Blood sprayed like arrows.
Kaido's severed arm spun through the air before slamming into the ground, his massive spiked mace following shortly after, crashing down with a deafening thud. A thick cloud of dust exploded upward, momentarily swallowing the battlefield.
As time seemed to resume its normal flow, Kaido continued his motion—but something was wrong.
He glanced down.
His arm was gone.
"Where's... my hand?"
Kaido blinked, his mind clouded with disbelief. A heartbeat later, the pain arrived, blinding and absolute. Without time to process the shock, he snarled and roared, spewing a dragon's breath blast into the ground. The explosion kicked up a wall of smoke, shielding him from Kairos Flint's view as he instinctively leapt back, retreating over a hundred meters.
From the smoke, a calm voice echoed.
"Why run now? Weren't you the one who said you'd beat me to death? Keep going!"
Kairos Flint strode forward, the Third Generation Kitetsu held loosely in his hand, a smile dancing on his lips.
"Damn bastard!" Kaido growled, veins bulging across his forehead.
He turned and exhaled a searing breath onto the stump of his severed arm. Skin burned and cracked. The raw scent of cooked flesh filled the air. Without flinching, Kaido cauterized the wound the old-fashioned way—with fire and fury.
Sweat poured down his face as he gritted his teeth, body trembling from the excruciating pain. His breath came in ragged gasps, his once-overwhelming aura now weakened and diminished.
Across from him, Kairos continued forward, calm and unbothered. Every step he took struck Kaido's heart like a hammer. The fear was setting in—real, soul-crushing fear. He no longer had his weapon. He no longer had his dominant hand. His strength was slipping through his fingers like sand.
He was no longer a Yonko—only a shadow of one.
Kaido's instincts screamed for retreat.
But Kairos noticed.
"So this is how the mighty Kaido acts now? Didn't you roar earlier about killing me? What's wrong? Scared now?"
He spread his arms with mock innocence, his voice teasing and relaxed.
Kaido froze. The shame was unbearable. The pride of the King of Beasts, the terror of the seas, crumbling before a rising star?
No. Not like this.
The humiliation of being cut down… of losing an arm… it overwhelmed him. The memory of being slashed by Oden decades ago flashed through his mind—but even that hadn't hurt this bad. Not like this.
"Don't get cocky, kid!" Kaido roared, his voice filled with madness. "I can still crush you with one arm!"
Enraged, Kaido's remaining fist surged with Haki—both Armament and Conqueror's. His entire body radiated chaotic thunder, his aura reigniting like wildfire. With a bellow of rage, he launched himself at Kairos, fist flying with murderous intent.
Kairos only smirked.
"Now that's more like it."
The ground cracked beneath him as Kairos met the charge head-on.
God's Technique: Thunderfire Heavy Dragon Fist!
Fire Stone. Thunder Stone. Armament Haki. Conqueror's Haki. Light and Heavy Stones—all five forces condensed into one devastating punch. The air screamed as Kairos struck.
Their fists collided with the force of a cataclysm.
BOOM!
A shockwave of thunder and fire exploded upward, ripping across the sky like a divine wrath. Heaven and earth trembled. Crimson lightning, tinged with Conqueror's Haki, danced across the battlefield like serpents, striking the land and sky alike.
Waves rose ten stories tall. The entire island shook. Stone cliffs cracked and tumbled. The heavens changed color. It was chaos, pure and unrelenting.
When the dust settled, the center of the island looked like hell.
The once-lush land had become a scorched battlefield, burned and broken. Kairos stood in the middle of a massive crater, his fist still raised. Before him stretched a canyon ripped into the earth, flames flickering along its edges.
"That might've been a bit much," he said, chuckling to himself. "Hard to hold back when it feels that good."
To the side, a section of collapsed hillside caught his attention. A single, thick beast-like leg stuck awkwardly out from a pile of rubble.
"Still alive?" Kairos called out with mock curiosity.
The boulders began to shift.
Kaido, now in his full dragon form, emerged slowly from the wreckage. But the once-mighty creature looked pathetic—scales torn, blood seeping from dozens of wounds, body trembling.
His eyes locked onto Kairos—and in them, there was no hatred.
Only fear.
Unmistakable, bone-deep fear.
"I… I can't beat him."
Kaido's thoughts spiraled. That last punch—if he hadn't transformed into a dragon and distributed the damage—he'd be dead already. He was sure of it.
This wasn't just a strong fighter.
This was a monster.
Desperation took hold. He didn't want to die. Not here. Not like this.
His body began to glow red-hot, the temperature skyrocketing. Rocks around him started to melt. Lava-like heat pulsed from his core.
Kairos frowned.
"Still struggling? You should've taken the loss while you had some dignity left."
He sighed.
"This isn't fun anymore. Time to end it."
Kaido's voice rang out through the heat, defiant but desperate.
"Kairos Flint… I swear, I'll get my revenge for this! One day, I'll come back and kill you myself! You'd better be ready!"
His voice cracked as his body turned molten red, glowing with intense heat. The earth itself began to liquefy beneath him.
Kairos shook his head, unimpressed.
"Sure, Kaido. Whatever helps you sleep at night."