"Kaido-sama!"
"Kaido-sama!"
...
As Kaido emerged from the wreckage of his completely destroyed flagship, his massive form had already reverted to human shape—or rather, he'd been beaten back into human form by Elior.
He staggered as he walked, not with the usual drunken sway, but with the unsteady steps of someone gravely injured. Especially striking was his chest—visibly caved in, a terrifying sight.
Everyone watching was stunned. Was this still the man known for having the toughest body in the world?
At this point, anyone with a functioning brain could tell, Kaido was injured. Seriously injured.
Bullet had just knocked out a heavily wounded King, and when he looked over at Kaido, he immediately knew—Kaido's condition was far from good.
Boom!
With a heavy crash, Kaido dropped to his knees. If it weren't for his kanabo acting as a crutch, he'd probably be lying flat on the ice right now. The sight sent another wave of shock through everyone present.
The crowd burst into uproar. It was clear, Kaido had been defeated.
And not by just anyone—he had been defeated by Elior, that brat!
For many of Kaido's subordinates, this was the first time they'd ever seen their captain in such a pathetic state.
Meanwhile, Elior wasn't exactly in great condition himself — but he was clearly doing better than Kaido.
Between summoning the Ice Cavalry, unleashing Mahapadma, and the overwhelming attack he'd launched, Elior had burned through an immense amount of energy. If he didn't have such a monstrously strong body, he might not have stayed standing.
Still, even knowing Kaido wouldn't be getting back up, Elior felt no joy in the victory.
After all, he'd hit Kaido while the latter was frozen in time. If they had exchanged fists in a fair, drawn-out brawl, Elior wasn't sure he'd be standing now. He might be in Kaido's current condition — or worse.
That's why Elior knew, he needed to become even stronger. Strong enough to defeat someone like Kaido without relying on freezing time.
As the shock of Kaido's fall rippled through the battlefield, temporarily halting all combat, Elior stepped forward.
The Ice Cavalry shattered into powder and vanished behind him.
The Beasts Pirates were down to just over ten thousand men. They looked on in dread as Elior approached — yet none of them dared to move.
His battle-torn clothes exposed his chiseled physique — not that unusual among the musclebound ranks of the Beasts Pirates.
But right now, as Elior approached, everyone felt like they were facing a natural disaster. The pressure he exuded was immense, and their morale collapsed under its weight.
Sweat beaded on every brow.
Kaido's defeat had completely changed how they perceived Elior. In their minds, he now stood on equal footing with a Yonko. Sure, Kaido had lost before — but never like this.
Elior was terrifying.
Was this really just a kid?
How could someone so young be this powerful?
They couldn't believe it—but they couldn't deny it either.
"Kaido, do you still want to fight?"
Seeing Elior draw near, the three Disasters rushed to Kaido's side, taking up defensive stances like loyal guard dogs.
"I never imagined… someone bearing the name of 'Beasts' like me…"
"Never thought you'd be this strong. It's not just your Devil Fruit—your physical strength and martial arts are also pushed to the extreme!"
There was no doubt — Kaido was shaken. Elior's power had surpassed his expectations.
If the fight had continued, this might've ended up as Kaido's worst defeat since his battle with Oden.
Still, Kaido was frustrated. Being forced to his knees by a brat ignited a furious fire in his heart. But continuing the fight just to save face was clearly not realistic.
He had no intention of experiencing Elior's strange ability again.
As Kaido looked across the shattered ice field at the corpses of his fallen subordinates — over ten thousand dead by the looks of it — he could only feel a deep, wrenching pain in his gut.
His once-mighty Beasts Pirates had taken a devastating blow. These weren't ordinary grunts—every one of them had been personally vetted to join his crew.
The worst part? All these deaths had been caused by Elior using just one of his eerie powers.
It was only after crossing fists with Elior that Kaido realized — this power of his wasn't like Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit at all. It might sound exaggerated, but Elior's ability was in a league of its own. Combined with his sheer physical prowess?
Final verdict: a monster.
Even Kaido had suffered a crushing loss.
"Kaido-sama… should we continue?"
King, now injured, asked with effort. Just moments ago, he'd been fighting with such desperation that he nearly lost his mind trying to recover face against Bullet. But now, with the battle paused and looking at the wrecked ships and the field of corpses, King finally came back to his senses.
He realized something terrifying: of Elior's allies, only Law, Hawkins, and Crocodile were seriously injured. The rest were still standing, not a single casualty among them.
Meanwhile, the Beasts Pirates had likely lost half their forces.
The severity of the situation made King's heart sink.
They had promised to crush Elior and his crew before going after the Whitebeard Pirates — but now, could they even dare to pick a fight with Whitebeard?
At that moment, Bullet and the others returned to Elior's side, creating a tense standoff between the two sides.
Elior glanced over at his comrades. Apart from Law, Hawkins, and Crocodile, who were clearly badly injured, everyone else seemed fine. And even with serious wounds — so long as Law was around—no injury was truly permanent.
"Captain, should we squeeze some compensation out of them?"
Urogue chuckled darkly as he asked.