Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed across the battlefield as a wave of PX units robotic clones resembling Bartholomew Kuma suddenly emerged and began launching a fierce assault on the pirates.
Each blast sent limbs flying, taking out several pirates at once.
Among them, the massive Little Oars Jr. stood out like a sore thumb. His enormous body was an easy target, and the PX units wasted no time locking onto him.
Beams of light gathered at the fingertips of the robots, and...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just the first volley left Little Oars drenched in blood, barely standing.
"Out of my way! I have to save Ace!" he roared, swinging his giant blade to cleave through a few PX units in front of him.
"Prepare for the second volley! I want that giant dead!" shouted Sentomaru, barking orders while brandishing his enormous battle axe. His body was wrapped in Armament Haki as he charged straight at Little Oars.
Seeing the next wave of light about to fire, Little Oars instinctively raised his massive arms to shield his head.
"Hey! Your opponent is me!"
Just as Sentomaru lunged forward to cripple Little Oars, a figure suddenly intercepted with a punch. Caught off guard, Sentomaru raised his axe in a hurry to block.
Clang!
Vincent Fox's punch slammed into the axe with a sound like clashing steel. The sheer force sent Sentomaru skidding backward, his feet carving deep trenches into the ground.
"What insane strength..."
Gritting his teeth, Sentomaru steadied himself and leveled his axe to the side, his expression serious.
"I'm Sentomaru! The tightest-lipped and most heavily defended man in the world! Who are you?"
"Just an ordinary pirate," Vincent replied, just as cautious.
He remembered Sentomaru well. That self-introduction? Only half true.
Tight-lipped? Not even close. The guy couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Every time he said, "I absolutely won't tell," he'd immediately spill the beans.
But Sentomaru's defense was the real deal.
Vincent recalled that his mastery of Haki was terrifying. He could project his Armament Haki outward to strike enemies without even making contact. In advanced forms, it could even penetrate the body and destroy opponents from the inside.
A dangerous counter for someone like Vincent, whose strength relied on physical durability.
Fortunately, Sentomaru hadn't reached that level yet.
Sentomaru's face turned red with anger.
"You won't even tell me your name? Are you looking down on me?!"
"Huh?"
Vincent was baffled. He was just trying to avoid exposing his identity in case another student was nearby.
Before he could explain, Sentomaru charged, swinging his giant axe in a palm-strike motion. A burst of invisible force slammed into Vincent, sending him flying backward.
"Yaaah!"
Despite looking like a sumo wrestler, Sentomaru moved with startling agility.
"Time to teach you a lesson!"
He roared and brought the axe down at Vincent's neck.
Vincent braced himself. His danger sense didn't trigger, so he was confident.
Not dodging, he raised his right hand to meet the blow directly.
Clang!
To Sentomaru's shock, his axe didn't slice through Vincent's arm or neck. Instead, it came to a dead stop in the man's palm.
He tried to yank the axe back several times but failed. It was as if the weapon had fused with Vincent's hand.
"Damn it… let go!"
For the first time, panic flickered in Sentomaru's eyes. He could feel it this man was on a whole different level.
"Attack now!"
Abandoning the axe, Sentomaru barked another order. PX units whirled around and opened fire on Vincent.
Boom!
A massive explosion engulfed the area, kicking up a storm of smoke and debris.
Sentomaru smirked.
Even he had to use full-body Haki to survive that barrage. There was no way anyone else could walk away from it unscathed.
Just as he turned to leave.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of slow, steady footsteps echoed from within the smoke.
"You... you're still alive?!"
Sentomaru stared in disbelief. The pirate was not only alive, he looked barely scratched.
Whoosh!
Vincent hurled the shattered remnants of the axe forward, following it up with a charge of his own.
"Damn it! You can't hurt me! I'm the man with the strongest defense in the world!"
"Legless Flight!"
With a shout, Sentomaru lifted his foot and unleashed a surge of high-level Haki toward Vincent.
Boom!
Vincent was blasted back again. Though unharmed, the impact created distance.
"By the way, I'm no Devil Fruit user."
"Nothing personal, but the old man gave me this mission. You're not walking away."
Adopting a sumo stance, Sentomaru lunged forward again.
"Legless Flight!"
This was his signature move. Its internal damage made it especially dangerous.
Vincent had taken it twice. He couldn't keep tanking it.
He turned and bolted.
"Get back here!"
Sentomaru chased after him, cloaked in Armament Haki.
Vincent muttered under his breath with a grin.
"You actually dared to follow me?"
"Time to make you suffer."
As soon as Sentomaru entered striking range, Vincent turned on his heel and unleashed a punch.
Boom!
Sentomaru responded in kind, and the two collided once more.
Their clashes were thunderous. Pirates and Marines nearby had to retreat, some even feeling nauseous just from the shockwaves.
Vincent's punches were overwhelming. Though Sentomaru could withstand the hits, he was being pushed back with each one.
With every step, Vincent's fists came faster and heavier.
"Damn it…"
Sentomaru was clearly lagging behind now, no longer able to retaliate only endure.
"One Serious Punch!"
Vincent gathered all his strength and threw a full-force punch.
Sentomaru's round body flew like a cannonball, crashing through multiple walls before finally coming to a stop.
Boom!!!
The impact blasted a gaping hole in the rear fortress walls.
"Hey, hey. Sentomaru, you still breathing?"
Buried in rubble, Sentomaru staggered to his feet and looked up at a tall man standing in the shadows.
"Old man… that pirate's power is insane. What do we do?"
"What do we do?" Admiral Kizaru glanced lazily at the battlefield, hands in pockets.
"Let's just watch for now."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"