Joy Boy noticed the shift in Pedro's expression and spoke with a knowing smile.
"That's right, it's Fleet Admiral Black Dragon. His name is Figarland Lloyd."
Snap!
The moment Lloyd's name was spoken, Pedro completely lost control of his emotions. Every strand of fur on his body stood upright as dazzling arcs of electricity burst around him.
Sicilian and the other members of the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad also darkened their expressions.
Joy Boy narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the enraged Pedro.
"Pedro, do you hate the Celestial Dragons that much?"
Pedro clenched his teeth so tightly that sparks crackled from the corners of his mouth.
"Hate? I want nothing more than to kill him."
"Why? Care to explain?"
Pedro gradually suppressed the violent emotions surging inside him before replying coldly,
"Before that, you'd better explain your relationship with Lloyd. And you said you fought him before, which means your strength should be extraordinary, right?"
Joy Boy grinned broadly.
"You can find out for yourself."
A sharp flash of lightning crossed Pedro's eyes.
"That's exactly what I planned."
The instant his voice fell, Pedro vanished from his spot. Wrapped in crackling Electro, his claw tore through the air as he lunged straight toward Joy Boy.
Yet Joy Boy stood there motionless, his relaxed smile unchanged.
Pedro frowned and slammed his electrified claw directly into Joy Boy's chest. Violent currents exploded outward like silver serpents.
But instead of satisfaction, Pedro's pupils contracted in shock.
His claw had sunk into Joy Boy's chest.
The skin on Joy Boy's body rotated like soft white clay, spiraling around Pedro's arm and dragging it deeper inside.
Joy Boy remained completely unharmed beneath the raging electricity. After all, his body possessed the absurd properties of the Sun God Nika.
Looking at Pedro's stunned expression, Joy Boy smiled even wider.
Pedro's face flushed red as he desperately tried to pull his arm free, only to find himself trapped even deeper.
Among the crowd, a rabbit Mink cried out anxiously.
"Pedro-senpai!"
Joy Boy glanced toward the rabbit Mink before activating his ability again.
His chest suddenly rotated in the opposite direction.
Pedro's entire body spun violently along with it, completely out of control. A second later, he was flung backward and skidded across the ground for dozens of meters before finally stopping.
Several moments passed before Pedro slowly rose to his feet.
Holding his dizzy head, he shook it hard until his blurred vision cleared somewhat. When he looked up again, Joy Boy had already vanished from where he had been standing.
At that moment, the rabbit Mink shouted once more.
"Pedro-senpai, behind you!"
Pedro's expression changed instantly. He spun around and found Joy Boy standing directly behind him with that same irritating smile.
To Pedro, it felt like deliberate mockery.
He snorted coldly.
"If your strength only comes from a Devil Fruit ability, then I truly can't imagine how you managed to fight Lloyd."
The power of Lloyd's Dark Dark Fruit was already known throughout the world.
Everyone understood that Devil Fruit users were severely restrained before that terrifying darkness capable of swallowing abilities themselves.
Joy Boy did not seem bothered in the slightest.
Instead, he laughed softly.
"You seem to misunderstand something. Strictly speaking, I'm not a Devil Fruit user."
Pedro frowned.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Joy Boy shrugged.
"You can think of me as the Devil Fruit itself."
Pedro stared at him like he was insane.
Joy Boy waved dismissively.
"Forget it. Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand. Since you think I relied entirely on my Devil Fruit powers to beat you earlier, then I simply won't use them this time."
As he spoke, he slowly raised his fist.
"Ready?"
Pedro stepped back cautiously, suspicion filling his eyes.
"Fine. Then this punch will be coated in Armament Haki. Even if you're a Logia user, you won't withstand it."
Joy Boy merely tilted his head lazily, looking half asleep.
Pedro snorted coldly.
Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly covered his fist.
Joy Boy blinked before smiling in praise.
"Not bad. Your Armament Haki is solid."
A fierce light flashed through Pedro's eyes.
Then he roared,
"Don't look down on me!!"
Boom!
Pedro's Haki-coated fist blasted forward toward Joy Boy's face.
Joy Boy still made no attempt to dodge.
Instead, he simply threw a punch of his own.
The two fists collided head-on.
In the next instant, Pedro was blasted away like a cannonball. His body smashed straight through the wall behind him before disappearing entirely from sight.
Joy Boy remained standing in place with his fist extended forward. A dazzling sheen flickered briefly across his knuckles.
Looking toward the massive hole Pedro had created, Joy Boy muttered quietly to himself,
"My recovery is progressing even better than expected. That punch might have been a little excessive."
Only then did the surrounding Minks finally recover from their shock.
"Pedro-senpai!"
"Boss!!"
Swish!
A small white figure suddenly darted out from the crowd like a bolt of lightning, leaving streaks of silver electricity in the air as it rushed directly toward Joy Boy.
Joy Boy raised an eyebrow before casually reaching out.
In an instant, he caught the attacker.
"Owowow! Let go of me, you bastard!!"
The one who charged at him was the rabbit Mink.
At that moment, one of her wrists was firmly restrained by Joy Boy. In frustration, she kicked wildly before springing upward and biting toward his neck.
Joy Boy exaggeratedly leaned backward to dodge.
Then, with a twist of his wrist, he spun the rabbit Mink around until her back faced him while simultaneously restraining her other arm.
Even then, she refused to give up.
Pouting angrily, she released violent bursts of Electro from the white fur covering her body, attempting to shock Joy Boy unconscious.
Unfortunately for her, Joy Boy ignored the lightning entirely.
"What a fierce little rabbit," he laughed. "You really don't know how to behave."
The rabbit Mink continued struggling furiously, trying everything possible to break free.
At that moment, a female dog Mink drew her sword and rushed forward.
"Release Carrot!"
Unexpectedly, Joy Boy immediately let go.
Caught off guard, Carrot stumbled and fell flat onto the ground.
By then, the surrounding Mink warriors had already drawn their weapons. Hostile gazes locked firmly onto Joy Boy from every direction.
Seeing the increasingly tense atmosphere, Joy Boy quickly raised both hands innocently.
"Hey now, don't look at me like that. I don't have any bad intentions."
Just as the conflict was about to erupt, Pedro suddenly appeared through the massive hole in the wall, clutching one arm as he shouted furiously,
"Stop!!!"