Charles had already gotten a general sense of Kaido's strength.
His first impression was sheer toughness. He had eaten one of Charles's blows with nothing but his body and barely taken any damage. Charles had only seen bodily durability like this on the black dragon Acnologia.
This fight was definitely not going to be easy for Charles.
Same for Kaido. Charles's kick had real bite; his head was still ringing.
But that only excited him. Even if the power the other guy used was strange—and he didn't seem to use Haki—hurting him in his Azure Dragon form alone qualified the man as a worthy opponent.
He was eager to see more of what his foe could do in a one-on-one, so he swung up his kanabo without ceremony.
Opening with a finisher to show respect, Kaido led with Thunder Bagua.
There was a time when Straw Hat Luffy had wreaked havoc at the very heart of a Yonko's territory and gotten away in one piece, riding a wave of hype that had some calling him the Fifth Emperor.
Then he rushed straight into another Yonko's turf and shouted to Kaido's face that he would be Pirate King.
Then he saw Thunder Bagua, giving birth to the now-classic "Thunder Bagua KO" moment. And now Charles was the one facing that move.
It was hard to imagine such a massive body could move so fast. The kanabo wrapped in black lightning reached Charles's face in the blink of an eye.
Whether it was because he'd seen Kaido change from dragon to man or not, Charles's [Dragon Slayer] skill hadn't worn off even though Kaido was in human form now.
Feeling the surging power inside him, Charles didn't think of dodging. He raised a fist and threw it.
"Flame Dragon King's Crushing Fist!"
Fist and kanabo crashed together like thunder out of a clear sky, and flames mixed with black lightning detonated outward.
The watching Beasts Pirates had to retreat again; even King and Queen chose to give ground.
With another boom, black lightning tore the sea of fire and showed everyone the details of the fight.
Kaido's swings left afterimages across the sky, and now two gauntlets had appeared on Charles's hands, meeting the kanabo's weight head-on.
In Kaido's view, Haki was the key to becoming a top-tier powerhouse on the seas.
But after so many exchanges, Charles still hadn't used Armament Haki at all, instead relying on abilities Kaido had never seen.
That only got Kaido more fired up. The muscles on his arms bulged, and he brought a heavy blow down.
Charles blocked with his forearm. The ground underfoot shattered, and he couldn't help baring his teeth.
He'd known the bodies of top fighters in this world were monstrous, but not this monstrous.
And then there was Haki. Armament for physical, Conqueror's for spirit; with those two backing him, even Kaido's "basic swings" carried terrifying force.
Fire flared in Charles's eyes, scales appeared on his cheeks, and he actually shoved the kanabo back.
Kaido rocked and saw Charles already springing in, an uppercut slamming into the neat rows of muscle across his abdomen.
Kaido's mouth gaped, but the searing pain only sharpened his ferocity. With a flick of the wrist, his kanabo swept across.
Charles somersaulted away, just dodging the blow.
Kaido glanced down at the vivid, searing-red fist mark on his belly and grinned even more savagely.
"Hey, kid—say your name again. You're worth remembering."
Catching his breath, Charles said, "Charles. A passing Dragon Slayer."
Kaido blinked. "A dragon hunter? Whether you can hunt me depends on your skill, kid!"
Dragon Slayer does literally mean dragon hunter, so Kaido wasn't wrong.
Almost as if out of spite, Kaido transformed into a dragon on the spot and roared at Charles.
With just a roar, Kaido raised a gale.
"Bad Wind!"
Blades of wind spun through the gale toward Charles, each matching a master swordsman's slash.
Charles drew a deep breath, and his Dragon King Battle Form activated within a breath.
Kaido showed open interest. The changes in Charles's body really did look like the human-beast form of a Zoan user.
But while Zoan users' hybrid forms combine the strengths of human and beast and are their strongest fighting forms, they don't make your aura spike this much in an instant.
Flames streamed down Charles's arms and swept out with his swing to meet the wind blades.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
The wind blades were shredded by the flames, and Charles stormed through the firestorm straight for Kaido, who stood on his Flame Clouds.
Kaido looked down at Charles without moving, and a thick pillar of violet lightning fell from the sky.
The greatest power of a Mythical Zoan, beyond the superior bodily enhancement compared to a standard Zoan, is the supernatural abilities tied to the mythical creature.
Having eaten the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon, Kaido wielded the terrifying power to command the weather.
Thunder was part of that. The bolt hit Charles head-on, engulfing him in seething lightning.
Before the pirates watching could start crowing, countless flames burst out of the lightning and devoured it instead.
Charles blasted free and, with an uppercut like an iron hammer, smashed Kaido's massive dragon head back.
But a dragon's body is very convenient; even when his head took a shot, other parts could still attack.
The tail swept in at the same time and swatted Charles away.
Landing, Charles grabbed and ripped off what was left of his shirt after the lightning had wrecked it.
Lately his shirts were getting torn up a little too fast. He reminded himself to be more careful. If worst came to worst, he ought to make a more defensive outfit.
He was now facing away from the Beasts Pirates, and King and the others saw his back.
There were no exaggerated back muscles, and no pattern like a demonic face or the character for "benevolence."
There's a saying about a tiger's back and a bear's waist; from King's angle, it was like seeing a tiger standing upright.
Though there weren't any dramatic muscles, King could feel the terrible power contained there.
Kaido had noticed it even earlier, judging by the thin ribbon of blood at the corner of his mouth from that punch.
A cruel smile spread across the dragon's face. He opened wide at Charles, fire in his throat growing ever brighter.
Queen squawked like a duck with its neck grabbed. "Wait, Boss Kaido—if you use that move in this direction, Onigashima's done for!"
The pirates around them scattered in panic. They'd seen how terrifying that move was. If they didn't run now, there might not even be bodies left.
Kaido ignored them. The fire in his throat only grew. Unlike the panicking Queen, King didn't think his captain would destroy the Beasts' base.
Charles smiled, crouched, and opened his mouth too. A crimson magic circle spun and lit up before him.
In a few seconds, both had built to full power.
"Heat Breath!"
"Flame Dragon King's Roar!"
Two pillars of fire exploded toward each other and collided midair. After a few seconds of deadlock, they burst outward at once.
Even though it was still morning, the coasts of Udon and Hakumai, nearest Onigashima, could see the flash of fire erupting from Onigashima's position.
The giant skull on the island was caught in it too, a small chunk collapsing as though some monster had taken a bite.
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