The body of Sebastian in the seawater gradually became ethereal, finally entering an invisible state as he submerged, launching surprise attacks from various angles on Shaina in the sky. The two engaged in a battle of Observation Haki.
However, he successfully stalled Shaina. If Shaina ignored him, he could directly attack the Hundred Beasts' ships. If they lost propulsion now, with insufficient ammunition, they would become sitting ducks.
Earlier, he tried to do just that, but Shaina stopped him. Only King was sent for assault missions, to prevent this Fish Giant from damaging their ships.
Shaina hated but wasn't afraid of water, so she stayed behind to protect the ships, while King went to destroy the enemy ships.
Sebastian also attempted to damage the ships earlier, but Shaina always intercepted him halfway, even when approaching from the bottom. Shaina's flames would block him when nearing the ship's bottom.
The flame's power was affected by seawater, but her Hyper Beam could target underwater targets. After long training, the stiff time after using Hyper Beam was almost negligible.
After several unsuccessful attempts, he returned to the Wald Pirates' ship as per Bingjack's instructions to start kiting warfare. Bingjack didn't expect Shaina to block such dense cannon fire.
So he sent Sebastian again, he only needed to keep Shaina occupied.
"You all! Full speed ahead! As long as we charge, we win!"
While using Observation Haki to track Sebastian's position, she also ordered the Hundred Beasts behind her. With the opponent already slowing down, the Hundred Beasts' ships could catch up.
"Leave it to us, Big Sis! Lads, full speed ahead. Boss Kaidou said, the best performer in this battle gets a special reward!"
If Sebastian wanted to retreat, he could do so by diving deep where Shaina couldn't reach him. But whenever he aimed to damage the Hundred Beasts' ships, he would certainly get intercepted midway, and his attacks were no match in front of Shaina.
Meanwhile, the Hundred Beasts Pirates took the momentum, and the ship's ram successfully collided with the Wald Pirates' ship, initiating a brutal boarding battle.
But compared to this, the island battle was more crucial. At this moment, Kaidou was very angry because not long ago, Wald attacked Shaina in the air right in front of him.
The boulder sent at Shaina earlier was reinforced with Double-Double Fruit ability, after speed and power were doubled, throwing stones still caused Shaina significant trouble and alleviated Sebastian's pressure.
But this was an act of provocation to Kaidou, interfering with his battle and even succeeding.
"You bastard really underestimate me, huh. I was thinking of recruiting you, but now, seems you should just die. Thundering Hakken!"
In his Human-Beast Form, Kaidou swung the Wolf Fang Club down at Wald's head.
"Recruit? What a joke, I'm… Byrnndi Wald! Doubling·Thirty Times Speed!"
Using Fruit Ability on himself, Wald's speed surpassed before, along with his strength getting even stronger.
Covered entirely in Armament Haki, Wald turned into a small black figure, his fist aimed directly at Kaidou's head.
He thought Kaidou would surely defend, not take the punch head-on, but Kaidou didn't use any defense, seemingly willing to exchange blows.
The Double-Double Fruit wouldn't boost his defense, but he believed his punch power was greater than Kaidou's. Since Kaidou wanted this, he'd let Kaidou see the consequences of such actions.
The Wolf Fang Club hit Wald's face, despite Armament covering his body, he spat blood from the blow, along with some teeth.
On the contrary, Kaidou grinned, Wald's fist didn't touch him, stopped mid-air by an invisible barrier.
"Though it's quite energy-consuming, this ability is really useful! Rising Dragon Hakken!" Twisting his body, Kaidou swung the Wolf Fang Club upward, sending Wald flying.
When Wald got up again, the horned helmet on his head was gone.
Rolling away awkwardly to avoid Kaidou's combo, every clash between strong foes was crucial, now he had entered Kaidou's rhythm.
After getting hit twice, his mind was chaotic, feeling dizzy.
The mysterious force blocking his fist also made his wrist swollen, as the force exerted back since every force has an equal reaction, almost rebounding all his fist's power.
"The Mythical Zoan's ability is truly capricious..."
He couldn't believe Kaidou had barrier-type skills, and even 30 times multiplied couldn't break through that barrier.
But this wasn't Kaidou's own ability; it was Arceus' ability.
Arceus taught Kaidou two skills: one is Sword Dance. Under Sword Dance's boost, Kaidou's attack power was even stronger, his spear.
And the barrier just now was his shield, a protection known as "Absolute Defense."
More energy-consuming than Sword Dance, but the effect was remarkable. Even Wald's full power couldn't shake the shield made by Protect, the rebounding force slightly damaged his wrist.
Besides consecutive releases being prone to failure, Protect in some ways was stronger than Barrier-Barrier Fruit, which required specific gestures to activate.
"Doubling·Twenty Times Scatter Shot!" Wald grabbed the gravel on the ground, doubling it, and threw it towards Kaidou, which was then blocked by Kaidou using Sword Dance to form a sword shadow.
After developing for several months, he could now skillfully integrate Haki into Sword Dance, allowing movement while releasing it and perform long-distance defense.
Enchanted by Sword Dance, Kaidou's Wolf Fang Club ignited with Dragon Flame, and Thundering Hakken again struck at Wald.
The scales of victory were tipping completely towards Kaidou.
On Wald's ship, the crews were already fighting fiercely, and Shaina could provide occasional support from afar. Sebastian couldn't completely restrict Shaina's actions, at most stalling her from joining the fight.
Moreover, as time passed, her powerful healing started to self-heal her wing injuries, making it difficult for him to achieve even this.
The battle on the ship was intense, yet some people hid in corners, making calls.
"Hello, sir, the situation has changed. The Wald Pirates are intensely battling the Hundred Beasts Pirates, fearing they cannot enter the ambush sea area as planned."