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"What a troublesome guy..."
On the battlefield, Hanafuda's body flew backward once again after being struck by Roy's fist.
Bang!
His massive body smashed through layer after layer of ice until blood began to flow faintly from his head.
Yet, after landing and standing back up, Hanafuda merely stuck out his tongue and licked the blood away.
The wildness on his face grew even more intense.
This time, however, he did not rush to counterattack.
He had already realized how terrifying Roy's three types of Hasshoken truly were.
"The golden shockwaves possess immense power. Approaching it results in being repelled, while enduring it directly causes injury."
"The blue shockwave manipulates water, inducing freezing. Once struck, the body becomes immobilized."
"The red shockwave ignites flames, its destructive force surpassing even that of the fire brat, the most dangerous technique."
With its near-perfect defense, powerful crowd control, and terrifying destructive force, even Hanafuda had to admit that Roy's Shockwave Fist was both formidable and extremely troublesome.
But precisely because of that, the excitement in his heart burned even hotter.
Click! Click! Click!
His excitement was so intense that his teeth ground audibly and saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.
Bang!
In the next instant, Hanafuda moved again.
He surged forward, his legs exploding with power as Armament Haki enveloped his entire body as he charged straight at Roy once more.
Facing the oncoming Hanafuda, Roy naturally threw another punch.
Buzz!
Golden shockwaves wrapped in crimson flames blasted out once again.
"Hm!?"
To Roy's surprise, Hanafuda didn't evade this time.
Bang!
He charged straight into the range of Roy's Shockwave Fist.
Fwoom!
Flames and violent shockwaves scorched his body again, charring his flesh black and cracking and collapsing his scales.
But...
"ROAR!"
Hanafuda kept advancing.
Even the low growl rumbling from between his razor-sharp teeth grew louder and more ferocious.
As previously mentioned, Hanafuda's nickname was the "Lizard King."
This so-called "lizard" was not an ordinary reptile, but rather, he had the ability to transform into long-extinct, ancient creatures known as dinosaurs.
He was obsessed with those species that once stood at the pinnacle of the world, and he had dedicated himself to collecting all Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits.
He worshiped the dinosaurs' terrifying vitality, overwhelming power, and primal savagery.
He regarded himself as a dinosaur and treated every battle as a hunt.
And without a doubt, in his eyes, Roy was powerful prey.
"When facing strong prey, beasts often choose to retreat. But I am the King of Dinosaurs!" He growled.
"The stronger the prey, the more challenging the hunt, the greater the proof of a king's worth!"
Pain? Injury?
"Such things only excite me more!"
Amidst his roars, Roy suddenly noticed something astonishing.
The massive Tyrannosaurus Rex body of Hanafuda, now charred and visibly carbonized, was rapidly regenerating before his very eyes.
He took the violent shockwaves head-on, charging toward Roy amid the constant cycle of wounds tearing open and regenerating.
Then...
Clack!
A sharp sound rang out as Hanafuda hurled the sickle-shaped meteor hammer from his hand.
"King Dragon Stranglehold!"
In an instant, the chain of the meteor hammer wrapped around Roy's body.
Seeing this, Hanafuda's grin became downright feral.
"Got you!"
Victory was decided.
At least, that's what he firmly believed in his heart.
Whether or not it was a Devil Fruit ability, Roy's Hasshoken was indeed extremely troublesome.
However, Hanafuda had discovered Roy's "weak point."
"Your Hasshoken may have terrifying destructive power, but once the distance is closed, it becomes meaningless. Before you can throw another punch, I'll tear you apart!"
His Iron Maul, "Allosaurus Maru," had Seastone woven into its chain, granting it both Devil Fruit user suppression and extreme durability.
Once someone was caught in the chain, it was nearly impossible to break free or destroy it.
Now, he only needed to do one thing.
"Get over here!"
He wrapped the chains around his arm, channeling all his strength into a sudden, violent tug on Roy. He could almost visualize his victory: Roy being yanked toward him, then torn to shreds!
"Hmm!?"
In the next moment, Hanafuda's expression froze.
After pulling the chain with all his might, he clearly felt... That the chain hadn't moved at all.
"So that's it."
At that precise moment, he heard Roy's voice.
Hearing this, Hanafuda instinctively turned his head.
Roy stood there, unmoving, his expression calm and indifferent.
"Your Devil Fruit ability is already very close to Awakening." Roy looked at Hanafuda and muttered softly.
He knew that Ancient Devil Fruit users possessed tremendous vitality. However, the recovery ability that Hanafuda was displaying now clearly exceeded what Roy understood to be the limit.
There was only one possible answer: Devil Fruit Awakening.
Only Zoan Devil Fruit users who had awakened would possess such absurd vitality.
However, since Hanafuda had clearly not yet mastered the characteristic "transformation" of Zoan Awakening, Roy came to his conclusion.
The opponent's development of his Devil Fruit was extremely close to Awakening.
"As expected of a Shichibukai," Roy mused in admiration, "You do possess some real strength."
Then he looked at Hanafuda and grinned.
This wasn't a Shichibukai like Crocodile, whom Roy had countered perfectly. Rather, it was an ancient powerhouse skilled in Armament Haki and physical combat, standing right at the edge of Awakening.
The opponent was strong.
And so...
"This is exactly what I wanted."
{Fruit Loaded: Logia·Magma-Magma Fruit LV3 → Zoan·Dragon-Dragon Fruit·Wind God Wing Dragon Form LV3}
{Fruit Loaded: Logia - Ice-Ice Fruit LV3 → Paramecia - Muscle-Muscule Fruit LV3}
Hanafuda began to sense that something was wrong.
Suddenly, a massive force was transmitted back from the other end of the chain he was gripping tightly!
"Hmm!?"
The overwhelming power caused a momentary misconception. It felt as if another dinosaur had grabbed him and was pulling him back.
"This guy's strength... How is this possible?"
He stared at Roy in shock. The fact that Roy hadn't weakened at all under Allosaurus Maru's influence meant only one thing.
He truly wasn't a Devil Fruit user.
Hanafuda could accept that much.
But the key issue was this: How could Roy's physical stamina rival his own... no, be stronger than his?
"With a body like this, he's almost like Big Brother Kaido back when he was young..."
The thought surfaced involuntarily in his mind, but he erased it the very next instant.
He refused to believe it!
"How could a mere Marine be mentioned in the same breath as Big Brother Kaido? Die!"
He let out a low roar, gripping the chain with one hand and swinging the sickle at the other end straight toward Roy!
Then...
He saw Roy raise his arm.
Clang!
The blade, coated in Busoshoku Haki, struck Roy's arm. Instead of being severed, however, Roy's arm held firm.
All Hanafuda heard was the sound of metal colliding.
He could clearly see sparks flying where Roy's arm met the sickle.
"Skin as hard as steel without being a Devil Fruit user, is he like Big Mom's Steel Balloon?"
At that moment, Hanafuda felt dizzy. But this still wasn't the end.
Now, Hanafuda saw Roy smile at him.
Then...
Crack!
Hanafuda heard a strange sound.
It came from Roy's body.
At that instant, it seemed as if Roy's bones and muscles were changing continuously. His muscles appeared to come alive, swelling and surging with power.
The speed at which his heart pumped blood seemed to exceed all normal limits; he could even faintly hear the heavy, pounding heartbeat.
His skin tightened, and even his bones gave off a faint trembling sound. His breathing became rough and heavy, like a bellows being forcefully worked.
It was as if a terrifying weapon had begun to squeeze every last drop of potential from itself.
At the same time, the golden radiance in Roy's hand receded and then gradually spread throughout his entire body.
He slowly broke free of the chain and grabbed it with his left hand.
"!!!"
Seeing this, Hanafuda's instincts screamed at him to retreat immediately!
Clatter!
However, the chain in his hands became his fatal weakness.
"Zephyr-sensei's Black Body Style is essentially about training every part of the body to grasp its ultimate potential, then forcing the body to erupt with its strongest power."
At that moment, Roy's gaze was fixed firmly on Hanafuda.
Feeling the unprecedented surge of power flowing within him, he whispered to himself.
"This technique can be used with Haki. It strengthens stamina and muscular force, and naturally, it can be paired with enhancement abilities."
For Devil Fruit users, their abilities and Haki were no different; both were powers that existed within their own bodies.
Physical techniques refined through training, like Black Body Style or Iron Fist, were never limited solely to Haki.
For example, Aokiji's Ice Ice Fruit combined with Iron Fist could achieve destructive power comparable to Garp's.
This was exactly what Roy was doing right now.
Though he was still far from fully mastering the essence of Black Body Style...
"At least all that brutally hard training lately hasn't been a complete waste..."
"Black Body Style: Shockwave Fist - Bone Shatter!"
With those words, his fist shot out!
Then...
Bang!
A wave of pure destruction erupted.
(End of Chapter)