The Pteranodon.
The largest flying animal of prehistoric times, the king of the sky.
Its massive form, spanning over seventeen meters, was indeed terrifying to behold.
At this moment, at least, the Commander had completely lost his composure. "How is that possible? Pteranodons were supposed to have gone extinct long ago..."
"Fool."
But at this moment, Commodore Lan Li had already stepped forward. "Look at its head."
Its head?
The Commander was taken aback for a moment, then he noticed.
On its head, which was very small in comparison to its massive body, it was clearly wearing a strange rooster mask—the mask extended along with its beak, looking somewhat bizarre.
But without a doubt, that was enough to prove one thing.
"This guy is a Devil Fruit user."
Commodore Lan Li softly came to this conclusion.
"A Devil Fruit user? That means—he's human?"
The Commander almost cried out. "Could it be the one who attacked Master Port..."
"That, I don't know."
Lan Li chuckled, then slightly raised the large tachi in his hand. "You should go."
"Go... What are you talking about?"
The Commander was stunned for a moment, then tightened his grip on his flintlock. "Since we've confirmed he's the attacker, I must, of course, fight alongside you."
"Idiot! This guy is not someone you can handle."
Lan Li merely glanced at the Commander and waved his hand. "Leave immediately, go and check the damage and casualties at the other bases. Leave this guy to me."
"But..."
The Commander was still clearly hesitant.
But at this moment, Lan Li let out a roar. "No buts! In my hometown, interrupting a man's one-on-one fight with a strong opponent is a capital crime!"
"..."
Just where is your hometown, exactly?
The Commander complained internally, but he still decisively followed the order, turned, and fled.
And so, within the forest.
Only Commodore Lan Li remained, looking up at the colossal creature in the sky.
"Aren't you going to stop him from leaving?"
He gripped the large tachi in his hand and grinned.
"There's no need."
And at this moment, the colossal creature in the sky actually laughed as well.
"My mission is to take the Heavenly Gold from here, so—I only need to take care of you."
Hearing this, Commodore Lan Li's smile widened. "You've got some nerve."
As he spoke, his right hand was already resting on the hilt of his sword.
"If you want to take care of me, ask 'Nagamitsu' here first!"
The next moment...
"Clang!"
A clear sound rang out, and a silver light flashed.
It was the glint of a sword.
"Volcano Style: Flying Slash!"
With the sound of a sword cleaving the air, a massive, silvery-white slash was clearly unleashed from the tip of Lan Li's large tachi, 'Nagamitsu'.
The slash shot out from the sword's tip, heading straight for the sky!
This silently demonstrated Lan Li's strength.
A flying slash, and one condensed to such a degree—across all the seas, he was a true, top-tier master swordsman!
"Swish!"
In an instant, the flying slash precisely hit the Pteranodon's massive right wing.
A smirk curved Lan Li's lips.
"Having such a massive body isn't always a good thing."
He knew very well—this single slash was enough to cut a small ship in half.
"I just need to wait for him to fall from the sky, and then I'll..."
He was already beginning to think about how to finish off his opponent.
But in the very next moment, his thoughts and his smile froze simultaneously.
Because at this moment...
"Boom!"
As the dust settled, Lan Li saw it clearly.
The giant pterosaur was still soaring high in the sky.
Its massive wing, which had been struck, had no wound at all.
The smooth wing membrane glinted in the sunlight with a hard, rock-like luster. Only a shallow white mark indicated the existence of the previous slash.
"To be this durable..."
And so, the expression on Lan Li's face became utterly solemn.
From just this one slash, he had already realized this would be a tough fight.
His flying slashes couldn't injure his opponent, and his opponent's ability to fly meant that most of his other sword techniques would have a hard time hitting their mark.
In the end, this was the greatest advantage of a flight-type Devil Fruit...
"Hmm!?"
But just as Lan Li was pondering a solution, he saw the colossal creature in the sky move!
Its massive pterosaur body rapidly shrank and transformed before Lan Li's astonished eyes!
In the blink of an eye, the sky-blotting shadow disappeared.
In its place was a figure that landed with a boom.
"Thud!"
The heavy landing shook the ground slightly, sending out a shockwave.
Appearing before Lan Li was a humanoid monster nearly three meters tall.
He still wore the iconic rooster mask, and his body retained a basic human silhouette, but it was covered in rocky, blue-gray dragon scales.
His arms had transformed into thicker dragon claws with talons and wing membranes, and his legs had become powerful, digitigrade beast feet.
A thick dragon tail swayed slightly behind him.
This was Roy's 'Pteranodon Fruit' Human-Beast Form.
"You bastard..."
Seeing this, Lan Li felt an extreme rage welling up inside him.
The hand gripping his sword was so tight that the veins bulged.
"Are you humiliating me!?"
To voluntarily give up his aerial advantage, this was a clear insult!
"Quite the opposite."
Roy said softly.
"I just think you might be able to give me a bit of a warm-up."
As he spoke, he cracked his neck, making a series of crisp 'click' 'clack' sounds.
Then, he smiled at Lan Li. "Ready? Then... let's begin!"
"You..."
Lan Li still wanted to say something.
But a moment later, he swallowed his words back down his throat.
Because in the next instant, he found that his opponent's figure had already disappeared.
"Shave!? So fast!"
Lan Li was stunned, but he had no time to think further.
His Observation Haki had already detected the immense, violent power at his side.
"Volcano Style: Iron Defense!"
So, Lan Li unhesitatingly used the large tachi in his hand as a shield, blocking to his side.
And upon the tachi, an invisible force covered it.
It was one of the most mysterious powers on this sea—Armament Haki!
The next moment, a massive winged claw had already slammed into the tachi.
"Clang!"
A deafening clang like metal striking metal and a burst of intense sparks erupted. Lan Li's figure was sent flying in an instant, heavily crashing through the trunk of a giant tree.
"Armament Haki combined with Iron Body? And integrated into a sword technique?"
At this moment, Roy said with interest, "So this is Vice Admiral Momonga's sword style, 'Volcano Style'. Truly remarkable!"
And just as his words fell...
"You bastard... don't get too arrogant!"
From within the tree trunk, Lan Li's figure charged out again.
"Since you chose close combat, don't expect me to hold back... Volcano Style: Ten-Fold Tempest!"
His figure also disappeared with a 'swoosh'—as a Marine Commodore, his use of Shave was naturally not lacking.
The next moment, his figure appeared at Roy's side.
The large tachi, wreathed in Haki, transformed into streaks of silver light, slashing madly at Roy's vital points with extreme speed and tricky angles.
"Not holding back?"
Roy responded with a light laugh. "That suits me just fine."
And so... the great battle began