"Jihahaha… starting off this hard already?"
"This time I won't be holding back!"
Shiki knew full well that Ares's physical strength had grown much stronger than before. That punch carried the weight of a mountain crashing down.
And this time
The twin sabers in his hands were unsheathed, their razor-sharp blades wrapped in dark purple flames.
Clang!
The clash of blades and fist rang out with an ear-piercing metallic screech, jolting the eardrums of both fighters.
Both of them stood firm, not moving an inch under the weight of the blow it was as if they were perfectly matched.
Ares, towering over Shiki, felt his blood pumping faster, adrenaline surging through his veins from the collision of raw power.
Excited, he grinned, "Now the real fight begins!"
Before he even finished his sentence
Ares's arms blurred as he launched a rapid flurry of punches. In an instant, four punches turned to eight, each carrying a deafening sonic boom as they tore through the air toward Shiki like a raging storm.
Shiki's twin sabers moved in a seamless dance, forming an impenetrable wall of defense. He chuckled, "Going up against a monster like you without Armament Haki would be suicide!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The air trembled violently from the fierce exchange, stirring up raging winds that scattered sand and stone in all directions.
Fist shadows and sword lights intertwined, neither side yielding even an inch.
Ares quickly switched up his attack pattern. His fists morphed into claws mid-swing, clashing against Shiki's sabers and igniting brilliant showers of sparks.
His dragon tail whipped from side to side, striking at Shiki from the flanks.
The relentless onslaught forced Shiki's expression to darken, beads of cold sweat forming at his temples. He couldn't help but mutter, "If I don't get serious, I won't be able to suppress this monster!"
A sharp glint flashed in Shiki's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, his aura surged explosively!
"Dual Blade Style, Lion's Might!"
Behind him, a massive golden lion materialized, far larger than Ares, its jaws wide open, exuding regal and terrifying might.
Like a true king of the jungle.
With a thunderous roar, the golden lion charged at Ares.
Ares instantly tensed, his spirit on high alert. He had seen something similar in the anime Zoro's Lion's Song but the form Shiki manifested was on a completely different level.
Zoro's sword technique had seemed faint and insubstantial by comparison.
"Bring it on!!!"
Ares roared with excitement, like a wild beast calling out in the mountains.
His back arched like a drawn bow, and his reddened arms shot forward with explosive force to meet Shiki's devastating attack.
"Blood Armament, Leopard Strike!"
Boom!
The earth-shaking collision sounded like thousands of cannon shells detonating at once.
The terrifying shockwave blasted outward in all directions. Cracks spread rapidly beneath Ares's feet before the ground beneath him collapsed, sinking inward.
"What monstrous power…"
Kaido stood on the sidelines, wide-eyed and dizzy from the sheer intensity of the battle. This was the power he longed to obtain.
To be able to face a top-tier pirate captain like Shiki head-on Ares was absolutely insane!
After shattering Shiki's mighty sword strike, Ares pivoted his waist, channeling power into his hips.
His dragon tail swung ferociously toward Shiki, the tip glowing red as it became cloaked in Blood Armament.
"Blood Armament, Dragon's Tail Whip!"
Shiki quickly crossed his twin sabers, now coated in thick layers of Armament Haki, positioning them horizontally in front of him to catch the ferocious strike.
The brutal impact sent Shiki skidding backward several meters, his feet scraping against the ground with a screech like nails on glass a sound sharp enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Maintaining distance, Shiki rapidly twirled his twin sabers, still managing to grin through the chaos. "Such incredible power… it's something to be jealous of."
"Wave Slash!"
Several golden sword waves shot toward Ares.
Ares smirked, radiating pure dominance. He swung his crimson, steaming arm to effortlessly deflect each incoming slash.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deflected slashes exploded around him.
Shiki's eyelid twitched wildly his razor-sharp attacks had been swatted away as if they were nothing but flies.
"Little brother Ares… you've really gotten too strong!"
But before he could gather his thoughts, Ares stepped forward again, his next punch exploding with enough force to stir a violent storm.
Shiki's entire body instantly donned a thick layer of Armament Haki, forming a jet-black suit of armor.
The additional reinforcement boosted his physical defense dramatically.
Boom!
Even though Shiki successfully blocked the punch, the sheer force behind it still carved through the air like blades, the wind slicing across his armored face and leaving it even darker.
"What… terrifying power."
Without his formidable Armament Haki, Shiki knew he would've been sent flying from that punch alone.
Their battle raged on, growing fiercer with every clash.
Ares continued to unleash razor-sharp slashes with his claws.
The scale of their battle was utterly overwhelming.
On the sidelines, Whitebeard watched with a mixture of shock and deep satisfaction, grinning broadly. "Gurararara… Ares's combat instinct, reflexes, and raw strength have all improved dramatically. If he fully develops his Devil Fruit abilities and integrates them into his fighting style, he'll become even stronger."
At this level, even Marine Admirals would struggle to take Ares down quickly.
His defensive resilience and monstrous stamina would make any fight against him a prolonged and exhausting ordeal.
Still, to truly reach the level of an Admiral, Ares would need to keep getting stronger.
Whitebeard also recalled the fiery breath Ares had unleashed in his Azure Dragon form days earlier. He even suspected that the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon form might allow Ares to command other elemental powers.
Watching with a playful glint in his eye, Whitebeard shouted, "Ares, don't forget you've got fire attacks too!"
That one reminder immediately darkened Shiki's expression, while Ares lit up with excitement.
That's right!
He still had his fire attack he had nearly forgotten to use it in the heat of battle.
"Dragon's Breath!!!"
Ares roared, unleashing a torrent of blazing fire.
The searing orange flames surged toward Shiki.
In response, Shiki casually lifted his saber. The flat ground instantly bulged upward, forming a thick stone wall right in front of him.
It was almost like watching someone perform ninjutsu.
But Shiki didn't need hand seals his Float-Float Fruit allowed him to manipulate the battlefield with ease.
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