After Kaido reverted to his hybrid dragon-man form, Setsuna remained on his back, delivering a barrage of furious punches wreathed in Conqueror's Haki.
Each punch contained the power to split mountains and shatter stone, landing on Kaido's solid back muscles with dull, resonant thuds.
Kaido was also ruthless. He directly swung his kanabo, [Hassaikai], wreathed in black lightning, smashing it towards his own back.
This strike carried the force of a thunderclap, with no regard for whether it would injure himself.
Setsuna only jumped off Kaido's back at the last possible moment, his ears filled with the thunderous explosion of impact.
Kaido staggered from his own full-power strike, his back instantly torn open and bleeding. But the wound began healing at a visible rate.
"I still want to ask, where do you keep that kanabo when you transform? Doesn't it get uncomfortable?" Setsuna asked, genuinely curious.
Kaido ignored his question. His [Hassaikai], wrapped in black lightning, smashed down. Hachinosu instantly split open into a massive canyon, nearly cleaving the entire island in two.
The air was compressed to its limit, forming a visible shockwave that spread outwards.
Setsuna advanced instead of retreating. His right fist gathered Conqueror's Haki, meeting the strike head-on.
The moment the two forces collided, Kaido's kanabo was knocked high into the air. Setsuna's fist also cracked open, bleeding. But neither retreated half a step.
Kaido grinned ferociously. While slightly leaning back, his left fist shot out like a cannonball. Setsuna likewise met it with his own left fist.
Fist met fist. The muscles of both their arms twisted and tore simultaneously, healing at an incredible speed.
While Setsuna and Kaido battled fiercely, Zephyr intercepted the three Disasters who were preparing to enter the fray.
"Your mechanical arm is already destroyed. You still want to fight us?" King asked coldly.
"You seem to have exhausted your Haki as well. If you dare block us, we don't mind killing a former Marine Admiral," Queen said with a mocking laugh.
"You think I'm weak now? Hah! You don't realize that now is actually my peak state!" Zephyr laughed heartily. "With my conviction reforged, Haki continuously surges within me!"
"A mere former Marine Admiral? Even the current Admiral is nothing in front of us!" Jack proclaimed with great bravado. But the moment his words fell, Zephyr's punch sent him flying.
"That's it?" Zephyr was genuinely surprised. Given the opponent's grand tone, he thought it might be some hidden trump card of Kaido's.
King and Queen fell into a brief, awkward silence, deciding to temporarily ignore the embarrassing spectacle that was Jack.
To deal with a former Marine Admiral… the two of them were enough.
Meanwhile, the intensity of the battle between Setsuna and Kaido kept escalating.
"Conquered Three Worlds, Attracting Hell!"
The shadow of the kanabo, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, descended from the sky. Setsuna stood firm, his right fist blasting upwards.
[Daytime Tiger!]
The moment the two forces collided, Hachinosu's tectonic plates groaned under unbearable strain.
The entire island shook violently. The shockwave swept across, forcibly flattening the ground for thousands of meters around.
Kaido's left arm bent unnaturally, but his muscle tissue writhed and rearranged itself like a living thing.
Setsuna's ribs pierced through his skin, rapidly healing and realigning under the nourishment of Senjutsu Chakra.
"Wororororo! It's still more fun fighting you, brat!" Kaido suddenly grabbed the gourd at his waist, taking a huge swig, entering his [Drunken Mode].
His movements became erratic and unpredictable. His kanabo swept in at angles that defied the laws of physics.
Setsuna's abdomen was smashed inwards, but his hand also plunged into Kaido's right chest.
Both simultaneously exerted force, repelling each other. Each crashed through three cliff faces before barely managing to halt their retreat.
"Setsuna, Setsuna! Do you want to borrow my power?" Don Slime shouted within the Gourmet Space.
"No need. The more of this combat experience, the better. Once I implant the Saiyan Cells, all of this will transform into accumulated progress for my breakthrough!" Setsuna responded within the space.
"Saiyan Cells again… is that species' bloodline really as formidable as you say?" Don Slime asked curiously.
"You'll find out later," Setsuna replied. Simultaneously, his right knee shot forward like a battering ram towards Kaido's chest.
Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood, but his kanabo swung back in retaliation, smashing heavily into Setsuna's waist.
The two seemed to be engaged in turn-based combat… one punch, one kanabo swing. Getting hit was always repaid in kind.
This savage battle made many self-proclaimed cruel pirates shudder. These two monsters completely disregarded defense, essentially competing to see who could recover faster.
"Again!" Kaido let out a world-shaking roar, his kanabo smashing down once more.
Although Setsuna had foreseen the future, the future changed the moment it was foreseen.
He was still grazed on the shoulder, flesh and blood flying.
Setsuna's counterattack was equally fierce. His fingers pressed together like a blade, piercing into Kaido's right abdomen and tearing viciously.
A gruesome wound opened on Kaido's abdomen, blood gushing out like a fountain.
But instead of retreating, he laughed wildly, his left hand firmly clamping Setsuna's wrist. His right fist, carrying a whistling wind, shot straight for Setsuna's temple.
Amidst a heavy, dull impact, Setsuna's head was violently knocked to the side by this punch, his neck bones emitting an ominous crack.
In that split second, Setsuna's left fist had already gathered power. From below, it blasted upwards, crashing heavily into Kaido's chin.
Kaido's jawbone shattered. Several bloodied teeth flew out.
But his combat instincts were bone-deep. Almost purely through muscle memory, his kanabo was already raised high again.
"Destroyer of Death Thunder Bagua!"
Setsuna also gathered power. His right fist was wrapped in dual-colored Haki and [Ki].
The two forces collided mid-air. A blinding white light engulfed all of Hachinosu.
Under this impact, Hachinosu finally sank beneath the sea, leaving only scattered remnants.
Yet, it seemed Setsuna and Kaido were still not satisfied. They flew into the sky to continue their battle.
"Too dangerous!" Crocodile broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. If not for his keen sense of danger and timely retreat, he might have been severely wounded by the aftermath of those two monsters' clash.
"Ahhh!" At that moment, Weevil suddenly let out a shrill scream.
It was Kizaru, taking advantage of their momentary distraction from the battle's shockwaves, who had pierced Weevil's heart with a beam of light.
"One enemy successfully eliminated. Fleet Admiral Sengoku shouldn't have any reason to accuse me of slacking off now… Oh dear, I seem to have accidentally killed the current Warlord," Kizaru scratched his head with a look of feigned dismay, casually tossing the nearly-dead Weevil towards Zephyr.
"Since I killed the wrong person… Zephyr-sensei, consider this a farewell gift from the Marines."
Zephyr, having just repelled the combined assault of King and Queen, caught the now barely-breathing Weevil. His expression was complex.
But he didn't hesitate for long. His nearly-destroyed mechanical arm mercilessly finished off Weevil completely. He then looked at Kizaru. "You really are still the same as ever, doing things in such a roundabout way. But… thank you this time."
"Zephyr-sensei, you're making it sound like I did it for you. I don't recall our relationship being that good," Kizaru waved his hands dismissively.
On the other side, perhaps stimulated by Weevil's miserable death, Ochoku panicked, erupting with his full power to flee desperately to King and Queen's side.
Watching Ochoku's wretched fleeing figure, a hint of regret flashed in Teach's eyes, but he hesitated and still didn't use his full power.
"The situation is unfavorable for us now. Quickly tell Kaido to retreat with us," Ochoku urgently shouted to King.
King replied somberly, "Kaido-sama's battle isn't over. He won't leave."
King turned to Queen. "Use the poison gas bombs. Don't let them interfere with Kaido's battle."
"Tch. Don't use that commanding tone with me," Queen grumbled unhappily but did as King said, releasing the poison gas bombs.
His poison bombs indeed hampered the Allied Fleet's advance, preventing them from pressing the attack too aggressively.