148. The Key Role, Cutting The Sea With One Sword

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While the battlefield roared with the clash between the forces of Alex and Charlotte Linlin, another confrontation captured the spotlight: Kaido versus the Flying Admiral.

At the start, their battle seemed evenly matched, each clash shaking the battlefield. The exchanges unleashed waves of power that rippled outward, leaving even distant spectators in awe.

But the balance didn't last long.

Within minutes, Kaido was being driven back. The much smaller figure of Alex was pressing the Yonko into a clear disadvantage, his relentless attacks forcing Kaido into retreat.

From his own skirmish, King couldn't hide his disbelief as he watched the scene unfold.

"Impossible..." King muttered under his breath. He had seen Kaido at his strongest. Even if Kaido were to lose against Alex, how could it be like this?

Moreover, Alex had already fought an extended battle against Big Mom. By all logic, Kaido should have the advantage, both in stamina and Haki.

As though reading King's thoughts, a sharp wave of sword energy sliced through the air, forcing King to defend. A voice accompanied the attack, calm yet cutting.

"Your Haki and swordsmanship are strong," Mihawk said, his keen eyes never leaving his opponent. "With the speed and strength granted by your Ancient Zoan form, and abilities like your flames, you've rightly earned your place as the strongest of the All-stars."

"But…" Mihawk's blade gleamed as he parried another strike. "…you've yet to take the step into the realm of a true great swordsman. You don't know how to wield the full power that comes with mastery."

The battlefield around Kaido and Alex became a chaotic stage of destruction. Sky and deck alike cracked under the sheer force of their movements, the two combatants darting like lightning through every foothold available.

Kaido, his massive form slowly shifting from offense to desperate defense, snarled in frustration. As he barely dodged another slash, he roared, "What kind of attack is this?! How are you doing this?!"

He had faced countless legendary swordsmen—Shiki! Roger! Oden! Kaido had personally felt the strength of their slashes. Their strikes left scars that told stories of their battles.

But Alex's strikes were different.

They weren't just powerful. They carried something more insidious, something that lingered long after the blade had moved on.

Despite Kaido's fruit, which granted him incredible regeneration and resilience, his recovery had slowed to a crawl. The wounds inflicted by Alex's blade pulsed with a stinging, unrelenting pain, as though the edge of the sword still hovered over his flesh.

No matter how much Kaido gritted his teeth, his resilience couldn't completely suppress the damage. It was as if each strike had been etched with a force, a curse that magnified his injuries over time.

Forced onto the defensive, Kaido growled, his frustration boiling over.

Alex, however, remained composed. His sword unleashed a torrent of slashes, each imbued with precise, overwhelming power. Kaido's situation worsened with every attack.

"Fruit and swordsmanship,"

"Haki strong enough can nullify a Devil Fruit's power. That's your philosophy, isn't it? That Haki is above all else?"

Kaido's eyes burned with rage but remained locked on Alex.

"But…" Alex's voice sharpened like his blade. "Haki alone won't protect you from the force of my sword. It cuts through everything, infiltrating even the power of a fruit like yours."

Hum!

Without moving his blade, Alex released a terrifying wave of energy. The aura of his swordsmanship became visible, a circling aura that seemed to wrap around him.

With a flick of his wrist, the energy condensed and erupted forward, an invisible force roaring toward Kaido.

Kaido's expression shifted. His instincts screamed of the danger in the attack, the raw, overwhelming power barreling toward him.

He knew that if this strike connected in his current state, it would push him past his limits, shattering his already fragile position in the fight.

— Whoosh!

Kaido swung his massive mace with the force of a hurricane, the air itself splitting as it tore through the sky. His instincts flared, guiding the strike toward the invisible blade streaking toward him.

Boom!

The clash shattered the unseen sword with a resounding impact.

But then—

Crack!

A deep fissure suddenly appeared at the top of Kaido's mace, spidering downward with alarming speed. Within moments, the weapon that had accompanied Kaido throughout his reign as a Yonko splintered into countless fragments before his disbelieving eyes.

— Whoosh!

Before he could process the loss, another invisible sword struck with blinding speed, targeting the fresh wound across his chest.

Kaido's expression twisted in shock and pain as the blade struck true.

"The development of a Paramecia fruit sometimes requires creativity, Kaido," Alex remarked, his tone almost casual.

Floating midair, Alex pinched the space in front of him lightly between his index finger and thumb, as though manipulating something invisible. He smiled, a faint glint of confidence in his eyes.

"Especially when it comes to awakening," he continued. "In battles between the strong, overwhelming attacks often fail to make a lasting impact. But subtle, precise strikes? Those are much harder to counter when overlooked."

He gestured slightly, as though guiding an unseen force.

"Take this sword energy, for example. If I wish, I can bury it within your body, allowing it to inflict continuous damage, disrupting your regeneration."

Kaido's eyes widened in realization. The lingering pain he had been enduring wasn't just the result of normal wounds. It was Alex's use of his Devil Fruit and swordsmanship, multiplying the internal damage over time.

But the revelation came too late.

Kaido felt the accumulated internal injuries reach their peak, erupting in a torrent of pain. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he clutched his chest, his formidable endurance faltering under the relentless assault.

High above, Alex moved.

With a burst of speed that seemed to defy logic, he became a blur, closing the distance between himself and Kaido in an instant. In a blink, Alex appeared overhead, Akizakura raised high.

The blade glowed with concentrated Haki, its power focused into a singular, devastating point.

Kaido, sensing the inevitability of the strike, roared defiantly. Scales rippled across his body as he reinforced them with Haki, unleashing all of his strength in a desperate counter. His eyes blazed with fury as he launched a punch toward Alex's midsection.

Boom!

Kaido's counterattack shook the sky itself, lightning crackling in the heavens as the force of his punch split the air.

But Alex didn't flinch.

Accepting the risk of injury, Alex pressed forward. This strike would decide the battle.

Hum!

The blade of Akizakura descended—a small sword compared to Kaido's massive body, barely a third of his chest. But the energy it carried was anything but small.

As the sword struck, its immense power erupted like a tidal wave. The force of the slash drowned out even the thunder above, replacing it with an unnatural silence that seemed to freeze the battlefield.

The concentrated power of Alex's sword, amplified by his Devil Fruit, exploded outward.

— Whoosh!

The attack tore clean through Kaido, its energy continuing to carve across the battlefield.

Rumble!

The slash didn't stop. It traveled beyond Kaido, cutting effortlessly through the warships of Totto Land, severing them into pieces. The sea itself split open, the surface erupting in a massive explosion of water.

And still, the energy pushed deeper.

Within seconds, a vast gully stretched across the ocean, dividing the battlefield. The sword's intent lingered in the air, forming an invisible barrier that held back the seawater from closing the gap.