Chapter 109: Coward's Way

A/N: Chapters in advance in Patreòn

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Someone like Kaido was a monster among monsters. Even when compared to the other Yonko, he still stood out due to his resilience, something that was a combination of his naturally powerful body and Devil Fruit. Even the strongest human weapons wouldn't leave a scratch on his skin. There was no technique to it, nor any trick, just a combination that made a beast.

Max, to even get close to that had to use techniques to be able to match Kaido's resistance. Though both methods had their advantages, Max would always look on envy at Kaido's natural ability. In comparison, he had to work hard for it, when Kaido achieved it without any effort but with a little luck.

No one would dare fight the man in a drawn-out battle, because if it was one on one, Kaido will always win. That was what people said. No matter he would outlast any opponent he fought, and until now he hadn't been proven wrong.

Max stared at the clouds and the draconic serpentine figure of the Yonko came out. His dragon head was gigantic and he opened his mouth, winds went towards his throat as he breathed in and the air formed into a sphere of fire.

There was no talking, no sneers or mockery. Instead, a beam of fire shot at Dressrosa and its surroundings.

Max's body enlarged disproportionately as he started entering Awakening. But he had seen the future with his Observation Haki and knew that it wasn't enough. So next, his body enlarged even more as horns in the shape of a crown formed in his head and his muscles started enlarging even more before compressing down.

The beam of pure heat wasn't aiming for Max directly but instead his ships. He was quick to figure this out and immediately went to intercept the attack, seeing the devastation it would cause in the future.

Max's arms turned dark as he imbued them with Armament Haki and was ready to destroy the fire beam. But suddenly, something strange happened as the beam of fire changed directions and went straight for his army.

Max was surprised, but not enough to stop seeing the future as Kaido in his hybrid form came behind him and swung his bat.

Fwish!

The blow crackled air like paper and was way too fast for a man Kaido's size. Yet Max was able to barely jump back and dodge. He looked at the Yonko and frowned.

'That attack was too well coordinated to be anything other than planned.' – He thought, in an instant, Max figured out that Kaido no longer felt like the raging person he was known as. Usually, there was a sense of anger, rage, and many other feelings that showed him being an inciteful person. But those feelings no longer existed.

Max even doubted at first if this was Kaido or just someone who was disguised as him. But that power wasn't something that could be copied. Meaning that Kaido had changed a lot. His Observation Haki too had advanced to a whole new level where he was even able to keep up with Max's future sight to some degree.

Kaido's fighting experience was also something to take into account and that he now could use it better due to his calmer manner. Max speculated that the beast was only a step away from gaining Future Sight. Though that was a huge step, it wasn't something impossible to do for Kaido.

Max suddenly jumped as Kaido's head changed into that of a dragon while the rest of his body stayed in its normal hybrid form. He then fired a fire beam at point-blank range.

Boooom!!

The sky turned red and Max knew that he couldn't dodge this attack. No matter what direction he moved, Kaido would curve the attack to land on him.

But Max then went back to his human form, having his body reduce in size and he kicked off the air over a dozen times and was barely able to dodge the attack. But as he had predicted the fire beam curved and chased after him.

Clasping his fists together, Max used Armorment Haki imbued with Conqueror's Haki. His eyes sharpened and even though he was still in his human form, Max was confident.

A blast of air shot out of his fists as he punched the air over ten thousand times before Kaido's attack was within an arm's reach.

BOOOOM!!!

Fire and air clashed, but Max's attack came out on top as it pierced straight through the fire beam and sopped it in its tracks. A bead of sweat rolled down his face, if he didn't have Future Sight, he would never take such a gamble. But Max knew he had no choice. Kaido's fighting style had changed so much, he truly felt like a different person.

Kaido didn't relent and changed his head to his hybrid dragon form, with long fangs and some scales on his face. And chased after him. In a split second after flapping his wings, he was next to Max and midswing.

Clang!

Max wanted to try and once again enter Emperor Form but that would leave a split second of immobility that Kaido could take advantage of at such close quarters. So using Kaido's momentum of his spiked bat attack, Max flew backward and entered Emperor Form.

"You have gotten better," Max smirked joyfully. "Also you are fast mid-air. No wonder they say that if it's a 1v1 fight even in the air you would win."

Kaido only snorted at the 'compliments' he received. "You think so?"

Neither of them said much, but next as their attacks clashed. Fist against a spiked bat, but neither made direct contact.

CRACK!

The clouds… no, heavens split in half. Kaido roared and a blast of wind blades came out of his mouth, but none of them even punctured Max's skin. None even cut his fur, it made Kaido frown, he knew that these wind blades would cut most people in half. But Max was unbothered by them and didn't even bother to block.

Suddenly an ax flew through the sky, leaving a lightning trail behind it, and landed in Max's hand. This made him smirk. But Kaido was already mid-swing, he wouldn't let Max even breathe.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!...

Hundreds of hits were exchanged within seconds between both of the Zoan users mid-air. None of them though seemed to land a hit on the other. Their strength was also matched, something that surprised Kaido a little because even amongst the Yonko in history, not all of them could match him physically.

But it didn't bother Kaido too much and he accepted the fact that Max was strong and moved on into battling him without hesitation.

An hour later, both Max and Kaido had flown far away from Dressrosa during their battle. Each of the fighters had injuries on them, but surprisingly Max's injuries seemed to heal mid-battle.

During the fight, Max had taken heavier injuries, but as time passed Kaido noticed that his opponent's injuries started regenerating and decided to add more fire attacks during the battle. He knew that no matter how strong the regeneration, healing burning wounds was physically impossible. Kaido didn't know the science behind it, but he knew how this strategy of his would affect the battle.

For the first time in his life, Kaido felt like he had found an enemy that he wouldn't be able to overpower with raw strength. Even when he had fought Oden, only one good hit was needed to put the man down. But Max… he could match the Yonko each step and was already acting out ten moves ahead of him.

Once again Kaido felt a sense of weakness, just like Marinesford when Whitebeard had him pinned to the ground. Yet the situation now wasn't like it at all and both of them seemed evenly matched.

Kaido still felt that something was very wrong. 'Something feels fishy, Max seems resolute in fighting against me. Even though he should be able to tell that he will be the one to fall first. It doesn't matter how long he can last, whether it's a week or a month. In the end, he will go down.'

Slowly a smile made its way into Max's face and the Yonko noticed this, making him cautious.

'No, there is something suspicious about this. Max would never do something like this because each of his moves is deeply calculated. This must also be a move that will somehow bring me down if I am not careful… I hate fighting him. It feels like a mental battle is happening during the fight.' - contemplated Kaido. He tried to not lose his senses and not be overly cautious. He knew how Max fought, and being overly cautious would lead to the same end as being reckless when against him.

Max used people's emotions to cloud this mind and deliver one devastating attack to bring them down. Usually, this strategy would lead to overwhelming victories. It would make most fights he partook in seem easy. But this was something that Kaido won't fall for again.

"It seems like you finally got over Oden," commented Max casually. His brown eyes had a deepness hidden in them that went beyond their average color.

"And you still haven't gotten over your cowardly way of fighting." Kaido retorted. But suddenly he realized something, he could 'see' the expressions Max was making. No, he could feel them.

"Well, cowards have their ways of fighting too. If it's effective and delivers results, who is to say that it's wrong?" Max replied casually, a scheming glint appeared in his eyes before it disappeared as he dodged one of his opponent's swings.

Kaido transformed into his dragon form and twisted his body, creating tornadoes around them that created a suction force able to even suck Max in.

But Max used his Rokushiki training and by vibrating his body at incredible speeds, he stopped himself midair and interrupted the power of the wind that was trying to suck him in.

"What bugs me is how unbothered you are by your cowardly methods!" Kaido yelled, his gigantic form making even his shout into a type of attack as Max almost felt his eardrums burst.

"Is that so? Were you also bothered by your battle against Oden? That must have been a tragedy in and of itself. What did you do to fix such a mistake… oh wait… you still burned Oden alive and killed his family. Wow, that's so honorabele~" said Max sarcastically. Suddenly his eyes turned sharp and a bloodthirsty smile made its way into his face.

He then continued.

"Don't joke with me. Honor, trust, and money. They are all things that humans created to feel a sense of validation. They don't exist in reality, making them very unimportant in the general gist of things."

Kaido noticed Max getting more agitated the more he talked and this made him smirk internally. Because he just noticed that this was something that Max was weak against.

"Nobody cares about the words of a faker!" Kaido shouted out and swung his bat, In that split second an angry look appeared in Max's eyes and he went to clash head-on. But the Yonko also noticed that this wasn't just a play as he sensed by using his Observation Haki that Max was really angry.

With that in mind, Kaido feinted Max, letting his opponent's ax hit his body but at the same time a devastating hit landed on Max's head that broke the bones in the shape of a crown and the nasty bone-cracking sound rung out.

Blood came out of Max's nose as he seemed to barely be conscious. Kaido swung once again decisively, landing on Max's bear head, this made his eyes turn white as they rolled on the back of his head.

"Brats like you should know their place." Kaido sighed and was about to deliver a final blow, but suddenly he felt something raise up his throat and Max jumped back.

*COUGH!!*

Kaido coughed out a fistful of dark blood into his hand. "What?"

Max's eyes shone red as a smirk exposed a row of sharp teeth. It looked like they could bite through diamonds. "As I said before, cowards like me have their way of fighting. You shouldn't underestimate them. Competent cowards are the kinds of people I fear the most."

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A/N: Max considers himself a coward, though in a differnet perspective from what most assume. Everyone was afraid of something, even people fearless like Luffy. But Max is someone who covers those weakness. Why? Because he is a afraid. To him fear and cowardice are a sense that is useful, not something to be thrown aside and live recklessly.

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