The reef area Rocks mentioned wasn't particularly close to Hachinosu, but it wasn't hard to find.
Following the direction Rocks indicated, Logan quickly spotted the reef flats exposed by the receding tide from mid-air and arrived there first. There is a massive difference between hovering and true flight; while Rocks could suspend himself in the air, he couldn't truly "fly" in the strictest sense, so his speed couldn't match Logan.
On the entirety of Hachinosu, perhaps only Shiki—the user of the Float-Float Fruit—could barely keep up with Logan's aerial agility.
"I won't be holding back, Logan!"
Following close behind, Rocks had already unsheathed the long blade hanging at his waist. His terrifying Conqueror's Haki was swirling around the sharp edge like a physical substance.
Though it was called a "spar" or a "test," to any outsider, it looked like an attempt to kill.
A massive shockwave of a slash, wrapped in incredibly dense Haki, tore viciously toward Logan. As the flying slash surged forward, the surrounding air seemed to be ripped apart, and even the calm sea below was split into a deep, abyss-like trench by the violent impact of the residual force.
Facing such a horrific attack, Logan didn't dodge. He stood still, letting the sharp slash pass through his body and stir the sea behind him into chaos.
The hideous wound nearly sliced Logan in half. However, Rocks showed no regret; instead, he looked at it as if it were a common occurrence. In the next moment, the gruesome wound healed at an extraordinary speed, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Wahahaha! That terrifying self-healing power again. The nickname 'Undead Creature' really wasn't for nothing."
"I've seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. From ancient times to now, you are the only one who has ever developed this fruit to such an extent."
The Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire, Mythical Zoan. In a non-canonical storyline, this was the fruit belonging to Patrick Redfield. As a Mythical Zoan, its abilities included physical enhancement, life-force absorption, and restored youth—but those were only parts of it.
This terrifying regenerative ability was also a core feature.
While Logia users use "elementalization" to avoid damage by turning their bodies into elements, if a physical body is actually struck, scars usually remain. But Mythical Zoans are different. Logan's ability was somewhat similar to Marco's Phoenix Fruit; without Haki, you couldn't touch the body, and even damage caused by Haki could be restored through the ability.
"Xebec, if this is what you meant by 'wanting to see me go all out,' then I'm a bit disappointed."
Logan didn't respond to the praise. Under the influence of his fruit, his hands had grown slender, and his nails were as sharp as blades. The wings on his back expanded, and his muscles became more developed and full.
While the "Man-Beast" form in Redfield's hands resulted in wings attached to the arms like patagia, for Logan, they were independent wings. Zoan transformations have specific wavelengths that can even be influenced by the user's will; this specific change was the result of Logan's own mastery over the fruit.
Logan didn't have the habit of using weapons; his hands were his most trusted tools.
At that moment, he pressed his fingers together into a palm-strike. A Conqueror's Haki—no less powerful than Rocks's, and perhaps even more condensed and focused—instantly swirled around his sharp fingertips.
"Hell Stab."
Logan's body seemed to instantly transform into an indestructible spear. At a speed faster than the eye could follow, he lunged straight at Rocks.
Clang!
Facing Logan's fierce assault, Rocks reacted with lightning speed, horizontalizing his blade in front of him. Using the hard blade—coated in Armament Haki and entwined with Conqueror's—he steadily parried Logan's vicious thrust.
"Don't aim for the face, you bastard! I don't have your self-healing power. What if I get a scar?!"
The fact that he used a weapon to block already showed Rocks's level of seriousness.
For most people who awaken Conqueror's Haki, it is usually only used for intimidation or clearing out fodder. However, for top-tier powerhouses like them who have mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion, it becomes both the ultimate spear and the ultimate shield.
If an opponent's Haki isn't strong enough to compete, they can't even break through the invisible defensive barrier formed by the Haki. Even if Rocks just stood there still, an enemy without sufficient strength couldn't hope to deal any effective damage.
In this vast sea, the number of people who could truly achieve this could be counted on one hand. Logan and Jarl Ha were undoubtedly among them.
"Didn't you block it anyway?"
"True. Next... is the real deal! Abyss Curse!"
Before his voice faded, Rocks snapped his wrist, using a clever flick of the blade to bounce Logan's thrust away. He followed up immediately with a heavy downward cleave, the blade howling as it cut forward.
Logan's body suddenly turned into a bloody mist, dissipating instantly and reforming in another position nearby. He put his weight into his waist, and though he held no weapon, his arm acted like the sharpest of blades, swinging down with the sound of breaking air.
"Crescent Moon!"
BOOM!
Rocks changed his downward cleave mid-motion, turning it into a swift side-slash.
The two didn't even make physical contact. While their "blades" were still several feet apart, the mountainous Haki overflowing from their bodies was already engaged in a fierce struggle through the air.
The thick clouds in the sky were forcibly torn apart by this invisible force. The seawater beneath them receded frantically, forming a massive crater. Countless fish in the sea and birds in the sky were instantly knocked unconscious by the collision of these two peak Conqueror's Hakis, before being pushed away by the resulting shockwave.
The reefs beneath them crumbled under the pressure, cracking into pieces. Even back on Hachinosu, this terrifying aura could be felt.
At Logan's camp, his subordinates didn't look toward the sea with worry, but with pure admiration.
"Did the Boss... get even stronger again?"
"Of course! That's why he's our leader!"
In the tavern mentioned before, the young boy who had run to the shore to see the "look of the strong" stared at the sky. The literal tearing of the heavens seemed to be teaching him a lesson in what true power really looked like.
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