Chapter 11: Even a Zoan Type Dares to Bark?
The green-haired boy bared his teeth, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. His beastly eyes were filled with provocation.
"Chen Yu, I didn't get a chance to settle the score with you earlier, but now is perfect! If you have the guts, let's fight!"
A buzzing of discussion immediately erupted around them.
"Now there's a good show to watch!"
"I remember that Zhang Qiang has already mastered the basics of Shave, Finger Pistol, and Iron Body. Now with his fruit ability added on, he must be even stronger!"
"What can Chen Yu use to fight? That panel he awakened doesn't even have a fruit. No matter how powerful his Body Arts are, how powerful can they be?"
"I'm afraid it's just like Teacher Lin said. What use is it if Chen Yu has entered the gateway for all Six Styles? Without a fruit ability, he'll probably lose miserably."
Lin Mo stood to the side with his arms crossed, the metallic sheen of his mechanical prosthetic glinting under the lights. The look he gave Chen Yu held a measure of scrutiny, but mostly dismissal.
So what if he had entered the gateway for all Six Styles?
Although Zoan Type fruits weren't as powerful as Natural Types, nor as mysterious as Paramecia Types, their amplification of Body Arts was substantial—especially with a canine form that boosted speed and explosive power.
It wasn't good for young people to be too arrogant. This was a perfect chance to let Chen Yu see the gap between them.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. Fine!
Saying a hundred words wasn't as effective as demonstrating once.
"Come on, Fido," Chen Yu said, curling his finger.
"Roar!"
Zhang Qiang suddenly arched his body, the muscles in his four limbs bulging. An explosive sound erupted from beneath his feet.
His entire person shot out like an arrow leaving the bow—it was the Shave of the Marine Six Styles!
His speed was at least thirty percent faster than when he had lunged at Chen Yu earlier. The wind he whipped up along the way even fluttered the clothes of the surrounding students.
"So fast!" someone couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Qiang appeared in front of Chen Yu. His right hand stabbed forward violently. His dog paw formed into a single index finger, striking toward Chen Yu with the force to break the air.
With his Observation Haki already spread out, Chen Yu simply tilted his head to dodge the fierce attack. Following the momentum, he whipped out a Tempest Kick.
"Iron Body!!"
Relying on his rough skin and thick flesh, Zhang Qiang took the Tempest Kick head-on. He flew back several meters but didn't suffer any substantial damage.
The first round ended without a clear winner.
To the side, Lin Mo nodded in approval. "Student Zhang Qiang borrowed the instantaneous explosive speed of Shave to enhance the power of his Finger Pistol."
"Combining two of the Six Styles is a very common combination, and it's worth learning from."
Zhang Qiang's offensive received Lin Mo's affirmation. In the hearts of the students, it became even more certain that Chen Yu would lose.
They were more willing to believe in the amplification of fruit abilities, even if it was just an ordinary Zoan Type.
But they saw Chen Yu sneer. "Even an ordinary Zoan Type dares to come out and bark?"
Chen Yu curled his finger again. "Turn up the intensity, little brother."
At this level of intensity, Chen Yu couldn't even grind his proficiency.
Zhang Qiang smiled savagely. "I'll satisfy you!!"
Whoosh!
He activated Shave directly, appearing instantly in front of Chen Yu.
Five sharp claws shimmered with cold light, a sharp qi force condensing at the fingertips.
"Claw Pistol!"
The green-haired boy grinned hideously. His Claw Pistol went straight for Chen Yu's face. The move was vicious; clearly, he wanted to make Chen Yu lose face in public.
"What is that?"
"It looks like Finger Pistol."
Lin Mo nodded slightly. This move was called Claw Pistol, and in reality, it wasn't much different from the previous move.
Both borrowed the instantaneous burst of Shave to increase power, only this time it utilized the penetrating and tearing power of beast claws.
To be able to combine a fruit ability with the Six Styles to this degree in such a short time was worthy of praise.
Just as everyone thought Chen Yu would inevitably dodge in a wretched state, he simply stood in place, his eyes calm and unwavering.
"Too slow."
As these three faint words fell, Zhang Qiang saw Chen Yu's figure blur as if he had foreseen the future.
The Claw Pistol that should have hit solidly actually missed.
"How can this be?!" The green-haired boy's pupils shrank violently. His speed is this fast?!
Before he could react, Chen Yu had already appeared at his side.
"Iron Body!" Zhang Qiang subconsciously activated Iron Body to defend.
"Iron Body? More like a target!"
Chen Yu raised his right leg and kicked out violently with a front thrust.
A leg so fast it left an afterimage slammed into the boy's side with unstoppable momentum. "Leg Pistol!"
BANG!
With a muffled sound, Zhang Qiang was sent flying sideways like a broken sack. He traced an arc through the air and slammed heavily onto the protective barrier.
"Cough, cough..." Zhang Qiang struggled to crawl up, his dog face filled with disbelief. "You... what move did you use?"
Everyone was stunned.
That strike just now was too fast—so fast they hadn't even seen clearly how Chen Yu attacked.
"What was that? Leg Pistol?"
"Wait... isn't it used with fingers?"
"That was Tempest Kick, right..."
"It was just a few hits. Zhang Qiang probably needs to get serious."
Chen Yu's attack lacked the visual impact of Zhang Qiang's, so everyone still believed Chen Yu had no chance of winning..
Only Lin Mo furrowed his brow, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
Chen Yu's kick used the leg to simulate the force generation method of Finger Pistol.
This meant he had truly thoroughly understood the force generation of Finger Pistol, which was much more brilliant than Zhang Qiang's simple combination.
This required an exceptionally solid foundation, as well as extremely high control over the body's muscles.
Could it be... he really has achieved integration?
An absurd thought began to spread in Lin Mo's heart.
"Again!" Zhang Qiang was enraged. He didn't believe he would lose to someone without a fruit ability.
He used Shave again, his figure shuttling rapidly through the classroom, leaving behind trails of afterimages.
Claw Pistols stabbed toward Chen Yu one after another, every attack accompanied by the sharp sound of breaking air.
The angles of the Claw Pistols were tricky, and combined with the keen senses brought by the Zoan fruit, they sealed off all of Chen Yu's escape routes.
"This move is cool!"
"This is combining the speed of Shave with the perception of a Zoan Type!"
"The Claw Pistol is even swifter than before. It looks like he's starting to adapt to this body!"
The praise from his classmates made Zhang Qiang even more smug, and his offensive became increasingly fierce.
However.
Facing this storm-like attack, Chen Yu remained unhurried.
His footsteps seemed casual, yet he always managed to avoid Zhang Qiang's attacks by a hair's breadth.
Sometimes it was a light tap of his foot, his body drifting back like a falling leaf; other times it was a twist of his waist, slipping through a millimeter-wide gap like a swimming fish.
Every time he dodged an attack, he could launch a swift counterattack.
His every movement was completely natural.
It was as if techniques like Paper Art, Finger Pistol, Tempest Kick, and Shave were perfectly integrated into his body's instinctive reactions.
There was no deliberate exertion of force, no obvious traces of specific moves, yet there was a flowing beauty and efficiency to it.
"How... how is it possible that I can't hit him at all?!" The green-haired boy grew more alarmed the more he fought.
He felt like he was fighting a shadow. No matter how fast or ruthless his attacks were, he couldn't touch a hair on the opponent.
Worse, every time he attacked, he would be countered by the opponent with a force so great he was gradually becoming unable to endure it.
The surrounding students also began to see the truth of the matter. The mockery on their faces gradually turned into shock.
"Hiss... it seems he really..."
"I don't really understand. It looks like he used one style, but also more than one style!"
"This... this simply isn't a battle on the same level!"
Lin Mo's expression also became grave. He stared fixedly at Chen Yu's movements, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
He discovered that with his own realm, it seemed... appeared... likely... that he could no longer understand Chen Yu's moves.
So... Chen Yu was telling the truth!
He had really achieved the realm of integrating the Marine Six Styles. His understanding of the Six Styles far exceeded Lin Mo's own!
Just then.
Chen Yu suddenly stopped dodging.
"Is little brother tired?" he asked, looking at the panting Zhang Qiang with a flat tone.
Zhang Qiang froze, then realized he had been toyed with. Fury instantly burned in his heart. "You're looking for death!"
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yu moved.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished instantly, appearing in the air above in the blink of an eye.
The corners of Chen Yu's mouth curled up. "For that kind of move just now, you still need to borrow a fruit's ability?"
Zhang Qiang's face went dark. He pointed at Chen Yu and cursed, "Come down if you have the guts!"
"Tch, you didn't even learn Moonwalk." Chen Yu sneered. "Watch closely!"
The next moment, Chen Yu's figure disappeared again.
Zhang Qiang only felt the constant sound of breaking air around him. He knew Chen Yu was right there, but he couldn't see his figure at all.
"This is?!" Zhang Qiang's heart tightened.
This was his own move, but the speed Chen Yu erupted with completely crushed his.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a Finger Pistol thrusted out from an extremely tricky angle, dangerously grazing past Zhang Qiang's whiskers.
Zhang Qiang didn't even have time to feel lucky.
In the next second, the savage smile on Zhang Qiang's face froze instantly, and his pupils shrank violently.
"Tempest Kick: Lotus!"
From the sky, from the ground, from all directions—countless Tempest Kick air blades flew toward him, covering the sky and earth.
In the nick of time, Zhang Qiang roared: "Iron Body!"
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG—
Under the series of bombardments, a billowing cloud of thick smoke rose up.
(To be Continued)