The disbelief on Rocks' face had not fully disappeared before it was covered by deep suspicion.
His gaze locked tightly onto Ron, as if trying to dismantle a riddle he could not see through.
"Not Haki... and not a Devil Fruit power. The source of this power is 'himself'? Some kind of taijutsu that can enhance his own strength?"
The suspicion on Rocks' face turned to shock once more. He had roamed the sea for so many years and seen countless strange abilities, but this was the first time he had witnessed such terrifying taijutsu. That explosiveness, that speed, that pure violence of turning the flesh itself into a weapon, had completely exceeded his understanding of "martial arts."
Even more importantly, this taijutsu was very likely something Ron had figured out himself.
If it were paired with top-level Haki, the result would be enhanced to a terrifying degree.
All of a sudden, Rocks felt that this "cheap crewmate" he had picked up on the road might not have such a simple background.
"Wahahahaha." Rocks suddenly laughed softly. "Interesting... truly interesting. Then let me see just how strong this frightening 'taijutsu' really is."
Boom, boom, boom!
At that moment, Roger, who had been sent flying earlier, had already steadied himself again. The long blade in his hand dragged out a dazzling cold light as he charged toward Ron.
Haki flowed into the blade like a black tide, and dark red arcs of electricity flickered across its surface.
As the distance closed, Roger shouted, "Divine Departure!"
Buzz!
A piercing sword cry tore through the air. Dark red lightning burst from the blade, jumping and crawling across the ground like poisonous snakes.
Facing Roger's Divine Departure, Ron did not dodge. His legs spread slightly, his center of gravity sinking. Both hands moved in front of him, and while using his own Haki, he compressed the air to its limit before releasing it forward in one breath.
"Daytime Tiger!"
Boom!
A gray-white tiger maw suddenly formed in the air. Its open jaws carried a violent air current and unleashed a deafening roar as it crashed head-on into Roger's Divine Departure.
When the two completely different powers collided, they first entangled, tore at each other, and devoured each other. Dark red lightning and gray-white airflow were like two beasts biting each other's throats, neither willing to let go.
The space between them groaned under the tearing of those forces. The air was compressed to its limit and then exploded.
Boom!
A deafening roar resounded in every direction.
The aftershock carried world-destroying force and rapidly devoured the surroundings. The ground was lifted layer by layer, stones shot out like bullets, and nearby trees were uprooted, thrown into the air, and shredded apart.
Even Roger himself was not spared. Facing the flood-like aftershock, his body was swallowed and sent flying backward uncontrollably.
In midair, Roger quickly adjusted his center of gravity and forced himself to stabilize. When he landed, his long blade stabbed into the ground with a clang to offset the impact.
His feet slid across stones and soil for dozens of meters before he barely stopped.
"That guy..." Roger raised his head and looked solemnly toward the distant figure still wrapped in blue steam. "What's going on?"
Not long ago, when they fought, Ron's main combat style had been simply transforming into the Nine-Tailed Fox and firing Tailed Beast Bombs, a relatively straightforward mode of battle.
Yet how long had it been? His style had completely changed. From a long-range cannon battery, he had become a close-combat beast, as if he were a different person.
"Could it be... he was hiding his strength all along?" Roger guessed, but quickly denied the thought. During their first clash, he could clearly sense that Ron had been serious. That desperate stance did not seem fake, nor did it look like he had been holding back.
Swish!
While Roger's thoughts churned, a path to him suddenly lifted up into waves of smoke and dust.
In the blink of an eye, Ron had arrived in front of him, fist swinging.
Roger's pupils contracted sharply. He had no time to think and instinctively held his sword horizontally in front of him, pouring Haki into both arms as he gritted his teeth and braced for impact.
Boom!
After a deep roar, Roger's body was launched like a cannonball once more.
But this time, Ron did not continue chasing. He stood where he was as the blue steam around him slowly dissipated.
He already had his answer regarding the power of the Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates.
At the same time, high in the air, Rayleigh's figure leapt up. He seized the opening when Ron pursued Roger, quickly gathering power in the long blade in his hand before swinging down.
A crescent-shaped sword aura tore through the air, carrying a sharp ringing sound as it slashed toward Ron's side.
"Your turn?" Ron turned his head, his gaze falling on the rapidly approaching sword aura. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "Then next is step two."
The moment his voice fell, cold air suddenly surged from his body.
An icy aura spread from beneath his feet. The ground began to freeze with a visible layer of white frost, and the frozen area rapidly expanded in every direction.
Ron gently clapped his hands in front of him, then suddenly swung out his right hand. His five fingers opened, palm aimed toward Rayleigh.
"Ice Release: Ice Dragon."
Whoosh!
An enormous mass of cold air surged from Ron's arm, quickly gathering and taking shape in the air, turning into a highly oppressive ice dragon that rose upward.
Seeing this, Rayleigh's eyes narrowed slightly. It was not the ice dragon itself that frightened him. What truly made him wary was Ron.
"An ice-attribute ability?" Rayleigh frowned, his gaze fixed tightly on the ice dragon. "This guy... did he awaken his Devil Fruit and derive a new ability from it?"
Boom.
The ice dragon and sword aura collided violently in midair. The sword aura instantly dispersed, while the ice dragon continued flying toward Rayleigh.
Rayleigh's movements did not stop. He immediately swung his blade again.
Swish, swish, swish!
A web of sword auras filled the air.
Under the dense sword auras, the ice dragon shattered completely. Crystal-clear ice fragments poured down like a waterfall, striking the ground in a dense series of sounds.
And at that moment, Rocks, who had been watching, was completely dumbfounded.
This kid... what kind of monster was he?
If he ate an extremely powerful Devil Fruit, that was indeed enviable. Fine.
If he also said he had mastered an "ultimate taijutsu" that could produce that kind of terrifying close-combat power, fine. That was acceptable too.
But now he was saying he had apparently awakened his Devil Fruit and derived a new ice-attribute ability?
All these outrageous buffs stacked on one person? Did he still want others to live?