"It looks like Ares is trying to use the same move those two giants just used?" Olvia guessed.
A faint tremor passed through Dr. Kureha's eyes, and her understanding of Ares deepened a little more as she murmured,
"Ares... his learning ability is terrifying. He saw their move, and he is already trying to learn it. No wonder he is this strong. He is so young, yet his combat experience is already so rich. Even against two giants with extremely long lifespans, he still has the upper hand..."
From the moment people are born, they know nothing. Talent and learning ability are what create the differences between one person and another.
Of course, that was not absolute. Even someone gifted with talent could still lose to those who persevered and kept at something for years without stopping.
Perhaps that was the meaning hidden in the fable of the tortoise and the hare.
But in Ares, whether it was Olvia, Kureha, or Crocus, they all saw perseverance, talent, and an absurd learning ability.
When all of those were stacked together, they finally understood why the World Government had openly placed the title "War God" on his wanted poster.
"Hiss..." Crocus sucked in a breath. "If I remember correctly, Ares is still very young, right? If he keeps growing like this, just what kind of level will he reach in the future?"
With his knowledge and experience, he genuinely could not imagine it.
Because at this moment, the strength Ares was displaying was already the greatest he had ever seen.
He could not think of anyone he knew or had heard of who could truly be compared to him.
Even Dr. Kureha, who was already over a hundred years old, could not think of a single person who matched the man before her.
As for Olvia, she had only just left Ohara and begun to witness the breadth of the outside world.
And all of it had begun because of Ares.
On the island, the power Ares had gathered erupted completely.
He was not going all out. Killing Dorry and Brogy would bring him no benefit whatsoever.
On the contrary, if the giants found out, it would only earn him the hostility of the giant race. The cost far outweighed the gain.
From beginning to end, his goal had only been to fight Dorry and Brogy so he could learn the giants' combat techniques.
"Conquest of the Sea!"
His tail and fist collided in the air, producing an incomparably dazzling multicolored shockwave. It was enormous, but it was also in an extremely unstable state.
The rainbow energy twisted and warped, like a lump of clay that looked ready to explode at any second.
This was Ares' first time using a giant combination technique by himself, so naturally he was still unfamiliar with it. On top of that, his method was highly unusual.
The surface of the colorful energy wave crackled with countless bolts of lightning in all sorts of colors, snapping and hissing without end.
Where it passed, everything vanished. Trees, earth, rock, all of it melted away. Even the air itself distorted and rippled.
"Conquest of the Sea!"
Dorry and Brogy unleashed their combination move again.
Boom! Boom!
The massive explosion looked like a bucket of paint in every color being hurled across a blank white canvas.
Like a firework of colors exploding in the sky.
The terrifying shockwave from the collision forced Dorry and Brogy to raise their arms in front of their faces. Blades of wind, sharp as slashes, carved wounds into their forearms and drew blood.
Their clothes were shredded to pieces and scattered through the air before gradually crumbling into dust.
When the violent gale finally died down, the battlefield on the island had become a huge bald patch.
Their fight had practically given the whole island a ridiculous monk-style haircut.
Ares' face darkened slightly, dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes as he muttered, "Still not good enough. The power is too dispersed. It is not concentrated enough..."
Hearing him say that, Dorry and Brogy's huge eyes filled with helpless embarrassment.
Ares' humble brag had hit them right in the heart.
Even for the two of them, geniuses among the giants, mastering this combination move had taken decades of training.
"This brat... he really knows how to hit where it hurts," Dorry said, his mouth twitching as he lowered his scarred, bloodied arm.
Brogy looked equally helpless. "But his combat talent really is outrageous. He learned Conquest of the Sea in such a short time, and there are not many giants who can even use it. On top of that, our lifespan is three times that of humans!"
Ares was still immersed in the combination attack he had just used. After putting it into practice, his understanding of the theory he had learned in his mind had deepened significantly.
Seeing that he had sunk fully into his own world, Dorry and Brogy did not disturb him.
Instead, they began talking among themselves.
"We have stayed on this island for so long, and now monsters like this have started appearing out on the sea."
"With strength like that, even back in our era, he would have been counted among the top powerhouses," Dorry said.
At that moment, Ares' tiger-like eyes gradually brightened again. Having identified some of the flaws and errors in his earlier attempt, he looked at Dorry and Brogy like a ferocious tiger staring down prey.
"Dorry, Brogy, without your weapons, you are no match for me. Pick them up, then come again!"
As he spoke, he raised an arm.
With a humming vibration, it turned black as ink, like steel forged and tempered a thousand times, reflecting a chilling gleam.
"I can use Haki. You do not need to worry about your weapons being able to hurt me. Without your weapons, you are not enough to satisfy me."
"Brat!" Brogy snapped.
But Dorry reached out and pressed a hand to his shoulder before saying heavily, "Brogy, do as he says. Without our weapons, he is right. We are not his match."
Brogy shouted at Ares, "Kid, the difference between us with weapons and without them is night and day. Prepare yourself to lose!"
"If the two of you can make me taste defeat, then come at me," Ares replied, his chiseled face filled with arrogant confidence.
Under the sunlight, scale after scale reflected a golden brilliance, dazzling to behold.
Dorry and Brogy walked to the volcano and pulled their weapons free from the mountain wall.
One held a sword. The other an axe.
The aura around them changed completely from before.
Now they truly looked like battle-hardened generals, their savage and cutting presence crashing forward like a wave.
It stirred the hunger for battle in Ares even more, his blood gradually starting to boil as he bared his teeth in an excited, husky laugh.
"Come on. That Conquest of the Sea earlier was still not strong enough. It was not perfect. Now that you have your weapons, show me your strongest techniques."
"Do not disappoint me!"