The first to attack was Mike, who lunged directly at Andrew, at a surprisingly fast pace despite his age.
Not a second later, he executed a vertical cut on Andrew's body with his sword, which was over 1 meter long, leaving a superficial wound on the lizard. In the next moment, he dodged a punch and leaped to stab Andrew in the face.
Andrew, in his hybrid form, although not losing much mobility, was still slower than Mike, making it difficult for him to keep up, and he couldn't land a direct hit either.
Johan: "Interesting..., the old man is quite formidable despite his age; when he was young, he must have had decent power. I'll let them fight for a moment; there's no need for me to expend my energy until I see an opportunity."
Zoan Devil Fruits provide a significant boost in physical abilities, but it's a double-edged sword. If you don't have a strong natural strength base, you'll quickly become exhausted.
That's why the hybrid form perfectly combines the user's base state, enhancing all their abilities without going into the full transformation.
Back in the battle, Andrew attempted a kick to the old man's head, but he managed to dodge in time and pierced the pirate's abdomen with his sword. However, due to the scales, it was only a minor puncture. Before he could react, he received a powerful punch to the ribs that sent him flying to the ground.
Mike: "Aahhgg..., cursed lizard, I'll cook you for dinner..."
Andrew: "Hahahaha, accept it, Mike, you're done, in your state, you can barely stand."
Suddenly, Andrew felt a strong blow to his neck that momentarily destabilized him. When he turned, he saw Johan and tried to strike back, but Johan was faster and landed a hook to Andrew's jaw, sending him several meters into the air and crashing into the deck, breaking it easily.
Johan: "It's impolite to get distracted in a fight; I thought you were smarter, Pirate," I smirked slightly, taunting Andrew to make him lose his composure. "That was the hardest hit I could deliver; even though I sent him flying, it was only because he was distracted."
Picking up the sword from the ground, Mike charged at Johan and swung a vertical cut downward.
Johan: "Tekkai." The next moment, the powerful blow stopped as if it had collided with a piece of iron, leaving only a thread of blood on Johan's body.
Mike: "Tekkai? That ability is supposed to be exclusive to the Marines. Is Johan a spy sent by headquarters to track the drug?"
The old man was snapped out of his thoughts when a blow from Johan left him dazed and sent him a few meters back. He launched rapid attacks and thrusts at Johan to try and damage him, but Johan managed to dodge everything or simply absorbed the blows with 'Tekkai,' causing only minor wounds.
Again, both prepared for another exchange of blows, but the wooden floor beneath them was instantly destroyed by a lizard arm, grabbing Johan's leg.
Andrew: "I've got you, bastard; you'll pay for this!" A second later, Johan was slammed into the ground several times and hurled forcefully towards Old Mike's cabin, smashing it as if it were made of paper.
*Cough*
*Cough*
Getting up as best as he could, Johan spat out a mouthful of blood.
Johan: 'If I hadn't used Tekkai, I'd probably be dead now, plus the extra point I allocated to 'Endurance' kept me from passing out earlier.'
The fight resumed with Mike and Andrew. The latter, more determined than before, launched several blows, breaking the floor under the old man's feet to make him lose balance, as he couldn't reach him.
Seizing the opportunity, Mike jumped upward and made a vertical slash toward the lizard, who interposed his arm to block it. Unaware, he fell for Mike's feint, changing the trajectory of the blow to pierce his eye, but not before receiving a tail strike that left him on the brink of collapse.
Andrew: "Haaahhggg, you old son of a bitch..."
Taking advantage of the commotion, I approached Andrew again and delivered several punches to his stomach and a kick to his leg, causing him to stagger forward.
I pulled my fist back and with a strong blow to his face, I made him stagger backward.
The fight continued at this pace for nearly an hour.
The nearly 100-meter-long ship was sinking due to the intense battle. In the middle of the deck, three figures could be seen.
Mike, the most affected of the three, had his left arm hanging limply and, combined with his age, was practically standing on the verge of death. Andrew had reverted to his human form due to his excessive use of energy, leaving him exhausted. And I had several bruises all over my body, along with a sword wound near my shoulder and several cuts on my body. If it weren't for 'Tekkai,' I would have died an hour ago.
Andrew: "Uufff, Ufff. I'll finish both of you here and now..." Gasping, the pirate could barely utter a word.
Mike: "Hmmp, don't talk nonsense; you're even worse off than me. Even if I die, I'll make sure to cut off your head."
Johan: "..."
Without wasti
ng any more time, the three of them launched themselves at each other in the final exchange of blows.
The first to strike was Mike, who thrust his sword toward Andrew, while Andrew focused on me and threw a punch toward my face.
Ducking Andrew's punch narrowly, I slipped behind him and delivered a powerful kick that sent him falling forward, and Mike's sword pierced his heart...
Without wasting time, I turned to Mike, who still had the sword stuck in the pirate's body. With a strong punch, I broke both of his arms when he tried to defend himself. Then I continued the assault with a kick to the abdomen and another to the neck.
*Cough*
*Spit*
Mike: "It was a good f-fight..."
Mike fell backward onto the ship's deck. Dead.
Strong breathing
Without wasting time, I quickly went to the room where the bags of drugs were and brought them onto the pirate ship. There were no longer any sailors from the merchant ship or pirates; both sides had killed each other, and those who survived perished during the three-way battle.
Looking at the merchant ship practically submerged in the water, I collapsed from exhaustion.
What did you think of the combat?