I Am Called ‘Rooster’!
15: Chapter 15: Mythical Type?
I Am Called ‘Rooster’!
Chapter 15: Mythical Type?
I Am Known as ‘Rooster’!
Outside the Great Arashi Forest, at the watchtower.
“Hey!
Wake up, guys!” Following Ranri’s advice, the Commander had fled back to this place.
Looking at the heavily injured Marines inside the wrecked watchtower, he felt both relieved and anxious.
He was relieved because the situation here was better than expected.
Although they had suffered a brutal attack and almost all the equipment inside the watchtower was destroyed, the Marines’ lives were at least not in danger.
It wasn’t hard to guess that the remaining four bases were likely in a similar state.
In addition, he had already reported the attack on Arasheet Island to Marine Headquarters.
But his anxiety stemmed from the same situation.
“The nearest reinforcements in the surrounding waters will take at least half a day to arrive.” “But even if they do…
can we really be of any help in a battle of that level?” Murmuring softly, he turned his gaze toward the center of the distant Great Arashi Forest.
At this moment, from the heart of the forest, *Clang!
Clang!
Clang!* Thunderous booms and the screech of clashing metal rang out like claps of thunder, piercingly loud even from this distance.
With every collision, he could see a giant tree in the Great Arashi Forest crash to the ground, kicking up massive clouds of dust.
From time to time, massive slashes would tear from the forest toward the sky, blowing the dust to pieces.
Without a doubt, this was a battle of a scale the Commander had never witnessed before.
“Can Commodore Ranri…
win?” he muttered to himself.
…
*I can’t win.* Inside the forest, as Commodore Ranri clashed with Roy, he silently came to this conclusion.
*Is this the power of an Ancient Type user?* he whispered in his mind.
He had long heard from his mentor, Vice Admiral Yamakaji, about how troublesome Ancient Type users could be.
In fact, among the world-famous Seven Warlords of the Sea, there was one renowned for having an Ancient Type ability.
According to Yamakaji, facing that guy was like facing the primeval wild itself.
Ranri hadn’t quite understood it before.
But now, he did.
*Boom!* The sound of wind being torn apart rushed toward him—it was a massive tail.
Ranri barely managed to swing his nodachi in retaliation.
“Volcano Style: Explosive Slash!” His full power and Haki erupted in unison.
But in the next instant, as if struck by a literal mountain, he lost control of his body and was sent flying.
*Crash!* His body gouged a massive trench into the ground, and the giant trees knocked down along the way bore testament to the sheer force of the impact.
Ranri felt that another one of his ribs had probably broken.
*Which number is this?
Three or four?* He barely managed to prop his body up with his sword, swallowing down the blood that threatened to gush from his mouth.
His heavy, ragged breathing made it clear that his condition was terrible.
Then, he raised his eyes to look at his enemy.
The monster stood not far from him.
On the tail of that massive three-meter-tall body, a slight gash from Ranri’s previous slash could be seen.
But right now…
“…” Ranri could clearly see the muscles and skin around the edge of the gash rapidly knitting back together.
In just a moment, the bleeding wound had already faded into a faint red line.
And this was exactly what caused Ranri the greatest headache—and even despair.
*Vitality, stamina, speed, defense, strength…
we are simply not on the same level.* Even though the opponent hadn’t used Haki—either because he didn’t know how, or simply didn’t want to.
Even though Ranri had poured everything into his own Haki and slashes.
But the gap between them lay in the very essence of their vitality.
The sheer life force granted by an Ancient Type Devil Fruit was simply terrifying.
So…
*My training is still lacking…
If Master Yamakaji were here in person, he might be able to cleave this guy’s body apart.* Ranri thought to himself.
*In a normal fight, there is no way I can win.* *Therefore…
I must bet everything on the very next slash.* He had made his decision.
Meanwhile…
*This fruit is indeed ridiculous.
No wonder any random Ancient Type user is at least one of the Beasts Pirates’ ‘Tobi Roppo’ or ‘All-Stars’.* Roy was inwardly marveling in almost the exact same way.
Indeed.
His battle with Ranri was a deliberate attempt to use this capable Commodore as a “whetstone” to help him adapt to his new abilities.
And as the fruit’s wielder, he knew far better than Ranri just how powerful the Quetzalcoatlus Fruit truly was.
*My baseline combat skills and physical techniques aren’t weak, and with this fruit’s power, I should have combat strength close to a Marine Vice Admiral.* Roy concluded in his mind.
Of course, considering that the gap between the strongest and weakest Marine Vice Admirals was incredibly vast, his estimate was relatively conservative.
*Not to mention I also have…
Hm?* But just as Roy was about to continue his analysis, his heart skipped a beat—a sense of danger unique to Zoan-type users made him turn his gaze toward Commodore Ranri.
There, Commodore Ranri had stepped out from the dust.
At some point, his nodachi had already been sheathed.
He crouched low, his right hand gripping the scabbard, his eyes terrifyingly sharp.
*Is he going for a deciding blow?* Roy naturally understood the other man’s intention—Ranri clearly planned to settle the battle with his next strike.
And so…
“Fine by me.” *I’ve mostly adapted to the Quetzalcoatlus Fruit’s power anyway.
It’s indeed time to finish this.* Roy muttered to himself, looking back at Commodore Ranri.
At this moment…
*Boom!* Commodore Ranri’s hand gripped the hilt tightly, his breathing heavier and more labored than ever before.
*Huff!
Huff!
Huff!* With every breath, Haki slowly coated his hand, and all the strength in his body converged at this single moment.
Right now, his aura felt like a volcano gathering heat, on the verge of eruption.
*’If you encounter a powerful enemy, it is of course a crisis, but it can also be an opportunity.’* *’Gather your aura, and bet everything you have on a single strike.’* *’Focus the mind and align the spirit, concentrating everything onto one point—this is called “Kyo-so”.’* In his ears, the voice of his mentor, Yamakaji, seemed to echo.
Then…
*Boom!* In the next instant, a brilliant flash of cold steel erupted.
It was like a volcanic eruption!
It was a slash—a slash of unprecedented power!
The speed and intensity of this slash far surpassed any of his previous strikes, ripping through the atmosphere.
Wherever it passed, countless surrounding trees were sliced cleanly in two in an instant, and a massive cloud of dust exploded in its wake.
*’The mind moves and the blade strikes, heart and mind as one—this is “Bakkou”.’* At this moment, Ranri felt highly satisfied.
Because this was the strongest attack he had ever unleashed in his entire life.
“Volcano Style: Iai Slash – Yamakaji!” At this moment, even Roy’s slit-pupil beast eyes couldn’t help but flicker with surprise.
In the next instant…
The slash tore past.
*Splat!* And that head, covered in blue-grey dragon scales and wearing the rooster mask…
soundlessly parted from its neck!
A clean decapitation!
With this, Ranri finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I won.” He slowly collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, feeling as though even a single movement of his body was an impossible task.
However…
“Not a bad strike.” The voice that suddenly rang out in the next instant nearly stopped Ranri’s heart.
“Wh…” He turned his head in utter disbelief.
And there, he witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
In the ruined, sunlit forest, Roy’s decapitated head, still wearing the rooster mask, was dissolving into countless tiny, flowing particles of golden light.
Then…
*Hum!* The scattered shards of light continuously coalesced, gradually reforming atop the headless neck.
Amidst the brilliant glow, the outline of his head took shape.
Within moments, Roy’s body was completely whole once again.
Except now, Ranri could see the changes in his form.
Golden ribbons of light were now clearly wrapped around his body, and even his dragon claws seemed to emit a golden radiance.
A dead silence fell over the forest.
Ranri’s gaze was completely vacant.
He stared at the unbelievable, indescribable form before him.
*A Zoan user…
capable of elementalization?!* His sluggishly functioning brain was still trying to process the mind-boggling sight he had just witnessed.
After fighting for so long, he was absolutely certain Roy was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
Yet that scene just now was something he had seen in the Marines—it was extremely similar to the Logia-type ability of Admiral Kizaru.
Therefore, he could not help but arrive at the only logical conclusion.
“You’re…
a Mythical Type?!” Only the rarest fruit category on the entire sea—a Mythical Type Zoan Devil Fruit—could possess such a miraculous power!
And with that came another realization.
Which was…
“In your fight with me just now…
you weren’t using your full strength at all?!” If the opponent was indeed a Mythical Type user, this was an almost certain conclusion.
With this, Ranri felt a wave of sheer horror.
He was confident in his own strength—among the Marines, below the rank of Vice Admiral, he was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone.
Yet now, this mysterious attacker in front of him had defeated him without even going all out.
“Who…
who on earth are you…?” He opened his mouth to ask.
Then, he saw the other’s slowly rising dragon claw.
*Hum!* Golden light converged upon the dragon claw, bursting forth in the next instant.
*Boom!* In the very next moment, Ranri lost consciousness.
“Who am I?” Before he blacked out, he seemed to hear the other party’s calm yet confident voice.
“I am known as ‘Rooster’.”