From withihick smoke and dust of the explosion, Linlin's voice echoed, carrying both fury and defiance.

  "Kaido? Why are you here? Well, since you're here, let's join forces and wipe these bastards out!" Linlin roared as she waved her arm, dispersing the lingering smoke to reveal her massive figure.

  She looked utterly battered. After enduring Kaido's Heat Breath, her body was scorched. Though the damage wasn't severe, her pink pajamas were now tattered, barely c what they o.

  Kaido turned his gaze toward her, his sharp dragoaking iate. Now that he could see clearly, even he was surprised by her appearance.

  Linlin's chest bore a rge, charred bck mark where her wound had reopened, blood flowing freely. Her arm was sshed, dripping crimson, and her face was a mess, her broken nose had caved in, her hairline was streaked with blood, and half her face was dyed red.

  What caught Kaido's attention the most, however, was her left eye or rather, the empty, frozen socket where her eye had once been.

  Kaido stared for a moment before suddenly bursting into ughter, his deep voiing.

  "Ahahahaha! Linlin! What the hell happeo you? Aren't you the one who cims to be invincible? 'Diamond is unbreakable' or some nonsense? And now you've lost an eye?" Kaido jeered, his tone filled with mockery.

  Linlin gritted her teeth in ahe veins on her forehead bulging.

  Easy for him to talk! Marihree Admirals, CP-X, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, so many top-tier batants had attacked her all at ohat she was still standing roof of her monstrous durability.

  Even the so-called "Stro Creature in the World" wouldn't e out unscathed under such ditions!

  But Linlin didn't waste her breath responding to Kaido's ridicule. Her gaze locked onto the ruins ahead, where she sensed movement.

  Cudius's figure slowly emerged, his body ref from a hazy mist before being fully solid.

  Unlike Linlin, Cudius appeared rgely unharmed. As a Logia user, most physical attacks had little effe him unless imbued with Armament Haki or other termeasures like seastone. His Nitrogen-Nitrogen Fruit abilities made him nearly untouchable under normal circumstances.

  However, Cudius's expression was dark, his irritation evident. He had been so close to defeating Linlin when Kaido decided to interfere. Now, it seemed the two Emperors of the New World were prepared to join forces.

  This is bad, Cudius thought. While he had fiden his ability to hold off Kaido for a time, capturing or killing Linlin uhese ditions had just bee nearly impossible.

  Kaido, notig Linlin's gre directed at the unfamiliar man, turned his gaze to Cudius and asked gruffly, "Who the hell are you?"

  Cudius didn't respond, too preoccupied with evaluating the new situation.

  Linlin, however, answered for him, her voice heavy with pt. "He's Cudius! The man from CP-X!"

  Kaido raised an eyebrow. "CP-X?" he repeated, rolling the name over in his mind. He wasn't familiar with the specifics of the anization, but its association with the Wover made it clear that they were dangerous.

  It didn't take much imagination to uand the gravity of the situation. If Kaido hadn't shown up, Linlin might very well have fallen to this mysterious group.

  Kaido grinned wickedly, the realization filling him with a sense of smug superiority. "So this is the big bad CP-X. Guess I showed up just in time to save your sorry ass, Linlin."

  Turning to her, he added, "If I help you this time, we're even, got it?"

  "Fine by me!" Linlin agreed, her mouth twisting into a menag smile.

  Watg the two Emperors prepare to work together, Cudius's gaze darkened further. It was clear that this battle was about to escate.

  "Borsalino!" Cudius shouted sharply.

  Oher side of the battlefield, Borsalino's usual id-back demeanor was repced with a rare seriousness. "Yes, Yhness?" he replied.

  "Kaido is yours. Buy us some time. you ha?" Cudius asked quickly.

  Borsalino sighed internally. He was strong, yes, but fighting Kaido was airely different matter. Still, as a Marine Admiral, retreating wasn't an option.

  "I'll do my best," he said in a low voice, his golden light beginning to shimmer.

  Without waiting for further orders, Borsalino transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the sky. Kaido's eyes narrowed, sensing the sudden movement.

  In the moment, Kaido tilted his massive dragon head, coating his horns in Armament Haki just in time to intercept Borsalino's kick, which came crashing down from above.

  The force of the kick jarred Kaido, making his wist slightly. The dragon's enormous body swayed, but Kaido quickly regained his bance, hurling Borsalino away with a powerful swing of his head.

  As Borsalino engaged Kaido, Cudius unched his own attack. His feet pressed into the ground, and his body emitted dense, frost-filled smoke as he propelled himself toward Linlin. The air around him froze with each step.

  Cudius's arm transformed into a giant fist, liquid nitrogen swirling around it. Linlin responded by coating her arm in thick Armament Haki, sparks of lightning and fire dang along its surface as she punched forward to meet his strike.

  The two fists collided with a deafening crash, releasing a shockwave that rattled the battlefield. Sparks flew, and the space around them seemed to uhe sheer iy of their csh.

  Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

  The sound of Cudius's King Engine reverberated through the air, his heartbeat growing louder and faster. With each beat, his muscles swelled, veins bulging under his skin. His face flushed as his body surged with rerength.

  The power of his heart pushed him to his peak, erasing the exhaustion from earlier.

  Linlin, feeling the weight of Cudius's strength matg her ow out a furious scream. Her Soul-Soul Fruit powers fred, mixing with her queror's Haki to create an overwhelming presence.

  The sheer force of her aura caused Cudius to momentarily feel small, as if Linlin's massive frame had grown even rger.

  But he quickly crushed the thought. A fiery surge of willpower erupted from deep within him, pushing back against Linlin's dominance.

  In that moment, Cudius's own queror's Haki exploded outward, g with Linlin's in a battle of sheer will.

  From a distance, Gion watched in awe. "So it's true… Cudius also possesses queror's Haki," she murmured. Strangely, she wasn't surprised by this revetion.

  Cudius's voice roared across the battlefield, his words filled with unshakable vi:

  "I am Cudius! A desdant of the twenty kings! A god walking among mortals! Pirates like you think you intimidate me with mere presence? How ughable!"

  With his decration, Cudius's strength surged once more. His fist smmed into Linlin with explosive force, sending her massive body flying backward.

  Frost spread across her arm from the impact, rapidly eng it in ice.