Ronan hadn't expected Gasparde to appear at all, much less help him by pinning down a vice admiral. He had no idea what that man was scheming, but this left only the final Marine vice admiral in his way—Stainless.
Stainless looked at the eleven-year-old boy before him, the young king who had forced both an admiral and the God Knights to take the field. His mood was complicated. He slowly drew his saber, the tip pointing at Ronan, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty Ronan, forgive my offense."
Ronan met Stainless's gaze without a trace of fear. Instead, a blazing fighting spirit surged up within him.
Over the past two-plus years, his Physical Arts had reached mastery. His use of both Armament Haki and Observation Haki was already proficient, and he had been constantly crossing blades with monsters like Enel. But to truly fight to the death against a powerhouse of Marine Headquarters vice admiral level—this was the first time.
"Perfect." Ronan slowly shifted into his stance, his aura gathering around him. "I've been wanting to see for myself… just how heavy the title of 'Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral' really is!"
The instant his words fell, Ronan moved.
His figure vanished, and in the next instant he was already at Stainless's left flank. His right fist, coated in jet-black Armament Haki, drove straight toward Stainless's ribs.
So fast!
Stainless's heart trembled. Ronan's speed far exceeded his expectations.
But he was a battle-hardened vice admiral, with combat experience bordering on terrifying. Almost at the same moment Ronan launched himself, Stainless's Observation Haki had already captured the trajectory.
He immediately coated his blade in Haki and brought it across to block with pinpoint precision.
"Clang—!!"
Fist and sword collided, ringing out with a crisp impact.
Ronan felt a fierce recoil travel back along the blade, making his fist tingle slightly. But his assault did not pause. His left leg instantly swept toward Stainless's lower body.
Stainless kicked off with both feet and retreated, his body sliding back as his long sword carved out a slashing arc that swept toward Ronan's incoming leg.
Ronan pulled his leg back at once, then turned his right hand into a "hand blade" wrapped in Armament Haki and chopped toward Stainless's neck.
Stainless tilted his head aside to evade and thrust his sword straight at Ronan's wrist.
In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged more than a dozen blows. Stainless relied on exquisite swordsmanship to dissolve Ronan's offensive time and again. The occasional counter-thrust of his blade also forced Ronan to respond with caution.
At this moment, Stainless was already inwardly aghast.
"How is this possible?!"
This was absolutely not strength an eleven-year-old child should possess. The way the boy used Armament Haki and Observation Haki was in no way inferior to him—a veteran Headquarters vice admiral.
This was no child who needed protecting. Even within Marine Headquarters, this level of strength would be enough to stand among the vice admirals.
"A complete monster…" The word surfaced in Stainless's mind unbidden.
The World Government had utterly underestimated Lulusia.
They thought this was an easy "hunt," a trivial operation… yet they never imagined that the prey itself possessed fangs sharp enough to bite the hunters to death.
This King Ronan—his hidden strength, the powerful followers gathered under his banner—Lulusia Kingdom was a wolf wrapped in the hide of a weak sheep.
"What are you zoning out for?" Ronan saw Stainless momentarily dazed, but gave him no time to recover.
Ronan pushed off the ground, his elbows coated in Haki as he drove them savagely into Stainless's chest.
"Tekkai: Steel!"
Stainless gave a low shout. The muscles of his chest instantly tensed like iron, layered over with Armament Haki.
"Thud!"
A dull impact boomed out. Stainless grunted and staggered back two steps, his chest roiling with surging blood and qi.
I can't hold back anymore.
His eyes sharpened, his aura rising in tandem. The Haki on his sword thickened and darkened further.
"Slash Wave: Wave-Cleaving!"
Gripping his sword in both hands, he suddenly swung forward, launching a massive flying slash. Wherever the slash passed, the ground split open into a deep gash as it roared toward Ronan.
Facing this powerful slash, Ronan did not retreat at all. He fully coated both arms in Armament Haki and crossed them in front of his body.
"Boom—!!!"
The enormous sword aura slammed into Ronan's crossed arms, erupting in a deafening detonation.
When the dust slowly dispersed, Ronan's figure reappeared. He still maintained his guarding posture, his feet having carved two long tracks several meters across the ground. A trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth—clearly, even his internal organs had suffered some damage in that direct clash.
"Terrifying…" Stainless stared at the boy who had blocked his full-powered strike, shock flooding his heart.
Ronan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Instead of retreat, his face showed even greater excitement.
He slowly straightened, eyes locking onto Stainless as he spoke with a trace of roughened breath. "A Marine vice admiral really does live up to the name. But if you think that's enough to take me down… you're still far, far from it!"
He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the churning within his body. Then he coated himself entirely in Armament Haki. The color was even deeper than before—Ronan had pushed his Armament Haki to the absolute limit.
He closed the distance to Stainless in a heartbeat, right fist swinging straight at Stainless's chest and abdomen. That was the weak point Ronan had pinpointed using his ultimate Observation Haki.
"Rokuogan: Extreme!"
This was Ronan's fusion of Physical Arts and Haki, the most extreme eruption of pure power.
"Boom—!!!"
A heavy, muffled blast rang out.
Stainless's eyes bulged violently. He lowered his head in disbelief to look at his abdomen, which was clearly coated in Haki—yet it had been punched inward, forming a deep crater. It felt as though his internal organs had all been smashed to pieces.
He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but only vomited a great mouthful of blood mixed with shredded viscera.
His massive body swayed, then collapsed to his knees with a thunderous crash. The sword in his hand clattered to the ground beside him. The savagery in his eyes was swiftly replaced by despair and disbelief as he stared fixedly at the slightly immature face of the young king before him.
Ronan slowly drew back his fist, his face expressionless.
He bent down instead, seizing the collar of Stainless's heavy justice coat with one hand. Like hauling a torn burlap sack, he effortlessly lifted the corpse.
Then, under countless gazes filled with either shock or terror, Ronan suddenly swung Stainless's body forward.
The corpse of a Marine Headquarters vice admiral traced an arc through the air and finally crashed down with a dull splash in front of the tightly-formed Marine ranks.
Blood poured rapidly from the body, staining the ground beneath it red.
"He's dead? Vice Admiral Stainless actually got killed?"
The Marines present stared blankly at the scene. None of them could believe a Marine vice admiral had died at the hands of an eleven-year-old child.
Yet what they were seeing with their own eyes left them no room not to believe.
"How is this possible?"
The Marine soldiers broke into a commotion. Even the Celestial Dragons being protected by the Marines widened their eyes. At this moment, they no longer believed the Marines could stop the enemy's advance.
"Hurry and escort the Celestial Dragon-samas back to the ships!"
A CP0 member in the crowd spoke up at once. He knew very clearly that the situation had become extremely unfavorable for them. If they continued to stay here, things would only grow worse and worse.
(End of Chapter)
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