And so, the battle began.
Roa flapped his wings, hovering at a height that allowed him to look Harald straight in the eye.
"Ready?"
Roa held his sword, his voice filled with a lighthearted laugh.
It seemed he wasn't about to fight one of the few top-tier monsters on the seas, but was simply about to have a fun and casual outing.
"..."
Harald clenched the greatsword in his hand, his eyes as dark as stagnant water.
He finally understood why the newspapers called Roa the worst pirate in history.
Even the unbridled Rocks was far less deranged than this guy.
But what frustrated Harald was that he had absolutely no way to counter Roa's threat.
He glanced up slightly. The traces left by the raging flames on the gigantic branch above were clearly visible even from such a great distance.
The Treasure Tree Adam that supported Elbaf was too fragile in front of this bastard. Roa could easily set the entire giant tree on fire and turn Elbaf into a sea of flames.
Damn brat!
Rocks, you're dead and gone, so why did you have to leave behind such a troublesome brat?!
Now I'm completely helpless!
"Bring it on!"
Harald's eyes were gloomy as he spoke, "Don't blame me if you die!"
"Good, that's the kind of resolve I like."
Roa said with a smile, "It would be no fun if you held back to humor me."
"Hmph!"
Harald grunted in displeasure, "Loki! Dorry! Brogy! You all get back! Don't get caught in the crossfire!"
"Dylan, you too,"
Roa also said with a smile, "The coming battle is going to be quite intense."
"Yes!"
And so, the giant snail rumbled away.
On the other side, the giants also began to retreat.
"Harald..."
Dorry and Brogy's expressions were grim.
This battle had already changed nothing.
Roa had already won by using his ability and his shamelessness.
Unless...
Harald could seize the opportunity to kill Roa!
But the chances of that were too low. Roa was a monster on the same level as Harald. If he didn't want to die, it would be too difficult for Harald to kill him in a head-on battle.
While the two were feeling down, Loki, who was walking behind them, was cheering, "Father! Go for it! Take this guy down!"
Although he was already thirty-three, Loki, whose overall experience and mindset were still that of a child, hadn't quite processed what had just happened. He was just cheering for his father, who was about to fight Roa.
This bastard Roa is indeed super strong!
But he's definitely no match for my father!
My father is the strongest person in the world! Well, since Rocks is dead, anyway.
And then, only Roa and Harald were left on the battlefield.
"Come on! Calamity Roa!"
Harald's roar stirred up a great wind. On the blade of the greatsword he held in both hands, black lightning crackled.
"Here I come!"
Roa laughed and flapped his wings, flying straight toward Harald.
His speed was so fast that he broke through the air, creating a circle of sonic booms.
As he advanced, his crimson blade, which looked like a lightsaber, was shrouded in various elements.
"Hah!"
With a roar, Harald swung his greatsword at Roa like a baseball bat.
When a weapon was this big, its sharpness no longer mattered. Its power was what counted. With enough force, even a brick could fly!
"Haha!"
Roa laughed and also held his sword in both hands, swinging it with all his might.
"Five Realms Annihilation!"
Boom!
In the next moment, the two weapons, with their incredibly obvious size difference, clashed again from a distance.
Gales, lightning, magma, and flames—various elements surged, accompanied by jumping black and crimson lightning, instantly shattering the sky.
The intense shockwave from the violent clash radiated wildly in all directions, crushing the earth and stirring up the sky!
Even the giants and Roa's subordinates, who were watching from a distance, felt the fierce wind rushing toward them, nearly blowing them away.
"What a ridiculous amount of power!"
Roa, who was rapidly retreating, couldn't help but exclaim, "It's even stronger than my own strength!"
Should I say, as expected of the ancient giant bloodline?! Their physical strength is simply off the charts!
"Elbaf's Spear!!"
Before Roa could even finish his thought, a massive sword wave came crashing towards him.
"Hakoku!"
Roa swung his blade with all his might, using a similar move.
An equally massive shockwave roared out.
The two men, two swords, and two massive shockwaves clashed!
The sky roared, and one massive shockwave after another radiated wildly again!
"But if we fight like this, I won't achieve my goal!"
Roa instantly flapped his wings and shot out.
The air began to flow faster, turning into a gale that further boosted his speed.
In the blink of an eye, he had already moved to Harald's side and swung his sword.
The flying slash, a crimson crescent shape infused with various elements, was just inches away from Harald's body!
But Harald shattered the slash with a single punch. Then, his greatsword came swinging towards Roa.
"Whoa! You're quick on the draw!"
Roa gave a strange laugh and fanned his wings, nimbly dodging the attack. At the same time, he opened his mouth and spewed out a massive sound wave.
Harald instantly showed an agility that was completely mismatched with his enormous size. He leaned back, almost perfectly dodging the attack.
Using the momentum, Harald did a backflip and swung his right leg up heavily.
Roa brought his sword down with a powerful chop.
Boom!
Another earth-shattering sound.
Roa was sent flying upwards by the powerful force. At the same time, Harald's backflip was forcefully stopped.
"Roa!!"
The moment he stabilized himself, the giant leapt up, swinging his greatsword as fast as a storm.
Roa's eyes widened.
He pushed his Observation Haki to its limit. As his wings vibrated, the gale also obeyed his command, allowing him to weave through the dense storm of slashes like a meteor.
"This brat!!"
Harald gritted his teeth.
He's so fast!!
Can't he just face me head-on like that bastard Rocks?!
While Harald was annoyed, Roa also felt that this wouldn't do.
It was too easy to just dodge.
Harald was, of course, a terrifyingly powerful monster. His strength was superior to Roa's, and his Haki was unmatched!
In a head-on battle, Roa felt that he was in no way inferior to Whitebeard. He was an existence that was even more powerful than Roa himself at this moment!
No wonder the Captain kept talking about him.
But compared to his overwhelming power, his agility was indeed lacking due to the limitations of his massive size.
After all, the speed of nerve signal transmission was constant. A giant's nerves were much longer than a regular human's, so with the same transmission speed, the transmission time would be different.
For a normal person, this difference might not matter. Harald was already incredibly fast!
But for Roa, Harald was a bit slow.
It was a bit like Kizaru vs. Nika.
But if that was the case, the battle wouldn't be challenging, and it wouldn't serve its purpose of honing his skills!
In that case!
Roa suddenly slammed into the ground.
Boom!
The ground began to tremble violently.
In the next moment, a gigantic monster rose up.
Its skeleton was made of bloodlust controlled by willpower.
It was filled with lightning, flames, gale, and magma as its flesh.
Finally, Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki were infused, and it was solidified with willpower!
And so, a giant whose height and size were in no way inferior to Harald's made its grand appearance. Its entire body radiated intense heat, and its mere presence seemed to make the chilling underworld feel scorching.
"Roa!"
Inside the colossal monster, Roa raised his lips, "Nice to meet you!"
"You little brat!"
Harald looked at the gigantic monster in front of him and instead showed a slight smile.
If it was a head-on fight, he wasn't afraid of anyone!
"Hah!!"
The greatsword, shrouded in two-colored Haki, directly swung at the giant in front of him.
Roa was equally unyielding, controlling the giant warlord to swing his sword in return.
BOOM!!
Harald's greatsword and the elemental sword condensed by the Roa clashed with a resounding boom.
The ground beneath the two colossal monsters instantly shattered. The incredibly hard frozen soil was as fragile as foam in the face of such a collision.
"Hahahaha! Again!!"
The elemental sword, which had been damaged in the previous clash, was instantly regenerated. The Roa, under Roa's control, swung its sword at Harald once more.
The King of the Giants was naturally unyielding and swung his sword to meet it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The continuous clashes of the two colossal monsters made all of Elbaf tremble.
Each clash released Conqueror's Haki that shattered the earth. The entire Treasure Tree Adam even trembled slightly!
In the distance.
"Father!!"
Loki, who was watching the battle, couldn't close his mouth.
He actually, actually was able to fight his father to this extent!
Had Roa, this guy, become this powerful?
On the other side.
Roa's subordinates were also in shock.
"What a powerful guy!!"
King's eyes were stunned, "Even against the full-powered boss, he's not at a disadvantage?"
He had already used the Roa, so this was the boss's full-power form!
Even so, this King of the Giants was not losing at all!
This level of power was something that only a few people in the entire world could compare to!
Excluding the boss, any one of them would probably be instantly killed if they went against this King of the Giants.
"However,"
Teach said with a grin, "Even a guy this strong was easily handled by the boss, wasn't he?"
Everyone thought about it, and it was true.
The powerful Harald was only on equal footing with the boss in battle.
Outside of battle, if the boss hadn't demanded it, Harald probably wouldn't even have had the courage to fight the boss.
And here, the battle continued.
Harald fought with increasing ferocity. The attacks that Roa had felt were a bit slow earlier were no longer slow at all after Roa also got into a mech.
Roa also needed a little extra time to control this massive body.
Both sides were on the same starting line.
And so.
"Woah!!"
Roa continuously blocked Harald's heavy sword swings. The elemental sword in the hands of the massive Roa was shattered.
Even with bloodlust and two-colored Haki injected, and then strengthened with willpower, was its strength still not enough in a battle of truly top-tier powerhouses?
But it didn't matter. He could make as many of these swords as he wanted!
A new elemental sword instantly condensed and blocked one of Harald's swords.
"..."
Harald stumbled back two steps and looked at Roa with a hint of admiration.
Is this brat really human?
Is there any reason for a human to be this strong at this age?
"What are you spacing out for?"
Roa's laugh came, "If you can't kill me now, you probably won't have another chance!"
Harald's forehead twitched slightly.
I'm really being looked down on!
"Then you can die!!"
The bit of strength he had unconsciously held back due to his apprehension of Roa was now fully unleashed!
Roa instantly felt the difference!
Harald's sword was now filled with murderous intent!
Faster, stronger, and more decisive!
Roa's eyes widened.
That's it!
This is what I need!!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Faced with a full-powered and unreserved Harald, Roa finally felt the pressure.
Even the Roa's power seemed weak in front of a full-powered Harald.
So, Roa needed to dodge the Giant King's attacks.
His Observation Haki surged like never before. Roa used all his might to observe every tiny movement of Harald's body!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The confrontation between the two colossal monsters continued, but this time, the Roa was slowly retreating!
However, Roa's eyes were getting brighter and brighter.
As the two continuously clashed, when he used his Observation Haki to its fullest, some disjointed images jumped in front of his eyes!
Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes!
The result of his long-term training was finally blossoming!
"Hahaha! Come on! Harald!"
The massive flame giant swung its sword.
This was the final hurdle!
"Hah!"
Harald said nothing, only swinging his sword, forcing the Roa to retreat again.
"That's great!"
Loki, who saw this, bounced with excitement, "Father has the upper hand! I knew it! How could Roa ever beat my father?!"
Dorry and Brogy's expressions also relaxed a bit.
Indeed, in terms of pure strength, Harald is superior!
But even so, it would be impossible to kill Roa.
And if they couldn't kill Roa, the crisis on Elbaf would still not be resolved.
However, if Harald could really defeat Roa, then this unbridled guy would probably back off a little...
"Whoa!"
A sudden scream.
"What?"
Dorry, Brogy, and Loki's eyes widened in disbelief at the same time.
A huge wound instantly appeared on Harald's chest, who had the upper hand just a moment ago.
Roa was hovering at Harald's chest level. Behind him, the Roa slowly dissipated.
The moment Harald swung his sword again, he shot out of the Roa and swung his sword, creating a wound on the Giant King's chest.
Even though Harald had defended himself in time, a large wound was still torn into his chest.
It sounded easy, but along the way, Roa had also nimbly dodged Harald's incoming punch.
It was as easy as if he had already foreseen this moment!
"So this is what it feels like to peer into the future? It's truly a strange sensation."
Roa raised his lips, and a red light flashed in his eyes.
The future is now in my eyes!