A suffocating sense of existential crisis wrapped around Don Chinjao.
Conqueror's Haki Infusion!
This top-tier application of King's Haki—a technique he had only ever seen wielded by the legendary titans of the New World in his youth—was being unleashed right before his eyes by a young, unknown girl in the West Blue!
Will I die here?
I will!
If he took a direct, full-power hit from an attack of this caliber—aged, past his prime, and stripped of the sharp conehead that was his proudest weapon—he would be obliterated!
Fear, shock, disbelief, and outrage swirled inside Chinjao's mind, coalescing into a wellspring of bitter unwillingness.
He couldn't accept it! He hadn't gotten his revenge against Garp! He hadn't destroyed Garp's son or grandson to vent thirty years of hatred! How could he die here, at the hands of a girl whose name he didn't even know?!
If he died now, Sai's current strength wouldn't be enough to stand against these two monsters. His grandson would fall next. The Jade Iceberg would be breached, and every Berry of generational wealth he had guarded would become a victory prize for these invaders!
I refuse! I refuse! I REFUSE!
Driven by sheer, unyielding stubbornness, Chinjao's mind went blank. Staring at the thunder-wrapped iron mace descending from the sky, his fading aura suddenly exploded outward!
A surge of dormant strength surged through his decaying limbs and bones, forcing his body to burn through its reserves.
His Conqueror's Haki—which had been suppressed under Yamato's pressure—spiked violently, expanding until it matched her spiritual pressure. In the next instant, jet-black Armament Haki encased his flattened skull like solid cast iron.
[Happo Punch Secret Technique: Headless Dragon, Headless Spike!]
Abandoning all thoughts of defense, Chinjao ignored Ornn entirely, launching his hardened, flat skull straight up to meet Yamato's descending mace in mid-air.
Sensin the sudden surge in Chinjao's presence, Ornn's eyes narrowed in surprise.
A willpower burst?!
In the World of One Piece, a combatant's resolve directly dictated their combat output. Strong-willed fighters could pull off incredible physical rebounds when backed into a corner, temporarily pushing their bodies back toward their physical peak.
Relying on sheer defiance, Chinjao's desperate surge had temporarily dragged his physical output back toward his middle-aged prime. While nowhere near the peak strength he possessed when he fought Garp thirty years ago, it comfortably placed him at the level of an elite New World veteran!
BOOM—!
Yamato's thunderous mace slammed directly against Chinjao's black-coated forehead.
The moment the Thunder Bagua connected, a searing shockwave traveled through Chinjao's skull, nearly knocking him unconscious. But through sheer stubbornness, he locked his jaw, holding his ground as he wrestled against Yamato's descending blow.
As a legendary pirate who had commanded a 500,000,000 Berry bounty before the Great Pirate Era, Chinjao's desperate stand managed to halt the mace's descent, locking the two in a brutal kinetic stalemate.
Observing the struggle, Ornn noticed something peculiar about the old man's skull.
Wait... is his head popping out?
In the original timeline, Luffy had used the kinetic impact of a Thor Elephant Gun to pop Chinjao's dented cone back out. Yamato's strike was exerting similar downward pressure, but because the angle of her mace was slightly off-center, the compressed point was wedged sideways against his skull plates, unable to break free.
What if I hit it from the opposite angle?
Ornn's hand shifted to the handle of his forge hammer. If he struck Chinjao's head from the opposing vector, he could realign the compressed bone structure and restore the old man's conehead—just like Luffy did in the original story.
If he pulled it off, Chinjao's long-standing grudge would vanish instantly, turning him into a firm ally and guaranteeing full access to the Happo Navy's Armament Haki training methods!
Weighing the physics, Ornn made his move.
Grasping his hammer with both hands, he planted his boots against the courtyard tiles, initiating the explosive muscle bursts of Soru.
FLASH!
Shooting across the gap like a purple bullet, Ornn adjusted his breathing pattern mid-flight. As he closed in on the stalemated fighters, he swung his forge hammer in a heavy, sweeping arc.
CLANG!
The pitch-black hammer struck the opposite side of Chinjao's skull. High-frequency muscle vibrations traveled along the steel, resonating directly through the old man's bone structure.
Chinjao's eyes widened in shock as the secondary shockwave rattled his brain. He caught a glimpse of Ornn's hammer pressed against his skull and spat a mouthful of blood in frustration.
"You... sneaky brat... a sneak attack... how despicable...!"
With that rasped curse, Chinjao's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness entirely.
Even though Chinjao had passed out, the forces acting on him kept him suspended. Pincer-locked between Yamato's mace from above and Ornn's hammer from the side, his body remained pinned in mid-air.
Noticing the old man had passed out, Yamato eased off her pressure, but Ornn called out immediately:
"Don't stop! Push together on three!"
With a synchronized surge from both Ornn and Yamato, a sharp sound echoed through the courtyard.
POPP!
The sharp, conical point that had been wedged inside Chinjao's skull for thirty years shot straight up into the air, fully restoring his iconic conehead!
"Ehh?!"
Yamato stared at the newly elongated, pointed head, her voice trembling slightly. "Ornn... did we... deform the old man's head?!"
To Yamato, the flat head looked far more natural than the towering, drill-like cone now protruding from the top of his skull. She genuinely worried they had smashed his head into a bizarre shape.
"Relax," Ornn chuckled, stowing his hammer. "That's what his head is supposed to look like."
A few moments later, Sai, Boo, and Rhea—having recovered from the Conqueror's Haki wave—stumbled back into the courtyard. The moment their eyes landed on Chinjao's towering conehead, their jaws dropped in absolute shock.
A groggy groan echoed from the center of the yard as Don Chinjao slowly opened his eyes. Rubbing his aching head, he immediately glared at Ornn, roaring at the top of his lungs:
"You despicable brat! How dare you strike me from—"
mid-sentence, his hand brushed against the top of his head. He froze.
Tentatively, he reached higher... and higher... until his fingers wrapped around the sharp, drill-like peak that could pierce solid steel.
Tears burst from the old legend's eyes, streaming down his long white beard as he let out a roaring laugh:
"IT'S BACK! MY HEAD... MY PROUD DRILL IS BACK!"
He turned his gaze back to Ornn, but the suspicion and fury in his eyes had completely vanished, replaced by overwhelming, tearful gratitude.
"From this day forward, Ornn... you and your crew are the eternal benefactors of the Happo Navy!"
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