Seeing Darren's mischievous grin and almost playful posture, Kaido felt his chest seize with rage. Bloodshot veins spread through his eyes like a spiderweb.
That damned brat… he really is using me as a training whetstone!
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!"
Kaido roared, lightning crackling over his body as he swung his massive kanabo with murderous force.
The kanabo crashed down like a black waterfall, crimson-black thunder tearing open the sky and splitting the ground. Compressed force surged outward, obliterating everything in its path.
Darren bared his teeth in a savage grin and instantly shifted into his Demon Form, power surging to its fullest as he stepped in to meet the blow head-on.
"Don't hold back on me now, Kaido-sensei."
Under the petrified gazes of Queen, King, and the rapidly gathering Beasts Pirates,
the two monsters slammed into each other like beasts from hell, their clash fueled by terrifying speed and raw, brutal power.
Every collision between them detonated a purgatory of Haki and lightning. Shockwaves rippled out again and again, flaying the earth, warping the air, and shaking Onigashima's bedrock.
Within several kilometers, the world had become a storm of roaring wind and shrieking thunder—a death zone no one dared to step into.
They fought like rabid beasts, abandoning defense, trading injury for injury as scarlet droplets sprayed through the air.
"Terrifying…"
"Is this… is this what a battle between the 'Strongest Creatures' looks like?"
"That guy's actually… actually matching Captain Kaido blow for blow!"
"He's a monster… this isn't a fight we can even comprehend…"
"If they keep going like this, Onigashima might really split apart!"
"..."
The Beasts Pirates watched from afar, faces drained of blood, shivering at the hellscape before them.
To them, Kaido had always been the very image of invincibility.
Even when that "Marine brat" had invaded Wano before, Captain Kaido had always beaten him into the ground and forced him to flee in tatters.
But how long had it been since then?
That same man… was now standing on equal footing with their captain—"Beast" Kaido, one of the strongest pirates in the world.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…"
Queen crept up beside King, lowering his voice. "It feels like even Boss Kaido can't put him down anymore. If that Darren bastard starts visiting Wano regularly, we're screwed."
King's heart sank at the fatty's words, his expression turning grim.
Rogers Darren had infiltrated Wano Country multiple times now. Each time, he'd fought Kaido-san to his limits before withdrawing.
And from what that brat had just said,
it was clear Darren's goal wasn't to destroy the Beasts Pirates—it was to use them. To sharpen his own strength against Kaido.
And worst of all… it was working.
Every time he came to Wano, his strength visibly increased.
King glanced at the anxious faces of the surrounding pirates, then forced his voice to remain steady.
"We must trust in Big Brother Kaido," he said coldly.
But as he watched the two demons trading blows in the storm of lightning, a flicker of unease flashed deep in his eyes.
---
Clang!
BOOM!!
Lightning howled. A hurricane of force exploded outward once again.
"Something's wrong!"
"This can't be happening!!"
Seeing his kanabo stomped under that brat's boot again, Kaido's expression froze. A beat later, his features twisted, and a fresh roar tore from his throat, his eyes going bloodshot.
His chest heaved, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he ignored it.
The first time Darren had blocked his Thunder Bagua, his movements had been rigid, barely holding together.
But now?
Now that same block flowed out of him with terrifying ease. Natural. Clean. Perfectly in sync.
This monstrous rate of adaptation exceeded even Kaido's own talent from his youth.
"All thanks to your teachings, Kaido-sensei," Darren said with a dazzling, blood-streaked grin, eyes shining. "Honestly, without your guidance, there's no way I could've grown this fast."
"You damn brat!!"
Kaido's eyes felt like they were going to burst. He swung his kanabo again, every blow heavier and more frenzied than the last.
Darren just laughed and swung his fist to meet him.
Boom!
Boom!
Kanabo and knuckles crashed into skulls. Two monster-level strikes exploded at the same time, blood spraying out in a crimson mist.
Under the crushing weight of their Haki, both men were blown backwards like cannonballs.
But in the very next instant,
they moved almost in unison—feet digging into the shattered earth, bodies twisting, muscles coiling.
They roared and charged again.
"DIE!!"
Their crimson eyes locked, murderous intent crackling between them like static.
In a flash,
Kaido's body erupted with lightning once more. He shot forward like a purple-black comet, tearing the air apart.
"Roaring Thunder Eight Trigrams!!"
In that moment—
"Impossible…"
King's pupils shrank violently, his breath catching in his throat.
Using the keen eyesight of his Pteranodon form, he saw it clearly:
Darren's stance.
Darren's movement.
His posture, his steps, even the twist of his torso—like a mirror image of Kaido. An overlapping silhouette echoing the exact same technique.
Lightning crackled along Darren's skin as well.
It wasn't Kaido's purple, but a ferocious electric blue that coiled around his body like a draconic aura.
No way…
A chilling realization burst through King's mind, sending ice into his veins.
No way… he couldn't have…
In Kaido's narrowed, slit pupils, two streaks of lightning crossed paths—one purple-black, one electric blue—dragging crimson-black sparks through the air.
They passed each other in a blur, then stopped dead, standing back-to-back.
Dust swirled.
The roaring wind fell eerily still, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
"You… you've mastered it?" Kaido rasped, his voice suddenly hoarse.
He stood there, head bowed, staring at the kanabo clutched in his hand. His blood-red pupils seemed unfocused, as if his thoughts had been thrown into chaos.
"I suppose so."
Darren's arms hung loosely at his sides, blood dripping from his fingertips. A faint, crooked smile tugged at his lips.
"I never realized it before… the secret to your technique was never raw strength or pure speed. I had it all wrong."
He exhaled, eyes bright with understanding.
"I always thought that purple lightning around you was just your Haki… but it wasn't. That's the Azure Dragon's innate gift—the power to control lightning."
"By flooding your own muscles and cells with lightning, you stimulate every fiber of your body. The electricity supercharges your flesh, triggering near-instantaneous movement…"
"A kind of pseudo-teleportation."
His smile deepened, tinged with satisfaction.
"That's the true essence of Thunder Bagua."
As his words faded—
Tch! Tch!
Blood erupted from both of their chests at once, spraying into the air in twin scarlet blossoms.
To be continued...