"Indeed."
Kong Tai extended his hand, blocking Kaido's sweeping tail. He looked down at Kaido and chuckled, "You didn't think that was all, did you!"
As he spoke, he released his grip, his figure vanishing from its spot.
The next moment, he appeared before Kaido.
This guy had transformed into a dragon, wasn't he just handing himself over as a target?
*Zing!*
A crisp blade sound instantly echoed through the heavens and earth.
Infinite sharpness enveloped the area in an instant, causing Kaido's momentarily relieved heart to tighten.
"This is bad."
There was no time to think. He wanted to revert to his human form.
However, before he could even begin to transform.
A cold blade light instantly slashed across his chest.
*Slish!*
His body, like tofu, resisted only for a moment before being sliced through by the blade light that resembled moonlight.
*Hiss!*
A torrent of blood, like a fountain, erupted from the gash opened on his chest.
"Roar~"
The extreme pain caused Kaido's body to stiffen for a moment. Then, his body recoiled, roaring and rolling incessantly.
This strike was unlike yesterday's.
Kong Tai's Armament Haki today was different from yesterday.
Although the quantity hadn't increased, and the refinement hadn't significantly improved, this small increase had resulted in a qualitative change.
If yesterday, Kong Tai's slashes, unless striking the wound left by Oden, might not have been able to break Kaido's defense even with all his might.
But today, with just a slash, he could achieve what Oden had, truly breaking through Kaido's dragon scale defense.
If this guy didn't turn into a dragon, he could still use Armament Haki for defense. But by becoming a dragon, how could he defend against his slashes?
If not a target, what else?
Clearly, Kaido had also realized this.
Haki wasn't about covering a wider area. With his dragon form, defending against Kong Tai's slashes was indeed too difficult.
Kaido rolled a few times on the ground and quickly reverted to his human form.
In the distance, Kaido leaned on his kanabō with his left hand, his head bowed low. The killing intent emanating from his body seemed to have solidified, and a wave of heat distorting the air rose around him.
He released the hand covering his left waist and looked at the blood on his hand, his eyes gradually being covered by a blood-red hue.
This was the second time he had been injured.
"This brat."
He opened his mouth, exhaling a gust of hot air, and Kaido raised his head, his blood-red eyes fixedly staring at Kong Tai.
Without a word, he gripped his kanabō with both hands, stomped his right foot behind him, and charged rapidly towards Kong Tai.
Blood could only be washed away by blood.
However, Kong Tai no longer intended to play with him. Thus, when Kaido rushed within twenty meters of Kong Tai, a familiar pressure, one he had just experienced, surged and instantly pressed down on him.
This sudden pressure caused his charging body to slow down.
And at this moment, in front of him, Kong Tai, who was suspended in mid-air, disappeared again.
"Ngh!"
Kong Tai's disappearance sent Kaido's heart to his throat. His eyes flashed with red light, and as if sensing something, he quickly turned and swung his kanabō behind him.
*Bang!*
Behind him, without a sound, Kong Tai's figure reappeared, and the black blade in his hand also slashed down at Kaido, striking precisely the kanabō Kaido had swung.
*Crack!*
Starting from where the weapons clashed, countless cracks appeared.
This was Kong Tai's domain, so their clash easily shattered the space.
Amidst the dense cracks, Kong Tai's figure seemed to shatter along with the space. He grinned at Kaido and then vanished.
"This brat."
Kaido stood in place, staring at the spatial cracks, then at the space that instantly repaired itself as if it were a dying man's last burst of energy. His pupils contracted. The pressure that had just loosened from shattering the space instantly bore down on him again. At this moment, he was extremely vigilant.
How long had it been since he felt this way?
He remembered the last time he faced such pressure was when he was in the Roger Pirates.
Back then, he was still a novice pirate. Although strong, he hadn't yet eaten the Fish-Fish Fruit. His strength was mediocre.
So, he often hovered on the brink of death back then.
After leaving the Roger Pirates, he had never experienced life-or-death situations again. Even Oden, who had left him a permanent scar and psychological trauma, hadn't brought him to the brink of death.
But now.
He felt this sense of crisis once more.
"Ngh! Behind!"
Gripping his kanabō, Kaido once again felt the sharpness. Without hesitation, he turned and swung behind him.
"I hit him?"
Looking at the Kong Tai he had just struck, Kaido frowned deeply.
"No."
Just then, the Kong Tai in front of him actually smiled at him. Then, he felt an immense sharpness emanating from behind him again.
"Too late."
In this bizarre space, he was constantly bearing pressure from all directions. It felt like he was fighting while carrying a mountain on his back.
In this state, although his mind and combat experience were unaffected, and he could sense the danger, his body couldn't react as swiftly as it would outside, with thoughts translating instantly into action.
This kind of reaction was particularly fatal in battles between top-tier powerhouses.
There was no time to think. He quickly mobilized the Armament Haki within his body, setting up a defense behind him. Then, he gripped his kanabō tightly, entwined it with Conqueror's Haki, his eyes filled with ferocity, and without hesitation, swung it behind him.
Even though he understood it was already too late, with Kong Tai's current Armament Haki and swordsman's attack power, even with his full defense, it would be broken. But even if he was struck, he would still land a blow on this brat.
*Slish!*
Just as he thought, even with the Armament Haki defense he had set up, the brat's Armament Haki, which was in no way inferior to his own, combined with the entanglement of Conqueror's Haki, still broke through his defense.
Ignoring the piercing pain on his back, his eyes flashed with ferocity as he swung out behind him, delivering his ultimate strike.
*Crack crack crack!!*
Before the kanabō even struck, the surrounding space, as if unable to withstand this power, shattered like a mirror.
"Die, brat."
Turning around, Kaido looked at Kong Tai, his face contorted with savagery.
"Die?"
"With what can you kill me now?"
Kong Tai looked at Kaido, completely disregarding the swiftly descending kanabō. He twirled his right hand in a flourish, swinging his blade to the right, flicking off the bloodstains.
"You brought this upon yourself."
Kaido stared at Kong Tai's completely unguarded and unresisting posture, his eyes blazing with extreme light.
*Clang!*
The kanabō fiercely struck Kong Tai's left side.
A sonic boom, like a bell chime, erupted.
Then, the earth shook, and starting from the point of impact, the entire Dressrosa actually cracked open.
Dust quickly covered the center of the battle, obscuring the scene from outsiders.
This commotion caused A Hua and the other two, as well as Doflamingo, on the other side of the island to pause for a moment. But it was only a moment before they clashed once more.