The impact of the massive dragon head slamming into the small shield was overwhelming.
Enel spat out a mouthful of blood. He clenched his teeth. His bones and flesh felt like they were tearing apart. His mind went blank.
He was pushed backward nonstop by the dragon's force.
There were no extra thoughts left. Only instinct remained. He kept pouring power and Haki into the shield.
Under the continuous impact, his eyes began to lose focus.
Blood poured from his mouth without stopping. His vision flickered like a machine about to shut down.
'Is this the end?'
The thought surfaced.
Blood spilled from his lips as he forced a crooked smile. He looked into Kaido's huge dragon eyes.
Every weapons factory on the island had already been destroyed by those golden needles. The killing intent radiating from Kaido, now several times stronger, was proof enough.
At least the mission was done.
His arms could no longer hold. His right arm broke again.
The Haki coating the golden shield began to fade like a retreating tide.
Just then, a sharp sound cut through the air.
"Speed is power!"
A streak of golden light then slammed directly into the dragon's head.
Coated in Haki and accelerated to light speed, the kick made Kaido's dragon head shudder. His massive body lost control and was kicked off course, flying sideways.
However, the enormous dragon body swung around and crashed toward Enel.
Borsalino dispersed into golden particles and reformed beside him. One hand grabbed Enel's shoulder, and the other hand's finger spun, flashing with a cross-shaped light.
Whoosh!
A concentrated laser fired. It pierced straight through the lightning chain connecting Enel and Kaido, then detonated violently.
The blast erupted from within and tore the lightning chain apart.
Kaido's huge body swept across the ground and crushed everything in its path. Broken stones even flew and struck their faces.
But it no longer mattered.
Golden light and lightning flashed at the same time. Both men vanished from where they stood.
They reappeared on top of the skull dome of Onigashima.
Borsalino glanced at Enel. "How scary~ You almost died there~"
Still shaken, Enel wiped the blood from his mouth. "Ah. Yeah. I did. Thanks. But why did you come here?"
Borsalino scratched his chin. "Well, I..."
* * *
On the other side, Kaido's expression darkened.
He reverted to human form and walked forward with the Hassaikai in hand.
There was no point anymore. Enel had broken free of the chain and there was no way to catch him now. On top of that, all the factories on the island were destroyed.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Enel and Borsalino.
"What an eyesore…"
Purururu~ Purururu~
The Den Den Mushi rang. As soon as Kaido picked it up, King's voice came through.
"Kaido-san! Admiral Kizaru has discovered our plan! Th—"
Kaido cut him off impatiently. "I know."
Click.
He hung up.
* * *
On top of the skull.
The two men clearly heard the voice from Kaido's Den Den Mushi.
Borsalino spoke lazily, "Looks like I was a bit faster~"
Flying at light speed straight to Onigashima versus King using wings to reach another island for a call.
Light speed clearly won.
Enel let out a dry laugh. "So that is it. Guess I was lucky."
Borsalino shrugged.
Enel chuckled and slumped to the ground. He looked down at Kaido below.
"Still want to fight?"
Kaido snorted. "How boring…"
He waved his hand and turned away. "The cooperation continues."
Roaar!
As he left, his head stretched endlessly. He transformed from human back into a blue dragon.
Wrapped in flame clouds and thunderclouds, he flew off into the distance.
His direction was toward Knox's territory.
The goal of cutting off Sakazuki's wings had failed, so there was no reason to continue here.
Besides, he could not catch them anyway.
As for the weapon factories in Wano that had just been destroyed, it did not matter at all. Wano's slaves were easy to use.
Taking over Knox's business was the real goal.
After flying far away, Kaido narrowed his eyes.
He stopped, reverted to human form, thought for a moment, then took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
Purururu~ Purururu~
A woman's voice answered.
"Hey, Kaido!"
Kaido's lips curled slightly.
"Linlin…"
In truth, his cooperation with Sakazuki had already ended.
Everyone knew what kind of people they were. That bastard Sakazuki was probably already withdrawing his forces.
But this chance to strike while Knox was fully mobilized could not be missed.
Knox had controlled most of the underground trade in the New World.
After today, that might no longer be the case.
* * *
Back on the skull.
Enel finally relaxed.
"Haa."
He fell back and stretched.
When he moved a bit more, pain shot through him and he bared his teeth.
Borsalino sighed softly. "He finally left~ That pressure was really scary~"
Lying on the ground, Enel rolled his eyes at him.
Borsalino asked, "Say~ This all happened too suddenly~ What exactly is going on~?"
Enel smacked his lips. "Nothing special. Uncle Sakazuki teamed up with Kaido. They planned to stab Knox in the back and stir up the New World. Of course… cooperation just means stabbing each other sooner or later. It's obvious, my backstab failed. And instead, that bastard Kaido stabbed me."
Borsalino listened. It made sense, but still…
"How troublesome~"
Enel smiled and sat up while ignoring the pain.
A gold flash and a blue flash then shot out from Onigashima.
They vanished into the distance.
* * *
New World. Whole Cake Island.
Big Mom laughed into the Den Den Mushi.
"Mamamama! So you actually worked with that Sakazuki brat. Well done, Kaido. Very good. I will head out right away."
Click.
Her massive body leapt down from the throne.
"Someone, summon all ministers. Prepare for war…. Wait."
After giving the order, she hesitated.
"Go bring Brûlée here first."
That bastard Sakazuki would not behave so nicely.
Better to be careful.
* * *
New World. Saint Cassia Sea.
A ship with a red dragon head at its bow, colored mainly in gold and crimson, floated on the sea.
Very few people in the New World could fail to recognize it.
The Red Force.
The ship of the fastest-rising Emperor of the Sea, Red-Haired Shanks.
Yet this emperor, whom no one dared provoke, seemed to have run into some trouble.
Thunder roared across the sky, and white smoke from repeated explosions kept blooming overhead.
Clashes of Conqueror's Haki distorted the wind and clouds.
In the sky.
A blue afterimage flashed again and again, colliding with attacks coming from all directions.
That blue blur was Bullet, blocking the Red Hair Pirates.
The attacks came from every member of Shanks' crew.
With the speed boost from the More-More Fruit, their attacks could barely hit Bullet.
But their Haki was extremely strong. They could even predict his movement path in advance, surrounding him from all sides. Bullet could not counterattack either.
The moment he stopped, attacks would rain down instantly. It was extremely troublesome.
They had been locked in this stalemate for quite some time. Only because both sides had terrifying stamina could they endure this kind of drain. If not, no one could hold out this long.
Purururu~ Purururu~
A Den Den Mushi rang.
Bullet dodged an attack, pulled it out, and answered.
Sakazuki's voice came through. "Withdraw."
**
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