The navy, in particular, stared at the gaping wound carved by that sword—and were involuntarily reminded of the hundred-meter-long scar near the Orleans family's territory.
"Could those slash marks really have been made by this man? Was Lawrence… also killed by him? But what in the world is going on?"
Yara clenched his teeth, thoughts spiraling chaotically.
Who is this man?
Why would he claim Donzik Island as his territory?
With such a bold declaration, what did that make the navy?
Yara had been stationed on Donzik Island as the commanding officer for quite some time—yet he had never even heard of this man before.
His thoughts were in disarray, unable to comprehend the unfolding madness.
He didn't know who Yuno truly was…
…nor what Judge meant with his cryptic words…
In truth, he understood nothing at all.
The navy—over the past two days—had done nothing but react, retreat, and suffer.
Just after Judge narrowly avoided Yuno's previous strike, Yuno prepared to strike again—
—but suddenly, he sensed four powerful auras surging toward him!
The four Vinsmoke sons!
Together, they charged forward, a coordinated assault that radiated sheer destructive power!
Yuno's brows furrowed. Even he sensed danger from this attack!
"As expected of Germa's bloodline-modified soldiers… Their strength at such a young age is terrifying!"
He raised his blade. "Getsuga Tensho!"
He prepared to forcefully counter—but then, in the midst of the storm, he detected a small, subtle opening in the combined technique.
Without hesitation, he vanished—and reappeared in a flash before the pink-hued blast!
With a slash, he pierced through it—revealing a graceful figure, clad in pink.
Reiju!
Her eyes widened in surprise. She had held back a little in her strike, but she hadn't expected Yuno to break through it so cleanly!
As he passed by her, Yuno gave her a brief glance before turning away. A white blast of lightning surged into his palm.
"Stay out of the way."
His voice was cold.
The Sokatsui flared around him—and the explosion sent three Vinsmoke brothers flying, one even spinning into the sky!
Elsewhere, Judge, having dodged Yuno's deadly slash, now stared at the hundred-meter-long gouge left on the battlefield.
Silently, he shivered.
"That was close… too close…"
His eyes turned bloodshot with rage.
He hadn't felt this close to death in a very, very long time!
Had he not moved in time, that blade would have cleaved straight through him—his combat suit be damned!
Not even when the Marines in MASD had pursued him had he felt such imminent danger.
"All troops—CHARGE!"
Judge's fury erupted like a volcano. There was no longer any pretense of honor.
He wasn't going to play some foolish one-on-one duel.
This was war.
Kill the enemy. That's all.
At his order, all the clone troopers charged toward Yuno.
Those with guns fired.
Those with cannons fired.
An iron storm of bullets and shells rained down!
Yuno exhaled coldly. He exploded the incoming shells midair, and his sword danced—deflecting bullet after bullet with uncanny precision!
Those he couldn't deflect, he dodged—his body weaving, disappearing, reappearing—fast.
But even so, the sheer volume of fire was immense.
Judge watched Yuno parrying and dodging, his gaze narrowing.
"Hmph… Observation Haki?"
His voice turned frigid.
"I didn't expect to see anyone use Haki here in Paradise. But what good is it—when faced with this level of firepower?"
He was clearly surprised that the mysterious man possessed Haki.
But even so—
"Sensing the attack's path is meaningless… if your body can't keep up."
Sufficient firepower can blow even the most skilled Observation Haki user to dust!
"This feeling... is it really Observation Haki?"
Yuno weaved through a storm of bullets, his blade flashing as he deflected them one by one. At Judge's words, he smiled faintly—his earlier suspicions were confirmed.
Ever since his time-traveling incident, Yuno had noticed his senses were unnaturally sharp. He could detect threats from incredible distances, feel the presence of living beings like faint echoes in the air. In the mountains, wild beasts never caught him by surprise; he always knew when they'd strike and countered them with deadly precision.
He used to wonder—was this just instinct? Or something more?
Now, it was clear: this was Observation Haki. Undoubtedly.
But the unrelenting barrage around him left little room for comfort. Shells rained down like meteors. Yuno's senses picked up every trajectory—but the sheer density of fire locked down all routes of escape.
He frowned, shifting his stance. With a swift stomp, he launched himself into the air—Geppo-like, vanishing in a flash as the ground exploded beneath him.
"Have you had enough?"
He reappeared high above the battlefield, his eyes calm as he looked down on the chaos below. His fingers spread wide, and in a hushed chant, ancient syllables vibrated through the air.
Electricity crackled violently around him. A heavy aura poured from his body like thunderclouds spilling over a mountain.
This was it—Thunder Roar Cannon No. 63.
It wasn't just any technique. It was his most powerful Hado skill to date.
He'd tested it before. When chanted, its force multiplied more than tenfold—one strike had leveled half a mountain. Back then, islanders thought it was an earthquake. No one imagined a single person was behind it. The event was even covered in local news, yet remained an unsolved mystery.
But the cost of that power was steep. Yuno had nearly collapsed afterward, drained of all strength. He later realized that high-level Broken Hado techniques—especially chanted ones—drew too heavily on his physical reserves.
Without chanting, Thunder Roar Cannon was weaker than even his Sokatsui, a basic technique.
So he stopped trying to master every skill. Instead, he pursued practicality over flashy moves.
Still, months of brutal training had tempered his body. While frequent use was impossible, he could now survive the toll of an occasional chanted Thunder Roar Cannon.
Thunder pooled into his palm, radiant light surging upward. His aura grew denser, and the very air seemed to tremble.
A storm was coming—one born not of nature, but of sheer will.