By the time Shirakawa deployed his Sanctuary, the battle between Kurokam and his opponent had officially begun.
Kurokam charged straight at him, while his opponent raised his right hand, shouted "Storm Fist," and in an instant his arm transformed into a violent gust of wind, barreling straight toward Kurokam.
Facing this sudden attack, Kurokam drew his small hammer and hacked downward with full force. The gale rushing at him split cleanly in two before his eyes, dispersing to either side.
"A Logia-type Devil Fruit after all." The moment he saw the attack, Shirakawa was certain of his earlier suspicion. No other kind of Devil Fruit could produce an attack like that.
"Oh? Some skill, huh." Seeing his attack split apart, the opponent spoke with a hint of surprise.
"Looks like I'll have to get a little serious now."
Then his figure instantly vanished from in front of Kurokam.
"Elementalization, huh?" Kurokam thought to himself. He had some understanding of Logia-type Devil Fruits.
Since wind was invisible and colorless, Kurokam had no idea where the enemy had gone. Even his Observation Haki could only faintly pick up traces; he couldn't pinpoint the exact location.
Kurokam raised his vigilance to the maximum, readying his entire body for defense. The moment the opponent attacked, he would be able to clearly sense him.
Just then, Kurokam suddenly felt a heavy blow to his back. Even though he had sensed the opponent's action, his own speed couldn't keep up.
"Oh, this guy's pretty strong, huh?" Watching Kurokam get hit, Jora remarked with some surprise.
But Kurokam wasn't injured. Although his movement lagged behind, his Armament Haki had already formed a defense, so he only stumbled forward a couple of steps.
"Not bad, kid," Kurokam said to his opponent.
"Thanks for the compliment." His previously vanished figure reappeared before Kurokam, still wearing a smile.
"Old man, you're not bad yourself—taking a hit from me without a scratch."
"If this is all the strength you've got, you can't beat me, let alone our captain."
"Heh, old man, you sure talk big. Catch me first, then we'll talk."
"Fine by me." The moment Kurokam said those two words, his figure instantly vanished from in front of his opponent.
"Not good." He cursed inwardly and tried to elementalize, but it was too late. Kurokam's hand, coated in Armament Haki, had already clamped down on his shoulder.
"What?!" Being grabbed seemed to shock him; his attempt at elementalization had failed.
"Kid, you're still too green." With that, Kurokam lifted the opponent over his head and slammed him down with full force, instantly blasting a massive crater into the desert sand.
"Gwah!" Blood sprayed from the opponent's mouth.
"Logia types aren't invincible." The moment Kurokam finished speaking, he released his grip, and the opponent seized that opening to elementalize and flee a good distance away.
"What a monster." Standing not far from Kurokam, he wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, his gaze solemn.
"Kid, come on." Kurokam taunted him.
But this time the opponent didn't reply with words. He proved his strength through action. Extending his right palm, a small tornado appeared in his hand.
Then he hurled it straight at Kurokam. The moment it touched the ground, it instantly swelled into a towering tornado dozens of meters tall, its powerful winds whipping up vast sheets of sand from the desert. It was like a sandstorm. In an instant, everyone's vision was blocked.
"Good thing we're inside the captain's Sanctuary, or we'd all be eating mouthfuls of sand right now," Jora said with a sense of relief, thankful that he wasn't the one fighting that guy.
This move reminded Shirakawa of Crocodile's Sables. The effect was practically identical. The difference was that Crocodile directly controlled the sand, while this guy controlled the wind to carry the sand.
"This move's gonna give Kurokam a hard time."
Kurokam, standing in the very heart of the sandstorm, was feeling a bit of regret. If he hadn't let the guy go earlier, the fight might already be over. But now the opponent had unleashed another extremely powerful technique.
The surrounding sand, propelled by the wind, pelted his body with a relentless crackling sound. A single grain of sand wouldn't hurt, but what hammered into him were tens of thousands. On top of that, he had to keep himself from being swept up by the tornado.
"Wind Blades." Suddenly, several blades of wind shot out from the edges of the sandstorm, flying straight at Kurokam.
"This brat... he's a real handful." The wind blades did inflict some damage as they struck his body; each one was razor-sharp, like a swordsman's flying slash.
"Looks like I'll have to get serious, too." As he finished speaking, Kurokam's eyes began to glow red. A crimson aura radiated from his body, and even his hair stood on end.
"Looks like Kurokam is getting serious. This fight should be over soon." Shirakawa also sensed the aura Kurokam was emitting—the unmistakable signature of the Berserk skill.
Though the opponent was fairly strong, in front of Kurokam in this state, lasting ten moves would already be impressive.
"What's going on?" Staring at Kurokam, now wreathed head to toe in a red aura, the one in the sandstorm suddenly felt a sense of dread gripping his heart.
Kurokam clasped both hands together into a fist and slammed it into the ground with tremendous force. The sand centered around him began rolling outward in layers, and the resulting shockwave instantly shattered the still-spinning sandstorm.
"Th-this...?" The ability user in the heart of the sandstorm was rendered speechless. Once the sandstorm dissipated, his figure reappeared before everyone, his face frozen in a dazed expression.
"Kid, it's time to end this." The moment Kurokam said that, a terrible premonition welled up inside him.
He hurriedly tried to elementalize and shoot up into the sky. But Kurokam seemed to have anticipated that move. Before he could fully turn into wind, Kurokam grabbed his body again.
"Old man... can't I just surrender?" His body caught, the guy said with an awkward laugh.
"Heh, what do you think?" And without giving him a chance to respond, Kurokam once again slammed him mercilessly into the ground.
Still, Kurokam held back at the last moment. Otherwise, that blow alone would have ensured the opponent never got up again.
"Looks like the fight's over."
/-\
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