Defeat, Injuries and Retreat

_________ POV Narration _________

Kaido stared at Francisco, he didn't seem all that distressed about losing an arm.

'As long as Whitebeard dies, this war would've been worth it... But still... This doesn't feel right...'

He didn't care for losing one arm, he didn't care about being injured. He knew he was going to heal up in time, and even without an arm, he was still the Strongest Creature...

But there was his problem... 'The Strongest Creature'... That title seemed to suddenly become meaningless in Kaido's eyes now... Especially when staring at Francisco...

'Could it be... That after all these years... I am still weaker than him? Am I still weaker than Xebec?'

Was that it? Was that what all of his strength amounted to?

Francisco was uninjured, there was barely even a scratch on him.

It didn't matter to Kaido that he had been fighting Whitebeard beforehand... It also didn't matter that he had lost to Francisco beforehand...

This was the first time he genuinely fought against someone that he had strived to overcome in the past... And he was losing in a decisive fashion...

"I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS!" Kaido roared, his shoulder shaking in anger as he grew in size.

Francisco raised an eyebrow at Kaido's outburst.

'His haki... It's getting even stronger?' The old swordsman was quite impressed, he could feel Kaido's Conqueror's Will growing and festering.

'This... He might kill all of the civilians on the island just from the sheer pressure of it...'

Francisco scowled and immediately clashed with Kaido's aura, the island trembled and the seas roared. A storm brewed as Kaido's gigantic form towered over the island.

"Kaen Daiko!(Fire Dragon Great Torch!)" The dragon roared once again as his entire body was immediately covered in a thick layer of flame, turning him form an azure dragon, into a fiery one.

Despite his intimidating stature and strangely growing conviction didn't seem to scare Francisco in any way, as he raised his blade and prepared to clash with Kaido once more.

'Becoming a bigger target won't help you against me, Kaido...'

The swordsman's eyes turned cold as he looked at the Azure Dragon that had coiled around the clouds.

"You're getting cocky... YOU BRAT!"

A voice roared behind Francisco, an imposing figure stepped forward, right by the swordsman's side.

Whitebeard's body was covered in bandages, although he was clearly still bleeding in places. His eyes stared at Kaido with hatred.

Immediately, his Conqueror's Haki flared up, accompanying Francisco's and completely overwhelming Kaido, whose eyes widened.

"Don't count me out just yet... I can still protect my people..." Whitebeard said as he looked down, towards Francisco.

"Good... I can't use 'Sever' too many times in a row... So we'll have to end this the old-fashioned way..." The old swordsman smiled as the haki covering his blade intensified once more.

"I'm in no state for that attack, Guzman..." Whitebeard scoffed as he remembered 'Hakai- Supreme Sea'. The strongest combination attack that Francisco and Xebec had.

It was also one of the big reasons why Whitebeard and Rayleigh had to struggle and separate the two pirates at God Valley, as to prevent such an attack from being used.

"That's fine... Let's just do an old combination attack..." Francisco smiled as he pointed his blade at the ground.

"Fine... Try not to destroy too much of the island... You already split it in two." Whitebeard sneered as a white halo covered his clenched fist.

"Of course... We're taking this to the sky~!" As soon as those words left his mouth, Francisco's figure disappeared completely, and Kaido immediately became on guard.

'As if I'd let you...'

The Dragon roared, releasing a shockwave that dispersed all of the clouds that had gathered thanks to their Conqueror's Clash.

Francisco appeared by Kaido's head, his blade already raised, aiming to slash at the giant's neck.

"Roll!" Francisco roared as his blade came down like thunder.

His blade split apart the flame armour around Kaido's scales with ease, as the Dragon's body twisted.

However, despite its momentum, the flying slash didn't manage to cut that deep into the Dragon's thick scales, only leaving a bloody gash as Kaido's tail slapped at Francisco's side.

The swordsman twirled in the air as he jumped over the tail, avoiding it while preparing to strike again, but Kaido was more than ready for him.

"BLAST BREATH!" The Dragon's gigantic mouth opened and spit out a concentrated stream of flames.

At point-blank range, there was little Francisco could do to dodge it, but he did have one thing he could do...

And that was to clash directly with it.

"Let's see if your flames can protect you from my blade!" Francisco scowled as he slashed towards Kaido's still-open mouth, the stream of flames splitting in two before it reached him.

The fire streams hit the oceans, near Sphinx, further blasting them apart and evaporating more and more seawater.

The flying slash and the stream of fire seemed to clash with one another, as Kaido continued applying more and more pressure.

Francisco's eyes widened as he realised that Kaido was actually pushing his sword back.

'Don't tell me... Is he getting stronger in the middle of the fight? I thought only Xebec could do that...'

But Kaido had forgotten something rather important in his anger... Francisco wasn't fighting alone.

Whitebeard's figure appeared in front of Kaido, forcing the dragon to stop his attack immediately.

'Shi-'

Kaido didn't even get to finish that thought, as he received a full-powered fist from Whitebeard right into his snout.

Old Whitebeard completely ignored the flame armour that Kaido had forged himself, he didn't even flinch when feeling his hand burning slightly.

Instead, the space in front of Whitebeard's punch bent unnaturally, blowing away the flames that covered the beast's head as Kaido's nose bled just from the impact.

The air around them broke at that moment, and Kaido felt tremors spreading throughout his entire head as most of his teeth were crushed alongside his horns.

The Dragon was sent flying towards the sea, turning into a skipping stone for a few seconds as he seemed to regain control over his body and rise to the skies once more, looking a bit worse for wear.

"Hmph... So that wasn't enough to finish him off?" Whitebeard scowled as he felt himself freefalling.

"He's annoyingly durable..." Francisco stepped onto the air and towards Whitebeard, grabbing him by the cape and holding him up with a scowl on his face.

"Always was... Cough* But I bet it's been a while since he's received such a thorough beating..."

Whitebeard said through coughs, as he kept his eyes open and locked onto Kaido, who still seemed to be just as determined.

The Dragon didn't seem discouraged at all, instead, he rushed back towards the two pirates, showcasing a speed that few could match.

"Tatsumaki!(Dragon Twister!)" The Dragon Roared as his serpentine body spun in the air, creating several tornados all around him.

Francisco was forced to jump away while carrying Whitebeard, who was unwilling to spend too much energy undoing the tornados that now ravaged the shore they had previously fought on.

Francisco immediately pulled onto Whitebeard's coat, pulling him up slightly as the gigantic old man crouched.

The old Swordsman then kicked towards Whitebeard's feet, giving him a boost and throwing him directly towards Kaido's head.

Kaido's eyes turned red as he felt Whitebeard approaching, he turned towards the pirate and brought his head back, opening his mouth and releasing countless flying slashes.

"Kaifu!(Demolishing wind!)"

"This again?!" Francisco immediately started swinging his blade, dispersing and/or redirecting all of the Flying Slashes headed for Newgate.

Whitebeard didn't even react as he sped past all of Kaido's attacks.

Instead, he prepared an attack of his own, grasping Murakumogiri with both hands as a white halo covered its blade.

"DIE!" Whitebeard's shout rang out through the sky as he swung his blade towards Kaido's open mouth.

The old pirate's Naginata cut through the air and sent a gigantic white flying slash towards the Dragon, who only managed to slightly tilt its head before it reached him.

The cut landed square on Kaido's face, stopping as the space between the flying slash and the Dragon's head shattered.

The Dragon was once again sent flying backwards, knocked unconscious by the continuous tremors that wracked at his brain.

This time, Kaido turned into a skipping stone, his massive body causing more and more waves as the tornados he had created died down.

After a few seconds, the Dragon was plunged to the bottom of the sea in the distance, not surfacing anymore.

Francisco immediately rushed to Whitebeard's side, catching him and heading for the soft ground.

The old swordsman observed many ships turning tail and sailing away, retreating in fear. Likely too discouraged after witnessing Kaido's massive form being defeated.

Whitebeard coughed more blood as Francisco landed on the shore of the island.

Looking around, the entire place was devastated, the island itself now had a river going through the middle of it, as water had filled in the large gap that Francisco had created.

Whitebeard's doctors rushed to his side as Francisco stepped aside and let them work their magic.

"I-Cough*- Is it over...?" Whitebeard's tired voice sounded out, the man sat with his legs crossed, his bandages filled with blood as his gaze landed on Francisco.

"Yep... Kaido's defeat was a bit too eye-catching for his army to not notice it... They're all fleeing in fear now." The old swordsman only nodded, which caused Whitebeard to sigh in relief.

At that moment, Whitebeard's eyes seemed to become cloudy, as a gigantic smile spread over his lips.

'I guess it's not my day yet, huh?' The old pirate's shoulders shook slightly as he realised that many of his children had likely suffered in that fight.

'I'm too tired... I hope everyone is safe...'

"Francisco... Do me a favour and take care of my family... We'll speak more when I wake up... I need some rest for now." Without further ado, Whitebeard's eyes closed.

His doctors seemed to insist on him staying conscious, but the old pirate ignored them and started snoring loudly...

"..." Francisco just shook his head as he watched Whitebeard.

'He hasn't changed one bit, huh...?'

The old swordsman just sighed as he turned around and took one last look at the chaotic seas around Sphinx Island.

It was going to take a while for the waves to calm down, but that was fine, it wasn't like Francisco planned on leaving right away.

The old swordsman walked off to a more quiet part of the island and took out a small Den Den Mushi out of his pocket.

'This isn't going to be a pleasant call...'

Francisco just sighed as he dialled Shiki on the Sky Islands.

Meanwhile, Ace had finally managed to reach the island, he took down as many ships as he could, not even bothering to fight the pirates inside as he just used the fact that they were at sea to his advantage.

He only got to shore when he saw Kaido's gigantic body being flung away from the island and submerged into the sea.

At that point, the ships around Sphinx also retreated, allowing the Whitebeard Pirates to rest.

Unfortunately, Ace wasn't greeted by a great sight upon stepping onto the island...

"... Vista!"

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Hope you like the chapter!

Trying to fix my upload schedule lately.

Still trying to raise rewards on Patr_eon, but I also want to upload more often, so today's just a single upload on all sides :))

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