The terrifying column of molten rock made every witness present shudder involuntarily. Even the ambient temperature across the entire battlefield had risen several degrees. The power of a Marine Admiral truly lived up to its fearsome reputation.
"Please let Captain Buggy be alright," Mohji whispered, his voice tight with worry.
Alvida and the other crew members could only observe the devastating clash from a safe distance. Against opponents of this caliber, they wouldn't survive even a single minute of direct confrontation.
"All Marines, fall back! Don't get caught in the lava flow!"
"Admiral Sakazuki will definitely claim victory!"
Captain Smoker coordinated the Marine forces' retreat toward the shoreline, providing the two monsters adequate space for their duel. Even as a Logia-type Devil Fruit user himself, he wouldn't dare interfere in a battle of this magnitude.
The towering magma pillar persisted for several agonizing minutes before finally dissipating, revealing two imposing figures standing amid the destruction. Everyone present held their breath, desperately hoping their respective champion had emerged victorious.
"Tch, that actually hurt like hell," Buggy grimaced, examining his injuries with dark amusement. "You nearly killed me with that one, Sakazuki."
Kaito controlling Buggy sees his left shoulder bore a gaping wound where Sakazuki's attack had pierced clean through. Fortunately, his top-tier Observation Haki had saved his life—the attack had missed his heart by mere inches. Though his vital organs remained undamaged, his left arm hung useless due to severe skeletal trauma.
Thank god for the Grand Tale System's enhancements, Kaito thought grimly. Without the boosted Observation Haki, that would've been a killing blow. The original Buggy would never have survived that technique.
"So this is what the Sky Screen calls Conqueror's Haki infusion," Sakazuki declared with forced bravado. "Doesn't seem to pack much of a punch when it actually connects."
The moment those arrogant words left his lips, a torrent of dark blood erupted from the Admiral's mouth. During their exchange within the lava pillar, he had taken another devastating blow infused with Conqueror's Haki directly to his lung cavity. Now even drawing breath sent waves of agony through the Marine Admiral's chest.
His durability really is monstrous, Kaito observed. In the original timeline, Luffy got knocked unconscious by Kaido's Conqueror's-infused attack. But this guy's still standing after taking a direct hit. Is it because I'm not using a weapon, or is Admiral Sakazuki just that ridiculously tough?
"Your body's as durable as a sea monster's," Buggy acknowledged with grudging respect. "Marine Admirals really are terrifying opponents."
"You're equally monstrous," Sakazuki replied through gritted teeth. "Fighting you to a stalemate would accomplish nothing."
Though Buggy had offered what could be interpreted as a way to end their conflict honorably, Sakazuki—unwavering in his belief in Absolute Justice—rejected any notion of compromise without hesitation. "The Marines never negotiate with pirates."
Their deadly techniques collided once again. This battle would continue until one of them lay dead—there could be no other outcome. The Loguetown Marine Branch had transformed into a hellscape of molten destruction.
Within mere minutes, the entire Marine base had been reduced to smoldering ruins. Every exchange between the combatants involved large-scale devastation. Buildings crumbled, sections of ground collapsed into the sea, and nowhere remained untouched by their passage.
This is getting out of hand, Kaito realized. We're going to sink the entire island at this rate.
Sakazuki's mind raced as he analyzed everything that had transpired during their battle. Too many mysteries surrounded Buggy the Clown. The pirate had somehow transformed from a diminutive 1,9 meter weakling into a 4 meter giant who now towered over even an Admiral.
"Are these changes to your body and personality caused by your Devil Fruit?" Sakazuki demanded.
"Daifunka!" (Great Eruption)
Raging torrents of lava churned with incredible heat—an attack that had once been humanity's most invincible natural disaster made manifest.
"I used my fruit's power to split away my weakest personality traits," Kaito explained with theatrical flair, "and even severed my own bones and muscles to deliberately weaken my physical capabilities. But then that damned Sky Screen appeared and exposed my entire plan!"
"Bara Bara no Taihou!" (Split Cannon)
The splitting ability granted by the Bara Bara no Mi defied all conventional logic, seemingly capable of separating any form of matter. Everything in the physical world fell within the scope of its decomposition power.
Sakazuki's technique manifested as a colossal lava giant dozens of meters tall, boiling magma flowing across its entire form. The Admiral's attacks possessed an almost supernatural quality, instantly multiplying their destructive potential several times over. Unfortunately for him, he faced an opponent whose Devil Fruit had achieved true awakening.
"Shin Bunkatsu Sekai!" (True Split World)
Buggy infused his fists with concentrated Devil Fruit power, his devastating fragmentation ability striking the lava giant from several meters away. After exchanging Devil Fruit techniques for an extended period, the pirate gradually gained the upper hand—Sakazuki's molten construct shattered into countless fragments under the relentless assault.
"Although your Logia-type fruit possesses the strongest offensive capabilities," Buggy observed, "you rely too heavily on Armament Haki alone."
"The Marines don't need lectures from pirates," Sakazuki snarled in response. "In this ocean, only Haki represents true strength!"
Two fundamentally opposed philosophies. Two divergent paths of training and development. Two irreconcilable identities—Marine and pirate. Today, only one would survive to see tomorrow.
Both powerhouses employed their ultimate techniques as casual attacks, neither willing to yield even a single step. The ground supporting their feet cracked and splintered under the terrifying forces involved, causing Loguetown itself to begin crumbling apart.
The original story never showed a fight quite like this, Kaito reflected. Two awakened Devil Fruit users going all-out with Conqueror's Haki infusion... we're approaching Yonko-level destruction here.
Eventually, Sakazuki chose to trade injuries directly with his opponent, determining who possessed superior stamina and raw endurance. Armament against Armament, Devil Fruit against Devil Fruit. This level of combat completely exceeded the imagination of ordinary people watching worldwide. Many sheltered individuals were witnessing truly elite-tier combat for the first time, suddenly realizing such monsters actually existed in their world.
Onigashima, Beast Pirates Headquarters
Yamato watched the live broadcast with intense focus. When the battle reached its most violent peaks, she clenched her fists nervously. "What terrifying men! They completely destroyed that entire Marine base!"
"I want to fight both the Admiral and Buggy the Clown," she declared with obvious excitement. "I really want to join that battle myself!"
Kaido maintained his human form, his massive kanabo wrapped in crackling Armament Haki. The fierce combat displayed in the broadcast made the Yonko's hands itch for a similarly powerful opponent to test his strength against.
"Let's get out of here quickly—the boss definitely won't be able to hold back much longer," one subordinate whispered urgently.
"Keep your voice down and move fast," another replied nervously.
None of the Beast Pirates' officers wanted to serve as Kaido's sparring partner. Fighting such a monster meant becoming nothing more than a human punching bag. They'd spend days recovering in bed afterward, and none of them could even scratch their captain's defense.
Kaido suddenly began crying loudly—his emotional outbursts always struck without warning. "Yamato, I've trained you so harshly, but it was all for your own good! With your current strength, if you encountered monsters like these two, you'd only end up dead!"
The fatherly love of the world's strongest creature expressed itself through overwhelming force. Every battle between Yamato and Kaido pushed her to the very brink of death. She couldn't forgive this father who refused to treat her as his own child—she had nearly died several times during their "training sessions."
"I am Kozuki Oden!" Yamato declared defiantly. "I am the future shogun of Wano Country! Father, I will definitely defeat you someday!"
Yamato had discovered Kozuki Oden's journal during the darkest period of her life. That strange path had become her spiritual refuge during those bleak years, though it appeared she'd been completely brainwashed by the dead samurai's ideology.
"He's been dead for nearly twenty years—I buried his body myself," Kaido growled. "You're asking for another beating, you rebellious daughter."
Though Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi had conspired to execute Kozuki Oden, the Yonko had been deeply affected by that encounter. Despite himself, he genuinely admired the samurai's unwavering resolve and considered him a true man worthy of respect. Both father and daughter suffered from the same inexplicable attraction to Oden's legacy.
"Bring it on, Kaido! I'm not afraid of you anymore!" Yamato shouted. "I want to fight you again!"
"What a pathetic daughter," Kaido rumbled with a mixture of pride and exasperation. "Let me, as your father, teach you another lesson."
The eternal conflict between Onigashima's strongest inhabitants began anew. Both possessed Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits, and they fought with genuine fury behind their blows. Unfortunately for Yamato, she had never managed to defeat Kaido in all their years of combat...
The cycle would continue until one of them finally broke free from their destructive pattern.