"Boom!"
Jack's massive body was blasted backwards, crashing into a building and burying him under rubble.
The next moment, as if nothing had happened, Jack shoved the debris aside and strode out.
A shallow wound remained where Yuno's strike had landed, but with only a few drops of blood, it began to close.
"You can't even break through my defense without using Armament Haki hardening," Jack growled, staring coldly at Yuno.
Clearly, such a wound was nothing new to him.
"It feels like I've heard someone say something like that to me before..."
Yuno glanced at the silver fiber in his hand and suddenly chuckled. Looking up at Jack, his eyes carried a strange smile. "If it weren't for you, I might never have mastered Armament Haki hardening so quickly."
He tightened his grip. Armament Haki wrapped around the blade, growing thicker and darker until, with a low hum, the silver fiber turned pitch black.
—Armament Haki Hardening!
After relentless training, Yuno's Armament Haki had finally reached the point of hardening. He only needed the right push, and in his fierce clash with Jack, his Haki had condensed to the peak—breaking through naturally!
Pointing his blade, Yuno declared: "Come again!"
Jack narrowed his eyes. Though Yuno now wielded hardened Armament Haki, who was he?
He was Drought Jack—one of Kaido's Three Calamities of the Beasts Pirates!
Even Admirals would hesitate to charge head-on against him.
Judging from their fight so far, Yuno was fast and strong, but still unable to pierce his defense. Jack's strength lay in defense and endurance—he could simply wear him down.
Taking a step forward, Jack's body began to morph. Landing on all fours, his body grew massive, fur covering him as two sharp tusks jutted forward. His long trunk whipped the air, raising a gust of sand and dust.
Jack preferred his full beast form—it maximized his resilience.
With a thunderous crack, Jack swung his trunk like a whip. The air exploded from the force!
A silver flash flared from the blackened edge of Yuno's sword. His Observation Haki caught the attack, and at the last instant, he slashed down.
"Boom!"
Though his hardened strike carried great power, Jack's trunk was also coated in Armament Haki. The collision forced Yuno onto the defensive.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Jack's strikes rained down, his massive trunk hammering relentlessly. Yuno blocked and parried, but each impact pushed him further back.
"Swish..."
Yuno dodged aside. Jack's blow smashed into the ground, shaking it like waves and scattering rubble through the smoke-filled air.
Seizing the opening, Yuno ducked low, swung upward, and struck Jack hard!
But the blade met a wall of resistance—blocked again!
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Silver light flared from Yuno's blade, and with a sharp slash, a larger wound split open across Jack's waist and abdomen.
This time, hardened Armament Haki combined with his Getsuga Tenshō was enough to cut through Jack's defense—though still not deeply.
Jack's monstrous body endured.
'This defense…'
Yuno narrowed his eyes. Even cutting through him felt unsatisfying.
Too weak.
This was the weakest thing he had ever cut.
But then, a chilling thought crossed his mind. If Jack's defense was already this monstrous, just how terrifying were Kaido and Big Mom, the so-called strongest creatures in the world?
The gap was still vast.
But Yuno believed—one day, he would stand at that level!
"Hsss…! Damn it, that hurts! Mammoth Trampling!"
The pain enraged Jack, driving him into greater fury. Raising his massive legs, he brought them down like a collapsing mountain.
Yuno's eyes flared crimson—Observation Haki pushed to its extreme.
A moment later, his figure vanished, stepping clear of the impact.
"Boom!"
The ground erupted like a shattered lake, shockwaves hurling gravel and dust hundreds of meters skyward.
Through the haze, Jack charged like a raging locomotive, each stomp shaking the battlefield.
Yuno vaulted into the air, twisting mid-flight. His sword gleamed, silver light exploding along the edge, before he brought it down in a devastating slash!
Elsewhere, Jack's eyes flashed red as his massive trunk, hardened with Armament Haki, lashed out violently through the air!
Boom!
The two clashed again. This time, Yuno's footwork failed to generate enough power, and he was pushed back, once again at a disadvantage. Jack pressed forward, whipping his trunk down mercilessly. Yuno couldn't react in time; forced to block with his sword.
With a sharp crack, Yuno was sent flying!
He grunted as the tremendous force reverberated through his body. But he was uninjured—stepping across the air several times, he dissipated the shock before landing steadily atop a house.
'Devil Fruit awakening?' Yuno narrowed his eyes at the wound on Jack's body, watching as it slowly healed.
Unlike other Devil Fruit types, the awakened Zoan granted monstrous physical power, near-limitless endurance, and frightening regeneration. That was the true durability of the Zoan class.
"Hmph! Still not dead!?" Jack snorted, rushing forward again.
Watching him charge, Yuno inhaled deeply, then a faint, inexplicable smile appeared on his lips.
"You're looking for that Devil Fruit, aren't you? Then… I'll let you see it."
Jack suddenly skidded to a halt on all fours, his instincts screaming. His Observation Haki caught something ominous. A strange, unfamiliar aura surged from Yuno's body…
Hearing Yuno's words, realization dawned on him. His gaze sharpened, murderous intent boiling in his scarlet eyes.
"You… did you eat that Devil Fruit!?"
Jack roared in fury. He hadn't expected anyone else to beat him to it! That Devil Fruit—one Kaido himself had desired—was now in Yuno's hands!
"Try it, then. The cold that reigns supreme in the frosty heavens!" Yuno's voice was calm, his eyes glowing—no longer just crimson, but shimmering with a layer of pale frost.
An indescribable chill swept across the entire G7 base, creeping into every corner.
The temperature plummeted by dozens of degrees!
Outside, the battlefield froze. Both marines and pirates turned their gazes toward the base as a dense white mist rose like vapor from the ground.
"What's happening!?"
"Ice? Could it be Admiral Aokiji!?"
"Don't be stupid! Marineford is at least ten days away—he couldn't possibly be here!"
"Then… is it Rear Admiral Yuno?"
"That's impossible! As far as we know, he isn't a Devil Fruit user!"
Confusion swept the marines. But then, a soldier who had once carried the captured Devil Fruit to Yuno shouted:
"I know! Rear Admiral Yuno must have eaten it!"
The realization rippled through the troops.
"Rear Admiral Yuno was already strong. If he's eaten a Devil Fruit like this… maybe he can defeat Drought Jack!"
Colonel Hill's eyes gleamed. A seasoned officer, he knew when to seize a chance to rally his men.
"Listen up, all of you!" he bellowed. "Victory is within our grasp! Rear Admiral Yuno is facing Jack head-on. Kill every last one of these pirates—this battle is ours!"
Sword in hand, Hill charged forward!
"Did Yuno really eat a Devil Fruit…? An ice ability…" Smoker muttered, excitement flashing in his eyes. If true, then Yuno, already formidable, might truly stand a chance against one of Kaido's All-Stars.
"Kill!" Smoker erupted into smoke, his ten hands spearing a pirate through. His cloud-like body coiled like a serpent, ensnaring and suffocating a dozen more.
Elsewhere, Drake roared, transforming into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. His colossal jaws ripped apart several enemies, and with one swipe of his claws, he shredded others into bloodied fragments.
"Kill the marines!"
"You dare steal from the Beasts Pirates!? You're all dead men!"
The New World pirates showed no fear. They had survived under Jack's banner, hardened killers who fought with ruthless ferocity. Their confidence was absolute—if their boss lived, they would win.
The battlefield turned into a slaughterhouse, blood soaking the earth…
Inside the base, frost spread like a veil.
Yuno's body was cloaked in shimmering ice mist.
"Tch… still can't affect the weather. Proficiency 50 is too low…" he muttered, glancing up at the still-blue sky, untouched by Hyōrinmaru's influence.
His blade—a silver fiber—now glowed faintly with icy blue light. Though its form did not fully transform into the Zanpakutō of Bleach, its essence carried through.
With a sweep of his sword, Yuno unleashed a barrage of ice bullets that roared toward Jack!
"Ice…!? Aokiji!?" Jack stiffened, startled. For an instant, he believed the admiral himself had arrived—his Zoan instincts screamed not to meet that ice head-on.
But Yuno swung again, this time a slash brimming with ultimate frost. The very air froze, and where the blade passed, water vapor crystallized into ice!
With a thunderous whoosh, the slash carved through the ground. Jack barely dodged, but from the impact point, a jagged glacier erupted like a bamboo shoot piercing the heavens!
The frost spread even further—white rime racing across the earth, transforming dozens of meters into a frozen wasteland.
Visit patreon.com/ShiroTL for more chapters.