Clang !
A shrill, grating sound split the air.
In that instant, the dazzling slash shattered into a sky full of glittering fragments, scattering like beads of white jade tumbling from the heavens.
It was a beautiful, yet deadly scene.
The Armament Haki coating Rocks' forearm faded. That too was a form of combat technique. Most true powerhouses never covered their entire bodies in Haki during battle
they only hardened specific parts, concentrating their Haki to make it denser and more destructive.
Covering the whole body might look impressive, but it spread the power too thin. A single focused point hit far harder.
Boom !
Under Ares' monstrous strength, the eerie dragon of condensed black smoke suddenly exploded, collapsing into stray wisps of darkness that quickly dispersed.
At that moment
Rocks had already rushed in front of Ares, his pitch-black fist driving straight for Ares' face.
"Over the years, countless so-called 'strong men' have tried to challenge my status, my authority," he said, wild and arrogant. "None of them succeeded because I represent the strongest combat power in this world!"
His fist tore the air to shreds.
"Crimson Armament Eight-Impact Fist!"
Ares' blood surged like a dragon. His entire being felt like a roaring king of beasts shrouded in blazing aura.
He unleashed the Eight-Impact Fist he had just learned from Don Chinjao, the leader of the Happo Navy
and fused it with his unique Crimson Armament.
This punch could make ghosts wail and gods tremble.
Zzzt, zzzt, zzzt !
Before their fists even met, black and red lightning burst wildly through the sky, weaving a spiderweb of cracks around them as if space itself were tearing apart.
The shockwaves of the Eight-Impact Fist rippled outward in rings.
The ground caved and shattered; everything within range was crushed like rotten wood before a category ten typhoon, debris carried outward on storm-force winds.
"What kind of punch is that?!"
A glint of genuine surprise flashed across Rocks' eyes.
He could feel wave after wave of power surging from Ares' fist, each impact layered over the last like relentless ocean swells, ceaseless and overpowering.
Every surge canceled out a portion of the power in his own punch.
He couldn't help but praise him.
"I've said it before your talent for learning in battle is terrifying. Looks like these past few years… you really have picked up a lot."
He recalled the earlier flying slash. Thinking back on it now, he could clearly sense traces of Rokushiki, Shiki's swordsmanship, and several other influences fused within it.
"As long as it doesn't kill me, it only makes me stronger."
Ares' amber eyes gleamed. His battle intent burned hotter by the second, the heat of his blood rising with his fighting spirit and merging into that savage aura around him.
Seeing Ares completely fired up, Rocks couldn't help laughing.
"So I've finally stirred your fighting spirit, huh? Good. It's been a long time since I had a proper fight."
"Let's use you to get these old bones warmed up."
There were not many people left in this sea who could make him take things seriously. The remaining true powerhouses almost all belonged to the World Government.
Rocks had originally thought he would have to wait until the final showdown with the World Government to really cut loose. He hadn't expected Ares to challenge his authority first
to charge headlong right into his gun barrel.
Suddenly
Rocks pressed his palm to the ground. Thick black smoke surged outward in all directions, spreading like a vast black ocean.
Nearby houses sank into it like doomed ships, slowly swallowed by the rolling sea of darkness and vanishing beneath the surface.
"Dark Tide."
Ares felt the black smoke at his feet trying to swallow him and instantly kicked off with Rokushiki's Moonwalk, soaring into the air. Only then did that strange devouring force fall away.
His gaze grew solemn as he stared down at the black ocean below.
"This is…"
"A Logia Dark-Dark Fruit?"
Memories flashed through his mind fragments from his awakened recollections.
He remembered Marshall D. Teach.
The ability was almost identical.
So that's why… the moment he touched me earlier, I couldn't use my Devil Fruit power at all.
Rocks caught the grave look on Ares' face and felt wonderfully pleased with himself. He threw his head back and laughed.
"Zehahahaha…"
"What's wrong? Scared? The Devil Fruit I possess is known as the most sinister in the world Logia: Dark-Dark Fruit!"
As he spoke, the black ocean below began to change.
Everything that had been swallowed up moments ago started re-emerging, but twisted into entirely different forms
colossal weapons that only a giant could hope to wield.
One after another, those things rose from the dark sea, exposing their full shapes.
Blades, spears, swords, halberds
All of them weapons.
All of them pointed straight at Ares in the sky.
"Black Prison War Battalion!"
In the next instant, those ten-plus-meter weapons, formed from compressed stone and rubble, launched upward like an enormous volley. Compared to this, ballistae and catapults were child's toys.
Boom !
Boom !
Up above, Ares stepped across the air with Moonwalk, his entire body surging with internal power. His bones crackled like dragon roars and tiger howls, muscles bulging, his arms knotting with corded muscle like red-hot forged steel.
They brimmed with destructive power.
"Crimson Armament Lightning Barrage!"
His fists blurred, left and right, a storm of punches flying out so fast that a forest of crimson afterimages bloomed in front of him.
Each one smashed into an incoming weapon.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom…!
The deafening detonations sounded like the wrath of the gods.
One massive weapon after another was blasted into dust by Ares' overwhelming strikes, disintegrating in midair and raining down in a storm of rubble.
The violent commotion immediately drew countless eyes across the island.
Even the pirates inside Skull Castle were shaken.
Captain John stared at the spreading black smoke on the ground, his pupils shrinking sharply. Then he looked up at the battle god-like figure of Ares in the sky and blurted out in shock,
"Why is Ares fighting the captain?!"
"The last person on this island you want to provoke is Captain Rocks."
"What the hell is Ares thinking?!"
All around him, members of the Rocks Pirates began chattering nervously.
"Aren't we supposed to be hunting Marines and World Government agents? How did it turn into our own people fighting each other and it's even Captain Rocks versus Captain Ares?"
"Captain Ares is a monster… Every single punch looks like it could flatten a mountain."
"Did you see that black smoke on the ground? That's Captain Rocks' power. He's got the most vicious Devil Fruit in the world."
"So that's the captain's ability… It's terrifying to see it with my own eyes."
"..."
Captain John pushed through the crowd, heading toward Rocks' position. He had barely gotten halfway when
"Don't come any closer," Rocks' voice thundered. "No one is allowed to interfere with my battle with Ares!"
"Today, I'm going to show him exactly who the true master of Beehive Island is."
Those words
Made John halt in his tracks.
He couldn't help but look up once more at Ares in the sky and murmur,
"What did he do… to provoke the captain this much?"
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