Chapter 60

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Dark clouds filled the sky, brimming with lightning and thunder. Around Kaido flickered a black and red lightning bolt. He was preparing to release his Roaring Thunder Eight Trigrams, infusing it with Conqueror's Haki and the essence of armed colors. Suddenly, the land, dried and evaporated, began to shatter. A hot pillar of flames, bright as white light, burst through the ground, trembling the earth and space itself. The heat was intense, like the sun descending onto the battlefield.

Kaido, on the battlefield, felt the extreme heat approaching. His body began to rapidly lose water, and instinctively, he reached out his hand to shield himself. His pupils widened in shock when he felt a burn on the palm holding Ba Jie Zhai. This 'Eight Precepts' had been his constant companion, imbued with armed forces for years, earning its rank as a supreme mace. It was a weapon as renowned as the Supreme Sword and the Twelve Works, comparable even to the toughest seastones.

As Kaido looked up, the flames reflected in his eyes, and he saw the melting earth beneath his feet. The current temperature of the battlefield was indeed terrifying. With his vast combat experience, Kaido clenched his teeth, gripped the Ba Jie Zhai firmly, and wrapped it with the remnants of his Conqueror's Haki and armed colors.

His first target was Bai Ye - the creator of this chaos. Killing him would mean an end to the flaming pillars and the oppressive heat. With anxiety and determination in his eyes, Kaido grasped the Eight Precepts with both hands, his upper body's muscles bulging and veins popping.

In a flash, Kaido vanished, launching himself at Bai Ye at an incredible speed with the advanced version of his technique: the David Thunder Eight Trigrams. On Onijima, this move had almost claimed the life of the Son of Destiny. Now, Kaido deployed it for his current predicament.

But, facing the oncoming Kaido, Bai Ye used Shunpo, matching Kaido's speed. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Kaido, who had covered only a third of the distance. Onlookers would barely see the two warriors vanish from their original positions, followed by the sonic boom of the torn air.

In the next moment, Bai Ye confronted Kaido with the David Thunder Eight Trigrams. Resembling two speeding trains, their collision demolished the thousand-meter-dry seabed and land, sending everything bouncing into the air with crater upon crater, as if lifting the seabed itself towards the heavens.

Not only that, the collision sent the pressure skyrocketing, venting it straight to the sky. That part was Kaido's power, piercing the whole sky directly. Terrifying! Thick dust and debris engulfed the battlefield, while Blazing Hell continued to advance. Now, as the thick dust and smoke cleared, Bai Ye and Kaido stood in their previous positions. Bai Ye's large black robe was in tatters, revealing the muscles with terrifying strength underneath. Kaido's eyes widened in disbelief as he slowly looked at the "Eight Precepts" in his hand before a big mouthful of blood spurted out.

"How, how is it possible!" Kaido gasped as he saw his prized weapon, Bajie, severed by the impact. Not just the 'Eight Precepts', he also had a horrible, burning wound spreading from his eyes to his entire chest. If Ba Jie Zhai hadn't absorbed most of the impact, and if his physique hadn't been enhanced by the green dragon fruit, one of the strongest phantom beasts, he would have perished. In that moment, Kaido's heart trembled, realizing with certainty that someone in this world could kill him.

As the thought crossed his mind, Kaido dropped to one knee. His breath grew extremely weak as he witnessed the pillars of flame transforming the world into a furnace. For the first time, he felt the closeness of death. Kaido, unaccepting of this fate, smashed the ground with his fists and forced himself to roar, "Are you kidding me, you bastard? I am Kaido!"

"The resilience of the Zoan Devil Fruit is indeed powerful," Bai Ye reflected, looking up at Kaido, who was grievously injured yet still alive. He had to admit that the Devil Fruit's power was impressive, nearly rivaling that of blood cows in strength. An ordinary person would have died many times over from such injuries, but not a natural behemoth like Kaido with his phantom beast abilities. 

But that was it. Even if Bai Ye did nothing more, Kaido's current state foretold his certain death. As Bai Ye prepared to finish him, a thunderous boom echoed from the sky. Startled, Bai Ye looked up and sensed a vague threat coming from above. He could tell that this impending doom was not from Kaido. Then, it struck him – there was only one entity that Bai Ye dreaded might intervene.

A chill passed through Bai Ye's eyes. Was it the World Government? As the clouds were torn apart, revealing a dazzling, destructive white light, Bai Ye pondered. It was no surprise they hadn't acted sooner; with their intelligence, they knew of Kaido's situation early on. They were simply biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to obliterate him when he was most vulnerable.