This guy!
Looking at Kaido plummeting from the sky with terrifying momentum, Hoshigaki Kisame's expression darkened.
Especially when he saw the streaks of purple lightning crackling around the pitch-black iron kanabo—his heart couldn't help but tremble.
The immense impact shattered everything around them instantly.
A terrifying shockwave and overwhelming pressure erupted from the two as the center, sweeping outward.
The powerful shockwave extended all the way to the sea several kilometers away before finally settling.
Meanwhile, on a ship lingering at the edge of the sea, the three people onboard couldn't even see Kisame's figure.
Even Kaido, in his massive humanoid form, was merely a slightly larger black dot in their view.
"What do we do?"
"Are we just going to stand here and watch?"
Revy, who had been worried about Kisame the entire time, looked toward the distant deserted island and asked Zeff.
"There's nothing we can do but watch. That kind of battle is already far beyond what we can participate in."
As the former captain of the Cook Pirates, Zeff had never imagined that he would one day witness a battle of such titanic proportions.
And to think that one of the fighters was the very man who had saved his life.
Over these past few days, Zeff had undergone the most significant transformation aboard the ship.
From initially being rescued and feeling disheartened, to later reigniting his dream—everything had changed after receiving the gift of a Devil Fruit.
Finally, he made the decision to abandon his past as a pirate and sail alongside Kisame.
Through all these changes, one thing he had never expected was that Kisame would be this powerful.
Powerful enough to fight Kaido head-on.
And judging from the sheer intensity of their battle, the two seemed evenly matched.
Zeff was a man who knew his own limits. He understood that even if he continued sailing the Grand Line, reaching the final island would be nearly impossible.
But humans are creatures of dreams.
And now, he had found his dream—to follow this strong man and witness just how far he could go.
Unlike Revy and Zeff, little Sanji clung to the ship's railing, gazing at the island being ravaged by their battle.
His mind wandered to the towering fish-man.
To be honest, whenever he looked at Kisame's face, he couldn't help but think of his own father.
The same ugliness!
But completely different personalities.
Kisame, despite his fearsome appearance, was actually a kind and gentle soul.
Sanji didn't want this kind fish-man to die.
And he didn't want to leave this joyous ship.
"Huh? What's that?"
Just then, Sanji noticed something—a massive blue water sphere had appeared in the distance, and it was rapidly expanding.
Hearing his words, Revy and Zeff lifted their heads.
What they saw was an enormous water sphere forming in the sky above the deserted island, growing larger and larger at an alarming rate…
—
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave!"
As Kisame's deep voice echoed, an enormous water sphere materialized in the air, instantly trapping Kaido within it.
Feeling the weight of the surrounding seawater, Kaido's eyes were filled with shock.
He had never expected this fish-man to possess such an ability.
Not only could he manipulate ocean currents, but he could also summon such a massive amount of seawater out of nowhere.
Just who the hell is this guy?!
Sea King?
Though Kaido was shocked, he scoffed at the idea—what did it matter if this fish-man could summon so much water?
"Wororororo! A mere fish-man dares to underestimate me? I'm Kaido!"
His furious roar resounded—but since he was underwater, all that came out were a string of bubbles.
If the Beasts Pirates saw their mighty Governor-General blowing bubbles like this, they'd probably be scared out of their minds!
Due to his Devil Fruit's unique properties, Kaido hadn't lost his mobility.
Yet, surrounded by this vast ocean-like sphere, he felt like a mere drop in the sea.
Still, if they thought this alone would make him surrender, they were dead wrong.
Once again, he transformed into his massive azure dragon form, attempting to break free from the water sphere.
But just as his transformation completed, Kisame had already fused with his sword, Samehada.
In an instant, he became a nearly five-meter-long, entirely white, shark-skinned fish-man.
Seeing the enormous dragon swimming within the water, Kisame bared his razor-sharp teeth.
"Trying to run?"
His grin vanished as he twisted his body and shot forward like a speeding arrow, heading straight for Kaido.
BAM!
A muffled thud echoed through the water.
Kisame suddenly felt like his shark teeth were… gone!
Kaido's massive dragon body twisted in reaction.
"What the hell was that?"
All Kaido had been thinking about was escaping the water prison, but when he felt something collide with him, he instinctively turned his head.
The moment he saw the completely pale Kisame, he flinched in shock.
"Wait… there's another dead fish in here besides that fish-man?"
Kaido had completely failed to recognize that the "thing" he had bumped into was Kisame himself.
Meanwhile, Kisame clutched his mouth in silence.
His ultimate technique, the pinnacle of his water-based abilities—
Even against a three-billion-berry bounty, it shouldn't have been so ineffective!
And yet…
It seemed like even he couldn't do anything about this monster.
"Damn it."
After regaining his composure, Kisame cursed under his breath.
"I'm not a fish-man. I have a name."
"Listen up and remember it well—I'm Kisame Hoshigaki!"
"Kisame Hoshigaki?"
Kaido squinted at him, his expression resembling someone staring at a dead fish.
But as the two exchanged words, Kaido suddenly realized the secret behind this water sphere.
As long as this guy was alive, the water sphere wouldn't disappear.
And what's worse, it moved along with him.
He was already fortunate that his Devil Fruit allowed him to move in water at all.
But his heat breath and other abilities?
Completely useless in this situation.
How the hell was he supposed to fight like this?
And so, the two found themselves locked in a stalemate.
One couldn't be injured.
The other could move freely but had no way to attack.
Their eyes met—neither knowing what to do next.
Kaido had never felt this humiliated in his entire life.
Not even against Sengoku and Garp had he been this frustrated.
Facing such an absurd ability, he narrowed his eyes.
"Listen, kid. Playing like this is just meaningless."
"If you're a real man, fight me head-on with real weapons!"
"Trying to trick me?"
"I'm not a man. I'm a fish-man!"
Kisame looked at the massive dragon before him, completely unfazed, and shamelessly said, "Even if I can't kill you, I can stick with you forever."
"I'll be honest with you—this ability of mine barely consumes any energy. I can keep it going indefinitely."
"I'm thirty-seven this year."
Kaido was momentarily stunned and, growing more irritated, asked, "What does that have to do with me?"
"You're what—sixty?"
"Let's say we both live until eighty. That means I just have to wait until I'm fifty-seven, and you'll be dead."
They say you become like the people you spend time with. After hanging around Revy for so long, even Kisame had started to become a little… unserious.
"I…"
Kaido couldn't even argue with that logic!
Hearing this ridiculous reasoning, the rage in his eyes was slowly replaced with helplessness.
He had completely lost to this shameless bastard.
Who would've thought that he, Kaido of the Four Emperors, would one day fall to a fish-man?
And not even in a fair fight—he was being stalled to defeat!
How humiliating was that?!
But…
What else could he do?
Let this brat actually wait him out for twenty years?
Was that really how he was going to spend the rest of his life?
If this made the papers tomorrow, the Four Emperors would have to be renamed the Three Emperors.
The hottest-tempered Emperor of the Sea, Kaido, suddenly felt like he had aged decades in an instant.
He felt like he had just swallowed a live bug.
"I give up! Just get rid of this thing already!"
Under the eaves, one had no choice but to bow their head.
Only now did Kaido fully grasp the meaning of that phrase.
But just as he thought he had accepted his fate, Kisame's response made his blood pressure skyrocket.
"No."
"What the hell do you want?!"
(End of Chapter)
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