Kaido didn't immediately emerge from the crater. Just as Borsalino and the others found it odd, an intense wave of heat suddenly erupted from beneath the glacier, instantly melting the ice and surging toward them.

"Heat Breath!" Borsalino's eyes flashed as he recognized the attack.

Kaido could unleash this technique not only in his dragon form but also in other forms.

A golden light flickered as Borsalino vanished from his spot. Almost simultaneously, four or five more Heat Breaths shot out in rapid succession, forcing Crocodile, Enel, and the others to retreat.

The glacier trembled violently, and Kaido, now fully transformed into his dragon form once more, burst forth, his massive head breaking through the ice.

His devastating Heat Beam condensed into a concentrated ray of destruction, spewing continuously from his mouth and sweeping across the frozen battlefield like a laser.

As Kaido's massive dragon head twisted, everything in the path of the Heat Beam erupted in explosions.

"Ten Thousand Thunderbolts!!!" Enel roared furiously.

What the hell were they doing? Were they seriously letting Kaido make a comeback by fighting one-on-one? If they allowed such a thing, how would any of them maintain their reputation in the New World? If they couldn't take him down as a group, they'd be a joke.

Several thick bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, directly striking Kaido's colossal body. Each one carried hundreds of millions of volts, and even with Kaido's monstrous endurance, he was visibly affected by the sheer power of the attack.

But it wasn't over yet.

In the next moment, a massive, molten fist struck Kaido square in the body, followed by a violent explosion. The force of the impact forced Kaido's mouth shut, preventing him from spewing any more Heat Beams.

"Yasakani no Magatama!!!"

Borsalino floated midair and unleashed his attack, countless golden light bullets raining down in an unrelenting barrage. Kaido's enormous dragon body twisted and writhed under the bombardment, his roars of agony echoing across the battlefield.

Then came the howling winds of yellow sand, gathering into a violent storm filled with countless razor-sharp blades, once again engulfing Kaido.

"Desert Storm!!!" Crocodile snarled, his expression dark.

Barely three minutes into the battle, Kaido, the so-called "strongest creature," the self-proclaimed king of one-on-one combat was already getting overwhelmed. This was the power of teamwork.

And once again, it proved a simple truth:

In this world, no one could single-handedly take on two top Admirals and expect to win. And against four? Impossible.

Even when surrounded by the most elite Marine officers, Kaido was barely holding on.

Of course, if someone had the right abilities, they could still escape. If Shiki hadn't been held down by Fujitora and Kizaru earlier, he might've had a way out.

But against this kind of coordinated assault? There was no such luck.

Kaido roared inside the raging sandstorm, but Sakazuki wasn't about to show any mercy. What kind of king did Kaido think he was?

"Absolute Justice!!!" Sakazuki bellowed, his outstretched arm expanding rapidly as it transformed into a massive, searing-hot magma hand, several times larger than a giant's fist.

The hand smashed through the desert storm, seizing Kaido's dragon body in its grasp, coiling around him like a snake, radiating an unstoppable aura of dominance.

With this attack, it was as if he intended to incinerate all monsters under his doctrine of absolute justice!

A sickening sizzling sound filled the air as Kaido's scales burned under the extreme heat. Even his dragon form couldn't withstand Sakazuki's magma fury for long.

Kaido struggled violently, attempting to shake free of Sakazuki's grasp, but Borsalino, Crocodile, and Enel weren't about to sit back and let Sakazuki handle everything alone.

Laser beams, lightning, and razor-sharp sandstorms continued their relentless assault on Kaido.

The combined attacks left Kaido overwhelmed, unable to defend every angle. The pungent smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Gritting his teeth, Kaido realized something crucial, while his dragon form was incredibly powerful, against these Logia opponents, it was essentially a massive, stationary target.

These bastards were throwing everything they had at him.

Making a snap decision, Kaido canceled his dragon transformation, narrowly escaping Sakazuki's molten grasp. The barrage of attacks suddenly lost their target, scattering through the battlefield.

Kaido exhaled sharply.

During his earlier attack, when he had emerged from the ice to unleash his Heat Breath, he had scanned the battlefield—only to make a shocking discovery.

Shiki was gone.

And Charlotte Linlin, who had been locked in combat against two top-tier opponents, had also fallen.

To make matters worse, Fujitora, who had been fighting Shiki, had now turned his attention to Gion, who was helping to subdue Linlin.

What did this mean?

It meant that either Shiki had managed to escape—or he had been killed.

Either way, the tide of battle had decisively shifted.

And now, Kaido was powerless to change it.

Without hesitation, Kaido made his choice, escape.

Although he was known as "The Immortal," even he knew that his so-called immortality had its limits.

Glancing at his injuries, Kaido saw extensive burns, deep gashes, and torn muscles. His body reeked of charred flesh.

But beneath these wounds, his monstrous regenerative ability was already kicking in, rapidly healing the damage. This was the true nature of his "immortality"—not invincibility, but relentless self-repair.

His so-called "steel-like body" was just part of his Zoan ability. While his durability was impressive, he wasn't actually tougher than Charlotte Linlin.

"Damn it… I'm out of here!" Kaido cursed, fully conceding defeat.

With a mighty punch, he shattered the glacier beneath him, opening a massive hole. As he did, he saw a flash of golden light, Borsalino's attack incoming.

Without hesitation, Kaido dove straight into the ice.

Flying through the air was out of the question, if he transformed into a dragon to escape, he'd just be blasted out of the sky. Running underground was his best bet.

In the next second, a golden laser pierced the glacier, followed by a massive bolt of lightning from Enel. Crocodile conjured countless sand blades, slicing the ice apart.

Kaido was exposed once more, but this time, he had already made up his mind.

He didn't care about the incoming attacks, he just gritted his teeth and kept running.

There was no more talk of being the "strongest creature." No arrogance. No bravado.

Just a man covering his head and fleeing for his life.

Sakazuki and the others had no intention of letting him go. They pursued relentlessly, their combined attacks hammering Kaido all the way.

By the time Claudius arrived, the battlefield had already shifted far into the distance.

"...Damn," Claudius muttered, watching the four top-tier powerhouses chasing Kaido down like a rat. "They're really beating the so-called strongest creature into the ground. Do I even need to step in?"

Cruel. Absolutely cruel.

It looked as if Kaido was nothing more than a sandbag for the Admirals to practice on.

But at the same time, the sheer power on display was terrifying. Even Kaido—who could match an Admiral in direct combat—was getting completely overrun.

Claudius imagined himself in Kaido's position… and quickly dismissed the thought.

Nope. He'd be dead already.

Honestly, at this rate, even Roger or Garp wouldn't survive against such overwhelming force.

He was about to step in and join the beatdown when he suddenly hesitated.

Something felt off.

Sengoku had warned him before—Kaido was cunning despite his reckless persona.

Would he really just run away like this?

No way.

Claudius narrowed his eyes and activated his Observation Haki, scanning the area carefully.

Was there another trap? A backup plan?

Or perhaps... a rescue team?

(To be continued.)