Amid the explosive roar of the air bursting apart…
Norton calmly raised a hand.
He caught the descending claw.
The muscles in his arm bulged with veins…
Yet it remained as immovable as a mountain.
Despite the werewolf Mongola possessing enough strength to split mountains and shatter boulders…
He couldn’t move Norton an inch.
“Again!”
Norton’s eyes burned with excitement.
“You’ve still got more strength, don’t you?”
“Bring out your full potential!”
His eager smile…
Looked like that of a Demon King in Mongola’s eyes.
For the first time…
A trace of fear silently crept into the proud werewolf’s heart.
“Claw Pistol!”
Mongola’s enormous claws slashed through the air.
Each swipe tore visible trails through the atmosphere.
In his werewolf form…
His speed had increased severalfold.
Far beyond the speed of sound.
Even bullets were slower.
Yet Norton continued dealing with every attack effortlessly.
Mongola was horrified.
He had never encountered such a terrifying opponent.
Strength.
Speed.
Both seemed limitless.
Like staring into a bottomless abyss.
He had never experienced such despair before.
“Finger Pistol—Wolf Fang!”
Crushed beneath overwhelming pressure…
Mongola unleashed more of his potential than ever before.
Every ounce of his Armament Haki gathered around his fangs.
The gleaming white teeth turned jet black.
Opening his massive jaws…
He lunged to bite Norton in half.
Black fangs collided with empty air.
Sparks erupted.
The metallic clash echoed loudly.
His attack had missed again.
Norton’s figure reappeared several steps away.
He frowned slightly.
“The smell of your breath is awful.”
“Don’t think you can escape!”
Mongola threw back his head and released an ear-splitting howl.
The sound echoed across the entire kingdom.
Outside the palace…
Nami, the Duke, and Furning all heard it.
They instinctively looked back toward the palace.
“What on earth is happening to Mr.
Norton?”
The Duke’s heart pounded wildly.
“We can’t worry about that now!”
Nami suppressed the worry in her eyes.
“Just trust Norton!”
“He’s incredibly strong!”
“He’ll be fine!”
Furning grabbed her father’s hand.
“Let’s hurry back to the castle!”
“All the guards are rushing toward the palace!”
Around the palace…
Patrolling soldiers had all begun running toward the source of the howl.
Not only them…
People dressed in unfamiliar black uniforms also flooded into the palace.
“What are they?”
Furning asked.
“Agents of the World Government.”
The Duke’s expression was grim.
“They’re known as CP.”
“You’re right.”
“This situation has become far too dangerous.”
“We’re returning to the castle.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Wait!”
“I need to bring the White Pearl back!”
Furning protested.
“There’s no time.”
The Duke shook his head.
“Leave it to Mr.
Norton.”
“He’ll protect his ship.”
His expression grew increasingly solemn.
Something enormous…
Was about to happen in this kingdom.
Inside the throne room…
The gigantic wolf-headed monster darted through the collapsing palace.
His massive black claws swept through the air again and again.
Each strike generated violent gusts.
Mongola pushed his body beyond its limits with the Rokushiki secret art—
Life Return.
Every muscle tightened like forged steel.
The silver-haired figure danced effortlessly between the murderous claws.
Again and again…
Norton evaded every strike by the narrowest of margins.
“Not enough!”
“Not enough!”
“Still not enough!”
His wild grin only grew wider.
Stretching out both arms…
He laughed.
“Draw out every last bit of your potential!”
“This still isn’t enough to satisfy me!”
Against Mongola’s relentless assault…
Norton did nothing but dodge.
Occasionally…
He blocked.
But he never counterattacked.
That only fueled Mongola’s momentum.
Columns.
Walls.
The ceiling itself.
The throne room crumbled beneath the werewolf’s frenzied assault.
Dust filled the air like thick fog.
Massive chunks of stone rained down continuously.
The entire palace had begun collapsing.
The crimson glow in Mongola’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He looked completely insane.
Eventually…
He stopped announcing his techniques altogether.
His power had reached its absolute limit.
There was nowhere higher to climb.
Now…
Every roar.
Every claw.
Contained only pure rage.
Killing intent gradually swallowed what remained of his sanity.
Without realizing it…
Driven by the overwhelming pressure Norton had placed upon him…
The barrier that had limited him all these years…
Finally cracked.
Mongola had touched the realm known as…
Awakening.
Legend said…
When a Devil Fruit user’s mind and body fully harmonized with their power…
They entered the state called Awakening.
After Awakening…
Their combat power increased dramatically.
Their vitality became monstrous.
No matter how many times they were knocked down…
They could always rise again.
But Zoan Awakenings carried tremendous risk.
Forced Awakening would fail.
Those who failed still gained terrifying resilience and recovery.
However…
Their human consciousness would be devoured by the beast residing within the fruit.
They would lose their reason.
Lose their humanity.
And become nothing more than slaves to their Devil Fruit.
The Jailer Beasts of Impel Down…
Were examples of failed Zoan Awakenings.
“…That’s about enough.”
Norton murmured quietly.
Watching the crazed wolf monster before him…
He sensed Mongola’s power had reached its absolute peak.
His Limiter…
Had reached its maximum.
Norton slowly clenched his right fist.
At last…
He decided to throw his second punch.
“It would’ve been boring to end this instantly.”
He smiled.
“In this state…”
“You should survive a few more punches.”
Then…
Norton threw a Serious Punch.
It was an utterly ordinary punch.
No Armament Haki.
No Rokushiki techniques.
Nothing flashy.
Yet…
The blood-red light blazing within Mongola’s eyes vanished instantly.
His instinctive fear of death snapped him back to his senses.
Norton’s fist rapidly expanded within his vision.
Like an entire mountain crashing down upon him.
His black, Haki-coated fangs shattered.
They scattered through the air.
His monstrous wolf head twisted violently.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
At that instant…
Mongola heard his own bones breaking.
Even after partially entering Awakening…
His bones were harder than steel.
Yet before Norton’s fist…
They snapped like rotten wood.
An overwhelming force engulfed him.
His body was launched like an artillery shell.
He became nothing but a streak tearing across the sky.
He smashed through the palace columns.
Pierced the thick clouds of dust.
Burst through the outer walls.
Shot straight off the island.
Skimming across the sea…
He carved a long scar through the waves before disappearing beyond the horizon.
At that very moment…
The palace guards and CP agents who had rushed inside…
Witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The silver-haired man still stood with his fist extended.
Before him…
A gigantic trench stretched into the distance.
It cut straight through the throne room…
Through the palace…
Across the city’s streets…
Continuing farther than the eye could see…
Until it reached the raging sea.
Around the silver-haired man—
Who now looked more like a Demon King than a human—
The dust slowly drifted away.
“…I overestimated you.”
Norton lowered his fist.
“You weren’t enough to satisfy me.”
His calm gaze swept over the stunned guards…
And the World Government agents.
Every one of them felt as though they had fallen into an endless abyss.