"Lose?"
"Kabababa!!"
Brogy threw away his severely damaged shield, the fighting spirit in his eyes growing even more intense.
"I am a brave warrior of Elbaf!"
"Giants only have soldiers who die in battle, not soldiers who surrender!"
"The radiance of the God of Elbaf will guide me to heaven!"
Gripping his giant axe with both hands, Brogy roared as he assumed a charging stance.
"Human, state your name!!"
"Bazel, pirate."
"Good, I will remember your name forever. Even if I die, I will carve this name into my soul!"
Brogy charged toward Bazel with large strides.
"You have granted me an exhilarating battle!"
"Your strength has made me realize that not all humans are insignificant. The Giant Tribe, never…"
Just as Bazel thought Brogy would say, 'Giant Tribe, never to be enslaved!', he instead said, "Never surrender!"
'What a shame, I didn't get to hear that classic line.'
Bazel sighed. Without any visible buildup, his body defied common sense, accelerating from a standstill to maximum speed in the span of a single breath.
On the battlefield shattered by explosive shockwaves, flames wrapped around his body, trailing brilliant fiery tails.
Bazel did not summon the other three Phantom Serpents.
First, because controlling three elements would not be enough to restrain the enraged giant before him.
Second, because Bazel did not want to.
The Giant Tribe were warriors, and didn't he himself also crave battle?
There were many paths to becoming stronger, but only one did not defy the laws of nature:
Sweat and effort!
Only by exerting effort beyond others' imagination could one seize the fruits of victory and glory.
This battle was not a true life-or-death battle.
Precisely because of that, Bazel cherished this fight even more.
His current physical stamina was still insufficient to sustain him in truly high-level battles.
His two clashes with Shiki both had Kaido as backup.
Otherwise, if he encountered Shiki alone, defeat would be inevitable.
It might have seemed like he had Shiki on the ropes last time by manipulating elements, but that was about the extent of it.
Whether it was the Earth Dragon or the Thunder Serpent, none posed a lethal threat to Shiki.
As for why he didn't use the Phantom Serpents to steal Shiki's two swords…
Shiki's Conqueror's Haki was even stronger than Kaido's at this stage. If Bazel dared try, whether he could even successfully infiltrate was questionable, and even if he did, he'd most likely be annihilated by Shiki's Conqueror's Haki.
This battle was completely different.
In terms of pure strength, Shiki probably wasn't Brogy's match.
But if other factors were added…
Then Brogy would absolutely be crushed by Shiki.
Bazel was well aware that his strongest trump card currently was his uncanny stackable serpent venom.
But using venom against Brogy was practically like fighting with one arm tied behind his back.
Fortunately, the emergence of Gear 2 compensated for the current lack of versatility in his Devil Fruit abilities.
…
Outside the battlefield…
Trees collapsed one after another as Kaido walked to Toki's side and dropped the giant arm he had been carrying on his shoulder.
"How's Bazel doing?"
"Kaido-san? Congratulations on your victory."
Toki first offered her congratulations before explaining the situation of Bazel's battle with Brogy.
"I see, so he's developed a new form?"
Kaido watched Bazel charging at full speed, red light flickering incessantly in the depths of his eyes.
Shockwaves.
Scorching heat.
High temperature…
"An unusual direction of development. Did Bazel choose a development path similar to Linlin's?"
"Kaido-san, are there risks involved?" Toki asked nervously, picking up on the implication.
"It's not exactly a risk."
Kaido's first sentence allowed Toki to relax slightly, but the next one made the girl's heart leap into her throat.
"If this move fails, Bazel will probably be blown apart by the power within his body."
"What!?"
Toki: (Ò^Ó) Shocked!
"Self-destruction?! How can Bazel use such a dangerous move?!"
"This is Bazel's conviction!"
Crossing his arms, Kaido's face was full of appreciation.
"Bazel is my brother, my comrade. I believe he absolutely will not die from something this trivial!"
"If he can't even control his own power, he has no qualifications to become the second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates after me, Wororororo!!!"
"Hey, Bazel!"
"How much longer are you gonna play around? I've already taken down my enemy!"
Bazel retreated several steps, avoiding the enemy's downward cleaving axe.
"Kaido-san, don't compare me to a monster like you. I'm human, just an ordinary human."
"Are you saying I'm not human, brat?!" Kaido laughed and scolded.
"I wouldn't dare."
Amid the banter, a red light flashed in Bazel's eyes, and his body abruptly shifted one position to the right.
Simultaneously, his left fist, wreathed in flames, shot toward his side.
The giant axe, precisely falling at that moment, was struck by the left fist. The explosive red light sent the axe flying, disrupting its owner's balance along with it.
"Here's the chance."
Pushing off with a step forward, propelled by shockwaves erupting under his feet, he shot forward.
"Second Style: Blazing Sun Kai!"
Nearly teleporting to the side of the enemy's face, Bazel unleashed his finishing blow.
The fiery tail bursting from his elbow multiplied the force of this strike several times over.
Bzzt…
Brogy felt his consciousness scattering, his vision turning white. His grip on his sword loosened instinctively, and his entire body toppled sideways.
Boom!
As he fell from the sky, the steam emanating from Bazel's body rapidly dissipated. The seven serpent spirits drilled out of his body, and the serpent scales quickly receded beneath his skin.
"Great victory, hahaha~~"
He retreated to Toki's side.
"Let me rest for a bit. I still have to handle the 'talk no jutsu' work next. I'll leave gathering the ingredients to you."
"You bastard, you really know how to order people around."
Kaido extended his fist.
The two men's fists bumped together.
"But you fought well this time. I know you haven't gone all out yet. After this is over, fight me properly."
"I want to see just how strong you are when you go all out!"
Faced with Kaido's challenge, Bazel did not back down.
"No problem. Just don't cry or throw a tantrum when you lose."
"Piss off, you disrespectful brat! I'm the captain!" Kaido laughed, scolding him as he punched Bazel lightly on the shoulder before turning and walking deeper into the island.
"Leave the hunting to me. You handle starting the fire."
After Kaido left, Toki finally began to express her concern.
Her pair of fair, delicate hands moved over Bazel's body, trying to find any aftereffects or similar issues.
"Honestly, you're not allowed to use such a dangerous move again! If Kaido-san hadn't told me, I wouldn't have even known your ability was so risky!"
"This is my power."
Bazel slumped to the ground, exhaustion washing over him.
"If I can't even conquer my own power, what qualifications do I have to conquer this great ocean?"
"You~"
Toki knew she couldn't dissuade him, so she simply knelt on the ground, letting the man's head rest on her lap.
The contact with his scalding skin, combined with the hot breath from his mouth, caused a faint pink blush to spread across Toki's fair skin.
"White?"
Toki blinked, then her pretty face turned bright red, and puffs of white steam seemed to rise from the top of her head.
Her right hand moved to adjust Bazel's head position, while her left hand firmly held down her skirt.
"Honestly! You pervert, where are you looking! And here I was, thinking of letting you rest properly!!"
"There's an old saying from my hometown…"
"Men are all creatures who can't help themselves, acting on instinct and passion."
"Glib tongue~" Toki's face remained flushed, but her fingers gently massaged the man's temples.
Bazel simply turned over, facing the sky, his eyelids slowly closing.
"Those dinosaurs probably won't dare come near here for a while. Please wake me up in twenty minutes."
"Got it~"
Bazel: "ZZzzz..."
"Truly a formidable man."
Not far away, Brogy slowly sat up, using his hands to help reset his jaw.
"Long time no see, Toki-san. The last time we met…"
"I believe it was in the year 1402 of the Sea Circle calendar, right?" Toki smiled and nodded.
"Yes, that's right. After meeting the three of you that time, I continued my journey."
Brogy sat down not far from Toki, looking down at the sleeping man.
"It seems you've found the person you were looking for. Is he the warrior who will liberate Wano Country in the future?"
Toki also looked down at Bazel, her eyes filled with tenderness.
Her left hand supported the man's head, while her right gently stroked his cheek.
"He must be. Bazel-kun is definitely the one I was looking for!"
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