“Rocky Port…
is done for!”
Somewhere near the edge of Rocky Port Island, Patricius curled up like an ostrich, watching the earth-shattering battle unfolding in the distance.
His face was filled with sheer awe and horror.
They were too strong!
The two men fighting over there…
Whether it was the white-haired youth, or that horned demon king with two horns atop his head, both possessed terrifying power far beyond his wildest imagination.
Every casual collision between them shattered the island’s buildings like damp paper.
Solid rock, hard earth, and even steel could do nothing under their fists and kicks except warp and explode!
It had only been a few short hours since they started fighting.
Yet this bustling pirate port had already been almost completely wiped out.
The town, once filled with shops and entertainment venues, was reduced to rubble.
Countless pirates and criminals had been caught in the crossfire and killed instantly.
“These are the true powerhouses…
the real, supreme rulers of these seas!”
As he watched, an unprecedented fire of desire kindled in Patricius’s eyes.
At this moment, how desperately he wished to be the one wielding such godlike strength!
Yet he also knew all too well that it was an absolute impossibility.
Even if another ten or twenty years passed, he might never even touch the fringes of such power.
Unless…
he could obtain a powerful enough Devil Fruit.
The thought triggered the memory of what the white-haired man had said to him.
*If you survive, come find me at Hachinosu.*
“Hachinosu…”
Patricius’s gaze gradually hardened with resolve.
He stopped watching the intense clash that showed no sign of stopping and turned to run toward the ruined harbor.
He had to find a ship.
A ship that could carry him away from this place and take him straight to Hachinosu!
This was very likely his chance—his only chance to escape his miserable plight and forge a grander future!
Just as Patricius prepared to leave Rocky Port, Carlo and Kaidou, still locked in their furious brawl on the island, had no idea that tens of kilometers away, a pirate ship emblazoned with the word [ROCKS] was unhurriedly sailing toward the island.
On the bow deck, a towering, burly man with long golden hair and a crescent-shaped white mustache beneath his nose was gazing into the distance, red gleams flickering in his eyes.
“Gurararara!
There really are some mighty presences clashing over there.”
“So, is it Samuro fighting that rookie Kaidou?”
“Rocks really values that kid Kaidou, huh?
Doesn’t even care if Rocky Port gets destroyed?”
Back on Rocky Port Island:
You twitchy flea!
If you’ve got the guts, face me head-on!”
Dusted in grit, Kaidou bellowed again and again, swinging his pillar-like arms as he pounced toward Carlo like a starving tiger.
Yet Carlo nimbly ducked right under his armpit.
The moment he slipped past, Carlo thrust his hand like a knife right into Kaidou’s armpit.
Kaidou let out a pained yelp as tears burst from the corners of his eyes.
“Bastard!
You bastard!”
Kaidou clamped his armpit tight and swept his muscular left arm around with incredible violence.
Yet Carlo, airborne, didn’t flinch in the slightest.
Bringing his left foot down, he stepped directly on Kaidou’s wrist joint.
Using the downward momentum on Kaidou’s arm as a springboard, he vaulted upward.
Then, with a blinding jab, he smashed his fist into Kaidou’s eyebrow ridge.
*Bang!* Kaidou’s brow split open, blood pooling out and staining his eye crimson.
Without missing a beat, Carlo took several swift steps through midair—as though treading invisible stairs—flanking Kaidou’s right side and whipping a ferocious kick straight toward his neck!
“You’ve pissed me off!
You damned Marine brat!”
Red light flared wildly in Kaidou’s eyes.
Whether it was from the blood blinding him or his Observation Haki flaring, his jaws snapped open wide, actually trying to bite down on Carlo’s incoming right foot!
“Hey, hey, hey!
That’s disgusting, Kaidou!”
Carlo teased, pulling back his leg mid-whip and converting it into a front kick, planting his massive footprint right onto Kaidou’s face.
The impact squished and stretched Kaidou’s cheek to its limit.
His toes nearly jabbed straight into Kaidou’s eye socket.
“Bastard!
Bastard!
I’ll fucking kill you!”
Kaidou flailed his giant arms to smash Carlo, but Carlo pushed off his face and leaped clear.
Diving back midair with a reverse backflip, Carlo executed a Moonwalk to execute a lightning-fast counter-attack, smashing his fist into Kaidou’s knee!
With strength surpassing 70 and a formidable Seven-Star Physique, the force of his punch was something even ten adult Giants combined couldn’t withstand!
Though Kaidou’s physical toughness still exceeded Carlo’s, the gap between them had shrunk drastically.
As Carlo’s fist connected, Kaidou’s knee issued a dull crack.
A shock of panic went through Kaidou, and he yanked his leg back instantly to absorb the force before his knee was shattered.
At the same time, his glare toward Carlo grew increasingly wild and feral.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
However, with their physical stats now so close, Carlo’s smaller frame gave him far superior explosive speed.
Before Kaidou’s fist could descend, Carlo had already leaped from beneath him, rising like a rocket to strike first—hammering an uppercut straight into Kaidou’s chin.
“Take my Lushan Rising Dragon Supremacy!!”
The pitch-black heavy fist hit Kaidou’s chin dead-on, lifting his giant body right off the ground.
Carlo immediately followed up with a straight kick, planting his sole hard against Kaidou’s chest, blasting him back to plow a trench dozens of meters long through the earth!
*Swish!* Carlo touched down softly.
Bouncing lightly on his feet, the thrill on his face was plain to see.
Watching Kaidou grit his teeth, scramble back up, and glare at him with pure hatred, Carlo couldn’t help teasing him.
“What’s wrong?
Still not going to grab your club?”
“Fighting me hand-to-hand?
Kaidou, do you even have what it takes?”
“Who do you think taught me my taijutsu?
Those guys back at Marine Headquarters might have nasty personalities, but when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, not even all the pirates on Hachinosu combined can compare!”
“Arrogant brat!”
Kaidou gritted his teeth and charged headlong again, only for Carlo to sidestep and grab the curved horns on his head.
With a roaring burst of strength, Carlo swung Kaidou’s entire body into the air!
Then, tightening his pitch-black right fist, he delivered a grand, devastating straight punch like lightning.
“Fist Bone!
Justice Straight!!”
*BOOM!!*
Kaidou’s massive body bent into an arch as his abdominal muscles caved in deep.
Carlo’s arm sank nearly elbow-deep into his belly, churning his insides so violently that Kaidou opened his mouth and spat up a torrent of gastric juice, flying backward in utter humiliation once again!
Refusing to relent, Carlo gave chase with a brutal grin, pummeled Kaidou relentlessly.
By now, Kaidou finally abandoned all illusions of beating him in a pure brawl.
While fending off Carlo’s relentless blows, he obediently scrambled around to look for his spiked club, Hassaikai.
Just as Carlo’s heavy boot landed on his rear once more, sending him diving headfirst into the ground like an ostrich, Kaidou’s hands finally closed around the spiked club he had tossed aside earlier.
The moment his hands gripped the iron club, Kaidou’s entire aura transformed.
“Cocky Marine brat, let’s see how you die now!!”
He roared as he looked up at Carlo—only to freeze in astonishment.
“Who the hell is this bird-man?
Where’s the Marine brat?!”
In front of him, the Carlo who had been ruthlessly pummeling him had vanished.
In his place stood a six-meter-tall creature with the head of a bird, the body of a man, wings spouting from his back, and a body that glistened as though cast in solid gold.