Boom!!
A thunderous roar erupted in the sky.
Kaido was directly blasted away by Ian's spear.
The Conqueror's Haki Infusion is indeed strong, but it's not invincible.
With his overwhelming strength at this moment, Ian could still collide head-on with Kaido.
Of course, Ian knew very well this wasn't Kaido's full power.
Otherwise, how could Kaido be known as the equal of the Onigashima's top fighters?
He fought evenly with Luffy, who had just mastered internal destruction; he fought evenly with Luffy, who had just learned the Conqueror's Haki Infusion; he fought evenly with Luffy in Gear Four; he fought evenly with Yamato, who was not as strong as Luffy; and in the end, he even fought evenly with Luffy in Gear Five.
This teacher really likes to adjust his strength based on his opponent's strength.
"Flame Burst!"
A brilliant pillar of fire shot down from the distant sky.
Ian didn't hesitate for a moment, opening his mouth, "Blaze Cannon!"
Though there was no need for counterattacks, and certainly no need to dodge or defend, fire-based attacks couldn't harm him in the slightest.
But, for him, fighting Kaido was a man's romance!
The two flames collided, and in an instant, there was a thunderous explosion. A massive fireball hung in the sky above Onigashima, resembling the sun.
In the next moment, the sun was pierced through, and Kaidodo soared through as a shooting star.
"Ultimate Move: Crimson Lotus Flame Blade!"
Countless fiery swords appeared around Ian, spinning wildly the next moment, forming a massive fire tornado. Without a doubt, anything caught in this firestorm would be utterly torn apart.
However, it didn't include Kaido.
He charged straight into the fiery tornado.
Then, his massive body displayed astonishing agility as he calmly danced through the swirling flame blades. Whenever he couldn't dodge, he simply smashed them apart with his iron club.
Observation Haki, foreseeing the future?
Ian's thoughts raced.
The iron club was already swinging toward him.
"Thunder Bagua!!"
Thunder Bagua? Then this strike would be hard to block.
Therefore...
"Immortal Phoenix!"
Kaido's iron club smashed through Ian's skull and passed right through him.
He abruptly turned around, only to find Ian had transformed into a gigantic phoenix.
"Drink!"
The scarlet sword of flame swung directly at Kaido.
Next, it was time to go all out!
"Ha ha ha! Now this is more like it!"
Kaido roared loudly, and the black lightning on his iron rod suddenly erupted. "Thunderclap Eight Trigrams!"
Kaido was already quite massive, and the iron rod in his hand was naturally enormous as well.
However, before Ian's scarlet sword, it still seemed small—this was a gigantic sword nearly a hundred meters long!
It was as though the wrath of the Thunder God had been unleashed.
Black lightning danced across the sky, and the thunderous roar shook the earth, causing the seawater below to leap.
Once more!
Ian swung his sword and struck Kaido deep into the ground.
The unleashed power even tore a huge chasm at the top of Onigashima, creating a gash on the skull's head.
The destructive flames wrapped around Kaido's iron rod with a domineering force.
Even though it couldn't do more, Ian's advantage in power was once again evident as one swing sent Kaido plummeting.
"Ha ha ha!!"
A wild, loud laugh echoed from deep below. "This is what I'm talking about!"
The scarlet sword was sent flying upward, its afterimage sweeping into the high sky, and Ian, with eyes of flame, noticed it.
Kaido had changed again.
There was a wound on his shoulder!
It was just a shallow wound, but a large chunk of flesh was missing from that spot!
Kaido had been hurt!
However, that wasn't the most important change.
What mattered was that Kaido's upper body had become more massive, his muscles more full, his claws unusually sharp, and his eyebrows now resembled swirling clouds.
Ian wasn't sure if this was Kaido's awakening, but he knew one thing—this teacher was finally getting serious!
"Great Might Thunderclap Eight Trigrams!!"
The lightning of the Conqueror's Haki shot out in all directions, like a spider's web spread across the sky, visible even from several kilometers away.
Great Might!
This time, it was a full-power strike!
"Winged Dragon's Destruction Sword!"
Ian didn't back down, swinging his sword without hesitation.
After all, he was in Phoenix Form now. What was there to fear?
The scarlet giant sword came crashing down.
The next moment, the iron rod and the giant sword collided once more.
But this time.
Ian felt his hands violently tremble.
The overwhelming force made him feel like the sword in his hand would fly out of his grip.
However, before the giant sword even had the chance to slip from his hands, it was already smashed to pieces by Kaido's strike!
At this moment, the Conqueror's Haki wrapped around Kaido's iron rod was so strong that the destructive flames couldn't fully destroy it.
Therefore, it was simply destroyed.
Moreover, the residual wave from Kaido's swing directly dispersed Ian's flame body, turning it into a torrent of flames filling the sky.
This was the power of a Yonko-level!
The battle that followed became incredibly one-sided.
All Ian could do was rely on the almost indestructible characteristics of the Phoenix and stall for time against Kaido.
None of his attacks could touch Kaido.
This teacher knew well the power of Ian's destructive flames and never gave Ian the chance to attack him.
So, Ian simply stopped using destructive flames and instead created normal flame weapons, relying entirely on Haki to clash with Kaido.
At this point, the goal was no longer to defeat Kaido.
But to observe and learn his Haki.
The Conqueror's Haki's Infusion, and the Observation Haki's ability to foresee the future.
At fifteen, Ian's physical strength had increased significantly, and the time he could maintain the Phoenix form had also greatly expanded.
But there was still a limit.
When the time ran out, Ian returned to his normal state.
Kaido sneered, "Heh heh heh! Looks like it's over!"
Ian scratched his head. "Kaido-sensei, could you go a little easier on me?"
Boom boom boom boom!
The entire Onigashima was shaking.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ian finally regained consciousness.
"Ian! You're awake!"
The first thing he saw was a worried face.
He was lying in his room's bed, and Hancock had leaned in close to him, the most beautiful woman in the world with tears in her eyes, "Damn Kaido, he really went too hard on you!"
She had just leaned in, but was immediately pulled back by Yamato, who grabbed her collar and pulled her away, the white-haired girl speaking with conviction, "I told you, Ian wouldn't be hurt."
Ian barely opened his mouth.
But couldn't speak.
It felt as though all the bones in his body had been crushed.
When Ian reverted from the Phoenix Mode, he chose to enter the Sphere Beastman Mode and clash with Kaido.
As a result, he was badly beaten and knocked unconscious.
But it didn't matter. Since he had already woken up, even the heaviest injuries were meaningless.
Ian entered the Sphere Beastman Mode once again.
The injuries on his body began to heal rapidly.
Just a few seconds later, he even sat up, "That was a thrilling battle."
The beating was definitely worth it.
Although he still had no clue about the Conqueror's Haki, during the process of continuously observing and attempting to dodge Kaido's attacks, it seemed like he had gained some insights into the Observation Haki and the ability to foresee the future.
"Eh!"
Hancock was greatly surprised.
She had never seen Ian in such a seriously injured state, so she didn't know Ian had such recovery abilities!
"I told you, Ian would be fine!"
Yamato proudly stepped forward and rubbed Ian's head. "It's alright, Ian! Next time, we'll defeat Dad together!"
Ian rolled his eyes and then said, "Let's have everyone clean up and head back to Hive Island."
"Eh?"
Yamato and Hancock were both stunned.
So soon?
Ian simply smiled and said, "It's just for show, of course, we need to complete the act."
Not long after.
Mariejois.
The Five Elders received the report.
"The Beasts Pirates have done their best to block the information, but we still learned that Ian had a fierce battle with Kaido when returning to Onigashima. Unlike their usual master-apprentice lessons, Onigashima was almost destroyed by their fight!"
"The battle ended with Ian's defeat, almost being beaten to death by Kaido."
"After waking up from his coma, he set sail again on the Golden Dragon ship and returned to Hive Island. He's already starting to take back the islands under Ochoku's command."
After hearing the report from CP0, the Five Elders showed pleased expressions.
"It seems our plan has been quite successful," Topman Warcury said, pleased as he twirled his beard. "Even though Kaido and Ian haven't completely turned on each other, there are still some tensions between them. With that, we can be a little more at ease."
"Ian might just be able to replace Ochoku," The long-bearded Mars added. "In that case, the balance in the New World will still be maintained."
"There's also the redhead Shanks who ran off to the East Blue."
The big-bearded Saturn said. "When he returns to the New World, things will be even more lively."
The Five Elders exchanged knowing smiles.
Everything is under control!
Time passed by.
While Ian was busy conquering the islands near Hive Island, on the other side of the Red Line, in the calm belt, on Rusukaina Island.
On this beast-infested island, a figure suddenly descended from the sky.
"Hehehehe! Took me a while to find you!"
**********
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