As a Mythical Zoan user, and with his innate monster-like physical attributes, Kaido's strength was immense. But Sakazuki was also famously powerful, and the moment the two collided, an Armament Haki clash erupted. At the same time, magma shot out everywhere, with waves of power rippling from the impact.
Under normal circumstances, the two could have had a stalemate, but Kaido didn't get that chance. A bolt of lightning erupted from the ground, reaching Kaido in the blink of an eye. Then, Gion's figure solidified from the lightning. The golden blade Konpira in her hand, crackling with a dazzling electrical light, cut into Kaido's arm in three precise slashes.
It seemed Gion had condensed the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit onto her blade. The high-temperature lightning had a sharp property that first broke through Kaido's defensive Haki and then sliced into his dragon scales. Even though Kaido's scales seemed to have a high resistance to lightning, they couldn't completely stop this attack.
With a loud crackle of electricity, Gion's Konpira sliced into Kaido's arm. Because the high-temperature lightning was constantly radiating, no blood came from Kaido's wound; it was instantly evaporated and scorched. The wound itself was also seared by the electricity. Kaido hadn't expected Gion to get back up so quickly after he hit her with his club. In his pain, he instinctively let go of his strength.
Two sparks of magma flared in Sakazuki's eyes. He seized the moment.
"Meigo!!!" Sakazuki roared, pushing his fist past the clashing club. His arm, wrapped in scorching hot magma and Haki, slammed into Kaido's chest. Then, it looked as though Kaido's back had been pierced as a violent magma aura erupted from behind him like a shockwave. Sakazuki's wrist was now completely embedded in Kaido's chest.
It was clear that the four Marines had been using Kaido as a warm-up before. But when Kaido tried to escape, they got serious. And after Kaido had slammed Gion with his club, they were all angry.
Sakazuki's Meigo was the same attack that had dealt a fatal blow to Whitebeard in the original story, even taking off half his head. It was one of the top-tier attacks in the world, with immense destructive power.
Kaido was hit with Sakazuki's "Black Tiger Stealing Heart" and let out a pained roar. His ferocity was triggered, and he let out a burst of Conqueror's Haki coating that pushed Gion away. He opened his mouth and spewed a gust of wind mixed with his Bolo Breath directly at Sakazuki.
Sakazuki was fierce, but he wasn't a true fool. There was no way he would take Kaido's attack head-on. The ground beneath him instantly turned to magma. In the next second, the wind and Bolo Breath hit him, turning him into countless pieces of magma. But it was useless. Sakazuki's figure emerged halfway from the ground and grabbed Kaido's ankle.
On the other side, Gion, after being pushed away by Kaido, landed on the ground. She didn't even have time to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. She raised her hand and then whipped it, and a long whip made of lightning wrapped around Kaido's other ankle.
She and Sakazuki, one on each side, had temporarily restrained Kaido. Honestly, for a top-tier fighter, breaking free from this kind of restraint in three to five breaths would be no problem. But at this moment, Kaido didn't have any time to react!
Garp's muscular body had already reached Kaido. His fist was still wrapped in Armament Haki, but the Haki had started to flow. Garp roared, "Experience true justice!!!"
The moment he spoke, he punched. Kaido's feet were trapped, but his arms were free. His eyes showed a mix of shock and anger, and he crossed his arms in front of his head. In the next second, Garp's immensely powerful punch hit his arm. The arm that had a fresh gash from Gion's blade was now bleeding. The moment it took Garp's punch, Kaido's scorched wound ripped open, and crimson blood shot into the air.
This showed just how much force Garp's punch had. The Haki on Kaido's arm was shattered by Garp's punch. Then, his iron fist hit the dragon scales, causing them to compress and deform, and blood seeped from the cracks. Looking closer, one could see that Kaido's arm muscles had caved in.
"Break!!!" Garp roared again. He twisted his wrist, and the brutal force changed, pushing up against Kaido's arm. He used that punch to force Kaido's crossed arms apart, leaving his front wide open.
On the other side, Diarmuid held the otherworldly Kokorowatari horizontally in front of him. One hand held the hilt while the other slowly slid down the blade. Wherever his palm went, the Kokorowatari became pitch black. That wasn't the power of Haki, but the power of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit condensed to its peak.
Just holding the blade in the air, the space around it would subtly shatter. The fragments would be immediately devoured by the black energy on the blade. After Diarmuid's palm passed over the tip of the blade, dyeing the entire Kokorowatari black, he said in a low voice, "Secret Technique: Abyssal Devourer."
Just then, Garp's punch had opened Kaido's defense, leaving him completely exposed. Without thinking, Diarmuid's eyes flashed, and the gravity on his body suddenly vanished. He took a single Soru step, appearing behind Garp at a speed that could be called teleportation. The Kokorowatari, overflowing with gravity, came down.
Garp also felt the terrifying power coming from behind him. His eyes filled with shock. Just from the aura of that power, he knew that if that blade hit him, he might not be able to defend against it. If he couldn't, he would be severely wounded!
What kind of monstrous thing did this kid develop? Garp thought. His legs weren't slow. He didn't dare to stand in Diarmuid's way and disappeared. The moment Garp vanished, Diarmuid's cursed sword, Kokorowatari, came down!
Kaido's eyes were filled with terror. Garp could feel the terrifying aura from Diarmuid's black gravity blade, so how could Kaido, as the target, not feel it? But everything happened too fast. It was so fast that he couldn't resist.
From the moment Sakazuki and Gion grabbed his ankles to Garp's punch that opened his defense, to Diarmuid's final strike, it was all over in an instant. In that moment, the four top Marines had coordinated a single attack that left Kaido with no way to resist.
The terror in his dragon eyes flashed away, and then, he quickly condensed an immense amount of Haki in his chest, as if all the Haki in his body was gathered there. He could only try to resist in this way!
But there was no emotion in Diarmuid's eyes. The Kokorowatari came down without any force, and the speed of the strike didn't seem very fast, almost looking like child's play. But precisely because it seemed so casual, when the blade touched the Haki Kaido had gathered, it met no resistance at all. The powerful Haki instantly disintegrated and was devoured by the black gravitational energy on the Kokorowatari.
"What is this..." Kaido thought in shock.
"Gravitational Collapse," Diarmuid said softly.
Then, the Kokorowatari pierced through Kaido's Haki and touched his chest. At that moment, Kaido felt an immense pain. It wasn't the feeling of being cut. Instead, Diarmuid's strange blade seemed to be devouring and tearing his flesh. The moment it made contact, it forcefully ripped open his dense muscle tissue.
As the blade went through, a huge, bloody wound appeared on Kaido's chest. But strangely, no blood flew out; it was all devoured by the gravitational collapse on the blade. It wasn't until the blade left the wound that a large amount of blood poured out.
As the tip of the Kokorowatari left Kaido's abdomen, the entire wound seemed to "come alive." One could almost see Kaido's internal organs writhing inside the wound. This single blow had completely shattered Kaido's prideful defense!
The moment the blade left Kaido, a powerful force burst out, sending him flying. The restraints from Sakazuki and Gion also broke at that moment.
Diarmuid stood still, swinging his blade to create a flower shape. He then swung the Kokorowatari down, and the concentrated gravity on the blade also dissipated. It was only at this moment that the terrifying aura surrounding everyone truly disappeared.
Sakazuki climbed out of the magma on the ground and looked at Diarmuid's Kokorowatari in shock. "What a strange power. Is there anything that blade can't cut?"
"Hard to say. But it can easily inflict heavy damage on Kaido. I prepared this move for Charlotte Linlin. I've only used it once before, on Whitebeard. But that guy is much stronger than Kaido and wasn't hurt..." Diarmuid said with a smile.
In fact, after using this move on Kaido, Diarmuid was pretty sure that the single blow was enough to kill Kaido, the so-called "immortal." If he hadn't been concerned about the major secrets Kaido held and the World Government's plans, Diarmuid would have aimed for Kaido's neck and gave him a permanent preservation.
How can you be immortal if your head is cut off? If you can still live after that and grow a new head, then I, Diarmuid, will admit that you are the strongest in terms of life force!
"Big Mom?" Sakazuki murmured. He then nodded. "In terms of defense alone, she really is stronger."
"I think in terms of overall strength, at least at this stage, she is also stronger," Diarmuid suddenly said. He had fought Charlotte Linlin intensely once before. Now, comparing her to Kaido, he couldn't shake the feeling that Kaido's strength, at least at this point, was a notch below Charlotte Linlin's. Could it be that the four of us fighting Kaido so easily gave me a biased perception?
Meanwhile, Kaido slowly got back up from a distance. Perhaps thanks to his Mythical Zoan, Kaido was clearly an awakened user. The wound on his chest couldn't heal that quickly, but the bleeding had stopped.
However, compared to before, Kaido's aura had weakened significantly. His eyes were serious, with a hint of helplessness.
What the hell, I can't win at all! I couldn't win when I was at full strength, so how can I win now that I'm severely wounded?
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