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

The islands and seawater continued to evaporate, and the enormous trenches stretched deeper into the ocean, a cruel, cold light flashing in the dragon's eyes.

At the same time, his Observation Haki clearly sensed that Gern's aura had been completely suppressed by his heat breath and sealed deep within the pierced sea cliff below.

"Hehehe! Earthquake! Let's just melt away completely here!"

However, just as Kaido was feeling triumphant, a sudden change occurred!

From the bottom of the sea cliff, which was pierced by heat and whose depths should have been a lava hell, countless azure blue veins, like ice crystals, suddenly burst forth without warning!

Furthermore, the azure-blue vibrational veins were spreading wildly upstream along the intensely hot beam of light at an astonishing speed!

In the astonished reflection of Kaido's eyes above, what was visible inside the golden-red pillar of heat, originally composed purely of destructive energy.

It was as if it was "blooming" from the core, blooming out countless beautiful yet deadly azure "vibration flowers"!

"This is..." Kaido wondered, "What the hell is this?!"

But, the next moment, something even more unbelievable happened!

Starting from the very bottom of the pillar of heat, his extremely hot breath, capable of evaporating everything, was frozen at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It's not extinguished, it's truly frozen!

The azure ice crystals spread rapidly along the inside of the pillar of light, and wherever they passed, the violent heat energy seemed to be paused and instantly solidified!

The freezing speed was beyond imagination. In the blink of an eye, the cold azure flowed upstream and rushed to Kaido's huge mouth!

An extreme chill, enough to freeze the soul, rebounded from his breath, and Kaido even felt his throat and mouth about to freeze!

In an instant, Kaido dared not continue spewing, and abruptly closed his blood-red maw, forcibly stopping the release of "heat breath"!

As the energy source was cut off, an incredibly breathtaking spectacle appeared between heaven and earth.

A colossal ice pillar, retaining its fiery spray shape, interwoven with golden-red and azure hues.

Like a giant pillar supporting the heavens and the earth, it rises from the pierced abyss of the sea, through the island, and into the sky, connecting to the dragon's mouth that Kaido has just closed!

The upper half of this ice pillar still retained the golden-red glow of heat, while the lower half was completely frozen into azure ice crystals, with countless vibration patterns spreading like lightning sealed inside.

Extreme heat and extreme cold, two completely opposite forces, were forcibly solidified together in such an inconceivable way, emitting strange and powerful energy fluctuations.

Kaido hovered in the air, watching this extraordinary scene, his massive dragon head filled with shock and disbelief.

He simply couldn't understand how Gern managed to do it.

The vibration... how could it produce such a terrifying freezing effect?!

Chapter 356 Shocking Flame - Divine Fire Dance!

"Is that brat Kuzan's ability?! Could it be that the Navy has other admirals supporting them?!"

Kaido hovered in the air, looking at the strange ice pillar that pierced the sky and the earth, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

After all, this level of freezing effect immediately reminded him of another naval admiral, "Aokiji" Kuzan.

But the thought was shattered the moment it took hold by what was happening right before his eyes!

On the surface of that huge ice pillar, a figure wrapped in dark purple lightning was speeding up the vertical ice wall at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to perceive!

Its speed was so fast that it left a series of afterimages behind it; it was none other than Gern!

As he sprinted upwards, he suddenly stretched out his right hand towards the distant ruins!

"Buzz!"

The black sword, Bahuang, embedded in the distant rocks, emitted an excited hum, as if summoned by an unseen force.

With a "clang," it was pulled out on its own, transforming into a black streak of light that instantly traversed space and flew precisely back into Gern's hand!

The moment the knife touched his hand, Gern's aura surged once again, undergoing a qualitative change!

The originally spreading, icy blue vibration patterns suddenly changed color, turning into a blazing, violent orange-red, like molten lava from the Earth's core!

The extreme heat even caused the surrounding air to distort!

At the same time, dark purple Conqueror's Haki lightning intertwined and erupted with red lightning representing the pinnacle of Ryuo Armament Haki.

It merged with the orange-red vibrations, forming a destructive storm of black, red, and orange raging energy that completely enveloped Gern!

From afar, he looked like a hellish meteor rising against the heavens, carrying thunder and flames, hurtling straight into the sky with the destructive power of Kaido the Azure Dragon!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye!

Almost in the blink of an eye, with his terrifying speed and the help of the ice pillars, Guern leaped into the sky, level with or even higher than Kaido's dragon head!

"Kaido!!!!!"

Gern let out a roar that shook the heavens, gripped the now incredibly hot black blade, Eight Desolations, with both hands, and raised it high above his head!

"Heavenly Tremor?! You...!" Kaido's enormous dragon eyes suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints. He sensed an unprecedented... threat emanating from that sword!

At this moment, the blade of the Eight Desolations was frantically absorbing the three-colored intertwined energy, trembling violently, extending, and expanding!

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a giant flame energy blade over a hundred meters long, burning with orange-red flames and wreathed in black and red lightning!

The scorching heat caused even the clouds in the sky to evaporate!

"Didn't you like to melt everything with your heat breath?! You bastard!!"

Gern's face was filled with a violent fighting spirit as he hurled the most direct insults and declarations at Kaido's massive dragon head.

"I'll give it back to you right now!!! Fuck your mother!!!"

"Shock Flame..." The moment the words fell, Gern exerted force from his waist and abdomen, his body completing a powerful and rapid spin in the air.

With the terrifying power to cleave the sky and incinerate the sea, the hundred-meter-long Flame Blade was slashed down fiercely towards Kaido's massive blue dragon head!

"God, Fire, Music, Dance!!!"

The sky was ignited and cleaved open by this single strike!

The hundred-meter-long fiery blade that cleaved the heavens and earth, with unstoppable force, fiercely slashed through Kaido's massive blue dragon body!

"Sizzle!!"

It sounded like a loud tearing sound, but amplified a million times!

Wherever the blade passed, it left brief, scorching cracks in the space!

Even Kaido's seemingly indestructible dragon scales appeared so fragile before this single strike!

The wound completely covered the cross slash left by Oden!

Immense pain instantly overwhelmed Kaido's senses. His dragon eyes widened abruptly, the light in them vanished, and even the whites of his eyes briefly appeared!

This strike contains not only a physical slash, but also the shockwave impacting the internal organs, the burning of flames, and the crushing effect of Conqueror's Haki on the mind!

In that instant, Kaido's consciousness seemed to break down, falling into a brief blank.

In that fleeting moment of blurred consciousness, Gorn's eyes, filled with absolute killing intent, cold as eternal ice yet burning as hellish lava, were deeply imprinted into Kaido's mind.

That look... made him feel as if he saw the shadows of many people...

Is it that ambitious Rocks who wanted to dominate the world?

Is it Roger, the dashing and unrestrained man who ushered in the Great Pirate Era with a smile?

Is it that foolish prince, Kozuki Oden, who was obsessed with opening the country and wielded twin swords with dazzling brilliance?

Is he still the same Edward Newgate with the white beard who puts his family first and stands at the top?

No! None of those!

At that moment, Kaido realized with absolute clarity that the man before him no longer possessed the qualities of any other powerful warrior...

Because of him! Gern Reginald Sigmar, the power, will, and sheer destructiveness he displayed.

It has reached a level that even Kaido has to acknowledge from the bottom of his heart and even tremble with fear!

This is... a true opponent who can fight him to the death, and may even push him to his destruction!

Therefore, they should be listed alongside 'them'!

"Awooo!!!"

Upon recovering from the brief loss of consciousness, an indescribable agony intertwined with an unspeakable sense of exhilaration.

This caused Kaido to unleash a deafening dragon roar, a mixture of pain and rage!

However, the massive azure dragon's body lost its ability to levitate due to the severe damage it had suffered.

Like a giant serpent that has been severed, it crashed into the sea not far away!

"Boom!!!" A huge splashing sound rang out, sending up towering waves!

Kaido of the Beasts, the "strongest creature in the world," was cleaved from the sky by a single stroke from Gern!

On the sea, only the gradually fading flames of the blade remained...

As Kaido's massive blue dragon body plunged into the sea, creating a towering column of water, Gern slowly descended from the sky, his feet landing once again on the shattered, scorched, and ice-crystal-covered earth.

The hundred-meter-long Flame Blade in his hand had dissipated, reverting to its original form as the Black Blade of Eight Desolations, but some flickering orange-red flames still remained on the blade.

So Gern casually tossed the Eight Directions horizontally.

"Whoosh!" A scorching gust of wind swept past, instantly extinguishing the remaining flames on the blade, leaving only the still-glowing, pitch-black blade.

Immediately afterwards, countless pieces of cloth appeared in the air and wrapped around the Eight Desolations again, and Gern also put them back into his waistband.

“It’s over.” Gern uttered the three words calmly, his tone revealing little joy or excitement.

Because he knew very well that the end of this battle was not entirely because he "defeated" Kaido.

More than anything, it was Kaido himself who was "satisfied".

Gurn had long heard of Kaido's strange habits; it was practically an open "secret" among the top warriors on the sea.

This "world's strongest creature" has a unique set of "one-on-one duel etiquette."

When he feels a battle has been enjoyable enough, his opponent has demonstrated strength worthy of his recognition, or he has been injured to a certain extent and feels "satisfied,"

If he happens to fall into the sea and temporarily loses the ability to float or resist, he will surprisingly "cooperate" and obediently be "arrested" by the other party.

And then? Then comes the classic "Kaido's escape from prison, one-stop service".

Whether it was execution in a naval prison or some other kind of cage, he always found a chance to break free, cause a huge disturbance, and escape successfully to go back to drinking and finding his next "fun".

In a sense, this can be considered Kaido's alternative way of "taking a vacation" or "experiencing life".

Therefore, Gern understood that Kaido's fall into the sea at this moment was not a complete defeat, but merely a temporary pause in this sudden showdown.

The monster will soon crawl out of the sea, or be retrieved by his men, and then disappear for a while.

Gern looked at the sea, which was gradually returning to calm but was still scarred, and shook his head.

"If it really comes to a fight to the death... I'm afraid I won't fare much better!"

I wonder how Luffy will win in the future. Are rubber men really immune to pain?

Chapter 357 BIG MOM

The earth-shattering battle between Gern and Kaido on a remote resort island, though not witnessed by ordinary people, caused terrifying celestial phenomena.

A torn sky, towering pillars of fire, eerie ice pillars piercing the island and reaching the seabed, and the undisguised clash of supreme Conqueror's Haki.

We had already been reporting through various channels, such as distant observations by newsbirds and fleeting glimpses from passing ships.

The intelligence networks of various forces suddenly seemed to sprout wings and quickly spread to every corner of the world.

Although Kaido's defeat in a one-on-one battle and even his escape after being captured are not exactly newsworthy on this high seas.

It could even be said to be his personal signature program.

But this time, the situation is completely different.

The one who defeated him was not another Emperor of the Sea, nor some unknown rising pirate star, but the Navy!

He is the Navy's de facto anchor in the New World and the highest-ranking official at the 'Fifth Pole' G-10 base.

"Heavenly Tremor," General "White Scale," Gern Reginald Sigma!

This identity makes the outcome of this match incredibly significant.

So Morgans, the editor-in-chief of the World Economic Herald, was thrilled with the news the moment he received it.