"There's no helping it. This is your punishment for betraying the Straw Hats!"
Cavendish slowly drew the Western-style sword named Durandal, laughing as he answered Hajrudin.
Hajrudin's Pokémon typing was Normal plus Fighting, while Cavendish's Pokémon typing was Flying plus Ghost.
According to Pokémon type matchups, Hajrudin's Normal- and Fighting-type moves had absolutely no effect on Cavendish, who possessed the Ghost type.
Meanwhile, Cavendish's Flying-type moves could deal double damage to Hajrudin, who possessed the Fighting type.
Though battles in the real world would not be judged entirely by Pokémon type matchups, Cavendish was indeed the kind of opponent Hajrudin was worst at dealing with.
…
…
"Hajrudin… can he beat that guy!?"
In the giant formation, Brogy, who had already recovered, watched the two men gradually enter combat mode and could not help murmuring the question.
Beside him, Dorry thought for a moment before replying:
"It'll be tough!"
"No matter what, Hajrudin is one of the Straw Hats' people. They definitely understand him better than we do. Why would they waste a chance at victory for nothing?"
"That's true."
Brogy sighed, then shook his head and looked behind him.
"So who should we send out next?"
Clearly, he no longer held any hope for Hajrudin and had already begun thinking about the next fighter.
But just then, a sacred, brilliant white radiance suddenly blossomed across the battlefield.
Cavendish and Hajrudin had both entered Pokémon-ization at the same time!
Under the veil of evolutionary light, both of their bodies changed in an instant.
The most obvious transformation naturally belonged to Hajrudin, who was of the giant race.
Standing more than twenty meters tall, the evolutionary light bursting from him was naturally also over twenty meters high.
And what was even more terrifying was…
Under the cover of that evolutionary light, his body actually began expanding continuously!
As the prince of the giant race, Hajrudin's talent might not compare to his younger brother Loki's, but he was still a genius among the younger giants!
Although he had not been under the Straw Hats for very long, relying on his impressive talent, he had already completed dual-type Pokémon-ization!
The power of the Normal type caused his flesh and blood to surge once more, his physique expanding without end!
Meanwhile, the power of the Fighting type allowed his body to remain coordinated even as it expanded!
In the blink of an eye, Hajrudin had transformed into a colossal being that even the giants would have to call a giant!
Sacred light towering fifty meters high enveloped everyone's vision, forcing even the giants to raise their heads and look up at Hajrudin before them.
Several drone cameras automatically pulled back as well, ensuring that Hajrudin's current majestic form could be fully captured in the frame.
"My goodness…"
Shanks, who had already been looking forward to seeing what interesting abilities the Straw Hat Pirates would reveal next, exclaimed in astonishment.
In truth, having sailed the New World for years, they had not exactly never seen colossal beings before.
After all, in the vast sea, a mere fifty meters was not truly all that enormous.
What shocked them was…
The surging blood energy within Hajrudin, boiling like a raging tide!!!
Hajrudin's Ability was Huge Power, an extremely formidable Ability for physical attackers!
Its effect was to greatly enhance all physical attacks!
And as a giant, Hajrudin already possessed blood energy far beyond that of ordinary races. After completing both Normal- and Fighting-type Pokémon-ization, both of which enhanced the body, while also being strengthened by Huge Power…
His physical body had already reached a level of toughness beyond ordinary imagination!
It could be said that with his body alone, along with his terrifying size, Hajrudin now possessed combat power comparable to a Marine admiral!
And not the sort of admiral like Ryokugyu, who had barely scraped into the rank by relying on his Devil Fruit ability.
However, as the saying went, what was too rigid was easily broken.
Hajrudin's weakness was equally obvious.
His type combination was entirely concentrated in his physical body. Compared to others who gained all kinds of abilities after evolution, Hajrudin's fighting style was not flexible.
His battle method was close combat! Close combat! And still more close combat!!!
So if he encountered Devil Fruit abilities or Pokémon moves that targeted the physical body, he had to be especially careful.
However…
Simplicity was not his fault.
This pure form of power had granted Hajrudin combat strength that crossed several tiers.
If he were asked to choose, he would undoubtedly say without hesitation:
"Battle! Feels great!!!"
Boom!
The white motes filling the sky scattered into the void. Hajrudin, now transformed into a super giant, slammed his fists together, unleashing astonishing sound waves and shockwinds that surged in every direction.
With a fifty-meter-tall body, even a casual swing of his arm was enough to raise a hurricane that would make ordinary people unable to stand.
But in the next second, everyone's gazes immediately shifted toward Hajrudin's feet.
Although Hajrudin's size and sharply increased strength had instinctively drawn their eyes, they had not forgotten…
On the Straw Hats' side, the one sent out would be someone even stronger than Hajrudin.
However, when everyone's gazes fell on Cavendish, their expressions froze in unison.
Under the veil of evolutionary light, Cavendish's body had miraculously split into two, turning into two Cavendishes!
One Cavendish wore his usual elegant smile, with a pair of pure white wings growing from his back. Like a noble angel, he held a holy Western sword and hovered roughly thirty centimeters above the ground.
The other Cavendish's figure was relatively indistinct. For some unknown reason, merely looking at him made one feel as though they had been plunged into an ice cellar, chills running through their entire body.
In his hand, he likewise held a slender sword that seemed to be shrouded in shadow and curses.
His face was savage, and from his split-open mouth came a low, beastlike growl.
This figure was like an abyssal demon that had burst from purgatory into the mortal world—violent and bloodthirsty.
He formed a stark contrast with the previous elegant angel form.
They were clearly wearing identical clothes, yet angel-form Cavendish seemed wrapped in holy light, radiating a faint glow.
Meanwhile, demon-form Cavendish looked as if he had been covered by a layer of dark clouds, the space around him seemingly smeared with ink by a god, chaotic and distorted.
"C-Cavendish turned into two people!?"
The sudden change left everyone present astonished.
This transformation was even more unbelievable than Hajrudin suddenly doubling his size.
"This is ridiculous! Is this also Pokémon power!?"
People whispered among themselves. Whether it was Hajrudin or Cavendish, both of their Pokémon-ized forms had broadened everyone's horizons and left them crying out in shock!
And just as they were stunned, the two fighters on the field suddenly moved.
Hajrudin made the first move. He clasped his hands tightly together, forming a mountain-like hammer, then smashed it down fiercely toward Cavendish below.
Yet facing Hajrudin's roaring attack, Cavendish's two figures simultaneously revealed a contemptuous smile.
Angel-form Cavendish, who most resembled his normal state, snorted lightly.
"Hmph! Your attack is far too slow, Hajrudin!!!"
As he spoke, the wings on Holy Light Cavendish's back suddenly unfurled, then swept forcefully.
In an instant, a violent gale appeared out of thin air.
Riding that gale, Holy Light Cavendish's body swiftly turned into a streaking afterimage, rising directly into the sky and perfectly avoiding Hajrudin's attack.
As for the other demon-form Shadow Cavendish, after a flicker of disdain flashed through his eyes, he pointed his sword and charged straight toward Hajrudin's feet.
His speed was so fast that he seemed like a bolt of lightning piercing through the void. In an instant, he arrived at Hajrudin's feet and thrust his sword in!
Pfft!!!
The sharp Western rapier suddenly stabbed between Hajrudin's leg bones.
But compared to his enormous body, the slender Western sword was not even as significant as a toothpick.
Hajrudin completely ignored such a minor wound!
However, after realizing that his own attack would not succeed, his body miraculously came to an abrupt halt, displaying extremely powerful bodily coordination and control.
Immediately afterward, Hajrudin's half-crouched body suddenly reached out, grabbing toward Cavendish in the air.
His huge palm swept forward, stirring up fierce gusts that made the surrounding branches of the World Tree shake violently.
Yet Cavendish in the sky seemed to have anticipated Hajrudin's movements long ago. With another flap of his wings, he once again rode the power of the wind and evaded Hajrudin's attack.
Facts proved that even among geniuses, there were differences!
For Hajrudin to complete Pokémon-ization of two types in such a short time already fully demonstrated his remarkable talent.
But compared to Cavendish, even Hajrudin, who had completed dual-type Pokémon-ization, seemed dim and lackluster before him!
Because the current Cavendish had already reached the second stage of Pokémon-ization…
He no longer simply poured Pokémon power into his body for modification. Instead, he allowed Pokémon power to carry out targeted evolution according to his own needs!
Just like the wings on Cavendish's back—they were the result of Flying-type evolution.
And after evolving, his control over wind had also risen to another level.
As for that demonlike Shadow Cavendish, he was naturally a companion life-form evolved by Cavendish through fusing his Ghost type with his second personality!!!
After evolution, Shadow Cavendish—or rather, Shadow Kamaitachi—still did not possess much intelligence. But through constant training and effort, Cavendish could now coordinate with Shadow Kamaitachi and carry out simple tactical combinations.
More importantly…
Through this method, Cavendish could feel that his second personality was gradually gaining the ability to think, instead of merely manufacturing slaughter.
Especially after listening to a story Red once told him about a green giant, Cavendish was also looking forward to one day reconciling with Kamaitachi, thereby becoming a stronger version of himself.
Whoosh!!!
With a flash of his wings, Holy Light Cavendish evaded Hajrudin's attack once again and began gradually rising higher!
Although he had already dodged several of Hajrudin's attacks in succession, there was a saying that fit the situation well…
Hajrudin could make countless mistakes, but if Cavendish made even one, there would be no chance for a comeback.
So from the very beginning, Cavendish's plan had been to create distance from Hajrudin and use his control of the skies and Shadow Kamaitachi to fight him.
As for why Hajrudin did not attack Shadow Kamaitachi?
What kind of joke was that!?
A companion life-form evolved through the Ghost type and a second personality…
Was that something a purely physical fighter like him could grab!?
Hajrudin knew very well that his only hope of victory was to defeat Holy Light Cavendish.
But as he watched Cavendish rise higher and higher, Hajrudin immediately felt a wave of helplessness!
This was exactly why he hated dealing with opponents like Cavendish!!!
Fortunately, his path to victory had not been completely cut off.
Although Elbaf's Underworld was vast and abundant, so spacious that even giants felt it was wide enough to live in, it did in fact possess a ceiling layer!
In other words, Cavendish could only rise as high as the ceiling of the Underworld.
At the very least, this was not an absolutely free space.
Furthermore, strictly speaking, Hajrudin was not truly without ranged attack methods.
It was just that using them would waste his powerful Huge Power Ability.
"Buzzing around like an insect! So annoying!"
A sharp gleam flashed through Hajrudin's eyes.
The next moment, he suddenly placed both hands before his chest.
Energy filled with an aura of destruction surged like a rushing river, continuously gathering from within Hajrudin's body into his hands.
At the same time, the blood energy increased by his evolved body was also converted into an endless stream of Armament Haki, flowing into the gathered energy together.
In the blink of an eye, a ball of energy shining with pitch-black radiance appeared between Hajrudin's hands.
Hajrudin roared aloud:
"Hero's Spear · Black Flash!!!"
Boom!!!
He wrapped his fists around the mutated Hyper Beam in his hands, then blasted it fiercely toward Cavendish above!
In an instant, all the light in the world seemed to vanish, and the entire world turned black and white.
Under the amplification of all kinds of abilities, the Hyper Beam in Hajrudin's hands also smashed toward Cavendish with even more destructive power.
Because Hajrudin considered this very likely to be his one and only chance, he could be said to have gone all in, using every bit of power within him that he could make use of.
And this also gave the Hyper Beam's assault speed far beyond the ordinary.
Combined with its enormous scale, even Cavendish, who could manipulate the power of hurricanes, could not guarantee he would dodge it one hundred percent.
However…
"Hey!? You don't really think this one Hyper Beam alone is enough to threaten me, do you!?"
A bright white gleam suddenly flashed through Holy Light Cavendish's eyes.
Immediately afterward, he swept out his hand, and his wings abruptly spread wide, aimed straight at Hajrudin's Hyper Beam!!!
"Infinite · Air Cutter!!!"
Swish!
With a fierce swing from Cavendish, a massive number of blade-like air slashes were instantly released from his wings, pouring endlessly toward Hajrudin's all-out Hyper Beam.
Countless air blades rapidly collided with the terrifying energy beam, suddenly erupting into a tremendous explosion that enveloped the entire sky of the Underworld.
(End of Chapter)