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The descent was like a rushing thunderbolt, all his strength focused into the rapidly falling elbow, purple lightning coiling around it, its power reaching a crescendo, surpassing even that of a meteor pulled down by gravity.

The killing intent in Arthur's eyes was almost tangible.

The only way to stop a mad dog from hounding you is to either kill it, or make it fear you to its very core.

Arthur wasn't sure if he could kill Kaido—a man the Marines had tried every method to execute, a man Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit couldn't kill.

But he knew this single blow was terrifyingly powerful. He was certain that, without an ability like the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, not even Whitebeard could withstand this horrifyingly destructive strike if caught unprepared.

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"Hmph."

A dull snort came from Kaido's nose. He was supremely confident in his own defenses. He didn't even make a defensive gesture, intending to take the hit with his pure, physical body.

The heavy elbow strike, propelled by the speed of lightning, was horrifyingly fast. It locked onto Kaido's head and hammered down on his iron-hard skull.

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!"

With a deafening roar, the distant spectators were sent reeling, blood streaming from their mouths and noses. The earth-shattering sound, far beyond what they could endure, knocked everyone to the ground except for Big Mom and a few of her more capable children.

In the Beasts Pirates, all but the three All-Stars and a handful of others were knocked off their feet, tumbling into the sea.

This blow was too terrifying. The ground beneath Kaido's feet couldn't withstand the immense force descending from the sky. The power transmitted through his body shattered the not-so-large island of Wheat as if it were glass.

Cracks spread like a spiderweb in all directions.

The two had clashed without any regard for the consequences. Human bodies of the island's natives couldn't survive. They were all wiped from existence in the aftershock.

When powerhouses at the pinnacle of the world clash without restraint—the consequences are nothing short of catastrophic.

The island was torn asunder.

All those nearby without the ability to resist were killed by the shockwave. Kaido was driven into the seabed by Arthur's ferocious attack—his entire body carried downwards by the immense force, his vision blurring.

At this moment, his head was reeling from the blow, he had almost been knocked unconscious.

No matter who you are, the head is always a weak point. A sudden, fatal blow will, at best, cause a concussion, and at worst, death.

And yet Kaido, hit in the head by an elbow strike carrying the full force of Arthur's descent, didn't have his skull smashed open? It was simply unbelievable.

Arthur rubbed his numb elbow joint, a trace of shock in his eyes.

Only the one who delivered the blow knew just how perfectly the full force of his attack had landed on Kaido's head.

Forget steel—the very island beneath their feet had been shattered. Kaido's durability was too strong, so strong it was boundless...

In the deep sea, Kaido finally recovered from the violent shock. He gritted his teeth, touched his incredibly painful head, and the last vestiges of his reason were drowned in madness.

He leaped from the sea, landing on the shattered island.

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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! IT HURTS LIKE HELL!!!"

He clutched his head and rolled on the ground, his body twitching slightly. His Physique was such that he usually didn't even feel pain—most attacks felt like being tickled. Yet, under Arthur's unparalleled strike, the pain shot through his entire body.

After twitching for a while, Kaido's crimson eyes caught sight of Arthur. Panting heavily, he staggered to his feet.

"I'M GOING TO BUTCHER YOU!!" he roared with extreme anger, his mountain-like body charging forward.

"He's still fine??" Arthur was shocked, but he immediately prepared to strike again.

There had to be a way to kill Kaido on this sea, it just wasn't known to outsiders.

Everyone understood the principle of water dripping on a stone. This simplest and most foolish method was the only one he could think of under the current circumstances.

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'If one punch doesn't kill him, then two. If two don't work, then ten. If I hit him for ten days and ten nights—won't I eventually be able to smash his brain to pieces?'

Arthur sneered. He wouldn't give Kaido a chance to fight back. Carrying a monstrous aura, his fist, wreathed in dazzling lightning, suddenly shot out.

"BAAAANG!!"

The purplish-black fist was unstoppable, like a meteor crashing to the earth. It was almost impossible to escape, one could only passively endure it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Kaido roared, his massive, muscle-bound hands trying to block Arthur's attack. This intense pain was worse than falling from ten thousand meters in the sky.

The King of the Beasts, commander of a horde of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, naturally had a powerful presence. He gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with rage, filled with the wildness of a prehistoric beast.

However, no matter how he blocked, he couldn't dodge the fists that came from all directions. It seemed Arthur was determined to beat him to death before he would stop.

"BOOOOOOOOOM!!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"

Violent tremors came one after another. Arthur threw punch after punch, the gale they created filling the surrounding area with intense wind pressure. The air trembled continuously. He was completely overwhelming Kaido.

Kaido blocked continuously, gradually recovering from the suppression, his ferocious eyes like a savage beast ready to devour its prey.

Arthur's lightning seemed to have no effect on Kaido. The paralyzing sensation of the current, the continuously released heat—none of it did him any harm. He was almost completely immune.

The fists, wreathed in purplish-black lightning and Haki, streaked through the air, their terrifying power suffocating. One had to pause and endure the pain before continuing.

An immeasurable amount of power was unleashed, but it was all completely absorbed.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"

Amidst the massive roar, Arthur and Kaido clashed fiercely.

Both were emperors of the New World: one, the "Thunder Emperor" Arthur, The World's Most Dangerous Man—the other, "Hundred Beasts" Kaido, who was gradually becoming known as the World's Strongest Creature.

In terms of pure head-on combat strength, Kaido was perhaps even slightly inferior to Big Mom, but his incredibly powerful Physique was more than enough to make up for it.

Arthur's aura was terrifying. With the intention of beating Kaido to death, he attacked again and again, the force of his punches penetrating through the skull and directly to the brain, each one heavier than the last.

Kaido seemed to have no strength to fight back, only able to defend passively. But the continuous, intense pain in his head drove him even more insane.

The storm of blows continued for a full half-day. Kaido finally began to show signs of being unable to withstand it. A trace of dark blood actually flowed from his nose, mixing with his sweat.

The continuous, ferocious attack had finally shown some results.

"Thunder Emperor, that's enough!" Big Mom suddenly spoke at this moment, a rare, thoughtful look on her heavily made-up face.

"The current situation in the New World cannot afford to lose anyone..."

"Oh?"

Arthur, who had been lost in his frenzied attack, after a moment's thought, actually stopped his movements and didn't continue to attack... because even if he kept fighting, he really might not be able to kill Kaido.

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