. Seriously? And you call yourself an Admiral of Justice? You're way too fitting to be a pirate!
"Gravity Blade: Tiger Slayer!" Diarmuid roared. He swung his sword at Kaido!
Kaido's eyes were serious. He brought his club up, infused with Haki, to block Diarmuid's strike. But just as he was about to, Gion pointed a finger at him and shouted, "Penetrate him, Thunder Bird!"
The words were even faster than the lightning. As Kaido heard the voice, the Thunder Bird created from the powerful energy of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was already right in front of his face. With a crackle and a flash, it blew up in his face, and a large amount of black smoke covered his head. Then, Diarmuid's Gravity Blade enveloped Kaido, pushing his large body back with a crushing force.
"Magma Mountain!" Sakazuki, standing behind Kaido, held his ground against Diarmuid's gravity and threw a punch. The searing heat seemed to turn the ground into scorched earth. He hit Kaido in the back, and the violent magma, with its volcanic-like force, "helped" Kaido block the gravity. Of course, Kaido's body was the medium.
"Fist of Justice!" Garp also roared, throwing a punch.
To everyone's surprise, when Garp's punch came, Kaido suddenly raised his club, wrapped in Haki, and accurately blocked the punch. But the powerful force still sent him flying. This time, Kaido didn't fall. He stumbled a few steps and stood his ground. But the Marines' barrage of attacks gave him no chance to catch his breath.
As soon as Kaido got his footing, Diarmuid dropped from the sky. His Kokorowatari was wrapped in Haki and a light purple glow.
"Mountain Cleaver!!!" Diarmuid roared.
At that moment, Kaido couldn't take it anymore. He had never been so humiliated! With a roar like a dragon's cry, an overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Kaido. Then, with his movements, he channeled it into his club and slammed it into Diarmuid's Kokorowatari.
"Thunder Bagua!!!" Kaido roared in rage. I finally got to use a move!
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