Thousands of men surged in from all directions, surrounding the courtyard so tightly that not even a breeze could slip through.
Seen from afar, they were a dark, seething mass—an ant swarm in Capone Bege's eyes.
"These guys are the elite of the Happo Navy. They're nothing like Buffet's second-rate mafia goons."
Bege narrowed his eyes.
"Perfect. Show me just how you tore through my defensive formation in such a short time."
Hanpao frowned, lips twitching as if he wanted to speak—
but in the end, he held back.
He didn't want to admit it, but he knew.
He wasn't a match for that man.
He couldn't even look Apophis in the eyes without suffering disastrous consequences.
Rejecting Langya's assistance now wouldn't be stubbornness—
it would be suicide.
Hanpao inhaled deeply.
The suppressed power within his body erupted, and the naginata in his hand was coated with a layer of pitch-black gloss.
Under the sunlight, it gleamed like cold, hardened steel.
"Armament Haki?"
Apophis spoke calmly.
Though surprised his opponent possessed Armament Haki, he was hardly impressed.
If the man had Observation Haki, the fight might have been interesting.
But Armament Haki?
Even if Armament Haki could strengthen attacks—he still had to hit him.
And as for defense… if Hanpao thought his shallow mastery could block the Seven-Star Sword,
he would soon taste the same agony Langya suffered.
"So you even know about Armament Haki? Looks like you're not as ignorant as the other fools in Paradise."
Hanpao growled, swinging his naginata with a fierce downward arc.
The air howled with the force.
Apophis lifted his sword.
With one hand, he blocked the heavy strike as effortlessly as a reef enduring crashing waves—unmoving, unshaken.
The demonic blade and the naginata crossed in an X-shape, locked in place.
Realizing brute strength was useless, Hanpao abruptly changed tactics.
His right leg snapped out like a compass needle sweeping across the air.
"Chui Ding — Martial Toe Spike!"
His leg, sheathed in black metallic Armament, swept horizontally.
Shockwaves rippled outward—Hasshoken vibrations firing like compressed blasts.
But Apophis had foreseen it.
The moment Hanpao lifted his leg, Apophis twisted aside, leaping lightly into the air.
His counter-swing came down with terrifying force, slamming onto the naginata's blade.
Unbalanced on one leg, Hanpao had no way to stabilize himself—
His entire body was hammered into the ground like a nail.
Apophis dropped from above, sword pointed straight at Hanpao's brow—
ready to cleave him from head to toe.
Hanpao, unable to pull his lower body free in time, had no choice but to face the blow head-on.
Veins bulged across his arms as he swung the naginata upward with every ounce of strength he had.
Green flames reflected off the blood-red sword tip.
Black Armament clashed against the demonic blade—
A thunderous explosion roared across the courtyard.
Pirates standing too close screamed as their eardrums burst, blood leaking from their eyes and noses.
The recoil blasted Apophis backward—
while Hanpao was smashed completely underground.
The shockwave followed a beat later—
shattering the earth, sending debris flying.
Rocks spat out like bullets, mowing down the pirates before they could launch a coordinated attack.
Cries of pain filled the battlefield.
"Fall back! Get out of the central combat zone! Fire from a distance!"
Gunfire erupted in sheets of metal rain.
Even Apophis, who had intended to close the distance, found the barrage somewhat troublesome.
With Observation Haki, normal bullets couldn't touch even the hem of his coat—
but density was the problem.
Even if he sensed every trajectory, insufficient room to maneuver meant he couldn't simply slip through all of them.
"A swarm of ants is still annoying.
Looks like I'll clear the field first."
Apophis's emotionless voice fell—
and he vanished.
He reappeared inside the pirate formation.
Crimson slashes capable of cutting through steel carved arcs through flesh.
In mere breaths, the courtyard turned into a slaughterhouse.
"Damn it! He's too fast! Without the leader restraining him, we can't even aim!"
"I'll blow him up with a grenade—!"
"Don't panic! There's thousands of us! We can wear him down!"
But none of them noticed—
the blood pooling on the ground began flowing.
Silently.
Unnaturally.
Gathering toward Apophis as if drawn into a vortex—
absorbed into his body.
The eerie patterns on the Seven-Star Sword exhaled crimson mist.
Under the haze of blood-red fog,
the pirates' hidden rage, paranoia, and brutality magnified without limit.
"Why are you looking down at me through your nostrils?! I'll kill you!"
"Don't kill me—don't come closer—STOP! If you won't stop, I'll stab you! Stab you! Stab you!"
Knives rose.
Screams blended with manic laughter.
Fear twisted into frenzy.
Hell opened its gates in the courtyard.
"What—what is this?!"
Hanpao burst out of the rubble, stunned.
Only seconds had passed, and yet the world before him had been turned upside down.
"Apophis… what did you do to them?!"
"Doing it myself would be troublesome."
Perhaps amused by the carnage, Apophis actually answered him calmly.
Which only enraged Hanpao further.
"Bastard—STOP!"
Hanpao wrapped Hasshoken vibrations and Armament Haki around his right fist.
Even the air trembled and rippled from the compressed force.
"Hasshoken Secret Technique—Drill Dragon · Spike Fang!"
"Looks interesting."
Apophis lifted his sword, pointing it forward.
"Crimson — Crescent."
The blood mist thickened, condensing into a scarlet shell around the blade.
Ghostly.
Sinister.
Heartbeat-freezing.
A black-metal fist and a green-flame red sword collided.
The explosive force traveled down blade and fist—
into their bodies—
then into the ground beneath their feet.
The cracked earth finally gave way.
Half the courtyard seemed to evaporate.
The ground sank meters deep, compressed into hardened stone by sheer force.
A storm of debris swept outwards.
Dust billowed upward, turning into a rain of mud falling gently back to earth.
The deadlock did not last long.
Hanpao, strength spent, was sent flying like a rubber ball—
bouncing across the ruined earth again and again.
He crashed at last, buried in a cloud of dust.
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