As for why Kaido went all out the moment he reached the lower plains, the reason was simple—he had no other choice.
Close combat? He had to exert his full strength just to trade blows evenly with Ray.
Transform and bite each other?
His opponent could regenerate almost instantly—what could he do against that?
Stamina battle? He couldn't outlast him.
Kaido had just realized that, even after fighting this long, Ray hadn't even begun to breathe heavily.
Meanwhile, after ten intense clashes of Thunder Bagua, Kaido genuinely needed a breather.
Kaido's perception was correct—Ray had indeed refined his movement technique into an extremely energy-efficient skill.
The Demonic Power consumed was almost entirely offset by his natural regeneration.
The only drawback was that it still consumed Haki.
Logically, since both were expending Haki, Ray shouldn't have had it easy either.
But Ray only applied Haki to his sword slashes.
Whereas Kaido had to forcibly merge the attributes of lightning and fire using Haki—after all, it was a newly developed technique, and his lack of proficiency meant his Haki consumption was naturally much higher.
Of course, even if Ray and Kaido exhausted their Haki at the same time, so what?
Ray's Demonic Power was still full.
But Kaido had no "MP" left.
To put it in gaming terms: Ray had two mana bars and Kaido only had one.
In terms of raw power, Kaido and Ray were currently about equal.
So, once Kaido grasped the reality of the situation, only one path remained for him.
A fight to the death.
ZOOM!
Thus, Kaido immediately transformed into his dragon form, using his Haki to channel the fire attribute.
He gathered massive amounts of fire elements around his colossal dragon body, ultimately forming a gigantic magma dragon.
...
Kaido who's now transformed into the Torch Dragon (Kaen Daiko), opened his glowing eyes.
"Ray... if you can overcome this technique of mine... then I've lost."
After speaking, Kaido grew even more enraged when Ray gave no response.
This was his all-or-nothing gambit, yet his enemy showed him not even the slightest respect.
'Was it so hard to reply?'
'Am i truly so unworthy of your respect in your eyes?'
Yes.
In Ray's eyes, Kaido was utterly unworthy of his respect.
Big Mom's two completely contrasting personas emerged due to her mental illness.
At the very least, the version of Linlin that awakened before her death possessed both the maternal love of humanity and the fearless spirit of a true warrior.
Therefore, when facing Linlin who was willingly embracing death, Ray cast aside his cold demeanor and gave her the respect befitting a true warrior.
But what the hell are you, Kaido?
There was no personality switch—it was the same person from start to finish.
His treatment of Yamato alone highlights his scummy character.
He lives purely for his own goals, utterly self-centered.
His daughter is a tool.
His subordinates are tools.
Although one can sense Kaido shares the warrior's mentality of "enjoying battle," once at a disadvantage, he discards the thrill of combat, focusing solely on how to win.
His repeated suicide attempts aren't because he wants to die—they're just tests to see if he's strong enough.
Otherwise, do you really think he couldn't be killed after being captured repeatedly by the Marines?
Which of the three Admirals couldn't kill him if he just stood still?
He definitely escaped before any real danger arose.
You could even say Kaido is like some shady entrepreneurs Ray encountered before his transmigration—all his experiences are basically crafted to build a flashy personal resume.
As for the authenticity of that resume, it's completely unverifiable.
Abusing Yamato since childhood—was it really to "toughen her up" so she could inherit his throne?
Wrong.
If it were for training, he wouldn't have put explosive handcuffs on her that were capable of blowing her arms off.
Keeping Yamato tightly leashed isn't about grooming a successor—it's about creating a loyal human weapon.
Avenging his old friend Linlin? Bullshit.
Ray saw little hatred in Kaido's eyes.
It was just an excuse to fight.
No matter how outsiders evaluate Kaido... in Ray's eyes, Kaido is just a self-centered scum.
The main reason he switched battle locations is that Onigashima holds almost all of his military forces—if they all die in the crossfire, how can he conquer the world?
It's completely different from Linlin's core logic of protecting her children with her life.
So even at this moment, as Kaido decides to fight to the death, Ray feels nothing extra for him.
'We're all selfish people here, so don't expect respect from others.'
...
ROAAAAR!
Feeling Ray's contempt, Kaido flew into a rage.
The fire dragon radiated even higher temperatures, the intense heat distorting and blurring the very space around it.
Even Black Maria, watching from afar, could barely make out the details of the battlefield.
The combat area where Ray and Kaido stood appeared visually blurry, like a low-resolution video, due to the heat waves.
WHOOSH!
Instantly, the enraged fire dragon, imbued with Conqueror's Haki lightning and massive amounts of Armament Haki, charged toward Ray at extreme speed.
SHING.
Ray drew Tessaiga.
With Demonic Power circulating, he easily discerned the energy composition of the Flaming Dragon Torch.
Given the oversized dragon-shaped attack and its violently fluctuating energy, Ray found it difficult to pinpoint Kaido's true position inside the magma.
Moreover, since Ray wanted a one-hit kill, a simple Bakuryūha might not eliminate the "little dragon" hiding inside.
Therefore, Ray immediately adjusted Tessaiga's Demonic Power flow pattern.
Apart from the vortex of demonic energy from the Wind Scar, shards of dagger-shaped diamonds also manifested along the blade.
The next moment, Ray aimed at the head of the Magma Dragon where the energy was most concentrated and unleashed a slash.
"KONGO... BAKURYUHA!"
BOOM!
Utilizing the energy from the Magma Dragon's head against itself, a tornado vortex comparable to a 10,000-meter dragon instantly formed.
The flame dragon and the diamond tornado briefly reached a stalemate.
GRIND...
But the tornado could absorb the dragon's energy, and as time passed, the situation began to reverse.
The highly destructive tornado gradually enveloped the massive flame dragon.
Logically speaking, facing such immense heat energy, the Backlash Wave should have found it difficult to completely devour it within just three seconds.
The reason lay in the most terrifying aspect of this technique—inside the tornado, there were countless gigantic Diamond Spears relentlessly tearing the flame dragon apart.
Kaido's magma energy was being sliced and shattered by the diamond blades, causing more and more unclaimed energy to be absorbed by the Backlash Wave.
And because of the damage inflicted by the storm on the dragon form, the destruction caused by the diamond blades inside intensified further.
Another three seconds later.
Kaido, who was inside the Magma Dragon, finally realized the truth.
His proud nation-destroying technique had now been almost entirely devoured.
Before his dragon eyes were countless diamond blades imbued with Demonic Power and Haki.
Surrounding him was an apocalyptic tornado with no end in sight.
And this apocalyptic tornado was gradually transforming into the form of a diamond prison.
As the tornado closed in, Kaido could sense that, in a short while, he would inevitably be subjected to "death by a thousand cuts" from countless rotating diamond blades.
As the seemingly world-destroying power closed in on the azure dragon, Kaido let out a sigh, almost as if mocking himself.
"Is this my end?"
Kaido now understood that no matter how much he resisted, there was not the slightest chance of survival in this apocalypse.
Facing the final second of his life, Kaido felt surprisingly calm.