Leo dashed forward, closing the distance in an instant, appearing before Don Krieg's golden shield with his fist raised high.
Krieg reacted just as fast.
Shifting the shield aside, he met the fist head-on, his diamond-reinforced gauntlet gleaming as their blows neared.
Leo understood—without Haki, that impact would shatter his bones.
At the last moment, his fist opened. His hands snapped forward instead, gripping Krieg's wrist. In the same motion, he twisted and jerked the golden-reinforced arm with explosive force.
Krieg groaned, his muscles bulging as he resisted. He couldn't stop the movement entirely, but it was enough to keep his arm from breaking.
A sharp crack echoed—his arm dislocated, but not broken.
"I'll break that shield next," Leo said coldly, releasing him.
Angered by yet another trick, before Krieg could recover, Leo stepped in and drove a kick straight into his gut.
SCREEECH—
The golden armor shrieked on impact.
The force didn't stop at the surface—it drove straight through the armor, sinking into Krieg's body and making him convulse as something inside gave way.
"You bastard—!" Krieg staggered back, eyes wide.
He quickly realized—even with seastone cuffs… this boy was dangerous in close combat.
Krieg retreated further, his expression darkening as his shield shifted. Another layer unfolded, merging into the original shield and a spear-like blade extended outward from its center.
"I'll fight you seriously now, brat," he snarled, charging forward with the long-range spear aimed to kill.
Leo moved to intercept but a small opening beside the shield snapped open.
BOOM!!
A hidden cannon fired point-blank into Leo's face. Smoke erupted, swallowing him whole.
Krieg threw his head back and laughed, convinced he had tricked the boy again.
But a faint smirk appeared on Dracule Mihawk's lips.
Nobody had flown out of the smoke. Not even a scream.
The fight was far from over.
From within the smoke, a voice echoed calm, steady.
"Iron Body…" Leo exhaled softly, rolling his shoulders.
From documents taken from a defeated CP agent's cabin a few days ago, Leo had learned enough to begin applying their techniques.
Combined with years of brutal training and a body that adapted far beyond normal humans, he had already crossed the first milestone he had set for himself 'Iron Body'.
Leo emerged, unharmed.
Before Krieg could react, he lunged his jaw snapping shut around the spear tip, his eyes filled with killing intent.
CRACK!!!
The blade shattered between his teeth.
Holding the remaining shaft in place with nothing but bite strength, Leo's hands followed through, slamming against both sides of the shield.
The impact dented it inward, exposing its inner mechanisms. With a sharp pull, he tore the entire firing system out.
Metal screeched as gears and components were ripped apart, leaving the once-deadly golden shield hollow and useless.
"Next… I will break that proud armor of yours."
After destroying the shield's automatic cannon mechanism, Leo spoke calmly, almost as if nothing significant had happened.
Anger surged through his entire body. From the rim of the shield, where screws should have been, multiple hidden ports snapped open, unleashing a barrage of bullets toward Leo.
"Iron Body," Leo whispered.
His entire body tightened, his durability rising as if he was wearing steel armour over his muscles. The bullets struck and bounced off without leaving a mark.
Krieg didn't stop. The next volley came immediately, this time a storm of sharpened spikes meant to pierce. They fared no better. Some were even deflected back, and now the force behind them carried Leo's own strength and anger, slamming into the shield and piercing into its surface.
"You can see it too, Don Krieg," Leo said, his voice mocking. "Slowly but surely, your shield is coming apart. After that… it will be your armor. Then your skin and bones."
A chill ran across Krieg's skin which only fed his fury.
"I'll kill you and everyone here before that happens!" he roared, pulling a gas mask from his robes and securing it over his face. "Prepare yourself for my ultimate attack!"
At once, his crew reacted. Pirates scattered in panic, some diving straight into the sea, others hurriedly putting on their own masks. Even his second division commander fighting in the distance moved further away.
"So that's your plan…" he muttered, lowering his stance slightly as he poured strength into his legs. "Then I'll try something new too."
Sensing the shift, Krieg produced a small purple bomb. With a spark from his fingers, he ignited its fuse and raised it to throw but Leo was no longer there.
"Shave."
In the next instant, Leo appeared right in front of him. The movements were slightly unsteady, not yet perfected.
His fist shot forward.
CRACK!
It slammed into Krieg's ribs where he had punched him before, breaking through the armor with ease. The force traveled through his body and burst out from his back, making him jolt violently.
"Fool."
Krieg let the bomb drop at his feet and it burst immediately.
A thick purple cloud spread across the deck, swallowing everything in poisonous smoke. Within seconds, the entire area was covered.
Those without masks had already fled far away but Leo remained.
Inside the suffocating fog, the fight didn't stop.
"Ahhhhhhh....." Suddenly Don Krieg screamed as if someone has ripped his soul apart.
Blows echoed through the poisonous fog. Metal clashed. Wood splintered. The sounds of impact continued relentlessly.
From the outside, it made no sense. Without a mask, Leo should have fallen almost instantly.
Yet the deck roared as if two wild beasts were locked in a brutal struggle.
From a distance, Mihawk watched the scene in silence, his sharp gaze fixed on the shifting shadows inside the fog.
Something about Leo had changed.
'How is he fighting like that… without hesitation?' Mihawk wondered, a faint glint of curiosity flashed in his spiral pupils. 'It feels as if… there's someone else in there.'
Not one to let the suspense linger, Mihawk slowly drew the black blade from his back. With a single, effortless swing, he cleaved through the air itself.
The poisonous fog was blown away in an instant, scattered into the distance by a violent gust that spread across the deck, strong enough to force even the nearby pirates and cooks to steady their footing.
As the haze cleared, silence fell.
Those watching stood frozen, jaws dropped with disbelief as the battlefield revealed itself.
Don Krieg lay sprawled across the shattered deck, his limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
His armor once his greatest pride had been driven into his own limbs, pinning him in place like a broken effigy.
Every shallow movement sent waves of pain through his body, his face contorting as if he wished for unconsciousness… or death.