Even by Kenji's standards, the building before him could be described as magnificent.
Not only was the architecture grand, but its exterior was also adorned with dragon sculptures, their eyes continuously glowing 24 hours a day, making the entire structure appear both majestic and incredibly refined.
The tall building possessed an ancient charm, reportedly designed to mimic the style of the Shogun's Palace, the tallest building in Wano Country.
To construct such a towering edifice, one could only imagine the immense cost. Perhaps only a casino could possess such financial power.
So, this was indeed a casino, named 'Heaven on Earth'.
"Not bad, the name is quite elegant." Kenji said, looking up and scanning the tall building, immediately discerning that this casino offered more than just gambling.
Essentially, it was an integration of a casino and a brothel, with gambling as its primary focus.
Such a business model held no novelty for Kenji, but in this world, it was considered cutting-edge. And those capable of managing such a large casino would naturally not be ordinary people.
"Roar hahaha! It seems a formidable fellow has arrived!"
Soon, a group of ruffians rushed out of the casino. The leader had a tiger-like head and big eyes, a rough voice, and limbs so robust they seemed inhuman.
He glared, his gaze sweeping over Anna and the Marine contingent, then quickly locking onto Kenji.
"Are you their officer?"
"Roar roar, judging by the scent (strength), it's quite good."
The burly man sneered, sniffing the air as if assessing his opponent's strength, which was actually a utilization of Observation Haki perception.
"He is the wanted criminal, 'Sea Tiger' Cliff!" Anna warned, simultaneously gripping her swords tightly and maintaining a vigilant stance.
Even without the warning, Kenji had already deduced the opponent's identity.
Because as soon as 'Sea Tiger' appeared, a system mission prompt popped up in his vision.
[Emergency! You have encountered the major criminal, 'Sea Tiger' Cliff, with a bounty of 465,000,000 Berries! You must hold him off until reinforcements arrive!]
[Mission (Side): Engage 'Sea Tiger' Cliff in combat for at least 1 hour!]
[Reward: Upgrade a random trait 3 times!]
"Engage in combat for 1 hour?" Kenji looked up at the burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist opposite him.
"It seems the system's judgment includes a comprehensive analysis of the Marine system."
At this moment, the burly man Cliff stood on the casino steps, looking down at the Marine contingent, seemingly searching for something.
"The intelligence was indeed correct, Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru must have left the island!" Cliff sneered inwardly, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes.
"The rest are just a bunch of Marine fodder."
He had lost all patience for negotiation, raising his fist and directly smashing it towards the Marines.
His first target was Kenji.
"Only this Marine kid has some strength, but... I am the overlord here, 'Sea Tiger' Cliff!"
Cliff's eyes bulged, and his heavy punch, reinforced by Armament Haki, brought forth a howling gale, within which the faint roar of a tiger could be heard.
Anna gripped her swords with both hands, Armament Haki surging.
Just then, Kenji's calm voice suddenly sounded beside her, "Marie, you all step back."
With the strength of Marie and the others, they might not necessarily be unable to take down the group of ruffians opposite them in a concerted attack.
However, Kenji had little patience at the moment and did not intend to drag things out for too long.
Moreover, he also wanted to test the power of the Conqueror's Haki Infusion he had just mastered.
"A bounty of nearly 500 million, in this New World, he can barely be considered a powerful Pirate."
"How long can such strength withstand?"
Kenji raised his fist, Conqueror's Haki shimmering and flowing around it, with lightning-like Haki traces spreading out.
Almost simultaneously, Cliff, who had erupted and launched his heavy punch, suddenly had his pupils dilate.
"That Haki is... Conqueror's Haki?" Cliff had a suspicion, but wasn't entirely certain.
If it were any of the Legendary Pirates or an Admiral standing opposite him, he wouldn't have any doubts.
But he had no impression of the Marine in front of him, and judging by his Marine uniform, he didn't even seem to be a Marine officer, not even possessing a military coat.
"Hmph! Even a Marine Vice Admiral is no match for me!"
Cliff's unleashed punch gained even more force, the immense power of the blow visibly creating violent air currents.
He attacked from above, and in a flash, his heavy punch landed on Kenji's head.
Just as his heavy punch was about to shatter the opponent's head, Cliff suddenly felt a powerful aura, instantly being awed.
"It's really Conqueror's Haki?!"
Cliff watched wide-eyed as a fist, glowing with domineering light, rose up, then struck him fiercely from a distance.
"Uwa!"
He spurted blood as he flew backward, crashing into the casino building like a rapidly flying cannonball. Large sections of the stone wall collapsed, raising thick plumes of smoke and dust.
Kenji retracted his fist, the flowing Conqueror's Haki precisely controlled around his arm.
Nearby, many passersby affected by the Conqueror's Haki had fainted and fallen to the ground in large numbers.
"My control over Conqueror's Haki is still not proficient enough..."
"However, using Conqueror's Haki Infusion doesn't feel very unfamiliar."
Kenji was certain that he had grasped the Conqueror's Haki Infusion technique.
He guessed this was likely due to the improvement in comprehension brought about by the advancement of the Hand-to-Hand Combat trait to gold tier.
At this moment, he had no problem with the application of Conqueror's Haki Infusion, all he lacked was proficiency.
"Hmm? Is there a follow-up to the Conqueror's Haki advancement?"
"Eh? That guy..."
New system prompt suddenly appeared in Kenji's vision, a belated derivative evolution.
But before he could examine it closely, his Observation Haki detected an extremely strong aura—that of 'Sea Tiger' Cliff.
"Although I didn't use much force just now, to be able to block that blow..."
Kenji's interest was piqued, and he looked over.
Through the swirling dust, a tall figure slowly emerged.
At this moment, Cliff's appearance had drastically changed. He had transformed into a half-human, half-tiger form. Most striking were the dark flame clouds coiling around his shoulders and behind his tiger-like head.
"As expected."
Kenji nodded inwardly, confirming his thought, "A Zoan Devil Fruit Awakened user."
"But it seems it should only be a regular Zoan Devil Fruit ability."
However, Kenji did not continue to observe Cliff, who had activated his awakened transformation.
He withdrew his attention to check the system prompts in his vision.
Compared to confirming Cliff's current state, it was clearly more important to first confirm his newly evolved trait.
[Your Conqueror's Haki trait has reached Dark Gold!]
[Conqueror's Haki (Dark Gold) has triggered derivative evolution... New trait generated! Pressure of All Things!]
[Pressure of All Things: Substantialized Conqueror's Haki can suppress all things in the world! Even Devil Fruit users will be suppressed! (The degree of suppression on Devil Fruit abilities is affected by the trait's strength)]