The Quetzalcoatlus.
The largest flying animal in prehistoric history, the king of the skies.
A massive form stretching over seventeen meters was indeed nothing short of terrifying.
At least at this moment, the Commander had completely lost his composure.
“How is this possible?
Weren’t pterosaurs supposed to be extinct long ago…?” “Fool.” But Commodore Ranri had already stepped forward.
“Look at its head.” Its head?
The Commander was taken aback upon hearing this, only then noticing it.
Atop that head—which was remarkably small compared to its massive body—rested a strange rooster mask.
The mask extended along with its beak, looking rather bizarre.
But without a doubt, it proved one thing.
“This guy is an ability user,” Commodore Ranri concluded softly.
“An ability user?
Meaning…
he’s a human?” The Commander nearly lost his voice.
“Could he be the one who attacked Master Port…?” “Who knows.” Ranri chuckled, then slightly raised the nodachi in his hand.
“You, get out of here.” “Leave?
What are you saying, sir?” The Commander was stunned, then gripped his flintlock tightly.
“Since we’ve confirmed the opponent is the attacker, I must fight by your side.” “Idiot!
This guy isn’t an opponent you can handle.” Ranri merely glanced at him and waved his hand dismissively.
“Leave immediately.
Go check on the casualties and damage at the other bases.
Leave this guy to me.” “But…” The Commander was clearly still hesitating.
But Ranri barked out, “No buts!
In my hometown, interfering with a man’s duel against a strong opponent is a capital offense!” “…” *Just where exactly is your hometown?* The Commander complained internally, but he decisively obeyed the order and turned to flee.
Thus, in the forest, only Commodore Ranri remained, looking up at the colossal beast in the sky.
“Aren’t you going to stop him from leaving?” He gripped his nodachi and grinned.
“There is no need.” High in the sky, the gargantuan beast actually chuckled as well.
“My mission is to take the Heavenly Tribute here.
So—I only need to deal with you.” Hearing this, Commodore Ranri’s grin widened.
“Bold words.” As he spoke, his right hand already rested on the hilt of his sword.
“If you want to defeat me, you’ll have to ask ‘Nagamitsu’ first!” In the next instant…
*Clang!* A crisp ring echoed, followed by a flash of silver.
It was a slash of sword light.
“Volcano Style: Flying Slash!” Accompanying the whistle of a sword cutting through the air, a massive, silvery-white flying slash erupted from the tip of Ranri’s nodachi, Nagamitsu.
The slash shot from the tip of his blade, soaring straight into the sky!
This silently demonstrated Ranri’s true strength.
A flying slash, and one condensed to such a high degree—even on the vast seas, he was a genuine, top-tier master swordsman!
*Swoosh!* In an instant, the flying slash accurately struck the Quetzalcoatlus’s massive right wing.
A smirk tugged at the corner of Ranri’s mouth.
“Having too massive a body isn’t always a good thing.” He knew very well that this slash of his was powerful enough to cleave a small ship in two.
*I just need to wait for him to plummet from the sky, then I’ll…* He was already planning his next move to finish the opponent.
However, in the very next moment, both his thoughts and his smile froze.
Because right then…
*Boom!* As the dust cleared, Ranri saw to his shock that the giant pterosaur was still soaring high in the air.
There was not a single wound on the massive wing that had been struck.
Its smooth wing membrane gleamed with a cold, stone-like luster under the sunlight.
Only a faint white scratch remained to prove that the slash had even connected.
“To think it’s actually this tough…” With that, the expression on Ranri’s face grew dead serious.
From this single exchange, he realized that this would be an incredibly difficult battle.
His flying slashes couldn’t injure the opponent, and the other’s flight capability meant that most of his other sword techniques would struggle to connect.
Ultimately, this was the greatest advantage of flight-capable Devil Fruits…
“Huh?!” But just as Ranri was racking his brain for a solution, he saw the massive beast in the sky move!
Under Ranri’s astonished gaze, the colossal pterosaurian body rapidly shrank and deformed!
In the blink of an eye, the massive shadow that blotted out the sun vanished.
In its place, a figure plummeted and crashed heavily onto the ground.
*Thud!* The heavy impact sent a slight tremor through the earth, kicking up a ring of shockwaves.
Standing before Ranri was a humanoid monster nearly three meters tall.
He still wore that trademark rooster mask, and his body retained a basic human outline, but he was covered from head to toe in rock-like, blue-gray dragon scales.
His arms had transformed into thicker, powerful dragon claws complete with sharp talons and webbing, while his legs had become strong, digitigrade beast legs.
A thick dragon tail swayed gently behind him.
This was Roy’s hybrid-beast form of the Quetzalcoatlus Fruit.
“You bastard…” Seeing this, Ranri felt a surge of pure fury.
The veins on his hand bulged from gripping his sword so hard.
“Are you insulting me?!” Voluntarily giving up his aerial advantage—this was an outright insult!
“Quite the contrary,” Roy said softly.
“I just felt that you might be able to help me warm up a bit.” As he spoke, he cracked his neck, producing sharp, popping sounds.
Then, he looked at Ranri with a smile.
“Ready?
Let’s begin!” “You—” Ranri wanted to say something more.
But a split second later, the words died in his throat.
Because in the next instant, he realized the other party had completely vanished from sight.
*Soru?!
So fast!* Ranri was stunned, but before he could think further, his Observation Haki detected a massive, violent force coming from his side.
“Volcano Style: Iron Guard!” Without hesitation, Ranri raised his nodachi as a shield to block his side.
An invisible force instantly coated the blade.
It was one of the most extraordinary powers on these seas—Armament Haki!
In the next moment, the massive dragon claw slammed violently against the nodachi.
*Clang!* An explosive ring, like metal clashing against metal, erupted along with a shower of sparks.
Ranri was instantly blown backward, crashing heavily through the trunk of a giant tree.
“A combination of Armament Haki and Tekkai?
And integrated into a sword technique?” Roy remarked with great interest.
“So this is Vice Admiral Yamakaji’s sword style, ‘Volcano Style’.
Truly impressive!” And right as his words fell— “You bastard…
don’t get ahead of yourself!” Ranri’s figure charged out from the shattered trunk once more.
“Since you chose to fight close-range, don’t expect me to hold back!
Volcano Style: Ten Storms!” His body also vanished with a sharp *swoosh*—as a Marine Commodore, his mastery of Soru was naturally top-tier.
In the next instant, he appeared at Roy’s side.
The nodachi, coated in Haki, turned into a flurry of silver arcs, slashing furiously at Roy’s vital spots with blinding speed and tricky angles.
“Not holding back?” Roy chuckled in response.
“That’s exactly what I wanted.” With that, the intense battle began!