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Ben Beckman bit down on his cigar, his expression calm and unreadable.
He looked like he'd seen this coming from the start.
That blue skeleton could be summoned instantly after breaking apart—but it always came with a price. Energy, stamina, mental focus—something had to burn.
It couldn't go on forever.
If that was the case…
All he had to do was keep shooting. A few more rounds, and the kid would be drained dry. In a battle of endurance, Beckman had no reason to lose.
Just as he raised his rifle for the third shot—
Dan moved.
His scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan locked onto Ben Beckman like a predator's gaze.
That small, delicate finger lifted slowly.
At its tip, a terrifying purple energy began to gather—spinning, compressing, pulsing with lethal power.
"Demon—Light—Blast!!"
Fwoooosh—!
A razor-sharp spiral of violet light exploded from Dan's fingertip, tearing through the air straight toward Beckman!
The blast was powerful enough to pierce anything in its path—
—and yet, Beckman only smiled.
His body flickered, leaving behind a faint afterimage.
The next instant, he was already dozens of meters away.
The speed was unreal.
The beam that could one-shot Yasopp and seriously wound Marco hit nothing but air—
BOOM!
It exploded far off in the distance, shaking the very air.
"Wh—what?!""He dodged it?!""That fast?!""That kid's attack didn't even hit?!"
Everyone was stunned.
They saw it clearly—Beckman hadn't taken the hit head-on. He'd predicted Dan's attack beforehand using Observation Haki of an absurd level, then dodged it with impossible precision.
Marco's eyes narrowed. "So that's it… The kid's attacks are insane, but his Observation Haki can't keep up."
Jozu nodded. "Yeah. It's like his attacks are locked on after the fact—if you predict them ahead of time, they miss!"
"In other words," Marco added, "as long as you've got strong enough Observation Haki and speed, you can counter him."
The Whitebeard commanders' eyes lit up—they'd found a weakness.
On the Red-Haired side, the crew's morale surged.
Nobody knew better than them how strong their vice-captain's Observation Haki really was.
It didn't just sense the future—he could kill through foresight if he wanted to.
Ben Beckman stood calmly at the rail of the Red Force, rifle leveled at Dan once again.
The cigar twitched at his lips as he smiled faintly, almost teasingly.
"Kid, your little light beam can't hit me."
Bang!
Before the words had even faded, another shot rang out.
The angle was perfect—aimed right at Dan's flank.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Beckman's rifle spat death like a reaper's scythe, each bullet carrying the fusion of three kinds of power, each shot perfectly aimed for Dan's vital points.
And Dan—
He kept summoning Susanoo over and over again.
The towering blue skeletal giant rose and shattered again and again under Beckman's relentless fire.
Boom!Crack!Crash!
Explosions and shattering echoed across the sky as fragments of blue energy burst like fireworks before fading into nothing.
"Susanoo broke again!""And he summoned it again!""What is that now, the fifth time? Sixth?""Beckman's attacks are too sharp—he can't hold up much longer!"
The Red-Haired Pirates' worry faded, replaced by rising excitement.
It was clear—Beckman had the upper hand.
Even the Whitebeard side could see it.
Bista muttered, "That kid… he's starting to struggle."
"Yeah," Marco agreed. "His Susanoo's slower to appear each time."
And indeed—
Tiny beads of sweat dotted Dan's porcelain face.
Each summon of Susanoo drained both his mind and body, and Beckman's constant, high-powered attacks gave him no chance to rest.
"Demon Light Blast!!"
Dan fired again—purple light spiraling from his fingertip straight at Beckman.
But again—
Whoosh!
Beckman vanished into an afterimage, dodging effortlessly.
The beam missed, exploding into the ocean with a colossal splash.
"Give it up, kid," Beckman said flatly, his tone laced with mockery."I've seen through every move you've got.""Your Observation Haki can't keep up with my speed.""And your stamina's dropping fast… you won't last much longer, will you?"
Bang!
Another shot.
Susanoo shattered once more.
"Damn it!"
Up in the sky, Kaido's massive dragon head no longer looked smug—his eyes burned with anxiety.
He could see it too—Dan was in trouble.
This Beckman was a nightmare to deal with.
His Observation Haki felt downright unfair—like cheating.
Kaido's power began to stir restlessly inside him; he was ready to step in at any second.
He couldn't just watch his precious son lose here.
Across from him, Shanks and Whitebeard both wore different expressions.
Shanks smiled faintly, satisfied. His vice-captain was doing exactly what he expected. This fight would end cleanly.
Whitebeard, though, frowned deeply.
The kid was still rough—his experience and mastery of Haki were no match for a veteran like Beckman—but the sheer creativity of his techniques… that was something else.
There was no doubt—a monster was rising within the Beasts Pirates.
"That kid's gonna lose!""Yeah! Go Beckman!""Let him see what a real Emperor's officer can do!"
The Red-Haired crew cheered wildly.
The Whitebeard pirates didn't join in, but they couldn't help feeling relieved.
At last, it seemed, this little monster was about to be contained.
But—
Just when everyone thought the battle was over, floating midair, Dan lifted his head.
He was breathing hard—but smiling.
A quiet, knowing smile.
And somehow, that simple curve of his lips sent a chill down everyone's spine—Whitebeard, Shanks, Marco, Beckman… even Kaido felt it.
Something was about to happen.
"This… this feels bad," Yasopp muttered, gripping his flintlock tight."I can't see the future right now—but whatever's coming, it's big."
Even Shanks' expression hardened.
"What's he planning…?"
For the first time, Beckman's calm cracked. His instincts screamed at him—
Something was very wrong.
Inside Dan's mind, a mechanical voice rang out:
[Ding! Host has maintained combat with a Marine Admiral-level opponent (Red-Haired Pirates' Vice-Captain, Ben Beckman) for over one minute!]
[Mission Reward Granted: Massive Conqueror's Haki! Eight Gates energy cost permanently reduced by 50%!]
"..."
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