Ryuma stared straight at Kaido, mimicking Chopper's method, strengthening his mind.
In that instant, it was as if Kaido had been dissected right before Ryuma's eyes—not just his exterior, but even his internal organs—all laid bare in Ryuma's vision!
When Ryuma saw Kaido's skin, he was stunned.
This was...
A normal person's skin is at most about five millimeters thick—the thickest it can get. But Kaido's skin? It was a whole meter thick!
How terrifying was this guy, really?
Ryuma wondered if Kaido was from the Giant Tribe, but looking at this now, he wasn't a giant at all—he was a freak.
Ryuma hadn't found any weaknesses yet, and Kaido charged at him with his spiked club!
"Thunder Roar Eight Trigrams!"
Another blow!
Seeing this, Ryuma's pupils shrank, and he immediately dodged!
Another strike!
Ryuma steadied his footing. Though he dodged, he still stumbled slightly.
Panting heavily, Ryuma thought to himself... this guy was just too terrifying.
Taking a deep breath, his eyes filled with unease, Ryuma steadied himself, gripping his black blade, Autumn Water, awkwardly.
Getting away this time was pure luck. Whether he could dodge the next strike was uncertain.
That thought weighed heavily on his mind.
At that moment, Kaido chuckled loudly.
"Hahaha... What's wrong? Becoming a coward all of a sudden?"
A faint smile crept across Kaido's lips.
"Hmph... Your human form isn't a match for me," Ryuma said, calm and collected.
He had made up his mind.
Since he couldn't find any flaws in Kaido's human form, he'd try the reverse—force him into his dragon form. Surely, that would reveal some weakness.
No one is perfect. When Kaido transformed into his dragon shape, there had to be a flaw.
Generally, Zoan-type Devil Fruit users have fragile bodies before transforming into their animal forms. Even if not fragile, they're significantly weaker than in their transformed state. Ryuma was certain Kaido's weakness would show once he became a dragon.
Kaido was strong but arrogant. He hated being provoked. Upon hearing Ryuma's words, he flew into a rage.
"What did you say?" Kaido snarled, then his body erupted into dragon form.
Seeing this, Ryuma thought, "Perfect."
He once again intensified his mental senses.
Now, Ryuma finally saw Kaido's weak points.
A dragon is a kind of cartilaginous animal—like a snake or a wyvern.
Being a cartilaginous animal, it must have a "three-inch" and a "seven-inch" point.
The "three-inch" is the most fragile spot on a snake's spine—easily broken.
If the spine breaks, the communication between the brain and body is severed.
Even if not dead, the creature would be paralyzed.
The "seven-inch" is even more dangerous.
It's where the snake's heart lies—once struck, death is certain.
In that instant, Ryuma's mind locked onto the crucial point.
Striking the seven-inch spot directly would be difficult—Kaido knew well that this was his heart and guarded it fiercely. A hit there would kill him instantly.
But the three-inch spot was different.
Ryuma decided to target the three-inch first, to disable Kaido's fighting ability, then strike the seven-inch later when Kaido was defenseless, leaving him with no chance of survival.
Ryuma took a deep breath, gripping Autumn Water tightly. In one swift leap, like a gazelle bounding through the air, he flashed into midair.
In that moment, Ryuma's black blade struck Kaido's head.
He thought he could suppress Kaido, but Kaido countered with his Divine Dragon Tail Strike, slamming Ryuma flying!
"Boom!"
Ryuma's heart sank.
Kaido had resolved to kill him outright.
If Ryuma just waited passively, he'd be smashed to pieces by the relentless tail strikes in the next second.
But using his Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability to escape was risky—the target was too large. With so many bats around, if he fled, Kaido could still kill him using Armament Haki.
His mind raced in panic.
Then, Ryuma thought—if he transformed his body into countless tiny particles using his Devil Fruit power and scattered into the air, he might evade the attacks.
Controlling hundreds of bats was easy, but managing so many tiny particles was dangerous—losing control meant disintegration.
But now, there was no turning back.
Fortune favors the bold. Ryuma would rather risk death exploring than be crushed by Kaido's Divine Dragon Tail Strike.
Suddenly, Ryuma's body shattered into countless particles, instantly floating in midair.
Kaido didn't even notice.
His tail slashed the wall repeatedly, striking nearly ten times per second.
After about thirty seconds, the ground was carved into a four-meter-deep crater.
Insane!
How could anyone be this insane?
Ryuma thought.
But no matter how insane Kaido was, he would be subdued.
Ryuma reformed his shadow particles into a humanoid shape.
Shouting loudly, "Half-Moon Divine Slash!"
At that moment, Ryuma clearly saw his sword's crescent-shaped energy strike Kaido's three-inch weak point relentlessly!
Kaido was blasted to the ground like a cannonball, dazed and disoriented!
Kaido's skin was indeed thick, but Ryuma didn't want to injure him superficially. Instead, this attack aimed to knock him down completely.
After that, things wouldn't be so simple.
Ryuma thought this through and, seeing Kaido crouched on the ground, barely conscious, immediately leapt onto the dragon's back.
Transforming into a phoenix, Ryuma soared straight toward Kaido's vital "seven-inch" spot!
At this point, Kaido had almost lost consciousness and was completely unaware of what was happening—much less that Ryuma had already mounted him.
"The tide has completely turned!" Jack shouted.
The three of them stood dumbfounded.
All along, Kaido had held absolute dominance, suffocating Ryuma under his overwhelming strength. Who would have imagined that, in just one swift turn of events, Kaido would no longer be a match for Ryuma?
Ryuma knew in his heart that today's victory wasn't due to anything extraordinary—it was sheer luck and Kaido's carelessness.
Now, Ryuma reinforced his grip with his arm strength, clutching his black blade Autumn Water tightly. He then coated the blade with Armament Haki, surging with overwhelming haki, and suddenly thrust it downward with brutal force!
In that moment, a thunderous, earth-shaking roar echoed through the air!
Autumn Water and Ryuma's claws pierced straight through Kaido's thick skin!
No matter how tough Kaido's flesh or thick his scales, they were still nothing but paper compared to the sheer force behind Ryuma's strike.
Kaido's flesh was pierced!
Seeing this, Ryuma took a deep breath, transformed back into human form, and crouched on the ground, gasping heavily—he was utterly exhausted.
He had slain Kaido!
"Ding dong! Congratulations, Host! You have defeated one of the Four Emperors! You are awarded four lottery draws and 4,611,100,000 Beli!"
Hearing this, Ryuma's heart soared with joy, though a part of him still felt unsatisfied.
After all, this was one of the Four Emperors—how could just four lottery draws be enough? It was simply too few.
But the Beli reward was massive.
Kaido's bounty was indeed 4,611,100,000 Beli, as stated on the wanted poster.
"Ding dong! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the SSS-class Dragon-Dragon Fruit!"
"Ding dong! Host, do you choose to consume it?"
At this, Ryuma hesitated for a moment. Fruits like this were incredibly rare. Even if the system could synthesize an SSS-class Devil Fruit, none could compare to the Dragon-Dragon Fruit itself.
He felt a surge of excitement.
After a moment, he quickly said, "Consume!"
"Ding dong! Congratulations, Host! You have now consumed the SSS-class Dragon-Dragon Fruit!"
"Ding dong! The Host currently holds three Devil Fruit slots: Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Phoenix Fruit, and Dragon-Dragon Fruit. Two slots remain."
At first, Ryuma had planned to consume two Logia-type (Natural) fruits, two Paramecia-type (Superhuman) fruits, and save one slot for a Zoan-type (Animal) fruit—that seemed like the best distribution.
But now, that plan was unlikely to be needed. With two slots still open, he decided to consume one more Natural-type and one more Superhuman-type.
This time, there was no turning back.
If he took two more Zoan fruits, it might overwhelm his ability to control them.
He definitely didn't want to become an Animal Fruit specialist.
Ryuma slowly sheathed Autumn Water.
But the moment he put the blade away, a searing pain shot through his left arm.
It felt like it was about to break!
Ryuma took a deep breath, his whole body trembling violently.
This was bad.
When he had driven Autumn Water and his arm deep into Kaido's body, he had exerted so much force that his bones cracked.
But at least, now, the Dragon-Dragon Fruit was his.