Huff—
Kuma exhaled slowly. With a sharp tug, he tore away the charred sleeve hanging from his arm. His cold gaze fixed on Yuuki once more.
There was clearly no intention of talking.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the next instant—
Kuma raised both hands, the soft paw pads in his palms facing forward. His arms blurred as they moved, striking the air again and again.
Rapid-Fire Ursus Shock!
Each time his palms struck forward, the air compressed instantly into a dense blast—forming paw-shaped shockwaves that shot out like artillery shells.
Facing the barrage of incoming blasts—
Yuuki stepped forward.
"You seem unusually angry, Kuma."
Flames erupted from beneath his foot.
Flame Magic — Vortex Pillar of Fire!
Boom!
A spiral of fire burst upward around Yuuki like a flaming tornado, forming a blazing barrier. One after another, Kuma's paw-shaped shockwaves slammed into the fiery wall—only to be stopped outside.
Seeing his attacks fail—
Kuma's body flickered.
He appeared directly in front of the vortex of flames.
Ignoring the intense heat radiating from the firestorm, he raised his palm and struck forward.
Whoosh!
The raging tornado of flames vanished instantly.
Yuuki stood exposed within the space where the barrier had been.
"Hm? Broken through?"
Yuuki narrowed his eyes.
No—
The flames hadn't been destroyed.
They had been repelled.
So even magical attacks could be pushed away by the Paw-Paw Fruit.
Yuuki felt a flicker of surprise.
As expected of a fruit that can repel anything.
"You shouldn't have mentioned that name."
"No matter who you are."
Kuma's voice was ice-cold.
He pressed his palms together.
A deep vibration filled the air.
A strange pressure suddenly spread across the battlefield.
The surrounding air compressed rapidly, drawn inward toward Kuma's hands.
It was as if an invisible mass of air had been stacked overhead, weighing down the entire space.
Movement became difficult.
Even breathing felt heavier.
Yuuki could clearly sense it—
The atmosphere itself had become thick and thin at the same time, as if space had grown viscous.
A massive paw-shaped dome of compressed air spread outward, engulfing the entire area.
"Ursus Shock."
Boom—
BOOM!!!
The giant paw-shaped air dome detonated.
A devastating shockwave swept across the island.
Little Garden shook violently, as if struck by a magnitude-seven earthquake.
The explosive sound waves surged across the entire island in seconds—then continued expanding outward toward the surrounding sea.
Massive waves rose across the nearby ocean.
Even the Magic Eye Pirates' ship anchored near the shore was struck by the aftershock.
Boom!
Before Buggy and the others could even react, the shockwave slammed them flat against the deck.
The bound Baroque Works agents were hurled into the ship's railing, crying out in pain.
The entire vessel rocked violently amid the raging waves.
Moments later—
A towering mushroom cloud rose above the island.
Even ships dozens of nautical miles away could see it clearly.
When the thunderous echo finally faded, Buggy, Vivi, and the others struggled to their feet on the wildly rocking deck.
They stared at Little Garden.
Every face went pale.
The once lush prehistoric jungle—
Was gone.
Half the island had been flattened into barren land.
"This… this…"
Cold sweat streamed down Vivi's face.
Is this the power of a Warlord of the Sea?
At that moment, she realized how naive her earlier plan to oppose Crocodile had been.
At the center of the devastation—
A massive crater over a hundred meters wide and several meters deep scarred the earth.
Kuma stood at its edge.
Sparks occasionally flickered from his body, yet he ignored them completely.
His breathing was slightly heavier than before as he stared into the dark pit.
He didn't know how Yuuki had learned about Bonney.
But he would never allow anyone to interfere with—or harm—her.
"That attack should have struck him directly…"
Kuma's hoarse voice trailed off.
Suddenly—
He turned sharply.
His right fist clenched, Armament Haki coating his arm as he drove a punch forward.
BANG!
A dull, sharp sound echoed in front of his fist.
His punch stopped mid-strike.
Something invisible had blocked it.
In the next moment—
Yuuki's figure appeared.
One hand casually gripping Kuma's haki-coated fist.
The point where their hands met emitted a piercing screech.
"Just mentioning Bonney's name made you angrier than I expected, Kuma."
Under Beast Magic enhancement, Yuuki's physical strength was fully capable of matching Kuma's.
The massive Ursus Shock earlier had been avoided using Permeation Magic. As long as the attack wasn't purely physical, the spell remained extremely useful.
Just as Yuuki had predicted—
Observation Haki could still sense him while permeated.
Permeation Magic could nullify magical detection, but it couldn't block perception based on ki or Observation Haki.
Kuma stared at Yuuki in stunned silence.
Through Observation Haki, he had clearly sensed Yuuki standing within the blast radius.
Yet somehow—
The attack had passed through him.
In the next instant, the shock in Kuma's eyes turned into a colder, sharper killing intent.
Yuuki's eyes flickered.
Mana surged.
Chain Magic — Magic-Binding Iron Chain Formation!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Silver ripples spread across the ground and the surrounding air.
From those ripples burst countless black chains.
Kuma tried to leap away—
But the hand Yuuki was gripping suddenly exerted tremendous force, interrupting his movement.
Clang! Clang!
Chains wrapped around Kuma's arms and legs instantly.
Those emerging from the ground tightened especially hard, dragging his enormous body down.
More chains wrapped around his palms, binding them tightly to prevent him from using the Paw-Paw Fruit.
Several chains snapped taut.
Boom!
Kuma's seven-meter-tall body was slammed to the ground and pinned in place.
Yuuki shrugged lightly.
"Now we should be able to talk properly."
Chain Magic didn't negate Devil Fruit powers—but as simple restraints, they worked perfectly well.
Kuma was a Paramecia user, not a Logia.
Chains could still bind him.
Crack—creak—!
Kuma growled as black Armament Haki spread over his arms and legs.
He struggled violently.
The chains groaned under the strain, metal grinding loudly.
Yet the haki didn't significantly weaken them.
After testing his strength and realizing he couldn't break free immediately, Kuma stopped struggling.
His expression returned to calm.
Powerful strength.
A mysterious Devil Fruit.
And knowledge of confidential information.
After their brief clash, Kuma understood something—
Defeating this mysterious young man quickly would be difficult.
Since he was already restrained, he shifted tactics.
Information gathering.
"Fire. Wind. Chains."
"Abilities with no connection whatsoever."
"What Devil Fruit is this?"
Lying on the ground, Kuma twisted his neck slightly so he could face Yuuki and spoke in a low voice.
"Devil Fruit?"
Yuuki smiled faintly.
"I already told you earlier."
He sat down cross-legged on the ground, meeting Kuma's gaze.
"I'm a Mage."
"And what I use… is magic."
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