After this stretch of sailing together, Vivi was no longer as terrified of Baroque Works as she had been at the beginning. Under Yuuki's influence, that fear had faded.
But facing four Devil Fruit users at once—
Her heart still tightened.
The moment Conrad stepped out from the rear cabin, the atmosphere on deck shifted abruptly.
He made no unnecessary movements.
With a single step—
He vanished.
In the next instant, he stood before Mr. 3 and the others.
"Candle Wall!" Mr. 3's pupils shrank as he shouted.
White wax surged forward, beginning to form a barrier—
But before it could solidify—
Conrad's fist pierced straight through the liquid wax and slammed into Mr. 3's chest.
Crack!
The sound of ribs breaking rang out.
Mr. 3 didn't even have time to dodge before he was blasted into the ship's railing, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed unconscious.
In the blink of an eye—
The strongest among the four was down.
Mr. 5, Miss Goldenweek, and Miss Valentine stared at Conrad in horror.
Too fast.
Whoosh!
"How—?!" Miss Valentine's face turned pale. She immediately activated the Kilo-Kilo Fruit, lightening her body and leaping skyward in an attempt to escape.
But Conrad had already moved.
He seized her ankle midair and swung her like a weapon—hurling her directly at Mr. 5, who had been preparing to flee as well.
BOOM!
An explosion erupted at the moment of impact.
Mr. 5 had clearly intended to use the Bomb-Bomb Fruit to hinder Conrad—but Miss Valentine's collision triggered the blast prematurely.
Within moments—
Three of the four lay defeated.
Only Miss Goldenweek remained standing, frozen in place. The shockwave had blown her wide pink hat clean off her head.
"…Um. I surrender."
She swallowed and raised both hands without hesitation.
At the center of the island—
Yuuki hovered in the air, calmly observing Dorry and Brogy, who were pinned to the ground by colossal earthen hands.
"How disappointing."
His voice was cool.
He flicked his wrist in a throwing motion.
In Yuuki's view, Hakoku—the giants' famed technique—should have been a form of ki manipulation.
But during their battle, he had seen no deeper application of that power.
That was what truly disappointed him.
The earthen hands mimicked his motion.
With violent force, they hurled Dorry and Brogy toward one another.
Two twenty-meter-tall bodies collided midair like thrown boulders.
BOOM!
The impact produced a thunderous shockwave that flattened a wide stretch of forest.
They crashed back to the ground, blood spilling from their mouths.
"You still breathing, Dorry?" Brogy rasped, dragging in air. The crushing grip from before had nearly suffocated him.
"Not dead yet."
Dorry wiped blood from his lips and staggered upright, hauling Brogy to his feet.
They lifted their gazes together.
Yuuki floated before them, expression serene.
"We're in serious trouble," Brogy muttered gravely.
"Wahaha. Afraid?" Dorry chuckled, clenching his fist.
"Afraid? There's no such word in a warrior of Elbaf's vocabulary."
Mud surged once more under Yuuki's control, reforming into a towering earthen giant.
He descended, landing atop its head.
"Finished your last words?" he asked calmly.
"Use your strongest technique. You have one chance."
For a moment—
Silence.
Then—
"WAHAHAHA!"
"AHAHAHA!"
Dorry and Brogy burst into roaring laughter.
"Our record stands at 73,467 draws, doesn't it?"
"That's right!"
"Looks like this century-long duel ends today."
"Or maybe we win this one! Wahahaha!"
In perfect unison—
They raised their weapons and aimed them at Yuuki.
They knew.
They were no match for him.
But giants of Elbaf did not surrender.
"Die, human brat!"
"HAKOKU!!"
BOOM!
Their weapons clashed together.
A blinding white light erupted.
A tremendous surge of energy radiated from their bodies, converging into their weapons—
Then discharged in a devastating beam of pure force.
It tore forward toward Yuuki.
The instant they moved—
Yuuki expanded his perception to its absolute limit.
Every fluctuation.
Every shift in ki.
He observed everything.
As Hakoku formed, he clearly sensed a unique energy being drawn from within their bodies—
Gathered—
Then released outward in a destructive wave.
And that energy—
Was fundamentally the same as the "ki" he had mastered in the Black Clover world.
That realization delighted him.
In that world, ki referred to the totality of a person's presence—breath, gaze, scent, muscle tension—subtle signals that could be read to sense an opponent.
It resembled Observation Haki in some ways.
But there was a crucial difference.
Observation Haki was a power of "listening."
Ki, however—
Was living energy.
A tangible force generated by the body itself.
In the Land of the Sun, this living energy had been refined into the supreme technique known as Zetten—
A method of channeling ki into a single decisive strike.
Legends claimed its creator could split the heavens with one blow.
True or not—
Yuuki knew one thing.
Zetten could amplify magic to terrifying levels.
BOOM!
Hakoku's energy wave was upon him.
Yet Yuuki smiled.
He had long known of Zetten's existence, but never mastered it.
Now—
Watching Hakoku—
He finally had a model.
A reference.
Through magic.
His thoughts shifted.
His lips moved softly.
The colossal beam of energy passed through his body.
Light exploded across the island.
Everything in its path was erased, flattened.
The shockwave tore onward—
And crashed into the distant sea.
Dorry and Brogy panted heavily, staring forward.
Before them lay a massive trench carved straight through the island itself.
But more important than the devastation—
Was Yuuki.
They searched for him—
Waiting to see whether the human still stood.
T/N: Dorry and Brogy are really week here because this Fanfic is very old. They hadn't fought the elders when this chapter was written.
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