As the thick smoke was torn apart by the shockwave of Conqueror's Haki, two figures were already engaged in the most primal hand-to-hand combat at close quarters.
Kaido, surprisingly, didn't dodge or evade, allowing Akainu's magma-infused heavy punch, wrapped in Armament Haki, to smash violently into his chest.
"Bang!"
The dull thud of the first punch hitting the dragon scales made all observers' hearts tremble.
The scales on Kaido's chest instantly cracked, and magma seeped into his flesh through the fissures, burning out a pungent white smoke. But he merely bared his fangs, and the hassaikai swung out in a full-moon-like arc.
"Clang—!"
Akainu blocked with his crossed magma arms but was slammed by this heavy blow, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, causing his knees to sink into the deck. The Admiral's throat sweetened, and a trace of blood spilled from his lips.
"Wororororo! Again!" Kaido took a second punch head-on, and the scales on his abdomen exploded and scattered.
This time, Akainu's magma fist directly pierced through the dragon scales, searing a charred fist-print into Kaido's abdomen. But at the same time, the hassaikai also landed squarely on Akainu's shoulder.
"Crack!"
Amidst the clear sound of bone cracking, Akainu's right shoulder visibly caved in.
He endured the intense pain, and his left fist, carrying the full power of "Great Eruption," blasted towards Kaido's face. This punch made Kaido's dragon horns tremble, and half of his dragon face was a bloody mess. But at the same time, his barbed dragon tail also lashed out at Akainu's waist.
"Puff—!"
Akainu spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string. He crashed through the wreckage of three warships before finally stopping.
He knelt on one knee on the magma, wiping away the blood from his mouth, and saw Kaido grinning at him with equally blood-stained fangs.
The rising heat from their bodies intertwined in the air. Kaido's dragon scales, burned by the magma, were regenerating at a visible rate, while Akainu's caved-in shoulder was also gradually recovering amidst the surging magma.
This deathmatch, trading blows for injuries, made all onlookers hold their breath.
"Meteor Volcano!" Akainu smashed his fists into the sea, and countless magma projectiles erupted from the seabed, turning the entire sea into a boiling inferno.
Kaido laughed wildly and transformed into his Azure Dragon form, his dragon scales gleaming with a metallic luster. "Rising Dragon: Blazing Bagua!"
His coiling dragon body whipped up a fiery whirlwind, deflecting all the magma projectiles. The awakened powers of the two completely altered the battlefield's topography; the sea boiled and churned with flames.
After three hours of intense fighting, the two separated.
Akainu's Justice coat was long since burned away, and there was a deep dragon claw mark on his chest that went down to the bone. Many of Kaido's dragon scales had peeled off, and his left eye was tightly shut, burned by magma. But the aura of both men had not diminished in the slightest; they still stared intently at each other.
"Wororororo..." Kaido wiped the blood from his mouth. "Magma brat, you've improved since twenty years ago!"
Akainu snorted coldly, his magma fist igniting again: "If you don't move aside, I will take your life."
This earth-shattering duel had no clear winner, but it completely changed the course of the battle.
Akainu's fists clenched, making a cracking sound, and magma seeped from between his fingers, dripping onto the charred deck.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze, like a knife's edge, sweeping towards Kizaru and Aokiji, who stood not far away.
One of them leaned lazily against the mast, the other sat on an ice chair, showing no intention of intervening.
"Borsalino! Kuzan!" Akainu's voice sounded as if it was squeezed from the depths of magma, every word carrying scorching anger. "If you two continue to stand by..."
His magma body surged violently with rage. "Today's mission will be a complete failure! You know the Gorosei's wrath yourselves!"
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