Immediately after, an unparalleled airflow swept out from the center of the explosion, forcefully pushing the seawater around the island outward for thousands of meters. Only after the airflow dissipated did the seawater slowly surge back to fill the void.
Boom!
After being weakened layer by layer through the air, the energy finally reached the battleship led by Raleigh, where it transformed into an audible explosion.
"Is this the battle between the world's top powerhouses? Truly terrifying." Enel stood beside Raleigh, swallowing hard.
He had never witnessed Admirals or the Three Emperors of Pirates going all out, let alone seen an Admiral and an Emperor fighting at full strength.
"So, Enel, now you understand what it means that there is always someone greater, and skies beyond the sky?" Raleigh laughed heartily.
He held high expectations for Enel, hoping that after some tempering, Enel would become an Admiral.
Setting aside Raleigh's group, who were casually discussing the battle situation, the pirates on the island were now in a dire predicament.
If the earlier high-energy shockwave had been mostly blocked, it might not have been fatal.
But the Meteor Volcano unleashed by Sakazuki was a true killing move.
The pirate, enduring excruciating pain, struggled to his feet and looked up, only to see the sky filled with magma fists. In the chaos, someone cried out in terror.
"Run!!"
Only then did all the pirates snap out of it, desperately fleeing into the distance. They simply couldn't endure this torment any longer.
Even if the strong didn't directly target ants like them, the mere aftermath was enough to kill them all.
King and the other officers exchanged helpless glances, finding no good solution.
"Let's retreat. We'll leave Onigashima to Kaido-san and Sakazuki and wait at sea, ready to support at any time." King sighed, organizing the pirates' withdrawal.
He struck down several falling magma fists, and the other officers followed suit, buying time for the pirates' escape.
...
"King is a formidable opponent. If you fight him, you mustn't lose your composure. If you can defeat him, it's best to kill him immediately, even if his Devil Fruit is lost at sea," Raleigh turned and advised the eager Enel.
"Got it, Raleigh-sama and Why are you getting as naggy as Instructor Zephyr at such a young age?" Enel pouted, his only desire now to pick a fight with King.
"There will be a chance." Raleigh saw through Enel's thoughts and spoke up.
The atmosphere in the skies above Onigashima was far from relaxed.
As the violent explosions subsided, the figures of the two combatants were revealed.
One of Kaido's dragon horns had been broken, and a large patch of his scales had been scorched away by Sakazuki's magma.
His head, reeling from the intense impact, struggled to control his body, relying on instinct to maintain his aerial form.
Sakazuki fared slightly better than Kaido. His injuries weren't severe, with only a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
But in reality, Sakazuki knew he had taken the worse end of the collision.
Kaido's physical strength far surpassed his own, meaning Kaido could endure injuries that Sakazuki could not.
A few seconds later, Kaido regained consciousness and took control of his body.
"Sakazuki!!! You deserve to die!!" Kaido's dragon form gathered vast swathes of flames once more.
The severe wounds he had just sustained were already clotting under the power of his formidable physique.
The two clashed in mid-air, their bodies steadily descending as they fought.
Half an hour later.
Onigashima had been transformed into a place utterly uninhabitable.
Everything—buildings, trees, mountains, even the skull-shaped landmark that defined Onigashima—had been obliterated by the duo's attacks.
All that met the eye was covered in Sakazuki's magma.
Onigashima had lost all resemblance to its former self.
Driven to madness by this devastation, Kaido relentlessly attacked Sakazuki.
Transforming into his half-dragon form, he charged at Sakazuki with Hassaikai and unleashed a Raimei Hakke.
Sakazuki solidified magma into a massive blade, meeting Kaido head-on.
With his weapon's advantage, Kaido ultimately shattered the magma-forged cleaver wielded by Sakazuki.
Hassaikai slammed heavily into Sakazuki's chest, and half a second later, Sakazuki's body crashed like a cannonball into the distant rocks.
A tremendous explosion rang out, clouds of dust billowed into the air, and the originally incredibly hard rocks instantly shattered into pieces.
The Pirates who hadn't fled suddenly saw a magma giant rise before their eyes.
Scalding magma flowed over its dark surface, and its massive head emitted black fog filled with toxic gas.
"Where do you little rats think you're going?" The magma giant Sakazuki transformed into suddenly cracked open a large mouth and laughed.
"Dodge!!" Kaido roared.
But it was already too late.
For the Pirates close enough to provide support, nothing was more terrifying than the sight of an Admiral's glowing fist.
"Meigo!"
Boom!
An earth-shattering blow was unleashed by Sakazuki, and the Pirates before him were utterly destroyed without any ability to fight back.
Under the intense heat of the magma, not even their corpses remained.
However, this was only the beginning.
Kaido spread his legs and began sprinting across the ground with thunderous momentum.
Sakazuki merely glanced at Kaido out of the corner of his eye before fixing his gaze on the Pirates before him.
"Ryusei Kazan!"
Sakazuki's legs plunged deep into the ground, his hands pressed against the rock as he activated his ability, frantically drawing energy from the underground magma.
The island's surface instantly grew scorching hot, some areas turning crimson before swelling upward.
"Explode!!"
One small volcano after another erupted across the island, catalyzed by Sakazuki's power, blocking Kaido's advance and shattering the Pirates' hopes of escaping.
Looking at the Pirates gathered together, a cruel smile spread across Sakazuki's face.
"Perfect. Dai Funka!"
All the magma flowing over his body converged onto Sakazuki's Iron Fist.
The danger of this move was so palpable it could be clearly sensed even without Observation Haki.
The desperate Pirates turned to look at their boss Kaido and the other officers like the Lead Performers.
"Sakazuki!!! Damn it!!! Stop right now!!"
Kaido had no choice but to transform back into his Azure Dragon Form and fly toward Sakazuki's position.
Boom!
Boundless magma gathered by Sakazuki converged onto a single Iron Fist. The explosive force of a volcanic eruption unleashed the full power of this burning magma fist.
Even a great mountain standing before Sakazuki would've been useless.
At the critical moment, Kaido finally arrived in front of the Pirates. Without wasting time on words, Kaido coiled his body into a circle.
The searing magma fist slammed into Kaido's sturdy flesh.
Roar!
A dragon's roar filled with intense pain. Before long, the scent of roasted meat filled the air.
Kaido was directly struck back into his human form by Sakazuki's Great Eruption. However, the current Kaido lacked the imposing aura he had before.
Half his body was severely burned, and a portion of his hair had been singed off.
Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Kaido commanded the Pirates to retreat.
These were not just any gathered Pirates; each one was an elite under his command.
Without them, Kaido would become a lone wolf.
At that moment, Kaido's eyes widened in shock, for Sakazuki was now holding someone in his hand—one of the Tobiroppo, Ulti.
Sakazuki's large hand tightly gripped her head, lifting her entire body off the ground.
"Let her go, Sakazuki!!"
Seeing one of his core subordinates captured, Kaido lost all his previous arrogance.
"Hmm?"
Sakazuki's right hand tightened slightly, exerting an overwhelming force on Ulti's head.
Even though her head was coated in Armament Haki, it made no difference in Sakazuki's eyes.
Like a ripe watermelon, it would burst with just a little pressure.
Ulti's signature move was to headbutt enemies with her Armament Haki-coated head, but now she felt her skull was no different from a watermelon.
For the first time, she experienced what her enemies felt when facing her—and it would be her last.
Because—splat.
Ulti's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, spraying a mist of blood into the air.
Sakazuki let Ulti's corpse drop to the ground, looking provocatively at Kaido.
"Damn it!"
Who's-Who felt fear upon seeing his fellow member die at Sakazuki's hands.
He knew very well that, as a fellow member of the Tobiroppo, he couldn't possibly defeat Ulti in an instant.
Since Sakazuki could kill her so easily, he could do the same to him.