Kaido, naturally aware of King's hesitation and shouted loudly.
"King! Don't worry about me!"
"If you can't defeat that lightning brat later, just escape! He won't be able to catch up with you!"
"Even if they can defeat me, they can't kill me!"
Kaido spoke with absolute confidence in his immortality.
Raleigh, gripping his sword, watched Kaido with caution.
Just as he had anticipated, the deep, bone-exposing wound he had just inflicted on Kaido's chest had already stopped bleeding.
Upon closer observation, one could even see tiny flesh buds slowly growing, knitting the skin back together.
What a terrifying regenerative ability.
No wonder Vegapunk wanted to study Kaido's body structure.
Such an absurd recovery rate, if applied to the Pacifistas or Seraphim, would create a nightmare army.
Raleigh felt a headache coming on.
Facing a "meat shield" tank like Kaido was truly troublesome.
It was the first time he truly understood the frustration of fighting a high-attack, high-defense, infinite-HP boss.
Fortunately, Raleigh himself was one too.
The ground battle paused momentarily as Raleigh analyzed Kaido, but the battle in the sky was just heating up.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
King, in his full Pteranodon form, showcased superb aerial maneuvering skills, dodging Enel's lightning strikes with rapid barrel rolls.
Enel, now sitting cross-legged at the bow of the Ark Maxim, looked down upon King like a deity judging a mortal.
"30,000,000 Volt Hino!"
While evading the lightning attacks from the Ark Maxim, King contemplated how to strike back. Suddenly, King's wings flapped powerfully.
After dodging another bolt of divine punishment, he rapidly ascended, aiming to get above the ship.
Seeing King's climb, Enel raised an eyebrow.
One had to admit—this is the future strategist of a Yonko crew. Exceptional combat awareness.
The Ark Maxim's biggest limitation was its firing arc.
Although Vegapunk's modifications had doubled its attack speed, it was designed to bombard targets below it.
For Devil Fruit users who could fly, once they ascended higher than the Ark Maxim, the pressure was halved.
However, a sly smile curled at the corners of Enel's lips.
'So you've already figured out the ship's blind spot?'
'Truly worthy of being a vice-captain.'
'What a pity. If even you know about this weakness, how could I not have taken it into account?'
"Maximize Output!"
Enel remained completely unruffled.
Under his control, the Ark Maxim surged with electricity and rapidly ascended, its speed matching King's ascent.
King realized he couldn't simply out-climb the lightning man.
He deftly evaded several more bolts, then swiftly altered his course mid-air, tucking his wings.
"Tempura Udon!"
This was King's signature hunting technique.
He pulled back his Pteranodon head and fired his face like a laser beam, while his body followed as a living spear.
"200,000,000 Volt: Amaru!"
Enel leaped up from the ship's prow, transforming into his giant
Thunder God form and gripping his golden trident with both hands to confront King's diving assault.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of explosive impacts echoed as their weapons and bodies clashed.
Sparks flew where King's beak and armored wings met Enel's trident and lightning body.
King's attacks came swiftly, his sharp wings creating a continuous blur of afterimages.
Yet Enel's speed was equally formidable.
With his Mantra (Observation Haki), Enel anticipated every one of King's strikes.
Their battle carried them downward in a spiral of destruction.
Finally, when they were merely tens of meters above ground, the outcome of this exchange was decided.
King's wing struck Enel's shoulder, the Haki-infused edge slicing deep into the lightning logia form, nearly severing Enel's left arm.
Meanwhile, Enel's golden trident pierced through King's abdomen, lifting the massive dinosaur completely off his feet.
Both combatants had lost all restraint. Seeing their opponent wounded, they simultaneously amplified their Haki output.
Boom!
The simultaneous Haki explosion tore bloody holes in each other's bodies, finally forcing them apart.
Enel retreated to the deck of his ship, panting, his elemental body slowly knitting the shoulder wound back together.
Across from him, King hovered, reverting to his hybrid form. His body bore scorch marks, and blood dripped from his abdomen.
Fortunately, as a Lunarian with an Ancient Zoan fruit, his durability was legendary.
Suddenly, Kaido's draconic roar echoed from the ground battlefield.
"Worororo!"
Transforming once more into a hundreds-of-meters-long Azure Dragon, Kaido attempted to crush Raleigh beneath his massive coils.
But Raleigh's speed ensured Kaido's plan remained a mere fantasy.
He had already sheathed his sword, having realized that against such a thick-skinned opponent, internal destruction via Haki-infused fists was more effective than cutting.
As Kaido's Blast Breath was about to engulf him, Raleigh transformed his body into elemental wind to evade.
Then, wisps of wind coalesced above Kaido's dragon head, reforming into Raleigh's physical form. Raleigh revealed a cruel smile.
"Kaido, you brought this upon yourself!"
Raleigh grabbed one of Kaido's massive dragon horns to anchor himself, then fiercely pounded Kaido's skull with his other hand, which was coated in high-emission Armament Haki.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Each strike resonated clearly, sending shockwaves through the dragon's skull.
"Graaaah!"
Kaido roared in excruciating pain, blood pouring from his forehead.
He thrashed wildly, diving from the sky toward the land, attempting to shake the flea-like Raleigh off his head by smashing into the ground.
"KAIDO-SAN!"
Ignoring his own wounds, King urgently took to the skies, his eyes filled with extreme anxiety seeing his captain being ridden like a horse.
With a grave expression, King drew his large katana.
The flames on his back—the symbol of the Lunarian race—erupted violently.
He channeled the magma-like flames into his blade.
"Imperial Flaming Dragon!"
A dragon's roar echoed across the sky.
A massive dragon made of distinct, high-density magma-fire materialized from King's sword.
Facing the oncoming fire dragon, Enel treated it as a grave threat.
He knew he couldn't let that interfere with Raleigh.
The golden trident melted away, transforming back into a golden bracelet wrapped around Enel's wrist.
An immensely terrifying electrical energy manifested between Enel's hands.
"200 Million Volts... Thunder Dragon!"
Another roar shook the skies as a dragon made of pure white lightning, no less imposing than King's fire dragon, appeared in the air.
The moment the two energy dragons saw each other, they lunged.
Both were proud creatures, naturally unwilling to tolerate another "dragon" of equal strength sharing their domain.
Scorching Lunarian flames collided with destructive Logia lightning.
BOOM!
Innumerable explosions reverberated from the sky into the far distance.
The clashing bodies of the two dragons continuously canceled each other out until they completely disintegrated into a blinding flash.
BOOM!
Finally, after one massive blast, a mushroom cloud bloomed over the area, the shockwave forcing both King and Enel to helplessly retreat to opposite ends of the airspace.
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