Chapter 54: Clash of Cadres
Jack stomped his elephantine foot, the ground cracking beneath him as his towering form closed the distance to Ian in an instant.
Shing! Shing!
The two massive sickle-blades, Kokuto, fell in a brutal one-two combination, carving furrows in the earth where Ian had just been standing.
Slow.
Really slow.
It was hard to believe that a pirate with a billion-berry bounty could possess such sluggish attack speed. He traded all agility for immense durability and recovery power. These ancient Zoan types seemed to have only two real advantages: brute force and being nearly impossible to put down.
As the second sickle slammed into the ground, Ian used the momentary opening, his body a blur as he shot inside Jack's guard, right up to the mammoth's legs.
BOOM!
A kick, sheathed in advanced Armament Haki, smashed into Jack's knee joint. The explosive force was enough to make the colossal hybrid stagger, his body tilting precariously.
As Jack looked down in surprise, Ian was already above him, having used Soru to appear like a ghost over his head.
"Human Fist Storm!"
BOOM!
At the critical moment, Jack's trunk, also coated in Haki, swung up to meet Ian's fist.
Armament Haki clashed against Armament Haki!
To Jack's shock, he was the one who was forced back? It wasn't just the Conqueror's Haki; this kid's Armament Haki had also reached a terrifying level?
Is this a Major General?
This guy is eighteen years old?!
BOOM!
Already off-balance, Jack was overpowered by Ian's superior Haki. The half-fishman, half-mammoth form was driven headfirst into the ground with a sickening crunch, sending a cloud of debris into the air.
Ian landed lightly outside the dust cloud, his expression grim. His speed in that attack had been immense. Yet Jack, using his Observation Haki, had still managed to track and counter his fist. This opponent was on a completely different level from any he had faced before. No wonder Jack, with his mammoth fruit, could hold his own as one of the top three commanders in a crew full of dinosaur users.
The strongest opponent yet.
Ian had been searching for a benchmark to measure his true strength, and now, he had found it.
"You damn thing...!" Jack's voice growled from within the settling dust.
He reappeared, his trunk now visibly disheveled and twisted at an odd angle. Beyond that, however, no other significant injuries could be seen. Damage of this level was merely a flesh wound to the resilience of an Ancient Zoan.
"Haha, you're really hard to kill!" Ian exclaimed, a fierce, excited grin spreading across his face. Crack! Crack! He clenched his fists, the knuckles popping. "Squeak! Squeak!"
The Surrounding Ruins.
After recovering from the pressure of Ian's Conqueror's Haki, the Gifters witnessed the unbelievable scene of Jack being slammed into the ground—again. Such a sight was rare even in the brutal battles of the New World. And it was happening here, at the hands of an eighteen-year-old Marine.
"What is Boss Jack doing? Is he being suppressed?"
"We're prospective senior officers of the Beasts Pirates too!"
"We didn't come all this way just to stand and watch!"
Speed, the Horse SMILE user, nocked two arrows to her bow.
Buzz.
The arrowheads were instantly sheathed in the black sheen of Armament Haki. To earn a place as a cadre in a Yonko crew, mastery of Haki was a fundamental requirement.
Shoo! Shoo!
She took advantage of Ian's momentary pause, letting the Haki-infused arrows fly towards his back.
But the next moment...
BANG!
A single, perfectly aimed bullet, wreathed in flames, pierced through the dust and intercepted both arrows mid-flight. The collision created a dazzling explosion of sparks in the air.
"A sniper?" Speed's eyes widened. "Not just any sniper... You broke my two Armament Haki arrows with a single bullet?!"
She squinted, peering towards the direction of the shot. On the tilted frame of a half-collapsed building in the distance, she could just make out a small figure.
Under Ian's command, Sniper Skylark!
"I will never allow you to interfere so cheaply!" Skylark's voice was firm, her cheeks flushed with determination as she stared through her scope. "Clearing obstacles for Major General Ian is my duty! Fortunately... I packed lunch today. I can give it to Major General Ian later when he gets hungry."
"Are there more of these damn Marines lying in ambush?" Holdem snarled. "I'll kill them all!"
He took a bold step forward, only to sense a lethal threat and leap back instantly.
SNAP!
A whip cracked with the sound of breaking air, striking the spot where his foot had just been.
"What a pity, I missed," a voice laced with disdain rang out.
"Are you ugly little animals the famous Beasts Pirates?" Peacock brandished her unique whip, the "Ice Peacock Tail." "You're not cute at all!" Her disgust was plain on her face.
"Armament Haki," Holdem growled, eyeing the whip. "That strike was filled with it. It seems there are other elite Marines around that brat." He drew his massive cleaver. "If I want to kill him, I'll have to go through you first, right? Nijiro!" The lion head on his stomach snarled. "Get ready to bite that woman's neck!"
On another part of the battlefield.
"Hey, you despicable, horned pirate! Your opponent is me!"
T. Peng emerged from the side of the ruins, having rushed to the scene as ordered. Seeing Peacock had chosen her target, he turned his unwavering gaze to the "Sheep Man," Sheepshead.
"Hmm? An old man?" Sheepshead mocked, looking at T. Peng's weathered face. "With a withered face like that? Are you also one of Ian's officers?" He let out a condescending laugh. "Hahaha, it's truly pitiful you still have to work so hard at your age."
He drew the large sword from his back, utterly unaware of the caliber of opponent he was facing.
"I would never attack before you've fully drawn your sword," T. Peng said calmly, his hand resting on the hilt of his own blade, "Bamboo." "I despise cheap shots." His eyes, however, were filled with a sharp, focused intent to kill.
"Lord Sheepshead, I'll help you deal with him!" Ginrummy, the Springbok SMILE user, shouted, ready to join the fray.
The stage was set. As Ian and Jack prepared to resume their earth-shattering duel, their respective cadres engaged, their own battles beginning amidst the ruins of the Sabaody Archipelago. The Dawn had come for the Beasts.