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Chapter 302: Future Against Future!
Chapter 302: Future Against Future!
"Can you still stand?" Kaido asked, his mouth twisting into a sinister grin. "You're quite impressive, and your attacks are not bad at all. You've already managed to injure me!"
"Oh?" Sag replied, his gaze fixed on Kaido's bloodied form, but his spirit remained undaunted. "It hasn't left a scar yet," he added coldly.
"Oh ho ho ho," Kaido chuckled. "To reach that level, your Haki needs to be even stronger!"
Sag's expression turned somber as he acknowledged the truth in Kaido's words. Ever since he entered the New World—no, since he left Impel Down—Sag had not suffered any injuries. No matter how severe the wounds were, his Life Return ability, which had surpassed the limits of a normal human, could heal him.
Even the most grievous injuries, such as shattered limbs and ruptured organs, could be mended. All it took was either consuming a large amount of food to activate Life Return or expending a tremendous amount of energy to utilize 100% of his ability to forcibly heal himself.
But this time was different. The wound from the solid blow to his head remained, and the pain seemed to linger, chipping away at his resolve.
Life Return, in its essence, was a manifestation of will. In this wondrous sea, mastering one's will could lead to all sorts of miraculous feats.
The Armed Color that enhanced one's attacks and the Observation Color that allowed one to sense danger were but the most common applications of Haki.
Another manifestation of will was similar to Observation Haki, known as 'Breath of All Things,' often associated with sword masters. There were also abilities like cutting fire and lightning, which similarly stemmed from the power of will.
Life Return fell into this category as well.
However, an attack imbued with Emperor's Color Haki could also weaken one's will.
At their level of combat, the battle was no longer solely about physical might. Both combatants were akin to bulls in terms of endurance, and in a typical clash, it would come down to either depleting their stamina or breaking their will. But as long as their energy remained abundant, their will could eventually recover as well.
Only the concentrated force of Emperor's Color Haki could instantly shatter one's will in that fleeting moment, regardless of how robust their body was or how powerful their abilities might be.
The dissipation of Sag's will also caused his Life Return ability to falter.
And that was not the end of it. The power that Kaido wielded...
Sag's eyes narrowed, his pupils gleaming with a fierce light as he stared intently at the iron club in Kaido's hand. A surge of black and crimson energy exploded from within him, rushing toward Kaido like a tidal wave.
"Oh! Impressive potential. Do you wish to attain that power as well?" Kaido taunted, his hands gripping the iron club tightly. He swung it with a force that sent a Haki-imbued shockwave, swift as an arrow, hurtling toward Sag.
Even as Kaido swung the club, Sag's body moved with lightning speed, enhanced by a hundredfold, dodging the impact of the shockwave and positioning himself at Kaido's side.
Boom!
As Sag extended his leg to strike, it was blocked by Kaido's thick arm. Kaido turned his head, baring his teeth in a malevolent grin, and swung the iron club in his other hand toward Sag.
Using the force of Kaido's swing, Sag propelled himself backward, his body twisting in mid-air. As he flew backward, he kicked his legs, sending a barrage of pitch-black slashes toward Kaido.
The slashes landed on Kaido's body with resounding thuds, carving out one gash after another. However, the momentum of Kaido's swing remained unabated, and the iron club continued its downward arc toward the front.
Sag, suspended in the air, flickered into a residual image. Just as he was about to employ Moonwalk to leap away, he paused, his eyes widening in surprise. He swiftly brought his hands together, channeling his Haki into a powerful shockwave.
"Heaven's Rushing Fury!"
The black radiance collided with the descending iron club, generating a forceful impact that sent Sag hurtling backward.
"Predicting the future?" Sag landed on the ground, his voice calm and steady as he questioned Kaido.
In terms of speed, there was no way Kaido could surpass him.
With his physical attributes enhanced a hundredfold, Sag moved too swiftly for a normal person to capture his movements.
Only someone with exceptionally high proficiency in Observation Haki could accurately perceive his actions, and they wouldn't need to exceed his speed; they would only need to react beforehand.
Take his encounter with Kuzan, for example. That man had also utilized his advanced Observation Haki and the unique elemental transformation of a Logia-type Devil Fruit to maintain their battle.
If one didn't want to engage in combat, then indeed, no one could catch them. But that wasn't what one would call a fight!
"I didn't expect that someone like you could remain so calm and composed, completely unlike your rugged appearance suggests," Kaido remarked, his eyes narrowing as he studied Sag.
"Sag replied.
"Hahaha, would a tough guy like you have such a cowardly prejudice?" Kaido asked as he casually wiped the blood from his chest, causing the blood on his body to shake off and reveal scars from both external and internal burst wounds. However, the most eye-catching injury was the one on his right abdomen.
Although it was slow, Sag could see that the wounds were slowly healing, and perhaps with some rest, the scars would disappear.
"What are you going to do now? Run away? Or will you keep dodging cowardly? Go ahead, I give you permission to do so, blah blah blah!"
"Don't joke around," Sag retorted. "And don't push me. Who do you think I am?!'
Whether he could win or not was a different matter from whether he would fight or not!
Escape by relying on speed?
He had never done that in his life!
"Deadly battles against strong enemies are also my forte!"
The surging black and crimson sea continued to contract around him, and faint traces of black and crimson lightning crackled around his body before bursting apart, making the sky even gloomier.
He was so close.
This was the second blow.
He hadn't sunk so low as to take a third hit!
Boom!
Sag soared into the sky, leaving a series of smoke rings in his wake. Black fire coursed along his arms, and with a flash of his arms, he unleashed a meteor shower of black fire.
"Heaven Break Killing Move: Meteor Destruction!"
The enhanced speed multiplied his Haki-imbued attack a hundredfold, resembling exploding meteor fragments or a shower of giant meteors streaking across the sky.
As the meteors fell rapidly, Kaido's body expanded, his skin sprouting azure scales. His legs transformed into dragon claws, and a long tail sprouted, turning him into a green dragon. He opened his mouth and breathed a fiery beam.
"Heat Breath!"
The concentrated fiery beam pierced through the dense barrage of Haki-imbued projectiles, penetrating the sky where Sag had been, and soared into the clouds.
As the fire appeared, Sag's body moved in rapid succession, leaving behind a series of smoke rings before appearing above the dragon's head. His legs became like battle axes, and he channeled all his Haki into a powerful slash, creating a black moon that descended with force.
"Great Bowl Cut!"
With a slash, he intended to cleave Kaido's thick skin in two!
As the black moon descended, the green dragon swiftly transformed back into Kaido's human form. Kaido gripped the iron club with both hands, causing a few black flashes, and swung it downward with tremendous force.
At that moment, Sag's legs, which had been pressing down, hooked upward, and the black slash attack burst forth, carrying his body along with it and vanishing into the sky as an afterimage.
Just as the descending black moon slash was about to connect with Kaido's iron club, Kaido's mouth twisted into a sinister grin. His body suddenly turned, and with incredible speed, his feet stomped the ground, creating an afterimage as he appeared on the other side.
The giant shadow, with a glint of red in its eyes, left two red trails as it moved at high speed, and its massive form enveloped Sag, who had just changed positions.
"Do you think I'll just stand here and take your attacks without seeing your movements?!' Kaido challenged.
The iron club rose high, and with Kaido's malicious smile, a gust of wind mixed with the unique lightning of Emperor's Color Haki whipped around the club as he swung it downward.
At that moment, Sag's residual image, which had not yet solidified, split apart once more, dispersing into multiple afterimages that surrounded Kaido.
"The same technique won't work again, and no matter how many afterimages there are, there's only one of you!"
Kaido's eyes flashed with red dots, and with his advanced Observation Haki, he perceived Sag's movements and swung the iron club diagonally downward.
Boom!
A dull thud reverberated from the raised iron club as the descending black slash attack connected with it, creating a jarring sound.
Sizzle!
Emperor's Color Haki-infused lightning crackled along the iron club, shattering the Haki-imbued slash attack. The iron club, now resembling a needle-toothed mace, continued its downward swing.
Kaido was aware of this development.
However, he didn't care!
This blow would definitely hit the white-haired brat.
Boom!
A barrage of afterimages lunged at Kaido, but this time, instead of using the Seven Star Death Point, they employed simple pressure point strikes.
The dull thuds from the iron club connecting with Sag's afterimages caused Kaido's movement to momentarily stagnate, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.
'It's not in the 'future'!"
"It's not something only you can do!" Sag's eyes flashed with the same red dots as Kaido's, and as the afterimages flickered, a red light tail formed at the corner of his eyes.
"Hard against hard is not your forte either, Kaido!"
When it came to dealing with this Kaido, Sag truly had no idea what to do.
The hundredfold speed that he had been able to use since the beginning of obtaining the fruit, while not comparable to the speed of light, was still far beyond what most in the Grand Line could achieve. However, the highest level that this non-pay-to-win version of 'Predicting the Future' could reach was truly too unreliable.
On top of that, there were issues with the strength of his Haki and his physical body. No matter how advanced Sag's combat techniques were, they were useless if he couldn't break through Kaido's defense.
His Haki might be infinite, but Kaido's Haki was ridiculously powerful. If they fought for two days straight, Sag didn't know if he could wear the other man down, but he was certain that he wouldn't be able to last that long under such intense pressure.
With the need to conserve his strength, Sag had used all his techniques, and the other man had only struck him twice, yet Sag already felt his resolve wavering.
He could take a few more hits, or rather, why was he always so concerned about defending against Kaido's attacks?
The oppressive might of this formidable foe forced Sag to concentrate all his efforts, treating Kaido with unprecedented seriousness. And under this pressure, Sag suddenly felt the taut string in his mind snap loose.
He saw it!
That fleeting glimpse of the future!
With his Observation Haki pitted against Kaido's, that was the ultimate precursor, and unfortunately for Kaido, Sag's battle plan had taken effect.
It was no longer a situation where Kaido could predict his movements in advance, and Sag had begun to launch his counterattack!
His hands swiftly drew a circle, and in that instant, countless afterimages made the same movement, as if he had sprouted countless extra hands.
"Hard against hard is not just your forte!"
Countless afterimages, countless fists, under the acceleration of a hundredfold increase, all slammed into Kaido's various pressure points.
"Hundred Demons Assaulting Hell!"
The Big Dipper's Seven Star Death Point plus the Big Dipper Hundred Fracture Fist, enhanced by a hundredfold!
"Thunderclap Bagua!!'
In the instant that the afterimages attacked, Kaido's body abruptly swelled, his arms sprouting azure scales, and his hands transforming into dragon-like claws. The iron club in his hands struck like thunder, swift and fierce in its descent.
Amidst the swing of the iron club, the surrounding afterimages vanished, revealing the true body of Sag, suspended in mid-air before Kaido's chest.
Boom!
The sky also exploded with a bolt of thunder at that moment, the brilliant light illuminating Sag as he reflexively looked up, causing him a moment of daze.
It was too late!
He couldn't take it head-on!
He absolutely wouldn't dare to take that third blow!
"Do you think I care about face?! You motherfcker!"
The veins on Sag's neck bulged, his eyes widening as he roared, his hands clenching tightly as he gathered all the Haki in his body, and with all his might, he unleashed a "Majestic Destruction Slash" towards the descending iron club.
Boom!!!
A short-range Haki shockwave rapidly spread out from above Sag, causing the island to sink deeply.
The veins on Sag's forehead flashed, the muscles on his arms bulging with the veins popping out due to the excessive force, but that black radiance was gradually being pushed down by the iron club, clearly unable to withstand it.
The strength wasn't enough.
The entanglement of Emperor's Color Haki, even before the attack landed, constantly harassed his consciousness.
Sag's eyes widened, the whites of his eyes filled with blood, and under the intense pressure, his white hair slowly rose, fluttering in the wind.
Not enough!
Still not enough!
Since he had already seen it numerous times, this method of operation...
Sizzle!
On his hands, tiny black-red thunderbolts began to condense, no longer dispersing but instead solidifying and coiling around his arms.
Boom!
The iron club pressed down, crushing the Haki shockwave.
"Get out of my way!"
However, the black-red thunderbolts coiling around Sag's arms suddenly surged upwards, colliding with the iron club.
Boom!!!
The figure standing there was sent flying backwards, crashing into the edge of the depression and forcefully pushing it deeper, carving out a long gully.
Bang!!
As soon as that pushing force stopped, the end of the gully exploded with a black energy wave, mixed with some thunderbolts, shattering the earth beside the gully and leveling a circle of land.
"Cough!"
Sag maintained the stance of his hands pushing forward, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he fixed his gaze on the cloud of dust ahead, but his expression was no longer gloomy; instead, it twisted with a hint of pleasure amidst the ferocity.
"Hmph, hahahaha!"
He released his hands and laughed aloud, "Well fought, Kaido!"
(End of Chapter)
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