The battlefield fell into silence.
Every gaze fixed on the swirling cloud of dust where the two figures had collided. The men of the Chinjao family and the Eight Treasures Navy grinned smugly, convinced that their leader's iron head had reduced the young man to paste.
Chinjao, however, didn't smile. His expression hardened, his eyes narrowing as he sensed something wrong.
As the dust cleared, the laughter died.
A sphere of hardened soil shimmered in the sunlight. The ground itself seemed to flow like water, forming a living shield that protected Liam Ross's clone within. The legendary blow of the Drill Fist had been stopped cold.
"What… what is that thing?" someone stammered.
"He's controlling the earth! Is that a Devil Fruit ability?"
"It has to be! Nothing else can explain it!"
The crowd murmured in awe and disbelief. Even Chinjao's son the massive fighter Liam had defeated before felt a mixture of shock and humiliation. He had thought they were equals, but it turned out Liam hadn't even been serious. The realization made his pride crumble into dust.
But Chinjao's instincts screamed a warning. His Observation Haki spread outward like invisible waves. "Quit hiding, coward! Come out!" he bellowed.
The crowd blinked in confusion. "Someone else?"
Then, the earthen shell began to crack and dissolve.
A streak of motion flashed across the clearing.
Half-solid, half-sand, Liam Ross himself appeared his real body. A smooth black mask covered his face, and a navy coat billowed behind him as his sharp eyes locked onto Chinjao's.
The appearance shocked everyone present.
And then someone shouted, voice breaking in fear.
"That mask! That's him the wanted man with the five-hundred-million bounty!"
The reaction was immediate.
"What?! That's him?"
"I heard about him! He's the one who defied the Navy's Demon-Slaying Order and rescued the Demon Child!"
The crowd recoiled. In the West Blue, a bounty that high was beyond imagination. Even hardened pirates trembled.
Chinjao's booming voice silenced them.
"Stand your ground! As long as I'm here, we have nothing to fear!"
"Right! The Chief's bounty was higher back in his prime!" someone shouted.
"Yeah! It's him who should be scared!" another yelled.
Behind his mask, Liam's lips curved slightly. From their earlier clash, he could already tell that Chinjao's reputation was well-earned.
The man had mastered all three forms of Haki. His body was a weapon forged by battle. But his strength was spread thin he was skilled in everything, yet a master of nothing. Against the true monsters of the seas, men like Garp or Roger, he would always fall short.
From above, Chinjao looked down with cold arrogance.
"So you're the one controlling Capone Bege from behind the curtain," he said. "Tell me, what are you really after? Why push to unite the West Blue's underworld?"
Liam's tone was calm, almost amused.
"After? Nothing complicated. I just think this sea's underworld is far too chaotic. It doesn't need dozens of self-proclaimed rulers fighting for scraps. It only needs one."
Capone smirked proudly at those words, while the other two crime lords, Jock and Tuttle, scowled.
Chinjao's frown deepened. The Flower Kingdom's orders echoed in his mind. For years, the nation had secretly armed itself, trading weapons through Jock's routes. But if Capone took control of the black market, their supply would collapse.
Their king had been clear: Stop Capone at any cost.
If the underworld united under one rule, the Flower Kingdom would lose its leverage and its cheap access to arms.
Chinjao straightened, his voice booming like thunder.
"As long as I live, your ambitions will go no further!"
Liam smiled faintly. "You really think you can stop me?"
"Enough talk!" Chinjao roared. "If you want to rule the West Blue, then you'll have to defeat me first! Let's see what you're made of, Liam Ross!"
He leapt high into the sky, his immense body twisting midair. The ground cracked beneath the force of his jump. Then he fell headfirst, the flattened point of his skull glinting with deadly light.
"Eight Impact Fist Drill Head Strike!"
The air screamed as he plummeted, the sheer pressure tearing cracks across the volcanic island.
Below, Liam's Haki flared dark and fierce around his arms. The ground trembled beneath him.
"Six Powers Secret Art Armament: King's Fist!"
He thrust both fists upward, Haki-enforced shockwaves roaring into the sky to meet Chinjao's descent.
"BOOM!"
The explosion thundered across the island. Wind and debris blasted outward, throwing men off their feet. For a moment, the world was swallowed by chaos.
When the storm settled, both figures still stood the old legend and the rising storm eyes locked, neither willing to yield.
Liam smirked beneath his mask, his blood burning hot.
This was no longer about Capone or the underworld.
This was a clash between generations, a duel that would shake the West Blue to its core.
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