The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

However, Kaido gave him absolutely no chance to catch his breath or regroup!

Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, a chilling omen of death was already looming overhead!

Gern's Observation Haki alerted him, and he looked up abruptly, only to see Kaido's enormous dragon-man figure had somehow already leaped into the air.

The sunlight was blocked by his enormous body, casting a despairing shadow.

The spiked club "Eight Precepts," wrapped in black and red lightning, slammed down on the area where he was located with an aura of annihilation!

Its speed was so fast that he had no chance to completely dodge it!

"Thunder... Bagua!!"

Kaido's roar and the sound of thunder exploded at the same time!

"BOOM!!!!" The spiked club slammed solidly into the spot where Gern had been standing!

An even more terrifying explosion has occurred!

The earth was easily torn apart and lifted up like tofu, instantly creating a giant crater nearly 100 meters in diameter.

Everything inside the pit, including the hard rocks, turned to dust in an instant!

The violent shockwave, mixed with lightning, spread wildly in all directions, shattering even the distant reefs!

The intense light and smoke from the explosion obscured everything.

However, in the next instant, at the edge of the blast radius, a slightly staggering figure appeared like a ghost – it was Gern!

He took advantage of the critical moment before Kaido's attack to use "Shockwave" to narrowly avoid the most critical area of ​​destruction, but he was still affected by the terrifying aftershocks.

At this moment, Gern was in a disheveled state, his upper body completely exposed like Kaido's, with bloodstains still remaining at the corner of his mouth.

Most noticeably, above his forehead, a wound was slowly bleeding, staining part of his cheek and left eye red.

"Huff! Huff!" Gern gasped for breath, raising his hand to wipe the blood that had trickled down to the corner of his eye.

Looking at Kaido, who slowly raised his spiked club and turned around in the crater in the distance, he showed no fear whatsoever.

Instead, he grinned, revealing a bloodshot yet fiercely combative smile: "Heh... As expected, Kaido lives up to his reputation."

"This power and speed... 'The world's strongest creature,' that's really something!"

Chapter 354 Turn me into a cute little ice cream!

Kaido watched as Guern dodged at the last moment, wounded but with his fighting spirit soaring even higher.

The maniacal laughter on his face gradually subsided, replaced by a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth; he did not immediately pursue.

Instead, he slammed his spiked club on the ground, his roar no longer a simple roar, but rather carrying a hint of reminiscing as he spoke in a low voice.

"Gern...you're a Devil Fruit user too, right?"

'Skyquake'... Hmph, exactly the same ability as that Newgate guy.

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the faint, emanating fluctuations around Gern that seemed to tremble even in space.

It was as if we had traversed time and seen another figure who could also shake the world.

"In that case..." Kaido's tone carried an indescribable hint of expectation, even a touch of challenge.

"Let me see how much of Newgate's youthful brilliance you can have, you newcomer!"

His gaze finally settled on the bandaged black sword, Bahuang, in Gern's hand, his eyes growing even deeper: "After all..."

What you're holding in your hand is that lawless man's knife!

At this point, Kaido was actually filled with intense curiosity.

Back when he was a young and ambitious fighter on the Rocks Pirates, he witnessed countless times the devastating power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, as Edward Newgate, the Whitebeard.

The scene of triggering a tsunami with a mere gesture, tearing apart the earth and easily destroying a country was deeply imprinted in his mind.

When I was younger, I envied Whitebeard more than once, and even asked him directly if I could have such a powerful ability someday.

But at that moment, the tall man simply patted him on the shoulder and told him in an unusually serious tone, "Kid, a Devil Fruit is a lifelong companion. Choose carefully and find the one that's truly right for you."

Now, times have changed, and he possesses the powerful Mythical Zoan type Fish-Fish Fruit, becoming the world-renowned "Kaido of the Beasts".

But at this moment, facing another powerful figure with abilities similar to Whitebeard's, and even wielding that 'sword'...

That deep-seated curiosity and desire to compare were reignited.

He wanted to know what kind of brilliance this "heavenly earthquake" that followed their era would display.

Could he surpass the towering figure in his memory, like a mountain peak? After all, Whitebeard's abilities and Garrosh's sword were indeed something he couldn't ignore.

"is it?"

Hearing Kaido's words, which carried a sense of reminiscence and comparison, Gern sneered, with an undisguised sarcasm: "Trying to compare me to Whitebeard?"

Before he finished speaking, he did something that Kaido didn't expect.

He then directly plunged the dangerous black blade, Bahuang, into the ground beside him with a clang.

"Hmm?" This action caused Kaido's huge pupils to shrink suddenly, and his entire body tensed up instinctively, his vigilance rising to its peak.

Based on his combat experience and knowledge of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Kaido almost immediately focused his attention on Guern's free hands without hesitation!

Based on his understanding of Whitebeard, the power of vibration requires contact (fist, weapon, or even the atmosphere) as a medium to activate.

Freeing your hands means that what follows is likely to be a more direct and terrifying shock attack triggered by bare hands!

"Is it coming? Like Newgate's air tremor..." Kaido thought to himself, focusing intently on the movements of Gern's hand.

However, it was precisely this "stereotype" stemming from Whitebeard's abilities that led him to make a fatal mistake!

He overlooked the most fundamental point.

Gern's "Heaven-Shatter Fruit" is a Logia-type Devil Fruit!

It is fundamentally different from Whitebeard's "Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit" which requires a medium!

Gern keenly caught Kaido's wary gaze fixed on his hands, and his smile deepened, a playful expression of a successful scheme.

So he slowly raised his hands, but instead of clenching them into fists or extending his palms, he slightly spread his fingers, as if framing a shot.

He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, perfectly framing Kaido's enormous dragon-man figure not far away.

He then slowly raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the virtual "viewfinder," locking onto Kaido, and smiled, his voice carrying a chilling calmness.

"Don't stare at my hands so intently, Kaido..."

"I don't need that so-called 'medium' to activate my abilities."

“Because…” The next second, Gern’s tone suddenly became incredibly arrogant.

"I myself am a 'natural disaster'!"

"Heavenly Tremor - Frame Compression.... Tremor Binding - Boundary Compression!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden change occurred!

There was absolutely no warning, not from Gern's palm, nor from any other part of his body!

Suddenly, as if glass had been struck by an invisible giant hammer, countless spiderweb-like white cracks appeared out of thin air on either side of Kaido's body!

Immediately afterwards, two terrifying shockwaves originating from the void and moving in completely opposite directions suddenly appeared.

Like an invisible box and closing rings, it crashed down on Kaido, who was in the very center!

"What?!" Kaido's expression changed drastically. This attack method, which was completely contrary to his understanding, caught him off guard!

"Buzz—Click!!!"

An indescribable, immense pressure instantly acted on his massive body!

The feeling wasn't like being hit, but rather as if the entire space was repelling and squeezing him due to the vibration!

In an instant, the hard dragon scales on Kaido's body made a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, his muscles were forcibly compressed, and even his bones began to groan!

"Aaaaaah!!!" He tried to struggle, but found that the air around him had become as thick as lead, and every movement required dozens of times more effort than before.

Under extreme spatial pressure, Kaido's massive dragon-man body began to twist and deform, instantly transforming the art style into something abstract and bizarre.

It's like being stuffed into a constantly shrinking transparent box!

Meanwhile, Gern stood at a safe distance, his hands still in that half-closed "viewfinder" pose, slowly and unceremoniously continuing to bring them together!

"Turn me into a cute little ice cream cone!!!"

He wanted to crush this "strongest creature" under the weight of this invisible cage of oppression!

Chapter 355 Heat Breath Suppression

Within the invisible, crushing cage of "Dimensional Compression," powerful enough to shatter steel, Kaido's massive dragon-man body was severely deformed by the pressure.

Its scales were cracking, blood kept spilling from the corner of its mouth, and even breathing became extremely difficult. It was almost as if it was being compressed into something much cuter by Gern!

Unfortunately, the terrifying vitality and willpower of the "world's strongest creature" are no joke!

Kaido's expression hardened, and instead of yielding, he unleashed an even more ferocious aura!

"Ugh... Ohhhhh!!!"

With a suppressed roar, Kaido unleashed his incredible physical strength.

Despite the terrifying pressure that could crush a mountain, he forcefully moved his left arm and grabbed the spiked club "Eight Precepts" that was deeply embedded in the ground beside him!

"Give it to me..." His expression was extremely ferocious as he frantically poured the last of his strength and boiling Conqueror's Haki into the iron rod, shouting, "Break!!!"

Ignoring the risk of his body being further torn apart, he ruthlessly unleashed a long-range attack directly in the direction of Gern!

"King Kong - Dysprout!!"

"Om-"

A massive, condensed, pillar-shaped beam of energy, wreathed in black and red Conqueror's Haki lightning.

Like a giant pestle breaking through a city wall, it tore through the distorted and oppressive space and shot straight at Gern at an astonishing speed!

This strike may not be as powerful as a close-range attack, but its penetrating power and speed are extremely impressive!

Meanwhile, Gern clearly hadn't expected Kaido to launch such a fierce counterattack even in such a desperate situation.

Therefore, when faced with the rapidly approaching "King Kong Di", he had no choice but to abandon maintaining the "frame pressure" and dodge to the side.

But, in the instant that Gern's attack faltered...

"BOOM!!!" Kaido, who had been waiting for this moment, released his Conqueror's Haki, which had been suppressed for a long time, like a volcanic eruption!

A dark red torrent of energy surged into the sky centered on him!

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The invisible, oppressive, box-shaped cage that had trapped him shattered instantly like broken glass under the impact of this domineering and tyrannical aura, vanishing into nothingness!

The moment he was freed, Kaido didn't pause for a second. Electricity crackled beneath his feet, and his massive body, activated by the electricity, shot into the sky, soaring straight into the clouds!

High in the sky, his form changed again. His dragon-human form rapidly expanded and extended, transforming in the blink of an eye into the colossal azure dragon that blotted out the sky.

Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type, Azure Dragon Form, complete beast transformation!

The dragon coiled in the sky, its massive head looking down at Gern on the island below, its jaws wide enough to swallow mountains!

Deep within the throat, dazzling, scorching energy gathered and compressed at an alarming speed!

"Heat Breath!!!" Kaido roared, unleashing his signature attack in his Azure Dragon form!

A blazing beam of light, tens of meters in diameter and containing destructive energy, poured down from thousands of meters in the sky toward Gern and the entire area where he was located!

"boom!!!!!!"

The scorching beam of light struck the island precisely! There was no explosion, only extreme incineration and annihilation!

Wherever the beam of light passed, rocks, soil, and forests instantly vaporized!

A massive, charred ravine runs through the entire island, extending all the way to the coast, splitting the sea in two and evaporating white mist. The ravine reaches the seabed, revealing its dark color!

A burst of heat nearly split the resort island that Gern loved in two!

..........

For a moment, high in the sky, Kaido, in his Azure Dragon form, continuously spewed out destructive "heat breath."