Countless attacks rained down, and the swirling Sharon Roll finally scattered beneath the hailstorm of blows.
"Heh… boy, your attacks can't touch me," Rausa said with a mocking grin. His body dissolved into drifting sand and shrugged off every strike without effort.
"Damn it… just as I thought. At best, I can only stall him," Ha Shiro muttered. He had thrown everything into breaking apart the sand tornado to regain his freedom of movement, but even then—defeating Rausa outright wasn't possible.
"Even if I can't beat him, I can still test out my new move… as long as I can keep him occupied." With a sharp kick, Ha Shiro used Moon Step, shooting out of the streaming sand and confronting Rausa once more.
"Otherwise, this is pointless. We'll just keep grinding at each other forever. How about we call it a night? You don't come after me, I don't come after you." Ha Shiro flashed a lazy smile, let his long hair ripple outward, and shaped it into a chair. He sat down mid-air as if settling in for tea.
"No way in hell! Desert Blade!"Enraged yet again, Rausa thrust out his arm, and three twisting blades of quicksand hurtled toward Ha Shiro.
"I said it already—sit still and wait for dawn. Isn't that easier for everyone? You're such a pain."Ha Shiro casually caught the sand blades with one hand… and crushed them as if they were nothing.
"Y–you little brat! Die!"Rausa's right arm split into countless enormous sand-knives and slashed wildly at Ha Shiro.
"Tempest Kick: Storm!"
This time, Ha Shiro didn't take the blow head-on. He unleashed a flurry of slicing wind-kicks, each slash colliding with and dispersing the incoming barrage.
"Do you really think I can't beat you?" Ha Shiro exhaled sharply. "Fine then… No-Hair State—open!"
The "No-Hair State" was exactly what he said: a bald form.
It was a technique he absolutely hated using—because no matter how serious the situation, being bald always looked ridiculous.
"Hahaha! Boy, are you trying to make me laugh?!"Rausa doubled over when he saw Ha Shiro's smooth, shiny head.
"Heh… laugh while you can. Bald is strength. Get ready to die."
Ha Shiro raised his right hand. Strange vibrations rippled around his arm, as if black flames were licking up its surface.
"One-Punch Series: Ordinary Punch."
BOOM—!!
The world detonated behind Rausa. The ground in a fan-shaped area stretching hundreds of meters was simply gone—flattened by pure force.
"Gaaah—! Cough!"Rausa tumbled across the ruined desert, his body splattered with blood, looking utterly terrified. His entire form shook violently—yet Ha Shiro knew better.
Rausa wasn't that badly hurt. Elemental bodies were annoyingly resilient.
This "No-Hair Series" was a technique Ha Shiro had developed by accident—channeling every ounce of his Fruit power into a single concentrated point and releasing it in one burst. He had never expected the power to be this overwhelming.
But the drawbacks were harsh:His hair vanished entirely, his stamina drained dangerously low, and regrowth took hours.
After the explosive clash, both he and Rausa were left weakened, glaring at each other in a stalemate.
Their battle dragged on until dawn. Once Ha Shiro's hair finally grew back, he refused to use the No-Hair Series again.
Then—Ha Shiro suddenly froze.
Something was wrong.
"Not good."He abandoned Rausa instantly, turning away."This battle's over. We'll finish it next time."
Rausa collapsed to one knee, panting hard. He had absorbed water repeatedly throughout the night just to stay in the fight. If Ha Shiro hadn't abruptly withdrawn, Rausa himself might have been forced to retreat.
Ha Shiro's reason for leaving was simple and terrifying:Some of the hair he left with Nami and Vivi had disappeared.
The two of them were almost certainly facing an enemy.
He had to get to them. Now.
He had plenty of time to stall Rausa again later.But protecting his "precious girls" came first.
The sand beneath his feet burst as he accelerated with everything he had.
"Good… I recovered some stamina last night. I can keep moving, but showing up looking clean isn't believable."
He found a nearby desert animal, soaked his coat in its blood, and cut several wounds across his own skin.
"Perfect."
Then he sprinted at full speed toward Vivi.
"Vivi!!"
Just as Mr. 2 Bon-Feng lunged to seize her, Ha Shiro burst onto the scene, snatched Vivi away, and skidded back several steps.
"Whew… made it."He collapsed "weakly" into Vivi's arms, his body smeared with blood.
"Ha Shiro—are you okay!?" Vivi cried as she held him, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, Hair Monster! Are you still alive?"Sanji appeared with a flying kick, sending Bon-Feng tumbling away.
"Ahem… pushed myself too hard. Won't die, though," Ha Shiro rasped. "I'll leave this one to you. I'll get Vivi somewhere safe."
After enjoying her embrace for a moment, Ha Shiro swept her up again and headed toward the Alubarna palace.
"Ha Shiro, it's okay… you can put me down. I can walk," Vivi pleaded, stroking his cheek.
"Ahem… no worries. I can still move. I'll get you somewhere secure first."
Even while running, Ha Shiro extended his Observation Haki across the entire city, locating each member of the Straw Hat crew.
Everyone was locked in battle.
"Nami… don't you dare be hurt."He accelerated again.
After delivering Vivi safely to the palace and giving her another batch of protective hair, he turned toward a familiar aura.
The hair armor he'd left on Nami had been heavily consumed.
Nami was already in a fierce battle—thanks to Usopp's extremely unreliable modifications to her Clima-Tact, she had nearly been injured several times. Only Ha Shiro's hair armor had kept every blow from reaching her.
"Ha Shiro… you protected me again. Please be safe…"Nami whispered, pressing a hand to the last tuft of black hair clinging to her chest.
"Thorn Whip Shot!"
The woman who had eaten the **Thorn-Thorn Fruit—**now named Ibara—descended from above, her body bristling with lethal spikes as she aimed straight for Nami's heart.
"NAMI!!"
SPLURT—!!
At the last split second, Ha Shiro shoved Nami aside—taking the hit himself.
"Ha Shiro?!"Nami's eyes widened in horror as she watched the thorns pierce through his body. Tears instantly blurred her vision.
"Oh~? How touching," Ibara sneered. "Even while dying, he still tries to protect you."
She lifted Ha Shiro effortlessly and hurled him at Nami like a broken doll.
"Ha Shiro! Ha Shiro—!"Nami caught him, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Ah… finally made it. Nami… you okay?"Ha Shiro raised a trembling hand and cupped her cheek, his voice faint.
"I'm fine! You're the one who's hurt! You idiot—why did you rush here looking like this!?"Nami pressed her hand against his wound, crying silently.
"Ahem… Nami… let me protect you… one last time."Ha Shiro expelled his remaining strength, summoning a pitch-black hair puppet, before letting his eyes fall shut.
"No—Ha Shiro! Don't! Please don't close your eyes—don't—!"Nami clung to him, shaking with sobs.
"How romantic," Ibara said coldly. "Then die together."
Five thorns shot from her fingertips.
CHNK—!!
The puppet intercepted the attack, though several clumps of hair burst from its body as it blocked.
The puppet automatically defended, but did not counterattack.
"Oh? A nuisance. Fine—then I'll crush it."Ibara lunged again.
Nami snapped out of her shock, dragged Ha Shiro's limp body away, and hid him behind a house.
"Ha Shiro… wait for me. I'll defeat her—and then I'll come back to you. Wait for me!"She grabbed her Clima-Tact and charged.
"Xiao-Kuro… hold her."Ha Shiro's puppet moved instantly. It had been waiting for that command the entire time.
He couldn't kill Ibara outright.Nami needed to grow.She needed to think she defeated the enemy herself.
So Ha Shiro had the puppet deliberately expose openings, allowing Ibara to tear away chunks of its hair.
Meanwhile Nami frantically experimented with the Clima-Tact, mixing bubbles, fumbling through combinations.
"Ugh! Why is this thing so hard to use!? It feels like someone's messing with me! Forget it—kill the woman first!!"Ibara hurled the puppet aside and charged Nami.
"Heh… finally."Ha Shiro had been waiting for this moment.
The puppet threw itself in front of Nami again, taking several gaping holes through its torso.
"Ha Shiro… you've been protecting me all this time? Then I won't let your effort go to waste!"Nami backed up, held her weapons with both hands, and sent hot and cold bubbles into the air.
A roiling dark cloud formed overhead.
CRACK—!!
Lightning speared down, blasting Ibara squarely.
"You—! I'll kill you!!"Ibara erupted in fury, her entire body bristling with thorns pointed directly at Nami.
"Good… just like that, Nami…"Ha Shiro smiled weakly, still controlling the puppet.
"Nami—now! Show her the strongest attack of the Clima-Tact!"
The puppet's last hair unraveled and wrapped gently around Nami's hands, protecting her from the thorns.
"Tornado Tempo—!!"
WHOOSH—BOOM—!!
Ibara stared in shock as a massive spiraling force caught her and spun her violently through the air before launching her like a cannonball into the distant buildings.
The recoil blasted Nami backward as well, but a soft, giant hair-hand appeared behind her, cushioning her fall.
"Thank you… Ha Shiro. You protected me again…"Nami sobbed as she watched the last strands of hair dissolve.
She rushed to Ha Shiro, shaking him desperately.
"Ha Shiro! Wake up! Don't leave me—please don't leave me!"
She collapsed over him, crying silently.
"…Mm. It's almost time… to give her a little hope," Ha Shiro murmured faintly.
His lips curled just slightly.