Probably because this world is far more complicated than the previous one.
So Mondor's Book-Book Fruit can only simulate to this extent?
"Worororo! You noticed too, huh? These overly fake illusions, thousands upon thousands of them, they're just annoying to look at!"
Kaido's voice came.
Shano raised his head, just in time to see the opponent's body suddenly swell, blue-green scales rising across his skin, dragon horns sprouting from his head…
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a massive azure dragon that blotted out the sky!
The blue dragon, paired with the surrounding modern cityscape…
"Feels like I've crossed into Dragon Ball's world or something!"
Shano couldn't help but laugh loudly. "Oi, Kaido, if I collect all seven dragon balls, can I come to you and make a wish?"
Dragon balls?
What kind of nonsense was that?
Kaido frowned, too lazy to ask further. He coiled above the city, spinning rapidly like a top.
"Stop spouting crap I don't understand! Brat, along with this fake world, witness the might of this move!!"
As his spinning speed rose, terrifying tornadoes began to form, and with a sky-shaking roar from Kaido, they exploded in all directions!
"Winds surging to the heavens, destroying all in an instant… Destructive Dragon Gale!!!"
Boom!
It truly only took an instant.
Skyscrapers around them were sliced in half like paper, glass panels shattered into showers of shards, but before they could even hit the ground, they flashed white and vanished.
Wherever the tornado swept, half the city disappeared as if erased by an eraser—buildings, roads, pedestrians, cars…
Everything vanished at terrifying speed.
And Shano, directly in front of it, bore the brunt of the crushing wind pressure, forcing him to cross his arms before his face to shield himself.
The feeling of all oxygen being sucked away wasn't pleasant. Worse, Kaido's summoned tornadoes stacked on each other, stronger and stronger, endlessly…
"This never-ending crap is pissing me off!"
Fury surged through him. Shano suddenly spread his arms wide, his muscles tensing, and Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, sweeping across the area like a raging flood!
In just a moment, all the raging storms were obliterated!
Clap.
Shano clenched his fists tightly, grinning savagely at the dragon.
This level… this childish trick might scare off those rookie brats with 3 billion bounties, but how could it ever hurt him!
Besides…
"Oi, hand-to-hand is way more fun, Kaido! You bastard, how can you suddenly switch from berserker to mage!"
With an annoyed shout, Shano vanished on the spot.
Bang!
The air ripped apart into a vacuum tunnel. His figure shot skyward like a loosed arrow, his fist wrapped in black and red lightning, smashing straight toward the dragon's head!
"First things first, I'll beat this so-called divine dragon back into human form!"
…
Outside, atop the Cake Castle.
Time flew. In the blink of an eye, a day and night had passed.
Every so often, dozens of pages of Mondor's book burned away, and despite his desperate effort to keep the story-world running, his complexion grew paler and paler.
"Mom, I can't hold on much longer…" he pleaded weakly to BIGMOM.
"You'll hold on!"
BIGMOM glared fiercely, grabbing a huge cake in each hand—her left hand shoving one into her own mouth, her right hand stuffing the other roughly into Mondor's. "You're just hungry, eat and you'll have strength again!"
"Ugh…"
Stuffed full of cream, Mondor nearly choked to death, but under BIGMOM's terrifying glare, he could only endure and keep his ability active.
Thus, another full night passed.
By the third morning—the tea party's scheduled end time—the ordinary guests, after finishing breakfast, politely excused themselves.
Most of them had been terrified these past two days, worried about the Yonko battle spreading to them, yet afraid to leave early and offend BIGMOM. They had sat on pins and needles.
So as soon as the tea party ended, they fled quickly.
The Charlotte children also grew busy—some sending off guests, some leaving for missions, some returning to their own territories. One after another, they left Whole Cake Island.
By late on the third day, atop the castle—
Other than the Fallen Ones, only a few underworld emperors and some Sweet Commanders remained, accompanying BIGMOM and patiently waiting for the battle's result…
——
The fourth day.
The worlds conjured by the Book-Book Fruit had been destroyed countless times.
Now they were in a rural village, scenic with traditional-style houses, and at the entrance hung a plaque reading "Iga."
Seemed like it came from some folklore of Wano.
The details didn't matter to Shano.
Because shortly after their clash here, the entire village had been razed to the ground, leaving only barren scorched earth.
"Huff… huff…"
He half-kneeled on the cracked ground, chest heaving, sweat mixed with blood dripping from his chin.
Knuckles, arms, elbows—his whole body bore the marks of intense battle, twisted and battered, not yet healed.
But his eyes still burned with unyielding fighting spirit!
Not far away—
Half-beast Kaido was just as battered, spiked club stuck in the ground, his body a mangled mess, even his scales stained dark red with blood.
"Worororo… brat, can you still stand?" Kaido's voice was low, tinged with fatigue—but more than that, excitement.
Unstoppable excitement!
This rude, arrogant brat… was truly strong. Extremely strong!
More than a hundred times stronger than he had been back on Enies Lobby!
"Nonsense!"
Shano staggered to his feet, grinning with bloody teeth. "See? Not only can I stand, I'll beat you so bad your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"
"Quit spouting crap! I don't even know who my mother is!"
Kaido roared furiously, charging. His right hand, turned dragon claw, swept at Shano, black and red lightning swirling.
Shano didn't dodge. He clenched his fist, muscles bulging, and struck out head-on.
"Come on!!!"
BOOM!
When claw and fist collided, a terrifying shockwave shattered what remained of the world. Rubble flew sky-high, only to be crushed into dust by the impact.
Both were blown back, crashing into the wreckage.
"Cough…"
Shano spat blood, struggling up again.
His vision blurred, but his grin grew sharper.
"Feels good, Kaido?"
He laughed hoarsely. "Ever since I smashed you out of dragon form two nights ago, I've been having the time of my life!"
Kaido's brawling style fit him perfectly—raw fists, body-to-body, constant collisions, crushing combat!
His blood boiled to near vapor, and even the word "exhilarating" wasn't enough!
But…
As satisfying as it was, exhaustion was crushing him.
No food, no water, no rest, no supplies—his stamina was down by seventy or eighty percent, close to the limit. Kaido, with his mythical zoan recovery, might have fared a little better, but not much…
Supplies?
Shano suddenly realized—flipping his hand, a red bean bun appeared.
He stared at it, then sighed softly and crushed it to powder.
This kind of fight was too damn harsh…
Compared to Akainu and Aokiji's ten-day duel on Punk Hazard?
Tch, those two Logia bastards…
They probably spent half the time chucking lava and ice at each other from afar!
This kind of hand-to-hand brawl with Kaido was way more draining!
"Huff… huff…"
Kaido finally pulled himself from the rubble, his massive half-beast form faltering, shrinking back into his human form of 7.7 meters.
"Kid… you're even better than I thought. A little stronger, and you might actually beat me and be the strongest fighter in the seas!"
Kaido bared bloodstained teeth, grinning savagely. "But this isn't enough! Not nearly enough! I'm Kaido of the Beasts!!!"
He stomped the ground and lunged again!
Shano roared as well, dragging his battered body forward.
"Kaido!!"
"Shano!!"
Their fists collided again. Dissatisfied, they grabbed each other's right fists.
Still not enough, they leaned back and smashed their heads together!
"Damn you, Kaido!"
Shano cursed loudly. "Who the hell has two horns on their head, that hurts like hell!"
"You miscalculated! I'm a demon!"
Boom!!
Black and red lightning intertwined, collapsing the world around them once more…
——
Another day and night passed.
On the fifth day, outside.
Morning sunlight spilled down.
Mondor was spent, his face pale as paper, eyes dark as a panda's. After days of burning worlds, only the last few pages of his book remained.
"Mom… wuwu, I can't… I really can't hold on…" he cried.
BIGMOM's eyes narrowed at the nearly-consumed book.
"Hold on, Mondor! The result is about to come!"
As soon as she spoke—
BOOM!!!
The book exploded, the last pages turning to ash.
Two figures shot out of the black void, crashing onto the castle roof.
"Mom!"
Mondor screamed, but his spirit snapped, his body stiffened, and he fainted.
BIGMOM ignored him, rising to her feet, staring at the two fallen figures.
"Captain!"
"Brother!"
"Lord Shano!"
The Fallen Ones rushed forward—
But they were stopped by the figure on the left.
It was Shano, bloodied beyond recognition, kneeling on one knee, gasping for air.
On his right—Kaido—
had collapsed completely, spread-eagle on the ground, chest heaving.
"Ugh… it feels so damn good! But my strength's at its limit!"
He turned his head, struggling to lift a hand. "Five minutes! Rest for five minutes, then continue, how about it, Shano!"
"How shameless." Shano rolled his eyes. "Spit out your mythical zoan fruit, then I'll agree!"
"Then no rest, keep fighting!" Kaido pushed up unsteadily. "But brat, can you even keep going…"
"Don't underestimate me!" Shano growled coldly.
Of course he could keep fighting!
Even if his endurance was a little lower than Kaido's, even if his recovery was worse—so what?
He still had trump cards he hadn't used!
He just couldn't bear to waste one-of-a-kind lifesaving chances here, so…
"Enough already!"
BIGMOM suddenly roared. "You two, without outside interference, it's clear neither can beat the other. That's enough! This isn't a fight to the death, is it?"
"Stay out of it, old hag! Don't stop me!"
Kaido glared. "Your son can't hold on, so you're worried about your cake castle? That excuse won't work on me…"
"Kaido!"
BIGMOM gritted her teeth. "Will you not listen to me? Must you go your own way? Don't forget—you still owe me a huge favor!"
A huge favor?
Everyone was stunned. What? These two…?
"…"
Kaido fell silent.
He stared at BIGMOM, took a deep breath, complex emotions flashing in his eyes. His fists slowly loosened, his fighting spirit fading.
"Hmph. Lingling, you sure know when to bring that up."
He snorted, his tone softer now. "Fine, let's end it here. Not just for your sake… but because if I killed a brat like him now, the rest of my life would be boring!"
"You sure love to brag."
Shano finally forced himself upright. He sneered, about to say more—when Katakuri's expression changed, his gaze lifting to the sky.
This scene… felt familiar…
Kaido again?
Shano frowned, raising his head sharply.
Everyone else sensed it too.
No Observation Haki was needed—
Because the once-clear sky suddenly darkened, and a massive shadow covered all of Whole Cake Island!
"It's an island… an island!!"
Bonney's eyes widened, shrieking in shock. "How the hell is there such a huge island flying in the sky!"