Watching Kuma restore himself to perfect condition, Kai felt his eye twitch.
"Bullshit ability," he muttered.
Devil Fruits didn't run on chakra or stamina reserves—not really. They were manifestations of the world's fundamental laws made physical. Activation cost almost nothing.
How else could Aokiji and Akainu have fought for ten straight days when competing for Fleet Admiral?
Kuma didn't waste his recovery.
He dropped into a horse stance—thin legs supporting that massive frame in a way that looked wrong. Took a breath. Then his hands blurred.
"Ursus Shock!!!"
Not one pressure cannon. Hundreds.
Bear paw-shaped shockwaves erupted in a continuous barrage—overlapping, interlocking, sealing off every possible escape route.
But Kuma only had two arms. Could only fire two shots at once.
Which meant gaps. Tiny ones—maybe thirty centimeters between each pair of attacks.
For Kai? More than enough.
"Paper Art: Infinite Body."
Five years of Six Powers mastery made the impossible look effortless. Kai flowed through the storm of pressure cannons like water through cracks—body bending, twisting, never quite where the attacks expected him to be.
Looked like he was taking a casual stroll.
The Marines behind him weren't so lucky.
"SCATTER!!!"
They dove for cover as stray shots tore through the training ground. Distance helped. So did the fact that anyone stationed at Headquarters long-term was elite-level. Otherwise the casualties would've been catastrophic.
Kai's leg snapped up.
"Tempest Kick: Demon!!!"
Compressed air blades screamed toward Kuma—
—and bounced off.
Repelled before they could even touch him.
Annoying.
Kuma's face was pale despite the recovery. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
He'd hoped the previous fights would've tired Kai out. Even slightly. But the man's combat rhythm hadn't slowed at all.
Is he even human?
The Ursus Shock wasn't working. Wasting stamina for nothing.
Kuma stopped firing. Straightened up.
Kai didn't counterattack.
He was curious. The Paw-Paw Fruit had more tricks—he wanted to see them all before ending this.
Kuma's arms shot skyward.
That massive frame meant his wingspan was over ten meters. He looked like he was trying to embrace the sky itself.
Then his hands slammed together.
Compressing. Condensing. Taking all that atmosphere and crushing it into something solid.
"Ursus Shock!!!"
He thrust both palms forward.
A bear paw-shaped shockwave—dense enough to see—rocketed toward Kai.
"RUN!!!" An older Lieutenant Colonel's voice cracked. "That's Kuma's ultimate technique! The whole training ground will be rubble!!!"
A younger Major scoffed. "Admiral White Dragon's here. What's there to worry about?"
"IDIOT!" The Lieutenant Colonel's face went red. "He's strong, sure, but he can't just take back an attack that's already been—"
The words died in his throat.
His finger trembled as he pointed at the training ground center.
"He... he actually..."
The Ursus Shock reached Kai and exploded outward—
Kai's expression didn't change.
His right hand rose slowly. Fingers curved into a claw. Then grabbed.
The expansion stopped.
His fist closed gradually. The shockwave that had been swelling to engulf half the training ground began shrinking. Compressing back down. Getting smaller and smaller until it was a fraction of its original size.
Kai tossed it skyward like a ball.
BOOOOOM
The detonation erased every cloud within kilometers. Just... gone. Clear blue sky where there'd been overcast moments before.
That's how powerful Ursus Shock was.
Kuma's face went white.
"How is that possible?!" His voice shook. "What kind of ability—"
"Is that all?" Kai's tone was flat. Disappointed. "If the Paw-Paw Fruit only has this much to offer, I'm not impressed."
His eyes went cold.
"If you can't prove you're worth keeping alive, Kuma—" The temperature seemed to drop. "—I'll just kill you."
It hadn't been personal before. The Warlords were tools, nothing more. But Kuma had attacked him from behind. Tried to take his head while he was distracted.
That earned consequences.
Kuma felt the killing intent wash over him like ice water.
He means it.
Whether to win this fight or just survive it—he had to go all out.
He took a breath. His upper body swelled—expanding into a massive sphere.
Then roared:
"PAW-PAW FRUIT: AWAKENING!!!"
The training ground changed.
Earth turned elastic. Bouncy. The ground itself became a paw pad—Kuma's power spreading beyond his body to affect the environment itself.
Paw-Paw Domain.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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