**Chapter 22: Sunny vs. Jiro – The Master of Knocking and the Void's Fury**
**Sunny POV**
The air trembled around me as the towering figure of Jiro stepped into the clearing, his presence a silent storm that warped the very atmosphere. Every muscle in his body screamed raw power, honed from centuries of mastering Knocking Techniques—the art of striking pressure points to paralyze, stun, or destroy with surgical precision. No nonsense, no grand speeches, no hesitation. Jiro's aura was refined killing intent, like a blade so sharp it cut without touching. His eyes, calm and unyielding, locked onto mine, assessing me not as a boy but as a target—a collection of nerves, muscles, and vital points waiting to be exploited.
{Ego}: "Master… this guy's no joke. Jiro's Knocking isn't just punches—it's shutting down life itself. Probability of instant paralysis: 92%. Don't get cocky, or you'll be drooling on the floor like a vegetable."
[System]: "Master Sunny, his precision is exquisite, but so is yours. Damage projection: High, but recoverable. I'll monitor your vitals—don't let him touch your core points. You're mine to protect."
I tightened my stance, feeling {Ego}'s sharp tsundere edge and [System]'s obsessive focus humming in my mind like a dual engine. Even their personalities couldn't hide the tension—this wasn't Kaido's brute force or Whitebeard's quakes. This was a master of anatomy, a man who could end a fight with a single tap. My blue Armament Haki flared along my skin, shimmering like a dark blue void, crackling with Conqueror's energy. My eyes began to glow with that eerie dark blue void hue, the world sharpening as Space Crunch instincts activated, folding the space around me subtly.
"Observation Haki… active," I murmured, scanning the precise micro-movements in his stance. Each twitch of a muscle, each subtle shift in weight was a potential strike, a roadmap of death. Jiro's gaze met mine, cold and unyielding, like a surgeon eyeing a patient. Then, without warning, he moved—a blur of motion so fast it defied sight.
**Opening Clash**
The first strike was a blur, his fist coming at me like a hammer falling from the sky, aimed at my solar plexus—a Knocking point that could shut down my diaphragm in an instant. I barely reinforced my arm with dense blue Armament Haki, the void-blue glow pulsing as I blocked. The impact made the ground crack under our feet, shockwaves rippling out in concentric circles that uprooted trees and sent boulders flying. My bones vibrated, pain lancing through my arm like fire, but I held.
"Bang technique—Flowing Seal Fist!" I countered, letting my body move with the combined rhythm of Bang's martial arts and Jiro's own Knocking Techniques, infused with my blue void Haki. I let the force of his strike flow through me, redirecting it back with a series of precise punches aimed at his elbow joint—a counter-Knocking to numb his arm.
Jiro twisted mid-air, his body contorting with inhuman flexibility, dodging my strikes by millimeters. His aura pressed down, a heavy weight that made every movement feel like wading through molasses. He followed up with a barrage of knuckle strikes, each one targeting vital points—throat, temples, heart. I deployed Air Crunch barriers, hardening the atmosphere into invisible shields that flexed and groaned under the assault, blue cracks forming as his Knocking pierced through.
The clash sent shockwaves into the surrounding trees, birds scattering into the sky in a panic. Dust exploded around us, the clearing turning into a battlefield of craters and splintered wood. Jiro's mastery of Knocking allowed him to strike with force distributed perfectly through his body, each hit carrying the potential to end the fight. My arms ached, my legs burned, but I refused to give ground, my dark blue void eyes glowing brighter as I predicted his next move.
**Mid-Fight: Tactical Exchange**
He feinted a left hook, his body twisting with deceptive speed, then unleashed a barrage of knuckle strikes aimed at my ribs—a Knocking combo to collapse my lungs. I twisted mid-air, using Space Crunch to fold the void around his arm, slowing it just enough to press two fingers against his wrist—a Jiro-style counter to disrupt his flow. The air warped with a dark blue shimmer, the void-blue glow from my eyes intensifying as the technique took hold.
Jiro growled—a deep, feral sound that vibrated through my bones. "Not bad," he admitted, his voice like gravel grinding underfoot. "But can you keep up, boy?"
He launched into a spinning assault, his aura flaring, Knocking Guns manifesting in his hands—ethereal tools that amplified his strikes to planetary levels. Each shot was a precision blast, targeting nerves, joints, vital organs. I barely managed to block a fist with my Armament Haki, but the shockwave knocked me back several meters, my body skidding through dirt and rock, leaving a furrow in the earth. My arms throbbed, the taste of blood filling my mouth as internal damage mounted.
I gritted my teeth, wiping blood from my lip. "If I don't finish this… I won't survive." My mind raced, analyzing his patterns—Jiro's Knocking was about precision, exploiting weaknesses, but it relied on close range. I began integrating Space Crunch more aggressively, warping the distance between us, making his strikes fall short or loop back.
Jiro's eyes narrowed, adapting instantly. His movements grew cautious, his attacks more calculated, feints layered with feints. Still, he was terrifyingly fast, his Knocking Guns firing ethereal needles that pierced the air, aimed at pressure points to paralyze. I countered with Bang's fluid dodges, my body flowing like water, blue Haki trailing like void shadows. "Your Knocking Techniques are precise… but my Haki… my will… is stronger," I whispered, a cold determination hardening my spine.
**Strategy Shift**
Realizing pure offense would get me killed—Jiro's Knocking could end me with a graze—I shifted my focus entirely to prediction and control. Observation Haki, Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki—everything converged, my eyes glowing with dark blue void intensity, the world slowing as I anticipated his every move. I could feel the energy of the battlefield bending slightly to my will, the void responding to my command.
Jiro charged, his Knocking Guns blazing, but I warped space around his path, folding it like paper to redirect his momentum. He stumbled, surprised, and I struck— a Bang martial arts combo enhanced with Knocking precision, my blue void Haki crackling as it targeted his shoulder joint. The hit landed, his arm numbing briefly, and he growled, swinging his other fist. I dodged, using Air Crunch to compress the air behind him, creating a barrier that he crashed into, staggering.
The forest became both shield and weapon—trees uprooted by our clashes, boulders hurled with gravity pockets from Space Crunch. Jiro's strikes shattered mountains, but I wove through them, my void-blue glow leaving trails of distorted space. He adapted, his Knocking evolving—firing bursts that disrupted my Haki flow, making my barriers flicker. Pain surged as a graze numbed my leg, but I pushed through, my will unbreaking.
**Final Escalation: Haki Domain**
I exhaled, the air seeming to thicken, shimmering with latent power. Conqueror's Haki flared outward, saturating the entire clearing in a dome of blue void energy. The trees quivered; the ground cracked in a perfect circle around us, the void-blue glow from my eyes illuminating the battlefield like an abyssal storm. "Domain… activate," I murmured, my voice echoing with authority.
Suddenly, the battlefield obeyed me. Within the invisible Haki Domain, my will was law. Jiro's movements slowed—his strikes becoming heavier, his footwork hindered by the subtle gravitational distortions I infused through Space Crunch. The air itself resisted him, Air Crunch barriers forming instinctively. I could anticipate his counters perfectly now, every muscle preemptively adjusted, the void bending to my command.
Jiro's eyes widened, recognizing the shift. "Impossible…!" he growled, his Knocking Guns firing wildly, but the domain warped the projectiles, looping them back toward him. He dodged his own attacks, frustration cracking his calm facade.
I moved with lethal grace, striking at every opening simultaneously. Bang martial arts fused with Jiro Knocking Techniques flowed naturally from my body, each strike enhanced by the domain's power. He tried to parry, to redirect, but inside the Haki Domain, every attack was precisely countered—his arm numbed, his leg buckled, his balance shattered. The void-blue energy from my eyes intensified, my Haki flaring like a dark blue abyss swallowing light.
Jiro roared, unleashing a ultimate Knocking barrage—Guinness Punch, his fist channeling planetary force, aimed to shatter my domain. The air screamed, the ground erupting, but I folded space around the punch, compressing it into a gravity well that absorbed the energy, then redirected it back as a blue void-infused shockwave. It slammed into him, cracking his defenses.
The climax was a flurry of strikes—my body a blur, Bang techniques enhanced with Knocking precision, augmented by Haki-infused air and spatial manipulation. Jiro's body crumpled under the assault, unable to withstand the combined might, his Knocking Guns shattering like glass. He fell to one knee, gasping, blood pouring from wounds.
"You've… exceeded… expectations…" he gasped, sweat and blood dripping, his chest heaving as he struggled to rise.
I stood over him, my void-blue eyes glowing faintly, blue Haki fading. "I can't let up. Not until it's finished." With one final, concentrated burst of strikes—a void-blue explosion of power—Jiro lay defeated, not dishonored, but conquered.
Silence fell. The only sound was my ragged breathing and the subtle hum of residual Haki energy. The battlefield bore the marks of war—splintered trees, scorched earth, craters like scars from a god's wrath. Jiro had been the perfect opponent, the ultimate measure of my mastery over Bang martial arts, Jiro Knocking, and Haki.
{Ego}: "Y-You… actually did it. Hmph… don't get cocky, you still have a long way to go."
[System]: "Master… your control of the Domain is near-perfect. This… is only the beginning. Do not underestimate what you can accomplish next."
I exhaled, allowing a brief smirk—not the dark one, just quiet acknowledgment. The battle was over.