How long had it been? He couldn't remember the last time he was injured—perhaps when Kozuki Oden struck with his full power.
But Kozuki Oden was no young man like Shanks, he belonged to Kaido's own era and had even sailed with the Roger Pirates.
Recalling this, Kaido regained his composure.
"Not bad, kid. That strike had about eighty percent of Roger's flair. Pity, though. You may have inherited Pirate King Roger's swordsmanship and Conqueror's Haki, but you're still too young. Your attacks lack real power."
With just a casual stretch, Kaido's internally shaken organs recovered, the bleeding from his palms stopped, and new flesh visibly began to regenerate.
Shanks breathed heavily, watching Kaido with a hint of helplessness.
Before leaving, Shanks had spoken with Rayleigh, who advised that if he ever fought Kaido, he should finish him in one go—never drag it out.
Kaido's defense and stamina were simply too monstrous, perfectly countering swordsmen like Rayleigh and Shanks.
In the span of a few sentences, most of the damage from Shanks' counterattack had already healed.
Kaido cracked his neck, his eyes burning crimson as he glared at Shanks and said:
"In this world, the Pirate King Roger is already dead, so I will not allow another Roger to appear!"
Shanks, however, did not give up because of Kaido's recovery.
After hearing Kaido's description of him, he revealed a joyful smile.
"Thank you for the compliment!"
Kaido's words seemed to praise Shanks, but in reality, they were a veiled mockery, implying that Shanks only imitated others and had nothing of his own.
At the same time, Kaido was also brainwashing himself to ensure that his killing intent remained unaffected.
Boom!
This time, Shanks took the initiative to attack, his figure suddenly vanishing from Kaido's Observation Haki.
The constant afterimages appearing around Kaido told him that Shanks was currently running circles around him.
This sensation made Kaido feel deeply disjointed.
His eyes could see, and his brain received the signals, but Kaido's Observation Haki could not detect Shanks' presence at all, making him increasingly hesitant to act recklessly.
"He's here."
After an unknown number of minutes, Kaido caught a glimpse of Shanks' figure from the corner of his eye and abruptly hurled Hassaikai in that direction.
Simultaneously, Kaido's body transformed once again, shifting from his half-beast form into a massive azure dragon with long whiskers.
"Bolo Breath!"
Since this was a duel between pirates, Kaido wouldn't miss an opportunity to attack.
He took a deep breath and activated his Devil Fruit ability, spewing a scorching crimson energy beam from his mouth.
The surrounding air was instantly heated by the Bolo Breath, making it feel uncomfortable.
Shanks fixed his determined gaze on the energy beam charging from afar. Believing he could withstand it, he swung Gryphon once more.
Whoosh!
The originally terrifying energy beam seemed to collide with an invisible vertical wall of air mid-flight, forcibly splitting into two halves.
A powerful force guided the direction of the energy beam, ensuring the attack posed no threat to the members of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Seeing this, Kaido coiled his body on the spot, rapidly ascending and plunging into the dark clouds that had already gathered in the sky.
"Kaido, you're running away when you can't win—is this how you've survived so long as a Great Pirate?"
Watching Kaido dive headfirst into the clouds without looking back, Shanks found it difficult to pursue him.
No matter what, Shanks could only match Kaido for a short period at this moment.
If the battle lasted an hour, Kaido would eventually secure victory with his abundant stamina.
"Tatsumaki!"
A prolonged dragon's roar echoed through the clouds as Kaido, who had just vanished into the dark clouds, revealed his dragon head once more.
Like a dragon sucking in water, Kaido opened his maw wide, greedily inhaling the surrounding air.
His lengthy dragon body swelled like a balloon.
Aiming his mouth at Shanks, green light flickered incessantly within his jaws.
Whoosh! Swish!
Countless tiny but razor-sharp wind blades rapidly closed in on Shanks.
The wind blades sliced through the air, emitting a whirring sound akin to the deafening noise of a rowdy nightclub.
"Do you have no other moves?" A look of disappointment appeared on Shanks' face.
He had thought he would get to see more of Kaido's strength, but it turned out to be the same old moves, nothing new.
Yet the trace of disappointment in his eyes made Kaido twitch his brows furiously.
"If this is all the strength you have, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep me here, Kaido."
Gryphon was sheathed back into the scabbard at Shanks' right waist.
Then, Shanks planted his feet firmly on the ground, his body slightly bent.
An astonishing aura erupted suddenly, only to be swiftly gathered and condensed by Shanks, locking onto Kaido within the dark clouds.
Boom!
Shanks struck instantly. Gryphon was drawn swiftly with his left hand, slashing diagonally upward to unleash a dazzling Sword Beam.
The blood-red Sword Beam shot through the dense barrage of wind blades like a red-hot iron passing through plastic.
Roar!!
Shanks' slash landed squarely on Kaido's chest without fail.
Unable to dodge, Kaido was left with an extremely deep gash on his chest, flesh torn outward—a terrifying sight.
Meanwhile, Shanks faced the remaining wind blades that hadn't been destroyed.
The leftover blades, whistling as they flew, all shot toward Shanks.
Clang after clang rang out as Shanks swung Gryphon with all his might, blocking the sharp wind blades.
A gentle breeze swept by, revealing Shanks' figure from within the dust.
Shanks now looked somewhat disheveled.
Faced with the remaining wind blades, even the Rookie King could only block them in a frantic, flustered manner.
Those wind blades that Gryphon failed to block cut through Shanks' skin, leaving behind one small wound after another.
Although the attack succeeded, Kaido could also see that it hadn't dealt a serious blow to Shanks.
However, beneath those massive dragon eyes, Kaido detected Shanks' weakness.
That's right—compared to Kaido, Shanks' stamina was an overwhelmingly obvious disadvantage!!