Woom—!
As Souta Kiryuu's gaze locked with Isaac's, two overwhelming auras collided like thunderclaps in the air, exploding between them with raw, crushing force.
Souta grinned, his Conqueror's Haki surging violently as it roared toward Isaac like an unchained storm.
No matter how terrifying Isaac's mysterious energy was, it had to run out eventually — just like Haki.
Even if his power surpassed the Conqueror's Haki itself, once it burned out... that would be the moment of his death.
Souta's black and crimson lightning tore through the air like the end of the world, waves of energy crashing outward one after another, violent and relentless.
Even the Pirate Empress and Bartholomew Kuma were forced to retreat far from him.
In this berserk state, Souta's aura wasn't just aimed at Isaac — it consumed the entire battlefield.
Just the overflow of his Conqueror's Haki was enough to make everyone around him feel suffocated.
Several of Souta's own crew members collapsed, eyes rolling white as they hit the ground.
Even Enel, master of the lightning Logia, felt the crushing pressure — he couldn't even maintain his elemental form.
Under the terrifying pressure of Souta's Haki, the ground itself cracked apart. The sky changed color.
The air trembled as shockwaves ripped through the ruins. Stones and debris were hurled into the air, scattering like leaves in a hurricane.
"Lord Souta is terrifying!"
Bartolomeo was blown back by the impact, tumbling across the ground until he caught himself behind a transparent barrier, trembling in awe as he stared at the titanic clash unfolding before him.
"Just his Conqueror's Haki alone is this terrifying…"
Van Augur and Kalint ducked for cover, each finding their own shelter as they watched the collision from afar, their hearts pounding in disbelief.
"How did Souta's Conqueror's Haki become this strong?!"
Barrett clenched his fists, teeth grinding as he refused to take a single step back, enduring the crushing air pressure with sheer willpower.
As Souta's Haki pressed toward Isaac, the dark aura melted away upon contact with the other man's mysterious energy — as if being absorbed into nothing.
Even as the world around him erupted in chaos, the space near Isaac remained eerily calm.
No matter how violently Souta's aura surged, Isaac stood unmoving — like a monolith amid a storm.
"You, a mere experiment, possess Conqueror's Haki even stronger than one of the Five Elders?"
Isaac's expression turned grim, his tone heavy with disbelief.
He hadn't expected that an experimental subject who'd only risen in the past few years could surpass monsters who'd ruled the world for centuries.
A mutated beast, just like Charlotte Linlin and Kaido…
"Isaac, was it?" Souta smirked, his crimson lightning flickering around him. "Mind telling me what that power of yours really is?"
He could feel it — his Conqueror's Haki dissolved into nothing the instant it touched Isaac's strange energy, vanishing into the void.
"Heh… You want to know?" Isaac said coldly. "Fine — I'll show you!"
He charged forward at incredible speed, electricity crackling wildly across his body.
"Lightning… You're a Devil Fruit user?"
In an instant, Souta's form shifted — half-dragon scales covered his arms as Armament Haki layered over his fists.
Crimson-black lightning danced around him as he met Isaac head-on without hesitation.
BOOM!
Their fists collided — and a new shockwave, even greater than before, tore through the battlefield like a bomb.
"You have the strength of a giant… and a demon!" Souta exclaimed, eyes narrowing. Isaac's physical power and durability were monstrous — far beyond what he'd anticipated.
Isaac's grin widened. "You lucky mutant… You really make me jealous."
He could feel it — the monstrous power coursing through Souta's body.
Isaac had spent years absorbing fragments of origin energy, enhancing his bloodline piece by piece…
Yet this experiment, this creation of Vegapunk's lab, had been born with what he struggled his whole life to achieve.
It wasn't fair.
Man, this guy really makes you want to throw things.
"Formula of Origin — Lunar Lion!"
"Thunderclaw!"
Isaac's hair suddenly grew longer and turned pure white.
Lightning exploded from his body, his hands morphing into bestial claws pulsing with raw electricity.
In a blur of motion, he slashed at Souta — claws infused with both lightning and monstrous strength.
Each strike carried that strange, primal energy — dissolving Souta's Armament and Conqueror's Haki layer by layer, breaking through his defenses and even nullifying his Observation Haki.
Isaac's assault was relentless. He wanted one thing — a wound deep enough to extract Souta's blood and claim his genetic lineage.
"'Lunar Lion'? You're a Mink? No… wait — you're a cyborg! You can transform without the moonlight?" Souta's eyes widened.
He could see it now — traces of Mink, Giant, Oni… even Fishman genes running through Isaac's veins.
Isaac wasn't just a modified human — he was something even more advanced than Souta himself or Queen the Plague.
He was a perfected hybrid.
"Tempest Fang — Water Dragon Orb!"
Isaac roared, unleashing a water bullet from his mouth like a cannon.
It pierced straight through Souta's body, the impact echoing like thunder.
At that moment, Isaac's eyes gleamed with mania. He abandoned all defense, lunging forward to collect Souta's blood splattering into the air.
"Fishman Jujutsu… You've got Fishman genes too!" Souta hissed, his expression twisting.
This guy was practically a mirrored version of himself — just one step further.
"Eha-ha-ha-ha! I've got it!" Isaac laughed wildly, ignoring Souta's counterpunch as he gathered the precious crimson drops.
Souta's eyes went cold. "So that's your goal — my blood?"
He slammed a clawed fist into Isaac's chest, tearing open a massive wound.
Then, his eyes flashed — twin lasers burst from them, aimed directly at Isaac's head.
But Isaac's strange energy dissolved the attack on contact, erasing it completely.
Only pure physical strikes could harm him now.
"Eha-ha-ha! I finally got your blood!" Isaac shouted through bloodied laughter, his chest caved in but his grin wider than ever.
"You might be celebrating a little too early," Souta said flatly.
Even as he spoke, the hole in his torso closed rapidly — his regeneration surging like wildfire.
As a veteran blood collector himself, Souta had no intention of letting the World Government acquire even a drop of his DNA.
Vegapunk had warned him many times — his bloodline was too dangerous to fall into enemy hands.
If the Government ever replicated his genetic code, they could mass-produce monsters like him — or an army of Seraphim far stronger than before.
"What…?"
Isaac's expression froze as the blood in his hand suddenly burst into flames, evaporating before his eyes.
"This is one of my custom techniques," Souta said with a cruel smile.
"Any of my blood or tissue that leaves my body self-destructs instantly. If you thought you could take my lineage— dream on."
He stood tall amid the smoke and lightning, staring coldly at the darkened face of Isaac.
Now he understood — his opponent carried the blood of giants, minks, fishmen, and demons…
And under that mysterious energy, he could unleash power surpassing even the original races themselves.
It was a power worth envying — and killing for.