"Even if I risk my life, I'll make you pay the price!"
Dragon roared, eyes bloodshot as he glared at Elior. Veins bulged across his forehead and fists, showing just how consumed by rage he was.
Koala's merciless death had pushed him past the edge.
The two fists clashed again with a deafening boom, the sheer force tearing up the ground beneath them.
"Make me pay? Then you'll have to try harder."
Elior smirked, calm and mocking. "Even if your father stood here in your place, it wouldn't make a difference."
His words cut like blades. And the terrifying thing was — they weren't empty bravado. Elior's base strength alone rivaled the monsters of this world, and he could push it even further, doubling his power at will. A state far beyond the likes of Luffy's Gear Second.
How could Dragon hope to stand against that?
Another thunderous collision followed. Dragon's fist was blown aside, his body staggering backward, while Elior stepped forward without pause, his right leg sweeping out like a guillotine.
Boom!
Dragon crossed his arms to block, but the blow still sent him skidding back, the ground cracking under his heels.
Then Elior's follow-up strike came—this time infused with the destructive energy of Honkai. The blast launched Dragon off his feet, smashing him across the battlefield.
But even as he flew, Dragon unleashed his own power.
The air howled. A hurricane exploded outward, his Devil Fruit awakening in full force. Wind roared, tearing at the battlefield, shaking the shattered ruins of the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
"Hmph."
Elior raised one hand. With a flick of his wrist, a storm of lightning crackled forth, swallowing the hurricane whole. Wind shredded apart, thunder crashing down like a miniature apocalypse.
The Revolutionary Army screamed as the bolt ripped through their ranks, entire groups turned to ash in an instant.
"Dragon… what do you think you can accomplish here?" Elior's voice carried mockery and disdain as he descended from the air like a reaper.
One leg fell like an axe. Dragon raised both hands, summoning twin cyclones to shield himself, but Elior's kick ripped straight through them.
CRASH!
The impact drove Dragon into the earth, the ground caving into a massive crater. Dust and stone erupted, the leader of the Revolutionary Army crushed beneath Elior's heel.
"Not bad" Elior said coldly, before slamming another kick into Dragon's chest. The force rattled through his ribs, blood spilling from his lips.
"You couldn't even beat Bullet. What made you think you could defeat me?" Elior sneered.
The words cut deeper than the blows. During the last war, Dragon had struggled against Bullet, and the truth was undeniable—if he couldn't best Elior's lieutenant, how could he ever dream of defeating Elior himself?
Dragon gritted his teeth, pain surging through his body. His chest burned, his shoulder screamed, but he refused to fall.
He was the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Even if death awaited him, retreat was not an option.
"Damn you!"
He raised his arms to the sky. The clouds above split with thunder, winds spiraling into a vortex. Bolts of lightning crashed down, massive enough to split mountains.
But Elior didn't even flinch. He raised his own hand, summoning a pillar of pure lightning.
The two powers met — Dragon's storm against Elior's thunder.
The result was instant. Dragon's lightning shattered, swallowed whole by Elior's overwhelming current.
The battlefield was bathed in light as the clash detonated, and when it cleared, Dragon staggered free from the crater, gasping, eyes locked on Elior with grim determination.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield —
Reiju and Bonney pressed hard against Nico Robin.
"Her ability is strange… she can create so many arms at once." Reiju muttered, parrying a sudden wave of hands sprouting from the ground.
Bonney scoffed. "Strange or not, she's still no match for us."
Robin panted, her body aching. She'd already taken countless strikes from the two women. The only reason she was still standing was because Reiju hadn't poisoned her yet—if she had, it would have been over already.
"Just give up" Bonney spat. "You're coming with us."
Robin's eyes narrowed. She refused to surrender—but surrounded by Elior's forces, her situation was growing increasingly desperate.