Chapter 14: Are You Humiliating Me?
Quetzalcoatlus.
The largest flying animal of prehistoric times. The king of the skies.
A massive body over seventeen meters long... it was truly a terrifying sight.
At this moment, the Lieutenant Colonel had completely lost his composure. "How is that possible? Pterosaurs... they're supposed to be extinct!"
"Idiot." But Commodore Lanley stepped forward. "Look at its head."
Head? The Lieutenant Colonel was stunned, then he noticed. On its head—which was tiny compared to its massive body—was a strange rooster mask. The mask extended along its beak, looking bizarre. But it proved one thing.
"This guy is a Devil Fruit user," Commodore Lanley concluded.
"A Devil Fruit user? You mean... he's human!?" The Lieutenant Colonel's voice cracked. "Could it be... the one who attacked Master Port?"
"Who knows?" Lanley chuckled, then hefted his large tachi. "You should go."
"Go? Sir, what are you saying?" The Lieutenant Colonel gripped his flintlock. "If he's the attacker, I'll fight alongside you!"
"Idiot! This guy is not an opponent you can handle." Lanley glanced at him and waved his hand. "Leave now. Go check the status of the other bases, see what the damage is. I'll handle this."
"But..." The Lieutenant Colonel hesitated.
Lanley roared, "No 'buts'! Where I'm from, interrupting a man's one-on-one fight with a strong opponent is a capital offense!"
'...' Just where exactly are you from!? The Lieutenant Colonel complained inwardly, but he still followed the order and fled.
And so, in the forest, only Commodore Lanley remained, staring up at the behemoth in the sky.
"You're not going to stop him from leaving?" he asked, gripping his tachi with a grin.
"No need." The creature in the sky actually... laughed. "My mission is to take the Celestial Tribute. I only need to take care of you."
Hearing that, Lanley's grin widened. "Big words." His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "If you want to 'take care' of me, you'll have to ask my 'Nagamitsu' first!"
The next moment...
Clang!
A clear sound rang out, and silver light flashed. A sword-light.
"Volcano Style: Flying Slash!"
With a sound that tore the air, Lanley's tachi, 'Nagamitsu,' unleashed a massive, silver-white flying slash. It shot from the tip of his blade, straight toward the sky!
This alone proved Lanley's strength. A flying slash, and one this condensed... Across the seas, he was a true master swordsman!
Tch!
In an instant, the flying slash accurately struck the Quetzalcoatlus's massive right wing. A smirk appeared on Lanley's face. "Having such a huge body isn't always a good thing."
He knew that slash was powerful enough to cut a small ship in half. "Now I just have to wait for it to fall, and then I'll..." He was already planning his next move.
But in the next second, his thoughts and his smile froze.
Because... as the dust cleared, Lanley saw the giant pterosaur, still soaring in the sky.
The wing he had hit... had no wound. Its smooth, leathery membrane glinted under the sun with a hard, rock-like sheen. Only a shallow white mark remained.
"That... absurdly durable..." Lanley's expression became completely serious.
From that one exchange, he knew this would be a tough fight. His flying slash couldn't hurt it, and its ability to fly meant most of his other techniques would never connect. This was the greatest advantage of a flight-based Devil Fruit.
"Hmm!?"
But just as Lanley was trying to think of a strategy, he saw the creature... move! Its massive pterosaur body, to Lanley's astonishment, began to rapidly shrink and transform!
In the blink of an eye, the shadow that had blotted out the sun was gone. In its place, a figure slammed into the ground.
THOOM!
The heavy landing shook the earth, sending out a shockwave of air.
Before Lanley stood a three-meter-tall humanoid monster. It still wore the rooster mask. Its body had a human outline, but it was covered in rock-like, blue-gray scales. Its arms were now thick, powerful talons with membranes, and its legs were strong, digitigrade beast legs. A thick tail swayed behind it.
This was the Hybrid Form of Roy's Quetzalcoatlus fruit.
"You bastard..."
Seeing this, Lanley's fury spiked. The veins on his sword hand bulged.
"Are you humiliating me!?"
To voluntarily give up the advantage of the sky... this was a clear insult!
"Quite the opposite," Roy's clone said. "I just think... you might be worth a proper warm-up."
He cracked his neck, letting out a series of loud k-krak! sounds. Then, he "smiled" at Lanley. "Ready? Then... let's begin!"
"You..." Lanley started to say something, but he choked on the words. Because in the next instant, the figure had vanished.
Soru!? So fast!
Lanley was stunned, but he had no time to think. His Observation Haki already sensed an immense, violent power to his side.
"Volcano Style: Iron Guard!"
Lanley reacted instantly, swinging his tachi to block. An invisible force coated the blade. It was one of the most unique powers on the sea—Armament Haki!
The next moment, a massive talon smashed into the blade.
CLANG!
The sound of metal on metal exploded with a shower of sparks. Lanley was sent flying, crashing hard enough to snap a massive tree trunk in half.
"Armament Haki and Tekkai, combined? And infused into a sword style?" Roy's clone said with genuine interest. "So this is Vice Admiral Yamakaji's 'Volcano Style.' Impressive!"
Just as the words left his mouth...
"You bastard... Don't get cocky!" Lanley burst from the wreckage of the tree.
"Since you were arrogant enough to fight me on the ground, don't expect any mercy! Volcano Style: Ten-Fold Storm!"
His body also vanished with a swish—as a Commodore, his Soru was just as fast.
The next moment, he reappeared at Roy's side. His Haki-coated tachi became a blur of silver, slashing at Roy's vital points with blinding speed.
"No mercy?" Roy's clone chuckled. "That's exactly what I was hoping for."
And so... the battle began!