...
Momonosuke slowly released his dragon jaws. In that instant, blood surged from Kaido's body and flowed down along the patterns of his blue dragon scales, shimmering with an eerie luster under the moonlight.
Two rows of tooth marks were deeply embedded into that body known as the "World's Strongest Creature." The wounds were not fatal.
For a monster of Kaido's level, such a bite wound didn't even count as a "serious injury."
With his terrifying recovery ability, it wouldn't take long to heal, leaving only a faint white scar.
But at this moment, it existed. It could be seen.
Inside and outside the light screen, countless pairs of eyes witnessed this scene. Kaido's body was covered in blood, the tooth marks clear.
That was left by Momonosuke. Left by an "eight-year-old" child.
Everyone understood.
"Momo, fall back."
Luffy's voice came from above. The dragon body retreated backward.
His movements were still somewhat awkward, and his flying rhythm was still not very coordinated, but he still retreated…
He retreated to a place far enough away, to a position where he wouldn't be caught in the crossfire, to a place where he could personally witness everything that was about to happen.
In his pupils was reflected that boy standing in the position he had just occupied.
That boy took a deep breath, his body sinking slightly.
The next second, his fist shot out!
It wasn't the probing attack from before. It wasn't that kind of "success if you send him flying" repelling strike. It was a punch that truly went all out, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki.
Kaido had just steadied his form and was about to spew another Heat Breath in Momonosuke's direction.
His dragon mouth was wide open. Blazing energy was condensing. The light illuminated his ferocious dragon face.
Then Luffy's fist arrived.
"Bang!!!"
That sound didn't sound like a fist striking flesh. It sounded more like a cannonball striking a mountain.
Kaido's entire dragon body was sent flying sideways. The Heat Breath in his mouth veered off course, grazing past Momonosuke's dragon tail with a roar and exploding into hundred-meter-high waves on the distant sea surface.
Kaido tumbled through midair. His dragon scales rubbed against the air, producing an ear-piercing screech.
He felt suffocated.
He felt far too suffocated…
Clearly he was the "World's Strongest Creature." Clearly he was the emperor of these seas.
Clearly he was the one who should stand at the pinnacle and look down upon all living beings.
But this night, how many times had he been sent flying?
How many times had he been sent flying by this Straw Hat kid…
How many times had he been sent flying by these "ants" he had never placed in his eyes?
"Cough…"
A mouthful of blood surged from his dragon mouth, drawing an arc in the air before splattering onto the ruins of Onigashima.
This wasn't the first time he had coughed up blood.
But this time, Kaido was clearer than ever that that boy was truly growing. He had now grown to a level that could threaten him.
Momonosuke watched all of this. He watched Kaido's blue dragon body twisting in the smoke and dust. He watched that mouthful of blood that had been spat out. He watched that Straw Hat boy.
Waves of shock surged through his eyes…
He thought back to his own "attack" just now.
Biting… using his teeth to bite.
That was everything he could do. It was the only attack method he knew.
Although he had "bitten" Kaido, although he had made that monster let out a miserable scream, although he had gone all out in this dragon body, compared to Luffy's fist, it was simply like a child's toy.
"If only…"
His voice squeezed out from the dragon's mouth, so soft that only he could hear it: "If only I had that kind of strength…"
He didn't finish speaking, but something was burning in those dragon pupils.
It wasn't anger. It wasn't hatred. And it wasn't that instinctive counterattack from being forced into a desperate situation earlier.
It was yearning. It was longing.
It was the desire of "I want to become that strong too."
That was a moment every strong person must experience on their path of growth—after seeing true power, the thought "I want to become like that too" would sprout.
Momonosuke didn't know that this thought would take root and sprout in his heart, eventually growing into a towering tree.
He didn't know that this yearning at this moment would become the first cornerstone on his future path to becoming a strong person.
He only knew that that boy standing under the moonlight was so dazzling that he couldn't look away.
Right at this moment…
"Crack!"
A faint cracking sound came from the dome.
This wasn't the loud roar of battle, nor any sound related to fierce fighting.
It was a very subtle sound of shattering.
Momonosuke and Yamato subconsciously looked over.
They saw that on the dome, that massive skull, from the forehead to the brow bone area, had cracked open with a fine pattern of lines.
Those lines were very shallow—shallow enough that they wouldn't be noticed without careful observation.
But they existed.
"Onigashima…"
Yamato's voice came from below, carrying a trace of disbelief: "Could it be…?"
It wasn't a guess. It was fact.
Beneath Onigashima were the Flame Clouds Kaido used to hold it up so it could float in the air.
Those Flame Clouds were an extension of his ability. It was his power that maintained this colossal structure's floating state.
But at this moment, those Flame Clouds were actually beginning to tremble.
It wasn't because Kaido had actively revoked his ability. It was because he was tired.
This battle that had lasted far too long had begun to exhaust him.
Even if he was the "World's Strongest Creature," even if his stamina far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine, the consumption from this night had been too great.
Great enough that even he was beginning to have some trouble holding on.
The Flame Clouds were trembling. Onigashima was trembling. And the scales of victory were also trembling.
"Yamato."
Luffy's voice came from midair, interrupting her thoughts.
Yamato raised her head and looked toward that boy standing under the moonlight.
"You go help Momo! Leave the battlefield to me alone."
Hearing Luffy's words, Yamato didn't hesitate. She charged directly toward Momonosuke's direction.
Luffy watched the two of them leave, a slight smile on his face. Then his gaze locked onto the blue figure in the distance who was climbing out of the rubble.
"Find a way to stop Onigashima from falling! Kaido…"
He took a deep breath. Steam once again rose from the surface of his skin: "I'm enough by myself."
Yamato looked at him and nodded hard. She suddenly smiled.
Momonosuke still hadn't quite figured out the situation. He was a bit afraid to act, but in the end Yamato's words restored his confidence. The pink giant dragon once again soared into the air, flying toward a direction away from the battlefield.
Their mission had changed. It was no longer to fight, nor to hold off Kaido. What they needed to do was wait. It was to prepare for the moment when Luffy defeated Kaido…
It would be Momonosuke who would create new Flame Clouds to hold up this island that carried Wano Country's suffering.
To return the dawn to this land!
In the ruins of the banquet hall, the battle was still ongoing.
But the samurai's morale was completely different now.
It was as if they had heard Luffy's words. They had seen that crack on the dome. They had also felt Onigashima trembling.
But Luffy's determination made them hesitate no longer!
That sentence spread through the samurai's hearts like wildfire. Leopard Goro's punches became heavier. Kawamatsu's blade became faster.
Izou's gun became more accurate.
Even those ordinary samurai who were already exhausted were now charging at the enemy with red eyes as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
Because they knew the dawn was truly coming!
Above the dome, Kaido completely stood up from the rubble.
He had transformed into his human-beast form. This was the form most suited for battle—possessing both the defense and power of a dragon and the flexibility and technique of a human.
The wounds all over his body made him look somewhat disheveled, but the killing intent in those dragon pupils was more intense than ever.
He stared at Luffy. He stared at this boy who had knocked him down who knows how many times.
He stared at this opponent he had once looked down upon but now had no choice but to face seriously…
This time he no longer had contempt. He no longer had that complex emotion of "appreciating talent."
He no longer had the arrogance of "you can't win against me anyway."
Right now, Kaido only had the determination to kill Luffy.
"Defeat me…"
Kaido asked with emotionless curiosity. His voice was so hoarse it was like sandpaper frantically rubbing against rock.
"Does this kind of possibility really exist?!"
As soon as the words fell, the Hassaikai in Kaido's hand had already swung out. The kanabo wrapped in Conqueror's Haki carried the force of wind and thunder as it came crashing down toward Luffy's head.
Luffy didn't dodge.
He raised his fist. His arm, similarly wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, met that iron club head-on.
"As long as you're alive…"
"Bang!!!"
Two waves of Conqueror's Haki collided in midair. Black lightning scattered and danced like venomous snakes—shattering upon contact, extinguishing upon contact.
That shockwave overturned all the rubble around them, plowing deep grooves into the ground. Even the air was trembling.
The dark clouds in the sky were torn apart by this force.
Moonlight poured down, shining on the two of them.
Luffy stood in the center of the moonlight, bathed in that silvery-white radiance. Steam rose from his entire body. His eyes shone with startling brightness.
Kaido stood at the edge of the shadows. Half of his body was hidden in darkness. His dragon pupils reflected that boy in the light.
"There are infinite possibilities!"
Luffy's voice penetrated the smoke and dust, penetrated the clamor of the battlefield, penetrated all obstacles, and clearly entered everyone's ears.
The samurai in the banquet hall heard it. The pirates of the Beast Pirates heard it…
Everyone outside the light screen also heard it.
Kaido and Luffy withdrew their hands and began facing off.
The moonlight shone on them, stretching their shadows very long. However, Kaido's figure was mostly hidden in the shadows.
It wasn't that he actively hid in the shadows. It was that the light couldn't reach him.
Momonosuke and Yamato had already flown far away.
Their figures disappeared into the night sky, flying toward the land below Onigashima that needed them to save it.
Kaido's peripheral vision caught sight of their backs. A trace of annoyance flashed through his dragon pupils.
He swung his iron club, about to chase after them, but a figure blocked his path.
"Your opponent is me!"
Luffy's voice came through. He used his rubber body to wrap his legs around Kaido's neck and forcibly pulled him back.
Kaido stopped. He looked impatiently at this boy in front of him, at those eyes that held no intention of retreating, at that body that was clearly covered in wounds yet still stood perfectly straight.
He suddenly smiled…
It wasn't mockery. It wasn't anger. It wasn't any emotion that had appeared before.
It was something more complex, more indescribable… relief?
Then, right in front of Luffy, he did something that no one expected.
He took out a sake jug from his waist. This was the sake jug he had always carried with him.
He pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and drank deeply!
The sake flowed down from the corners of his mouth, trickling over the two rows of tooth marks on his neck, mixing with blood as it dripped down.
"Gulp… Gulp… Gulp…"
He drank very quickly, very fiercely, as if he wanted to pour all his exhaustion, all his "suffocation," all his anger into his stomach.
Luffy looked bewildered, but he didn't interrupt him.
He just stood there like that, watching Kaido drink, waiting for him to finish.
Outside the light screen, the crowd all held their breath.
They didn't know why Kaido was drinking at a time like this, but they felt that after he finished this jug of sake, the true final decisive battle would begin.