Seeing Zephyr continuously evade his attacks, Kaidou's emotions immediately began to calm down. He persistently used Observation Haki, attempting to glimpse a fragment of the future.
Finally!
Kaidou once again opened his enormous dragon mouth, endless heat continuously gathering within.
"Heat Breath—!"
A super-high-temperature flame vortex several kilometers long struck directly on the path Zephyr was destined to appear.
"What!"
Faced with this sudden predictive attack, Zephyr had nowhere to dodge. He crossed his fists in front of him, and his entire body turned pitch black.
"Boom—!"
The massive energy of the Heat Breath directly hit Zephyr, then submerged him.
A full minute later, the flame energy dissipated, and a figure appeared in the air—it was Zephyr.
At this moment, aside from his skin being slightly redder than before, Zephyr showed no other changes.
It was as if the terrifying Heat Breath capable of melting mountains hadn't struck him at all.
"Phew—! What a terrifying brat." However, Zephyr on the other side wasn't completely unaffected.
Although the energy impact of the Heat Breath didn't cause much damage under the protection of his Armament Haki, the terrifying heat made Zephyr feel as if he were soaking in magma, his entire body continuously burning.
Kaidou, witnessing this, murmured quietly, "It seems I've found your weakness, Zephyr."
Then, endless flames spewed from Kaidou's mouth, continuously enveloping his massive body.
Fierce flames relentlessly burned over Kaidou's form.
"Fire Dragon Torch!"
A thousand-meter-long fire dragon, covered in super-high-temperature flames, floated dozens of meters above the sea surface.
The sea below Kaidou began to slowly boil due to the intense heat radiating from his body, with seawater continuously evaporating around him.
"Zephyr, die!"
Kaidou charged directly at Zephyr.
The terrifying temperature, even before getting close, already made Zephyr feel a wave of heat assaulting him.
"There's still such a troublesome move?"
Feeling the terrifying high temperature, Zephyr spoke with some apprehension, though it was only apprehension.
As one of the Navy's top combatants, there was nothing in this world that made him afraid, let alone fearful.
Although the power of Kaidou's move was terrifying, for a physical combat expert like him, an attack that didn't hit was useless.
However, since Kaidou used this move, he naturally had a way to make Zephyr take it. Instead of chasing after Zephyr when he dodged, Kaidou charged directly toward the only warship present on the sea surface.
"Kaidou, how dare you!"
Seeing Kaidou's intention, Zephyr roared in fury, his eyes wide with rage.
After all, Kaidou at this moment was extremely terrifying. The horrific high temperature alone, if it collided with the warship, would mean that except for a very few Marines, no one else on that ship would survive.
Moreover, in the waters of the New World, without the warship, in the vast ocean, likely only he alone would be able to survive.
Because Zephyr clearly knew this was a trap set by Kaidou, he had no choice but to take the bait.
Zephyr swiftly appeared in front of Kaidou, blocking his advance.
"Wororororo... Zephyr, try and stop me if you can!" Kaidou roared as he channeled all his strength and charged directly at Zephyr.
"Bastard!"
"Black Arm - Star Destroyer!"
Facing Kaidou's assault, Zephyr also unleashed his full power, continuously gathering Armament Haki from throughout his body into his wrists before striking toward Kaidou.
Confronted with the intense heat radiating from Kaidou, even Zephyr didn't want to take it head-on, forcing him to employ external Armament Haki release.
"BOOM—!"
Their attacks collided once more.
In the wake of great sound comes silence - the tremendous blast momentarily silenced the surrounding sea.
As their attacks met mid-air, Zephyr's skin immediately began turning crimson red despite being coated in Armament Haki, resembling steel being forged in a furnace.
This demonstrated the terror of the Fire Dragon Torch - no matter how powerful one's Armament Haki might be, it couldn't completely nullify the damage from extreme heat.
Had Zephyr not preemptively covered his entire uniform with Armament Haki, history might have witnessed the first Admiral fighting naked.
"Wororororo... Zephyr, die!" Kaidou laughed maniacally while continuously increasing his pressure.
"Brat, don't underestimate my justice!" Zephyr similarly poured all his remaining strength into the confrontation.
"BOOM—!"
The energy finally erupted, creating a terrifying explosion between Kaidou and Zephyr.
Kaidou was sent flying hundreds of meters by the blast force, reverting from his Fire Dragon Torch form as he floated in the air.
Zephyr fared no better, being blasted directly into the ocean by the explosive impact.
Watching Zephyr sink beneath the waves, Kaidou understood this battle had reached its conclusion.
On land, Kaidou would have confidence in his current physical resilience and recovery speed. But here in the endless ocean, the environment proved too hostile for Devil Fruit users.
Zephyr, being a non-ability user, could be thrown into the sea dozens of times without effect, while a single dip could send Kaidou to "study" in Impel Down.
Nevertheless, Kaidou decided to cause some trouble for Zephyr before departing.
Kaidou's dragon form began spinning like a top, generating several massive waterspouts across the sea surface as he rotated. These tornadoes continuously absorbed seawater, forming enormous sea cyclones that surged toward the marine warships.
"Old man Zephyr, I'll collect your life next time! Wororororo...!"
With booming laughter, Kaidou flew off into the distance.
"Damn it!" Zephyr could only watch helplessly as Kaidou escaped. His immediate concern was dealing with these growing waterspouts - a single misstep could destroy the entire warship.
At this moment, Zephyr found himself missing Sengoku. If Sengoku were here, his Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Great Buddha Model's inherent shockwaves could easily disperse these massive waterspouts. But Zephyr was primarily a martial arts specialist, less adept at handling large-scale area attacks.
Meanwhile, Kaidou quickly reached his pirate ship and used his ability to create Flame Clouds, lifting the vessel into the sky as they sailed toward the horizon.
By the time Zephyr managed to neutralize the waterspouts, the surrounding seas had already returned to empty stillness.
Zephyr could only grit his teeth in frustration before ordering the warship to return. He needed to head back to the Marine Headquarters to personally report Kaidou's threat to Fleet Admiral Kong.
However, before Zephyr could even make it back to Marine Headquarters, a life-altering event occurred—one he would regret for the rest of his life.