If one were to create a pyramid hierarchy between the Gatekeeper Clan and humans, then in Ancient Claw's heart, the magical beasts of the Gatekeeper Clan would be at the pyramid's apex, while humans could only reside at the very bottom.
This perception was even embedded deep within his soul.
Thus, when he was 'humiliated' by Law twice in a row, his inner fury went without saying.
It should be known that Law's group, preparing to return to the Six Continents back then, were the ones chased around by Ancient Claw.
Now, the positions of both sides seemed to have undergone a fundamental change.
When his body was split in two by Law's slash, Ancient Claw instantly calmed down, the boiling blood in his body quickly cooling.
'The previous two attacks were nothing, but this one could break my defense. Is it because of that rusty knife?'
'But I feel no pain, no bleeding. Strangely, I can still control my lower body.'
'Is this his ability?'
Ancient Claw's thoughts raced rapidly, several notions flashing through his mind in an instant.
The wound splitting his body was at the abdomen, diagonally slashing from the right rib area to the left.
Such an injury was enough to be fatal, but due to the restriction of God Hand, Ancient Claw's life force hadn't decreased in the slightest.
His upper body touched the building rooftop floor first. His hands with abnormally thick knuckle bones slammed onto the ground, the resulting impact pushing his upper body away from Law.
Simultaneously, his lower half, also falling, kicked off the rooftop floor, chasing after Ancient Claw's upper body.
The upper and lower halves split apart almost synchronously performed distancing actions, also causing Law's follow-up attack to miss.
'Strong adaptability, and excellent emotional switching ability.'
Law's pursuing slash missed. He looked in surprise at Ancient Claw's quickly distancing upper and lower halves.
He didn't expect Ancient Claw to adapt so quickly to the ability effect produced by God Hand and make the most reasonable response in the shortest time.
Although God Hand didn't cause pain when harming a target, a scene like having one's body split in two usually distracted or stunned people. Few could, like Ancient Claw, simultaneously control both upper and lower halves with split concentration in such a short time.
But Ancient Claw did it.
After Ancient Claw evaded Law's pursuit, he distanced himself to a safe range before stopping.
The lower half walked to his upper half's side. The split body stood side by side like this, appearing particularly bizarre.
Because the wound was a diagonal slash, the cross-section wasn't level, so the lower half could stand on its feet, but the upper half couldn't, only temporarily supporting itself with its hands.
'Regeneration ability is useless.'
Completely calmed, Ancient Claw tried using regeneration ability to regrow a lower body, but it had no effect.
Immediately, his gaze turned cold, fixed on Law, who stood holding his blade.
The regeneration ability's failure was clearly related to the opponent's ability.
'No bleeding or injury, plus still being able to control my body, indicated that although my body was split in two, I wasn't essentially injured, hence the regeneration ability failed.'
'In other words, this weird ability was purely the bane of regeneration abilities.'
'But... it's not a big deal.'
Ancient Claw glanced at his lower half from the corner of his eye. His fingers embedded into the high-hardness floor mixed with metal.
Law raised his true weapon horizontally before him. Not to mention his current Potential Aura was ample, there was also Lichen support, so in the upcoming battle, he didn't need to consider Nen conversion output rate.
First reduce the threat to a minimum, then execute.'
Law's eyes flickered. He used [Instant], his figure suddenly piercing through the air, disappearing.
'So fast!'
On the other side, Ancient Claw's expression tightened. His hands and feet moved simultaneously. The split upper and lower halves leaped in different directions.
Then, Law's figure appeared, slashing at empty air.
Ancient Claw, who dodged Law's attack this time, had sharpness in his eyes. His hands slapped backward against the air, creating two shockwave rings, forcing his body to abruptly change direction, turning back to charge at Law standing on the rooftop.
Simultaneously, the lower half that dodged to another direction also kicked off the ground, suddenly turning to attack Law.
Another perfect 100% synchronization split concentration, simultaneously controlling upper and lower halves to flank Law.
"Didn't expect that, did you?!"
Ancient Claw's eyes flashed with icy killing intent!
Facing Ancient Claw's pincer attack, Law's lips quirked slightly.
He had to admit Ancient Claw's prowess. Even with his body split in two, his mobility and control didn't decrease much. Among the many enemies he'd encountered, only Ancient Claw could do this.
Based on this, if Ancient Claw kept dodging, it would be hard to kill him quickly.
Now, actively attacking was actually what Law most wanted to see.
'It seems Giles's guess was correct. Your style leans towards Enhancement. And I love dealing with Enhancers the most.'
Law inwardly sneered, then decisively summoned White General.
Amid surging white light, the imposing White General appeared out of thin air, meeting Ancient Claw's upper half attacking from the left, while Law raised his blade to meet Ancient Claw's lower half attacking from the right.
As strong as the Gatekeeper Clan's abnormal physique, even the lower half with only legs to attack possessed offensive power not to be ignored.
Law swung his blade down, slashing at the attacking Ancient Claw's lower half.
Simultaneously, White General drove its long blade into the ground behind Law.
Both sides, fighting separately, collided almost simultaneously.
Ancient Claw's extremely powerful hands directly pierced through White General's blade positioned horizontally behind Law but couldn't shatter the long blade, thus failing to drive his knuckle bones into Law's spine.
On the other side, Law opened a Domain, preemptively enveloping the attacking Ancient Claw's lower half, then simply and neatly slashed at the cross-section of Ancient Claw's lower half, cutting vertically down, striking the crotch vital area, splitting the two legs apart.
The damage caused by God Hand didn't produce pain, so when the lower half's crotch was split in two by Law's slash, Ancient Claw didn't realize it immediately.
Moreover, White General's long blade and majestic body blocked his line of sight, preventing him from getting information immediately.
However, based on the sensation of his feet touching the ground, a complete information chain instantly formed, transmitted remotely to his brain nerves.
'Lower body... split in two.'
Obtaining this information, Ancient Claw's expression changed. He urgently activated life force, erupting between his hands embedded in White General's blade, forcibly shattering White General's long blade.
Immediately after, the remaining force, undiminished, pierced through White General's leg, aiming directly at the nearby Law, while simultaneously controlling the split legs to retreat.
'Realized now?'
Law looked back at Ancient Claw breaking through White General's defense line. His knees suddenly bent, narrowly avoiding the knuckle bones aimed at his head. His gaze briefly intersected with Ancient Claw's.
Ancient Claw saw the calm and coldness in Law's eyes… Law saw the shock and residual anger in Ancient Claw's eyes.
"Your proud offense… how foolish it is."
Then, after their gazes diverged, Law's left hand, which hadn't moved until then, at that moment turned palm upward, passing between Ancient Claw's straight, forward-extended hands, then slammed hard against Ancient Claw's chin.