Kapitel 179: Chapter 169
*CLANG*
In the middle of the chaotic battlefield, two swords met one another.
One was encased within a ferocious flame, while the other was brilliantly glowing in a mix of bright yellow light and hollow blue hue.
"I commend you for your courage, 'Pirate Prince.' However,"
The owner of the sword covered by the hot flame, King, narrowed his eyes behind his mask,
"your cuts are too shallow."
"I see… your body isn't that of an average human being's." Cavendish calmly stated as he retracted his sword.
'The ability to produce flame... which I speculate to have stemmed from his inherent ability. Along with his resilient body and high mastery over the Armament Haki,'
*CLANG*
Cavendish's sword, Durandal, clashed against King's sword once more,
'a simple swordplay won't do.'
Just when Cavendish thought so, King suddenly clenched his free hand into a fist, combusting a flame around it.
"Imperial Flame!!"
*BOOOM*
Upon reaching Cavendish, the fist of flame exploded, which Cavendish dodged after quickly releasing his hold over Durandal.
"A swordsman who lets go of his sword—" King, who initially began his words with a mockery, widened his eyes as he saw Cavendish, whose body was leaned back due to King's previous attack, balancing Durandal with his toe.
Then, Durandal began to glow brightly right underneath King.
"Beautiful Sword: Radiant Vent Rosé!"
The sword skyrocketed upward as an incredibly fast beam of light, and collided with King's exposed chin.
*CLANG*
Upon the collision, a metallic sound rang, for King managed to cover the area of impact with his Armament Haki: Hardening.
"Hrrrghhh," Then, King, with his utmost strength, pushed his chin against Durandal and endured the blow.
As the attack finally died down, King instantly brought his hand up to catch Durandal—only to see that the weapon disappeared.
"How unfortunate. It seems that Durandal dislikes you."
King found his eyes widened in a disbelief.
'Just now… I failed to see his movement…?'
Cavendish, who was below him just before, now stood behind him while casually holding onto Durandal.
"…Bulls***." King retorted with a growl, "It was you who snatched the sword."
*Clang*
King was left dumbfounded as Cavendish casually swung Durandal to King's head, with no Haki for reinforcement or an exquisite swordsmanship.
It was a simple and mundane strike that only had one purpose: to belittle.
"Hm…" Cavendish tilted his head in a feigned confusion, "you can't even dodge that? It seems that I have to slow down even more."
King's eyes exhibited a furious gleam as his body began to transform in accordance to the devil fruit that he ate: Dragon Dragon fruit, model: Pteranodon.
"Now it's your turn to dodge." King snarled with his wings wide open, before the flame on his back became extinguished.
Then,
*SWOOSH*
Cavendish and King disappeared at the same time.
*CLANG*
"Interesting." Dan crossed his arms as he flickered from left and right, evading the quick strikes by Who's-Who, "So you know those Rokushiki techniques. How though?"
Then, Jack, who has transformed into his Zoan form of mammoth, came in charging from Dan's back.
*BOOOM*
"Along with a simple-minded elephant… you guys make a terrible team." Dan was sighted above Jack, with his left fist crackling in blue electricity.
"120 Million Bolt: Electromagnetic Smash!"
*BOOOOM*
Dan's punch, which was reinforced by Armament Haki and magnetic force, drove its way into Jack's back—plummeting the latter down to the ground.
*Swoosh*
Who's-Who dashed toward Dan with the use of Soru. His body was transformed into saber tiger as he held his index fingers out.
"Shigan—"
Dan didn't waste his time, but jabbed his index finger backward at a lightning speed.
*PAZZZZ*
Who's-Who was knocked back by a bolt of lightning that slammed onto his chest.
"Shigan..." Who's-Who gritted his teeth as he immediately stood back up, "From whom did you learn that from?!"
Dan chuckled as his body began to transform into lightning, "Someone better than you for sure."
*PZZT*
Who's-Who's whole surroundings flashed in blue, before Dan's finger drove its way into the former's right arm.
'What...?!' Who's-Who's jaw opened as he felt a jolt of pain from his right arm, 'His Armament Haki... surpasses that of mine!!'
"Tch...!!!"
"Max 150 Million Bolt,"
Who's-Who quickly brought his left hand up, and without any hesitation, severed his own right arm. And just as he did so,
"Inject Bolt."
*PAZZZZZZ*
he saw his severed right arm exploding into pieces from the inside, with the burst of blue electricity.
"*Huff*... *Huff*..." While sweating profusely, Who's-Who held his bleeding stump of a right shoulder with a hazy vision.
"Who's-Who… you are the failure of a Lead Performer." From the side, Jack stood back up with a notable anger, "And to think that you are the replacement for brother Queen...!!!"
Dan, who was holding onto one part of Who's-Who's destroyed right arm with an amusement, then threw it at Jack's exposed face.
"Who's-Who—"
As Jack opened his mouth to call unresponsive Who's-Who, the arm part went into his mouth.
Then...
*Gulp*
Jack unconsciously gulped it down. By the time he realized what just happened with a frozen expression,
"Washroom Time, buddy."
The remains of Dan's lightning found their way into Jack's stomach.
*Pazz* *Pazz*
The effect was immediate. Jack held his violently rumbling stomach with his eyes in horror. His face turned green and his legs gathered up together; he held his other hand out as a sign of peace.
"H-hold on for a sec—"
However, much to Jack's dismay, Dan's fist was right in front of his face,
"Max 150 Million Bolt: Rex Smash!"
*BOOOOOOOOM*
Who's-Who, who was seen with exhaustion as he stood up wobbly, stared at the fallen Jack with disbelief.
'Black Mask... his strength far surpasses that of my expectation.' Who's-Who grimaced as the bleeding on his right shoulder began to cease. It was thanks to the regenerative property granted by his Ancient Zoan devil fruit.
"Who's-Who. I knew that you are unfit for the title of the Lead Performer."
Then, from the back, one green-haired man with sharp fangs came walking in. He was Sasaki, one of the Tobiroppo—the rank right below the Lead Performer in the Beast pirates.
"Sasaki..."
Who's-Who felt like facepalming, 'Can't you see that Jack is down, you idiot—'
That's when Who's-Who and Sasaki saw what Dan was doing.
"This is the infamous Beast pirates?" Dan stated with his right foot on top of Jack's neck, "What a joke."
*CRUNCH*
While Who's-Who and Sasaki were occupied with each other, Dan, without wasting any time, decided to finish Jack while the latter's guard was down. And here it was.
Another Lead Performer after Queen died just like that.
"F***!!!!!" Who's-Who cursed with an urgent expression.
Sasaki's face darkened in the realization of what happened, before his body began to transform into a huge dinosaur—Triceratops to be exact.
"It's going to take a lot for y'all to catch up with me." Dan grinned as his eyes crackled in blue electricity, "I am the no.3 of my crew, after all."
Meanwhile,
"Will you look at that?! Your captain must be out of mind, to think of winning against two Emperors on his own!!"
At some distance away, a huge soldier whose whole body was made out of a biscuit, Charlotte Cracker, exclaimed with a frown.
"Don't you understand? No matter what happens to everyone else, the fight between the three of them is the only one that matters! Even if our side was to get wiped out, if mama and Kaidou kill Grimheart... it is our victory!"
Carmen was seen to be standing right in front of Cracker, whose body towered over her. She simply tilted her head without any trace of emotion,
"Okay."
Cracker's frown deepened. Seeing Carmen's lack of fear irked him, and at the same time, made him wonder if she didn't know who he was. However, he was forced to stop his thought as he saw,
"...Huh?"
smoke coming from his left hand.
Cracker turned his head to the source of the smoke and witnessed a huge wave of flame that has already engulfed his whole left arm.
"You...!" Cracker gritted his teeth as his left arm crumbled down. Just as the flame spread onto his torso, he swung the blade in his right hand toward Carmen,
who dodged it by taking one step to the left.
"Took a little longer for me, but... here it is—Haki." Carmen's eyes flashed in red, indicating the use of Observation Haki, just as Cracker's huge body crumbled down at the next second.
*BOOOM*
A cloud of dust rose and covered the view in front of Carmen.
"Now show me your real self, coward."
____________
*SWOOSH*
Alfred adjusted his monocle as he swiftly dodged a huge sword that slashed down from the top.
"Murderer of brother Montd'Or..." Staring down at him was Charlotte Smoothie, who tightly clenched her sword, "You certainly are a capable threat who can't be left alone."
"Why, you overestimate me." Alfred smiled casually as he swayed from side to side, efficiently dodging the sword slashes from Smoothie.
'Her ability... is dangerous.'
In contrast to Alfred's carefree attitude, he was at his utmost seriousness on the inside.
'Charlotte Smoothie, one of the four Sweet Commanders. Yes, I have indeed heard of her before.'
*SWOOSH*
Smoothie too was a capable fellow with an ability to use Observation Haki. Upon Smoothie having predicted Alfred's subsequent movement, Alfred was forced to quickly use Soru to escape from the scene.
*BOOM*
Smoothie's sword crashed on the ground, and the ground in contact with it has become barren and dehydrated.
"An ability to absorb liquid... a very dangerous power to all living beings." Alfred hummed as he stood behind Smoothie.
Smoothie turned around calmly,
"So is the Mythical Zoan fruit of yours."
"Well, you certainly aren't wrong." Alfred's smile widened upon hearing Smoothie's word, as the dark-blue-coloured furs grew from his body,
"If your ability needs the target to be in contact with you, I simply have to prevent such from happening."
Smoothie's eyes narrowed as she prepared for Alfred's initiation, before one figure came flying in toward her.
"Snack?" Smoothie let out an annoyed sigh and grabbed the unconscious Snack by his hem, "You weakling... how can you be defeated like this as one of the four Sweet Commanders?"
*BOOM*
Alfred voiced up in amazement, "Nice one, monsieur Urouge—"
he stopped his words in the middle, for Urouge too was found unconscious with his eyes whitened out.
'A lump from the back of his head... he was caught off guard.' Alfred quickly assessed Urouge's state before grabbing the latter and hopping off from the position.
*BOOM*
A blue-haired woman with an Armament Haki on her forehead, Ulti, crashed her head on the ground at the next second.
"Why are you running away?!!" Ulti growled angrily as she lifted her head right back up, "Just die already!!!"
"Beast pirates?" Smoothie raised her eyebrow.
"My my, what a bold animal." Alfred remarked as he calmly stepped on the thin air with the use of Geppo.
"Alfred."
Then, Alfred heard Urouge, who previously was unconscious, calling from his grasp,
"Ugh... I feel something on the back of my head." Urouge's eyes narrowed, "It's that blue-haired dino-woman, isn't it?"
"Indeed, monsieur."
Urouge quickly returned back to the world of consciousness—it seemed that although Ulti's headbutt previously knocked him out, it was only for a short moment.
*BOOM*
Urouge, whose body was now at a gigantic size, landed on the ground as Alfred released his hold.
"Although the pain has sent me into the world of unconsciousness for few seconds..." Urouge, whose eyes were shadowed, grinned as he landed back on the ground, "what doesn't kill me makes me strong."
"Whatever!!! Strong or not, I will crush your head open!!" Ulti charged toward Urouge, whose fists blackened due to the Armament Haki: Hardening.
*BOOOOM*
Ulti's forehead and Urouge's fist met one another. Just as they began the struggle of pure strength,
*CLANG*
Smoothie's sword met Alfred's sharp fangs.
"Your opponent isn't monsieur Urouge, but my humble self." Alfred's monocle flashed dangerously.
Smoothie replied with cold eyes, "Worth trying."
*BOOM*
Simultaneously, a mild explosion occurred above them.
"Another cannon deflected... I've lost the count by now."
Marco was busily hovering from one place to the other, minimizing the damage to the allied ones and healing them when necessary.
From the deck of Prominence at some distance away, Robin was standing with her arms crossed together,
"Mii Fleur, Gigantesco Mano!"
Two huge arms sprouted out from the sides of Prominence, which grabbed the approaching ships of the enemies and threw them back to the cluster of enemy ships.
*BOOOOM*
"NEIGH~!!!!" From the air nearby, Farul was ferociously running as he carried Law on his back.
"Takt."
Law flicked his finger up. Subsequently, three nearby enemy ships floated up. Immediately after, he slashed his sword, Kikoku, toward them, causing all those ships and the pirates within to be severed into countless pieces.
"Shambles."
A frightening calamity arose, where the body parts of still-alive pirates flew around the battlefield in a form of a storm.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
"What, just what is going on?!!"
*Tap* *Tap*
Within the storm, one woman, Nami, freely travelled by jumping from piece to piece. Then, she swiftly landed on top of one ship.
*BAM*
"Oops!" Nami grinned playfully as she immediately slammed her bo-staff into the nearest pirate's cheek, causing the latter to fall into the water.
Subsequently, she spun her bo-staff above her head, knocking away the approaching pirates.
*BANG*
Although a gun was shot, Nami nimbly bent her body and dodged a bullet. There was no Haki involved—she already was expecting it.
"100, 200, 300... huh?! Only 300 Beli?!" Nami then shouted while lifting up her left hand, which was grabbing onto a crumbled Beli,
*BAM*
"Why are you so poor?!"
Nami's bo-staff found its way onto another pirate, who fell down with a red mark on his forehead.
"Nami!! Get out of there!" Then, Nami heard Nojiko's call from far back. Grinning, she leaped out of the ship and held her hand up expectedly, which Law grabbed from on top of Farul with an evident annoyance.
"Escape on your own, you annoying woman!"
Law clicked his tongue as Nojiko blasted a wave of green flame toward the ship, corroding it away in an instant.
"You are more annoying!! Got that?!" Nami barked back comically.
"All of you, it's not time to be casual." From the boat below, Bonney spoke up with a pistol in her hand, "We are severely outnumbered, y'know?!"
*BANG*
Bonney then shot a bullet from her pistol, and instead of a bullet, it was a seed that has embedded itself on top of one pirate's skull—instantly ending the latter's life.
Then, the seed began to grow at an incredible pace. The countless number of roots sprouted over the whole ship, the huge trunk grew and thickened at a notable speed, and the various branches and leaves came into the existence.
"Ahh!!! Get into the water!!!"
*Splash* *Splash* *Splash*
On top of the pirate ship, there now stood a gigantic tree.
"One down." Bonney said while blowing smoke on the barrel of her pistol.
"And over hundreds more to go." Law said with a dark expression.
"Ufufu, take it easy, Law." Robin chuckled from the Prominence down below.
___________
"What a perfect situation this is." Kaidou grinned maniacally as his Hassaikai found its way onto Rowan's arm.
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
"The war that will shake the whole world! The blood-thriving fight where a warrior can face a glorious death! The strength in which my opponent possesses—how perfect, Grimheart!!!!"
Kaidou swung his Hassaikai at a blinding speed over and over,
*BOOOOOMBOOOOOMBOOOOOM*
which Rowan was effectively parrying and dodging with an even faster speed.
"Imagine how much larger of a war it will be... once I attain the One Piece for myself!!!" Kaidou's eyes flashed in red, just as his Hassaikai blazed up in crackling black lightning, indicating the Conqueror's Haki: Infusion,
"Destroyer of Death, Daiitoku Thunder Bagua!!!"
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
The whole air nearby blasted forth from sheer pressure as Kaidou's Hassaikai met Rowan's fist, which was encased by Conqueror's Haki: Manifestation.
"*Huff*... What a freak." Rowan bickered with clear exhaustion. The fight has been dragging on for quite some time by now, and the two Emperors didn't seem to know the definition of 'fatigue.'
"Mamamama!!!!!" From the top, Linlin was free-falling toward Rowan while holding onto her sword, Ares, with two hands in a reverse grip.
And if looked closely, one will find that it wasn't Ares alone. Around its blade, there existed the potent yellow lightning: Hera.
"Emperor Blade: Cognac!!!!!"
With Linlin's ferocious scream,
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
the blade crashed down onto Rowan. The dust rose and covered the entire scene.
From within,
*BOOM*
A subtle noise of collision was heard, followed by,
*BOOOOOOOM*
one larger. Then,
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
the whole area exploded from a potent strike, and the cloud of dust was pushed away in an instant.
Now, Rowan was seen to be holding Linlin's Ares and Kaidou's Hassaikai with two large arms that were produced by the use of Armament Haki: Manipulation and Conqueror's Haki: Manifestation.
"Ah, s***." Rowan grinned weakly as blood trickled down from his nose. He felt slightly dizzy at this point.
"12 minutes... haa."
It seemed that there existed no choice. If this were to continue, Rowan will end up losing.
'I thought that the efficient management of Conqueror's Haki: Manifestation will be my key to the victory, but...'
Through the prolonged battle against the two Emperors, Rowan realized that they had more stamina than him.
'Against one, it wouldn't have been as difficult. But both of them at the same time... they are very familiar with fighting together.'
"Oho?!" Kaidou grinned as Rowan's form began to change.
From head to toe, Rowan was fully covered by the intense manifestation of Conqueror's Haki. Along with the scorching heat that emanated out of him, Linlin and Kaidou instantly recognized what Rowan was doing.
Rowan began to operate 'Grimheart' and 'Grimlock' simultaneously, just like what he has done in the Coconut Seal.
*BOOOOM*
Linlin and Kaidou were pushed away from Rowan by the use of bounce forces.
"All or nothing... here we go."
Then, Rowan disappeared from Linlin and Kaidou's sight.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein