As Kaido spoke, a trickle of fresh blood uncontrollably spilled from the corner of Yamato's mouth.
"It seems I have no choice but to use this move!"
BOOM!
Kaido thought to himself, stomping the gravel underfoot to dust. He slowly turned to face Yamato, a decision already made in his heart. Since Yamato refused to listen, his only option was to knock her unconscious and take her away.
"Gozanze: Ragnarok!"
With a roar, Kaido leaped into the air. Terrifying Conqueror's Haki coiled around his kanabo, Hassaikai, erupting in countless black and red bolts of lightning. His body shot downwards like a cannonball, aimed straight for the ground below.
The Hassaikai in his hands seemed to descend from the heavens, unleashing a massive blue slash.
BOOM!
The entire sky darkened. The black-red lightning and the blue slash crashed down in an instant, and the powerful shockwave of energy slammed into the earth.
The ground shattered, and rubble flew everywhere.
"Hah... Mirror Mountain!"
Below, Yamato's eyes narrowed, her expression grim. She exhaled a sharp breath of cold air and shouted, the mist quickly forming a hard, icy mirror around her body. With this defense in place, she finally found the courage to face Kaido head-on.
"Raimei Hakke!"
With another fierce cry, Yamato's beast-like feet dug deep into the ground. Mustering every last bit of her strength, she unleashed the most powerful blow she could currently manage.
BANG!
An immense torrent of Conqueror's Haki erupted. Kaido and Yamato glared at each other, their spiked clubs colliding with brutal force.
At this moment, Kaido was treating Yamato as a true powerhouse. He had unleashed his full strength—a sign of his respect for her.
"Kaido, I will open the borders of Wano!"
Yamato's hands gripped her kanabo as Kaido's attack forced her to crouch lower, her feet sinking even deeper into the earth. But her will would not yield. She clenched her fangs and roared at her father.
"Yamato... this is where it ends!"
A flicker of sorrow crossed Kaido's eyes, but his face remained a mask of ferocity. He bellowed, and an even greater surge of power burst from his arms.
*CRACK... CRACK...*
Yamato could no longer hold on. As her club let out a pained groan, she was forced to one knee.
But it wasn't over.
BOOM!
Kaido adjusted the angle of his Hassaikai and, with a two-handed swing, unleashed another bolt of black-red lightning. Yamato was sent flying.
And that wasn't all.
Her head had suffered a heavy blow, and she was knocked unconscious. Her body flew through the air before finally crashing heavily to the ground.
*DONG!*
At that exact moment, a drumbeat thundered through the sky. Countless bolts of lightning shot upwards, and an overwhelming pressure descended from the heavens.
"Who's there?"
Kaido murmured, his senses immediately drawn to Ryuuto's location. A wave of his own powerful Conqueror's Haki followed his gaze.
The immense pressure sent countless bits of gravel scattering across the ground.
"Kaido... I'm saving Yamato today, and you can't stop me!" A torrent of molten lightning surged from Ryuuto's body. He roared, unleashing his own Conqueror's Haki to meet the challenge.
In that instant, countless black and red bolts of lightning clashed, and the world was once again plunged into dim chaos from the force of the impact.
"Ryuuto? You dare show your face here? I haven't even settled the score with you yet!" Kaido now saw Ryuuto clearly. He slowly turned, his thick tail slamming against the ground. The Hassaikai in his right hand crackled ominously.
The immense aura of a Yonko instantly billowed forth.
Kaido's gaze shifted to the unconscious Yamato, and his mood improved slightly. He had to admit, a quiet Yamato was much more pleasant.
"Ryuuto, you little brat, you're not getting away today! To think you'd deliver yourself right to my doorstep... saves me the trouble of hunting you down!" As Kaido finished speaking, he slowly raised his Hassaikai, his muscles tensing in preparation to strike.
This was Kaido's pride. Even though he saw Ryuuto gathering countless bolts of lightning in the sky, he was supremely confident in his own strength. He refused to believe that a new "Yonko" who had only recently set sail could escape from him.
"Is that so? But... time's up!"
Ryuuto looked up at the sky, a faint smile spreading across his lips as he spoke with utter ease.
"Raimei Hakke!"
With a shout, Kaido moved. His Hassaikai, wrapped in terrifying Conqueror's Haki, shot straight for Ryuuto, trailing arcs of black and red lightning.
"Annihilation Drum!"
At the same time, Ryuuto let out a mighty roar. The innumerable golden thunderbolts in the sky instantly converged, rapidly forming a massive, ancient war drum.
*DONG!*
The sky-spanning golden light exploded across the drum's surface. Countless draconic patterns swirled into existence, and a single drumbeat that shook the heavens and the earth swept outwards.
*DONG!*
In that single moment, the war drum shattered, the clouds vanished, and the wind died.
The very fabric of space and time in the area was shattered by that sound, freezing everything in place.
Kaido's body remained locked in its forward-charging posture. In the distance, Van Augur and Jean Bart were also frozen mid-motion.
Three counts!
*CRACKLE—*
With a flash of lightning, Ryuuto appeared beside Yamato.
Kaido's form began to distort, as if a greater power was warring against the frozen space-time.
Two counts!
Ryuuto moved swiftly, hoisting Yamato up.
Though Kaido was immobilized, his body was rapidly expanding, as if he was about to transform into his full Azure Dragon form. An immeasurable wave of Conqueror's Haki shot towards the sky.
One count!
Seeing this, Ryuuto wasted no more time and rushed towards Van Augur's position.
*CRACKLE!*
Golden lightning flashed across the sky.
As the third count passed, the air began to move again. Ryuuto's figure had already appeared beside Van Augur and Jean Bart.
Time was up!
BOOM!
As if released from his bonds, Kaido instantly transformed into a terrifying, hundred-meter-long Azure Dragon, coiling in the sky above.
"You damn brat, to think you had a trick like that. You've really surprised me!" Kaido's massive dragon head boomed, his voice a series of roars. He was genuinely shocked.
This was the first time he had ever encountered an ability that could freeze time itself.
"Kaido, there's a lot more you don't know!"
"Van Augur, we're leaving!"
Ryuuto shot Kaido a taunting smile before turning to shout at Van Augur and Jean Bart. He had absolutely no intention of fighting Kaido right now.
"An ability like that can't be used continuously, can it?"
"Thinking of running now... It's too late!"
"Boro Breath!"
Kaido's deafening voice rang in their ears. He opened his maw and unleashed a scorching blast of fire directly at Ryuuto's position.
BOOM!
"Conqueror's Thunder Slash!"
With Yamato in his left hand, Ryuuto drew the blade at his waist with his right. A single slash sent a massive golden blade of energy flying forth, meeting Kaido's terrifying breath attack head-on.
BANG!
Golden lightning and searing flames collided in a brilliant explosion.
Using that brief moment, Ryuuto, still carrying Yamato, transformed into a bolt of lightning and vanished. With the time Ryuuto had bought them, Van Augur placed a hand on Jean Bart's shoulder and activated his warp ability.
Jean Bart was still holding two figures: Jack and Cracker.
"DAMN YOU!"
Kaido was absolutely livid.
Losing track of Ryuuto was frustrating enough, but seeing Van Augur and Jean Bart about to escape—and noticing the figure of Jack in the process—only fueled his rage.
"Demolition Gust!"
Kaido bellowed, unleashing countless wind blades, sharp as scythes, from his whiskers. These blades possessed incredible cutting power and covered an extremely wide area.
WHOOSH!
But Kaido was half a beat too slow. As the wind blades arrived, Van Augur and Jean Bart had already vanished.
BANG!
As two figures fell to the ground, Kaido's Demolition Gust achieved part of its purpose: he had managed to save Jack.
Of course, this also left Cracker behind.
"This is outrageous! He actually snatched Yamato right from under my nose!" Kaido's expression was grim. He stared off into the distance, as if trying to locate Ryuuto and the others.
But by now, they were already several kilometers away.
"Captain, my apologies. I lost the two prisoners," Jean Bart said with self-reproach once he, Van Augur, and Ryuuto had regrouped. A wound deep enough to show bone was visible on his arm.
"It's fine. Those two don't matter."
Ryuuto shook his head gently, his gaze falling upon Yamato.
After all, Yamato's strength was at least on the level of a Yonko Commander, far beyond what the likes of Jack or Cracker could ever hope to match.
Moreover, Ryuuto was extremely interested in the secret plan Yamato was plotting.
This was a definite win.
"Ugh... Who? Who are you?"
"I'm... not dead?"
"No, I have to get to the port right now!"
After Ryuuto gave her a healing potion, Yamato slowly regained consciousness. But the first thing she did was not question who had saved her. Instead, her mind was fixated on reaching the port from which Ryuuto and his crew had arrived.
"Tell me what's happening!"
This sparked immense curiosity in Ryuuto. He grabbed Yamato's shoulders and demanded an answer.
But Yamato was in no mood to explain. She easily broke free from his grasp and, ignoring her injuries, transformed into a streak of white light and shot off towards the port.
Seeing this, Ryuuto and the others immediately gave chase.
At the port, two groups were locked in a fierce battle.
One group was led by the round-bellied Queen and his subordinates. He had already transformed into his massive Brachiosaurus form and was swinging his long neck like a whip, attacking the red-haired, bearded samurai before him: Ashura Doji.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Coated in Armament Haki, Queen's obsidian-like neck slammed repeatedly against the famed blade in Ashura Doji's hands.
Countless black sparks of lightning flew.
Under the immense force, Ashura Doji's hands trembled.
It was just like Queen to fight in such a ridiculous manner.
As a user of the Ancient Zoan fruit, the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Brachiosaurus, Queen possessed incredible strength and a formidable physique.
Ashura Doji was in a bad state. His bare torso was covered in blood, and the fur cloak he normally wore was gone.
But despite his injuries, a smile remained on his face.
They were getting closer and closer to their goal. He had already held Queen off for several dozen minutes. Not far from him, Kiku was directing her subordinates to move large quantities of explosives to the seafloor.
This was their plan.
While Yamato distracted Kaido, they would sneak here and repeat her earlier attempt: use a massive amount of explosives to blast open the cliffs surrounding Wano and finally open its borders.
"Brachio-Coil: QUEEN!"
Watching more and more explosives being loaded onto boats and taken away, Queen grew increasingly anxious. With a roar, he swung the massive mechanical clamp on his tail, smashing it towards Ashura Doji.
A powerful bolt of black lightning shot out!
"Mountain Cleaver!"
Ashura Doji swung his enormous katana in a powerful slash.
A crimson blade of energy shot forward, colliding directly with the mechanical clamp on Queen's tail. A massive shockwave erupted as black lightning and crimson energy clashed, kicking up clouds of dust and sand.
BANG!
In the end, however, Queen's power was superior.
As the giant mechanical clamp smashed down, Ashura Doji was sent flying. His sword was knocked from his grasp, and a fresh spray of blood flew from his lips.
"Kiku... keep going! Opening Wano's borders is all up to you now!"
"Lord Oden, we are carrying on your will!"
"We are fighting to open the borders!"
As he flew backward through the air, Ashura Doji's eyes were fixed on Kiku. The past flashed before his eyes like a slideshow. He had done his best. To hold off someone like Queen for this long, he had burned every last bit of his strength.
THUD!
With a dull thud, Ashura Doji crashed heavily to the ground.
But Queen clearly had no intention of letting him go.
With a flick of his long tail, Queen wrapped it around Ashura, lifting him into the air. He then carried the defeated samurai and stomped slowly towards Kiku.
"Stop what you're doing right now!"
"Or I'll crush him to death!" Queen yelled, his face dark and menacing.
Tears streamed down Kiku's face, but she knew what she had to do. Her only mission now was to continue getting the explosives into position.
"This is the last boat! Hurry up!"
Kiku glanced at the dozen or so remaining crates of explosives and urged the samurai around her to move faster. At her feet lay the bodies of the Gifters she had cut down.