There was a natural gap between Kaido, a well-known pirate on the high seas, and Gekko Moriah, a newly emerging one.
Not to mention that Kaido possessed an additional Conqueror's Haki compared to Moriah; just the fact that Kaido was a Mythical Zoan type, Azure Dragon Devil Fruit user, coupled with his monstrous recovery speed, meant Moriah was bound to lose.
The current Moriah was not the future one who only knew how to slack off, constantly searching for corpses, and harvesting others' shadows.
Even if the current Moriah couldn't defeat Kaido, he could still fight him back and forth.
He was stronger than everyone currently under Kaido, a true Yonko-level combatant, and Moriah was still young; his potential to reach Admiral-level combat power in the future was very high!
The world of pirates didn't have a specific power level system; it could only be judged by simple estimation and what actions one had specifically taken... "Hee hee hee hee."
"Die, Kaido!"
Moriah grinned sinisterly, his greatsword, covered in Armament Haki and turned black, slashed towards Kaido.
"Wurorororo..."
"Don't get carried away! I haven't even warmed up yet!"
As Kaido spoke, his hassaikai was just as swift, swinging towards Moriah.
Their weapons collided in the air, emitting a harsh screech, accompanied by faint sparks of lightning.
Just then, Moriah sneered, and the shadow beneath his feet suddenly moved, as if alive, detaching from him.
It moved behind Kaido, and then a completely jet-black figure, identical to Moriah in appearance, emerged, also holding a greatsword like Moriah's; however, unlike the blackness of Armament Haki, this one was composed entirely of shadow.
Kaido seemed completely oblivious, still entangled in battle with Moriah's main body.
Shadow Moriah didn't hesitate either, facing the unguarded Kaido from behind, he unhesitatingly slashed at Kaido's back.
Moriah, who was still fighting Kaido, suddenly changed his expression; he suddenly felt that Kaido seemed a little different.
His strength and aura seemed to have risen to another level. If the Kaido from moments ago felt roughly equal to him, making him feel he had a chance to win.
But now, Kaido's aura was like a towering mountain. In that instant, Moriah felt that the person before him was invincible. This feeling lasted only a moment, but it filled him with immense anger.
This meant that Kaido had been holding back, and he had been spouting threats, which made him feel incredibly humiliated. Kaido was clearly toying with him!
Realizing this, Moriah no longer dared to hold back; he had a premonition that if he didn't use his full strength, he might truly die!
"Damn you, Kaido! You... you were toying with me!"
The enraged Moriah's offensive became even fiercer and more aggressive, and the Shadow Moriah's attack behind Kaido was also about to land.
"Wurorororo..."
"Warm-up's over, time to finish this!"
Kaido's powerful, heavy strike forced Moriah back, sliding several meters on the ground before stopping.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Then Kaido turned around and delivered a strike, wrapped in dark red lightning, heavily hitting the sneaking Shadow Moriah.
Shadow Moriah instantly dispersed under this attack, splashing everywhere like ink.
But in a short while, those scattered shadows converged towards Moriah.
After fighting for so long, Moriah was already slightly out of breath, while Kaido seemed completely unaffected, showing no signs of the fierce battle he had just been in.
"Kaido, you're very strong. I was careless! But I'm not weak either!"
He had seen the gap between himself and Kaido, but he was unwilling to lose to Kaido like this!
But what good was unwillingness?
In this cruel world, no matter how unwilling you are, what can you do without sufficient strength?
No one will pity you, no one will sympathize with you!
Getting up and raising his greatsword, Moriah once again fought Kaido. They had been evenly matched just moments ago, but now Moriah was clearly at a disadvantage.
The former spirited look on Moriah's face was gone, replaced only by a stubborn persistence!
Moriah now had the idea of retreating with his companions, but he hadn't heard the sound of his companions fighting the Beasts from beginning to end, which made him feel a growing unease.
"Wurorororo..."
"Gekko Moriah! You're very good, join the Beasts! Let's start a great war together that can change the world!"
The outcome of this battle was already largely predetermined, and Kaido seized the opportunity to extend an invitation to Moriah.
Although Moriah showed some decline, it was impossible to make him submit!
"Kaido! I'm the man who will become the Pirate King, how could I possibly submit to you!"
Moriah gritted his teeth, his angry eyes fixed on Kaido.
His dream was to become the Pirate King; how could he possibly submit to Kaido? In his eyes, this was Kaido's humiliation of him!
"Even if I die, I will not submit to you, Kaido. Give up that thought!"
Moriah's strong refusal did not anger Kaido; it was normal for strong individuals to have their own tempers, as long as they were beaten into submission.
"Wurorororo..."
"Let's just knock you down first!"
Kaido said this casually, as if it were a very easy task.
As he finished speaking, Kaido delivered a Thunder Bagua, sending Moriah flying dozens of meters.
"You're very good, I'm getting serious now!"
Moriah, propping himself up with his sword, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, breathing heavily.
At this moment, his desire to leave with his companions reached its peak. He was indeed no match for Kaido, but if he wanted to leave, Kaido couldn't stop him!
Just as Moriah was thinking about how to leave with his companions, an aura even more terrifying than Kaido's earlier suddenly appeared.
The next moment, Moriah felt a sense of death rapidly approaching, like being targeted by some monstrous beast, and his Observation Haki was frantically warning him.
"Descent of the Three Worlds, Pulling of Naraka!"
"When?!"
Before he could even be horrified, Moriah was smashed into the ground by a greatly transformed Kaido with a staff strike wrapped in purple lightning.
Rocks shattered, debris flew, and the ground was struck by this blow, creating a deep pit, with cracks spreading like a spider web in all directions.
At this moment, Kaido had completely transformed, with most of his body covered in scales. In addition to his original horns, he now had a pair of long, straight, slightly forked horns, and a tail had also appeared on his back.
This was Kaido's strongest state, the Human-Beast form of a Zoan type!
Kaido stood by the edge of the pit, holding his hassaikai, with rising dust obscuring the view, making it impossible to see the situation inside.
"Cough cough~"
Suddenly, a slightly weak cough came from within the pit.
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