Norton rubbed his forehead.
She really didn’t hesitate at all…
“Don’t let them escape, Mongola!”
Saint Ari shouted anxiously.
“Yes, Saint Ari.”
The instant the words left his mouth…
Mongola vanished.
Shave.
Every CP0 agent had mastered the Rokushiki to perfection.
In less than half a second—
Perhaps even less than 0.36 seconds—
Mongola kicked off the ground dozens of times.
The explosive recoil launched him forward like a rocket.
The scenery on both sides blurred into streaks.
Moving at terrifying speed…
His eyes locked onto the fleeing Duke.
The distance between them rapidly shrank toward nothing.
How should I kill him?
Pierce his heart from behind?
Slice open his throat?
Cut him in half at the waist?
Mongola carefully considered the options.
A prey of such high status…
Wasn’t something he encountered often.
So he intended to give the Duke a fitting death.
“Who said you could go?”
A calm male voice interrupted his thoughts.
The next instant—
An overwhelming force descended from above.
It felt as though a battering ram had smashed into his skull.
His high-speed charge came to an abrupt halt.
He was driven straight into the ground.
BOOM!
The marble floor of the throne room exploded apart with a thunderous crash.
When the dust settled…
Mongola slowly climbed out of a human-shaped crater.
His white suit was covered in dust.
Half of his black chrysanthemum mask had shattered away.
Revealing a cold, sinister face beneath.
“You’re tough.”
Norton grinned.
His eyes shone with excitement.
Coming out to sea really had been the right choice.
After years…
He had finally met someone who could survive one of his punches.
Mongola touched his forehead.
His fingertips came away stained red.
Blood slowly trickled from the cracked wound.
“…Who are you?”
He licked the blood from his fingers.
He had never imagined…
That this handsome silver-haired young man, whose presence seemed utterly ordinary…
Could possess such monstrous strength.
The moment the punch landed…
Mongola had immediately activated Iron Body.
He had even coated himself with Armament Haki.
And yet…
Norton’s punch had still injured him.
If his senses hadn’t betrayed him…
The silver-haired youth hadn’t even used Haki.
He had broken through Mongola’s Armament Haki…
With nothing but raw physical strength. New chapters come out on g.com first.
What Mongola could never have imagined…
Was that Norton simply didn’t know how to use Haki.
Because in Mongola’s eyes…
Someone this powerful…
Not knowing Haki…
Was impossible.
“Me?”
Norton pointed a thumb at himself.
“I’m the man who’s going to rule these seas.”
“So…”
Mongola narrowed his eyes.
“Another ambitious fool sailing in search of the One Piece?”
“The One Piece?”
Norton clenched his fist.
“If I find it, great.”
“If I don’t, no big deal.”
“My goal…”
“Is to found my own nation.”
“And from there…”
“I’ll become the King of the World.”
“Ridiculous!”
Mongola growled.
“A government lapdog like you would never understand.”
Norton smiled.
“You’re strong.”
“But that’s all.”
Mongola’s face twisted viciously.
“No matter where you came from…”
“You’re dying here today.”
“Finger Pistol—Crimson Lotus!”
His body disappeared once more.
In an instant…
He appeared directly before Norton.
His index finger, coated in Armament Haki, shot forward.
The friction with the air ignited blazing flames around it…
Blooming like a crimson lotus.
Norton merely tilted his head slightly.
The deadly strike brushed harmlessly past.
The shockwave pierced through the air…
Striking one of the palace pillars.
The enormous stone column—
So wide it would take ten men to encircle—
Instantly exploded.
Chunks of stone rained down with deafening crashes.
It was impossible to imagine…
What that attack would do to a human body.
Seeing his Finger Pistol miss…
Mongola immediately straightened his fingers into a rigid palm.
He launched an even stronger technique.
“Palm Pistol!”
An invisible spear of compressed force blasted through the air with a shrill whistle.
Its destructive power surpassed Crimson Lotus entirely.
Several massive pillars were pierced straight through.
One after another…
They collapsed into rubble.
The throne room trembled violently beneath the tremendous explosions.
When the dust finally dispersed…
Norton’s figure slowly emerged from the smoke.
Completely unharmed.
Mongola’s pupils contracted.
“Impossible…”
“He dodged that too?!”
Despite the devastating advanced Rokushiki techniques…
Norton remained completely relaxed.
“Your attacks are way too slow.”
He chuckled.
“It’d be strange if I couldn’t dodge them.”
“Come on.”
“Don’t disappoint me.”
“Show me what you’ve really got.”
Mongola’s expression darkened.
Behind the shattered remains of his mask…
His brows knit tightly together.
“Mongola!”
By now…
Saint Ari had already hidden behind the throne in terror.
“What are you doing?!”
“Kill him already!”
“I will, Saint Ari.”
Mongola’s voice had become hoarse.
He tore off the remaining half of his mask.
Rolling his shoulders…
Cracking his fingers…
His entire skeleton began popping loudly.
Then—
His body underwent a horrifying transformation.
Black fur burst through his white suit.
It spread rapidly across his skin.
His face…
His limbs…
His entire body warped.
Within only a few breaths…
The tall human transformed into a monstrous wolf-headed giant nearly ten meters tall.
His enormous shadow completely swallowed Norton.
The black fur swayed like willow branches…
Carrying an eerie aura of death.
The throne room itself suddenly felt dark and sinister.
“A Devil Fruit?”
Norton looked up with obvious interest.
“Correct.”
The monstrous wolf opened his enormous jaws.
Foul-smelling blood-scented breath poured forth.
“I possess the Human-Human Fruit…”
“Mythical Zoan…”
“Model: Werewolf.”
“You probably don’t understand what a Mythical Zoan means, young man.”
“Devil Fruits themselves are already priceless treasures of the sea.”
“Any one of them is worth over a hundred million Berries.”
“They’re divided into three major categories.”
“Paramecia.”
“Zoan.”
“And Logia.”
“Normally…”
“Logias are considered the rarest.”
“But there exists an even rarer class.”
“The Mythical Zoans.”
The towering wolf monster raised an enormous claw.
It plunged downward toward the shadow beneath him.
“Palm Pistol—Wolf Soul!”
The massive black claw generated a violent gale.
The pressure blasted every loose stone across the floor away…
Leaving a vast empty space beneath it.
At the center of that storm…
The enormous black claw came crashing down.
The air itself exploded.