Swoosh! Swoosh!
Just as the baseball bat was about to crash down on Kid's head, the sound of something spinning at extreme speed cut through the air.
Killer swung his twin scythes, a whirlwind of steel that intercepted Hamburg's bat.
Clang!
A shower of sparks erupted at the point of impact. Though Hamburg was strong, he couldn't withstand Killer's assault. As the spinning scythes pressed relentlessly forward, Hamburg was forced back, his heavy steps cracking the wooden floorboards beneath him. He was on the verge of being overwhelmed.
Boom!
Suddenly, an impossibly long leg materialized before Killer's eyes. A moment later, he felt a catastrophic impact on his waist, as if he'd been struck by a runaway carriage. His entire body was sent flying.
"Cough..."
The heavy blow forced several mouthfuls of blood from his throat.
"So, you're the one they call Killer, are you?"
Ryuuto's figure came into view. He looked down calmly at the blood-spewing pirate on the ground, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Who... who are you?" Killer rasped, his voice hoarse. Beneath his mask, his expression was one of pure terror.
It turned out Killer wasn't mute after all. He just hadn't been scared enough to speak.
The entire exchange had happened in an instant.
"Ryuuto! What are you doing here?" Luffy was the first to shout, his voice filled with delighted surprise. He had just been sweating bullets for Hamburg.
"Captain, are you really the only one who didn't know?" Zoro and Sanji exchanged a look. Their idiotic captain could be truly embarrassing at times.
"Captain Ryuuto!" Foxy's voice was filled with relief. He finally let out a long breath. Facing a great pirate with a 300 million Beri bounty had left him on edge.
At that moment, the fifteen seconds of the Slow-Slow Beam's effect had yet to run out.
Kid stared at the newcomer, his sluggish brain struggling to place the face. He couldn't remember him at all.
"Luffy, it's been a while! Let me handle things here first," Ryuuto said, giving Luffy a quick greeting.
"Foxy, you've worked hard." Ryuuto nodded to Foxy before taking a step forward, closing in on the downed Killer. Hamburg, now standing behind Ryuuto, lowered his bat.
"You... stay away... ah!"
At Ryuuto's approach, Killer flinched like a cornered animal, scrambling backward in a desperate attempt to create distance.
"Severing Wind!"
Ryuuto held his sword, Yukibashiri, and pointed its tip at Killer, his voice a low command.
In a flash, it was as if a whisper of wind had passed through.
Shink!
With a sound like space itself being torn asunder, Yukibashiri's blade was suddenly at Killer's face. Killer's eyes widened, a fatal premonition gripping his heart. Acting on pure instinct, he raised his twin scythes to block.
Clang!
The sound of the massive impact echoed as the black blade slammed into Killer's chest. An immense force exploded outward. Killer coughed up another spray of blood and was sent flying once more, like a kite with its string cut.
"So... so strong!"
That was the only thought left in Killer's mind. He felt utterly crushed, his will to resist almost completely extinguished.
In just two exchanges, Killer was grievously wounded.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji watched from the side, their faces masks of astonishment.
"Incredible power," Zoro murmured, his gaze fixed on Ryuuto's swordsmanship. The sheer determination, the speed that seemed to cut through space itself, the overwhelming force—it was all far beyond him.
"That man is as strong as ever."
Zoro recalled his two previous encounters with Ryuuto. Each time, Ryuuto had appeared with an air of absolute dominance.
"A strength so great, it almost makes you give up on ever surpassing it."
Zoro's eyes glazed over, lost in thought.
Luffy, however, was just excited. "Ryuuto, you've gotten even stronger!" he yelled.
Sanji clenched his fists. "How is this possible? Ryuuto is this powerful now? A pirate with a hundred-million-Beri bounty couldn't even last a single move against him."
"He's terrifyingly strong," Sanji muttered to himself.
"As expected of Captain Ryuuto!" Foxy's admiration only grew as he watched Ryuuto effortlessly defeat Killer. Hamburg felt the same; in his eyes, there was no one Captain Ryuuto couldn't beat.
The fifteen-second timer was up.
Kid snapped out of his slowed state. He first glanced at the fallen Killer, then his gaze shifted to Ryuuto, a predatory gleam in his eyes.
"I remember you now!" Kid said, a manic excitement in his voice. "You're the one who took down the Warlord, Crocodile!"
"The 'Malignant Rookie,' Ryuuto!"
"Bounty: 150,000,000 Beri!"
"Let's see what you've got!"
With that, Kid raised his right arm—a massive fist of scrap metal—and brought it crashing down toward Ryuuto.
"Look out! Dodge it!" Luffy and the others yelled in alarm, seeing that Ryuuto wasn't even trying to move.
"Another rookie relying entirely on his Devil Fruit."
Ryuuto echoed Rayleigh's tone, shaking his head slightly. He calmly raised his left hand, and in an instant, it was coated in Armament Haki, turning the color of black iron.
BOOM!
The colossal metal fist slammed down, colliding violently with Ryuuto's left hand. On one side was a mechanical fist dozens of feet wide; on the other, a single human arm. It was like a lone wooden strut holding up a giant boulder.
Ryuuto's hand had stopped Kid's punch cold.
"How is that possible!?" Kid cried out. He could feel an immense, unyielding force pushing back. His mechanical fist wouldn't budge another inch.
"No, try this on for size!"
"Magnetic Repulsion Blast!" Kid's eyes narrowed as he roared. The countless pieces of scrap metal forming his fist suddenly exploded outward, shooting off in every direction like a storm of cannonballs.
"Can't have you destroying the auction house any further."
"Wind Gust!"
Ryuuto chuckled softly and clenched his hand. A small tornado instantly formed in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying. The tornado rapidly expanded as it left his hand, completely enveloping Kid. The projectiles that were about to scatter were instead caught in the vortex, spiraling upward into the sky until they vanished from sight.
"There it is! The power of wind!" Luffy shouted in excitement, recognizing the ability he had seen back in Loguetown.
"What? A Logia-type Devil Fruit? The power to control wind?" Kid started to panic. None of his attacks were working.
Under Ryuuto's control, the tornado eventually dissipated, and all the weapons clattered harmlessly to the ground at his feet.
"Kid. Submit to me, or die."
Ryuuto stared directly at Kid, planting a foot on the pile of scrap metal as he delivered his ultimatum.
"Cut the crap... I'm the man who's going to become the King of the Pirates!"
Kid roared, spreading his arms wide as a powerful magnetic force erupted from his body. It was clear he had no intention of giving up so easily.
"Then, as you wish."
Ryuuto's voice turned grave. He would grant Kid a warrior's end.
Crackle...
As Ryuuto's heart began to pound, boundless violet lightning surged into his right arm, coursing over his blade, Yukibashiri. The sword trembled, suddenly radiating an aura of utter annihilation. A massive blade of pure purple lightning formed around it.
Across from him, Kid had already pulled all the nearby metal objects to himself, assembling them into a massive suit of armor.