"What a bizarre form. Is this guy really human..."
Drake narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of solemnity revealing itself in his expression.
The aura radiating from him was even more ferocious than a wild beast's, secretly startling even a humanoid beast like himself.
Drake even suspected that Allen might be a Human-Human Fruit user; otherwise, how could he be even more savage than his own hybrid form?
The air fell dead silent.
Their standoff lasted barely three seconds before their gazes sharpened, and as if by unspoken agreement, they both exploded into action!
"Soru!"
"Soru!"
With almost no time delay, the two crossed dozens of meters simultaneously, flashing right in front of the plaza's fountain.
*Crash!!*
Drake's four-bladed axe smashed fiercely into the ground, kicking up a cloud of crushed stone and dust.
As Allen dodged the axe strike with a sidestep, his tightly drawn right arm was already primed and ready, whipping out a blindingly fast punch!
A ruthless glint flashed in Drake's eyes. Instead of dodging the punch, he swung the straight sword in his right hand to carve a cross!
"X Slash!"
*Bang!!*
Allen's full-power punch slammed heavily into his opponent's chest. His entire fist pressed deep into the flesh, the explosive force sending Drake's massive body flying backward!
*Rip!!*
Drake's slash landed at the exact same time, tearing through flesh and leaving a massive "X" shaped gash across Allen's body!
A mist of blood sprayed into the air. Gritting his teeth to endure the agonizing pain, Allen stomped the ground repeatedly to give chase.
Blood seeped through Drake's teeth. Fighting back the violent churning in his stomach, he jolted his body to forcibly halt his backward momentum.
Looking up, he saw Allen diving toward him with a ferocious expression, practically flying low across the ground.
Drake raised both his sword and axe high, bringing them down with a loud shout!
Allen kicked off the ground with both feet, his speed skyrocketing. He lunged forward before the weapons could fall, driving his shoulder hard into his opponent's abdomen!
*Bang!!*
"Gah—!"
Drake coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was shoved backward uncontrollably, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the earth.
Before Allen could launch another offensive, Drake clenched his jaw, and a hidden black shadow whipped out swiftly from beneath his cape.
Allen's pupils shrank in shock as a thick, steel-like tail swung right at his face, smacking him squarely on the forehead!
*Bang!!*
Under the force of this blow, Allen didn't go flying straight back as Drake had expected. Instead, his body went airborne, spinning smoothly around his waist like a massive roulette wheel!
*Is this... dispersing the force?!!*
Drake's eyes widened in disbelief.
Allen spun several times in the blink of an eye. As he righted his posture, he whipped a kick straight at the side of Drake's face!
*Bang!*
Drake's head snapped to the side from the impact. He staggered and nearly pitched forward, but he stomped his foot down at the critical moment to forcibly steady himself.
Swinging his arm in a half-circle, he unleashed a vicious horizontal sweep with his four-bladed axe!
*Bang!*
Allen kicked the handle of the axe, only to be sent flying once again by Drake's sheer force.
Before he could even land, Drake lunged forward with a quick step, relentlessly pressing the attack!
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Punches and kicks, sword slashes and axe chops—the two engaged in a frenzied brawl, exhausting every offensive and defensive maneuver they had.
In an instant, almost the entire plaza was filled with the shockwaves of their punches and the scars of their slashes.
Everywhere they passed was left riddled with craters, the ground completely devastated.
"Gulp... So strong..."
"What's the deal with that demon-like back?"
"To think he can fight evenly with the Captain in his hybrid form..."
The pirates in the area swallowed hard, every single one of them shocked by the battle unfolding before their eyes.
And among everyone present, only a few doctors could truly understand what Allen's "Demon Back" represented.
The back musculature is the strongest cluster of power in the human body, and the muscle group most relied upon for generating striking force.
At the same time, the back muscles act as a hub connecting the upper and lower limbs, serving as the absolute core of human strength.
Allen's practically perfect back muscle structure meant that, given equal physical conditioning, the explosive power he could unleash would far surpass anyone else's.
Furthermore, those highly developed muscles, each brimming with terrifying energy, proved that his physical durability was nothing short of monstrous.
With both factors amplifying each other, Allen's explosive power was able to shatter the limits of a normal human.
Anyone possessing this level of physical talent would undoubtedly become a renowned powerhouse on the seas once they fully matured.
Back on the battlefield.
*Bang— Bang— Bang!!*
The two fought fiercely in close quarters, their every move growing increasingly ruthless.
Allen's attacks were like a violent storm, ferocious and swift, with every punch and kick landing solidly on the vulnerable parts of his opponent's body.
Before long, both of them were covered head to toe in each other's blood.
Drake appeared to be heavily suppressed, but he managed to keep the situation stable. He showed no signs of losing and occasionally succeeded in landing a counterattack or two.
*Bang!!*
The two separated after clashing one last time.
Allen and Drake stared at each other with solemn expressions.
Their chests heaved as they panted heavily. They were drenched in blood, their bodies riddled with internal and external injuries of varying severity.
In comparison, aside from solemnity, a faint trace of wariness also flickered in Allen's eyes.
To onlookers, he seemed to display greater dominance, landing far more punches and kicks.
But in reality, only Allen could feel the true pressure—the invisible Armament Haki imbued in his opponent's attacks.
That's right, Drake had mastered Armament Haki. Outsiders couldn't see the Haki, and neither could Allen, but his body was experiencing it firsthand.
He could feel the explosive power behind the strikes, which was clearly far stronger than Drake's own physical strength.
And there was one more piece of evidence that led him to conclude the attacks were coated in Armament Haki: his "Shaori" couldn't completely disperse the opponent's force!
The so-called "Shaori" was one of the highest-tier defensive techniques from Baki. When facing an attack, it required suppressing the body's instinct to tense up, allowing a completely relaxed body to move along with the strike.
By using Shaori, the body transformed from an iron plate into cotton, capable of completely dispersing any incoming force.
But when coated in Armament Haki, Drake's attacks were like being wreathed in flames. The physical striking force could be dispersed, but the scorching energy would still frantically burn the cotton.
This was Allen's current predicament. It was incredibly difficult for him to defend against Drake's attacks, forcing him to dodge and evade as much as possible, whereas Drake could use Haki to take his attacks head-on.
This created the illusion that Allen was suppressing his opponent. In reality, the effect of him landing three hits was barely any different from Drake landing one.
Moreover, Drake's abilities were extremely balanced. Whether it was strength, speed, reaction time, or combat technique, he had no obvious flaws.
A prolonged defense guarantees a loss. Blindly dodging would only lower his chances of winning; he had to use offense as his defense!
"Phew—"
Allen exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly lowered his stance, assuming the starting posture for [Supersonic Punch], his gaze fixed on Drake with awe-inspiring fighting intent.
He was going to use his fastest, strongest burst of power to execute this double-edged ultimate technique that would severely injure himself just to destroy his enemy.
Even if it cost him a comminuted fracture in his arm or even ruptured muscles.
A ruined arm could be healed, but once a battle was decided, there was no turning back. He didn't care how much damage he took; right now...
All he wanted was to destroy his enemy!!
Allen's eyes darkened with absolute resolve, his aura suddenly skyrocketing!
Seeing this, Drake's expression also hardened. He swung his sword and axe to his sides, blasting out a gust of wind that kicked up the dust.
He wasn't having an easy time either.
Haki wasn't an absolute defense. Under Allen's brutal barrage of punches and kicks, the minor internal injuries had accumulated, and there was no telling when they might erupt.
He was equally desperate to end this battle.
"Let's decide the victor with this next move."
"My thoughts exactly!"
Their eyes met, both seeing the piercing fighting intent in the other's gaze.
Allen poured his will into every bone in his body, mobilizing every joint from his toes to his torso to his arm, as if transforming his body into a tightly interlocked bone whip.
Drake's aura erupted. He bent his legs into a crouch, then pushed off with explosive force, shooting forward in a low dive!
*Bang!!*
The ground shattered, cracks spreading outward. A cold glint shone in Drake's eyes as he threw his arms to his sides, crossing the ends of his sword and axe together.
Armament Haki surged wildly from within his body, flowing out to coat his weapons as he arrived in front of Allen in an instant.
"Red Flag・Line Breaker!!"
Drake let out an explosive roar, thrusting his sword and axe forward with ferocious might!
Allen's gaze was savage! Forsaking all defense, he threw a furious, vicious punch, tearing through the air to meet the attack head-on!
"Super・Sonic Boom Punch!!"
*BOOM!!!*
As their strongest attacks collided, a deep crater instantly blasted open beneath their feet, massive cracks spiderwebbing outward across the ground.
Allen's explosive punch landed dead center on Drake's chest! It broke through the weakened Armament Haki defense, snapping his ribs and rupturing his internal organs!
At the same time, Drake's sword and axe tore through Allen's steel-like body. The Haki erupted violently, as if trying to pulverize every inch of surrounding muscle into mush!
*BOOM!!*
A majestic shockwave blasted outward from the epicenter, sweeping wildly across the entire plaza.
The stalemate lasted less than a second before both were sent flying backward by the force of each other's attacks.
Like meteors streaking across the plaza, they crashed mercilessly into the buildings lining the streets with two resounding *Bangs!*
"Allen!!"
"Captain!!"
Seeing this, both crews paled in panic and hurriedly rushed forward, shouting.
At the same time, several pirates ran frantically from the streets into the plaza.
"Bad news, Captain!"
"The Marines are here outside?!"
...
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