In the center of the plaza, Allen, who had charged out at the forefront, was already clashing with Drake.
*Clang!*
Drake's eyes darkened as he swiftly thrust the straight sword in his right hand directly at Allen's chest!
Facing this fierce attack, Allen suddenly dropped his stance, dodging the thrust while drawing his fist back to gather power.
However, his opponent had anticipated this. With the feint of the sword missing, the pitch-black, four-bladed axe in his left hand violently chopped down right after!
Allen hurriedly pivoted on his toes, twisting his body to leap into the air.
*Bang!!*
The four-bladed axe missed, smashing a crater into the ground and sending crushed stone flying.
In mid-air, a vicious glint flashed in Allen's eyes. Using the momentum of his spin, he launched a whip kick straight at his opponent's face!
Seeing the whip kick hurtling toward him at extreme speed, Drake's pupils shrank in shock. With both his sword and axe already committed to the strike, it was too late to pull them back. He had no choice but to take the blow head-on.
"Tekkai!"
*Bang!!*
Allen's leg solidly swept across his opponent's face. The heavy, powerful strike forced Drake to slide several meters sideways, his feet plowing through the dirt.
"Rokushiki?"
Landing back on the ground, Allen paused for a moment, but after recalling the man's background, he was no longer surprised.
Although he had no memory of this guy using Rokushiki, Drake had been a Marine Rear Admiral long before becoming a pirate. It wasn't unusual for him to have mastered the six superhuman martial arts.
Before he could think about it any further, Drake stabilized his footing and immediately charged forward, wielding his sword and axe.
Allen didn't dare to be careless. He dropped into a fighting stance, ready to meet the attack.
However.
"Soru!"
Drake suddenly accelerated, vanishing from his line of sight in an instant.
Allen's movements halted. With a vigilant gaze, he immediately shifted into a defensive stance.
The next second.
*Swish!* Drake flashed right in front of him, his crossed sword and axe slashing down from above!
*Clang!*
Faced with this fast and powerful strike, Allen didn't retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, raising both arms to block, slipping past the sharp edges to parry the handle of the axe!
Drake looked down at Allen, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. The veins on his arms bulged as he exerted even more force!
"X・Hunting Ground!!"
*Boom!!*
A tremendous force violently erupted from the ends of the sword and axe! Allen's body was blasted away, flying across the plaza before crashing heavily into a building!
The two-story building collapsed with a loud crash, sending up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
Landing back on the ground, Drake stared intently into the dust cloud.
He didn't put his weapons away. Judging from their brief exchange, an attack of that level probably wasn't enough to defeat his opponent.
Sure enough.
*Bang!*
Accompanied by a loud boom, the cloud of smoke was violently torn open, and a dark silhouette shot out from within!
Allen had his arms wrapped around his knees, curling his body into a ball. He flew right up to Drake like a cannonball, then unfurled his body, bringing his legs together to deliver a vicious dropkick!
*Bang!!*
Drake raised his sword and axe to block, but he was still sent flying backward by the sheer weight and power of the blow!
*Screech—Crash!*
Drake's feet skidded across the ground, carving out two black trenches. He barely managed to stop his momentum when his back slammed hard into a building at the edge of the plaza.
'What astonishing strength...'
Drake's expression grew solemn, secretly shocked.
Before he could dwell on it, Allen tapped his toes rapidly against the ground and charged forward once more.
Drake readied his sword and axe to intercept, but in the next second, the sprinting Allen suddenly accelerated, his figure vanishing in the blink of an eye!
"Soru!"
"What!"
Drake's pupils shrank in shock, his expression changing drastically.
When Allen reappeared, he had already flashed right in front of Drake! With his right arm drawn back tightly, he threw a brutal punch!
*Bang!!*
The unexpected acceleration left Drake with no time to defend. The heavy punch sank solidly into his abdomen, causing his entire body to bow like a shrimp in excruciating pain!
"Go flying!!"
A fierce light shone in Allen's eyes as he exerted even more force, sending his opponent flying away with a single punch!
*Crash! Crash! Crash!*
After smashing through three consecutive walls, Drake's body crashed heavily into a building a whole street away.
"Captain!"
"Why can that guy use the captain's technique?!"
"He's so strong..."
Drake's subordinates cried out in panic, all of them looking at Allen with eyes full of disbelief.
...
"Although it's still a bit rusty, I suppose this counts as mastering it..."
In the plaza, Allen looked down, clenching and unclenching his fist as the corners of his mouth curled up.
The principle of Soru was to kick the ground dozens of times in the blink of an eye, using the explosive reaction force to move at high speeds.
He had tried to simulate it during his previous training.
But he had failed, or rather, his imitation wasn't quite right. Although he could move at high speeds, the control left much to be desired. It always felt like he was missing some crucial technique.
He had planned to figure it out slowly, but he never expected to run into someone who had mastered Rokushiki so soon.
By deducing the mechanics from the brief glimpse he got, Allen immediately corrected his own movements. After using it a few more times, he figured he would be able to master it completely.
Now, Allen only hoped that Drake could give him a few more surprises.
As martial arts that surpassed the limits of the human body, the techniques of Rokushiki were quite useful to him, whether for in-depth study or for integrating into his existing moves...
"I thought you were just a rookie who had recently entered the Grand Line, but your performance has somewhat exceeded my expectations."
Drake walked out of the ruins, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth as he fixed his gaze on Allen.
Compared to his initial indifference, a hint of genuine seriousness had finally appeared on his face.
Allen met his eyes with a teasing smile and said,
"I wonder if my performance is worthy of you bringing out a bit of your true strength in this fight."
"Since that is what you desire, let me test just what you're made of."
Drake's eyes suddenly turned piercingly cold. Immediately after, his limbs began to wildly expand in size at a visible rate.
"Uraaargh...!"
Accompanied by a wild, low roar, Drake's facial features gradually became ferocious. The exposed skin on his face and neck slowly turned green, simultaneously becoming rough and tough.
In less than two breaths.
Drake completely changed his form. His entire body grew a size larger, transforming into a humanoid beast clad in dinosaur skin!
Allen's eyes burned with passion.
As if some primal desire in his genes had been ignited, the moment he saw Drake transform into an Allosaurus, the fighting spirit in his heart soared to its absolute peak!
*Riiiip!*
Tearing off his shirt, Allen spread his arms wide, a vicious glint in his eyes. The muscles all over his body began to twitch and pulse as if they had come alive.
Especially on his back, the clusters of muscles squeezed together, actually forming the terrifying, hideous face of a demon!
Demon Back!!
"Th-This is...!"
"His back... it looks exactly like a demon."
"And what's with that dinosaur?! Is he a Devil Fruit user?!"
Whether it was Allen's hideous Demon Back or Drake's ferocious dinosaur-human hybrid form, both sides present were so shocked that they stood rooted to the spot, completely dumbfounded.
"Whether humans possess the strength to compete with an ancient apex predator... let us verify that today."
A scarlet light radiated from Allen's eyes, and the wild, ferocious aura around him surged even higher. He curled his lips into a savage grin.
"Let's see who the true master of the land really is!"
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