Even without extinguishing the flame behind her head and switching to Speed Mode, Luna was remarkably fast.
Her greatsword swept out a razor-sharp arc—only for that arc to shatter in the very next instant when a pitch-black fist slammed into the blade.
The air exploded, the ground cracked apart, and a violent gust swept through the area.
Luna felt a powerful jolt run through her arm as her greatsword was knocked backward beyond her control, throwing her entire body off balance.
‘What incredible strength.’ ‘As expected of Master Nate!’ Nate’s lips curved upward.
Lunarian blood was monstrously powerful, but its enhancement to pure physical strength wasn’t actually that extreme.
His own body wasn’t from any special race, yet its raw strength was anything but ordinary.
‘Strength—I’m stronger.’ ‘Speed—I’m faster.’ ‘Haki—mine is harder.’ ‘Luna, looks like I’m the one who’s improved more over this past year.’ “Finger Pistol: Torrential Rain!” Both of Nate’s hands transformed into hundreds of afterimages.
His Haki-coated index fingers poured down like a violent storm, striking nearly every part of Luna’s upper body in an instant.
“Lady Luna!” Anthony cried out from beside the ship’s railing, suddenly alarmed.
Wasn’t she supposed to be their lord’s representative?
Why did she look so weak?
‘Being weak is one thing, but she even talked about having some fun!
Isn’t she completely screwed now?
If Lady Luna gets killed, our lord isn’t going to blame us, is he?!’ “Calm down, idiot.
Look carefully!” Buckingham’s voice was unusually grave.
Anthony froze, focused on the battlefield again—and immediately stared in disbelief.
He wasn’t the only one.
“How is that possible?!” Far behind Nate, Ain watched the battle with wide eyes.
“Nate’s attacks aren’t doing anything!” His assault was both ferocious and fast.
Even a block of steel should have been riddled with holes by now, yet Luna’s skin wasn’t even scratched.
Every one of Nate’s attacks seemed no more effective than someone lightly tickling her.
“What the hell is going on?” One escapee stared in shock.
“Lady Luna isn’t even using Haki to defend herself, is she?” “That must be a Lunarian ability.” Solt sounded genuinely impressed.
“Terrifying.” That kid’s attacks were already quite powerful, yet Luna didn’t seem affected in the slightest.
‘She really is absurdly tough.’ Even Nate couldn’t help admiring it.
As a Lunarian, Luna still had to personally train her stamina, strength, and Haki.
Her defense was the one thing she didn’t need to train.
As an adult Lunarian, Luna’s natural durability wasn’t much worse than King’s.
Across the entire sea, there were very few people capable of breaking through defenses at that level.
Every part of her body was unbelievably tough while the flame behind her head remained lit.
Only after extinguishing it would that overwhelming defense disappear and her body become vulnerable again.
Nate had personally confirmed that point shortly after transmigrating a year ago.
“Mountain Splitter!” Luna ignored Nate’s barrage entirely and swung her greatsword down at his head.
She still couldn’t perform Hardening, but Armament Haki nevertheless wrapped around the heavy blade.
“Rankyaku!” Nate planted his right foot, twisted his waist, and whipped his left leg into the greatsword like a steel lash.
The blade was knocked off course again, and Nate immediately twisted his body at an angle that seemed to defy basic physics.
Life Return!
He forced himself into Luna’s guard and smashed a pitch-black fist straight into her face.
Then the storm truly began.
Fists, feet, knees, elbows, shoulders—Nate turned every part of his body into a weapon.
Wrapped in Haki, he unleashed a relentless barrage against Luna while she responded in the simplest possible way.
She didn’t defend at all.
She just kept swinging her sword at Nate.
You hit me.
I’ll hit you.
“Rokuogan!” Nate deflected Luna’s greatsword once again before planting both hands against her abdomen.
A violent shockwave erupted at point-blank range.
“Ugh!” Luna frowned slightly as her tall body was blasted backward through the air.
‘Still barely any effect?’ Nate clicked his tongue.
Without using projection, Rokuogan was already his strongest physical technique, and its penetrating nature should have been particularly effective against raw bodily defense.
Still, it didn’t really matter.
‘Things like raw strength and defense just aren’t high enough on the hierarchy of power.’ Against the true monsters at the top, Haki was what ultimately decided everything.
Otherwise, how could Rocks trade blows with Harald?
How could Red-Haired Shanks capture Loki?
Of course, the ideal combination was powerful Haki paired with an equally powerful Devil Fruit.
Behind Nate, Ain clenched her teeth.
‘Even that technique didn’t work?’ That woman’s defense was simply too abnormal.
Even Nate couldn’t seem to hurt her.
‘Then now, while she’s been knocked away—’ “RETURN!” Red light flared around Ain’s hands.
She swung both arms forward, sending two flame-like spheres racing toward Luna.
Luna spread her wings and stabilized herself in midair.
At that exact moment, flames erupted along her greatsword, dark red and viscous like magma, while scorching heat rolled outward.
She simply raised the blade sideways.
Ain’s two projectiles struck the flames.
The fire vanished for a brief instant as the Return-Return Fruit regressed it out of existence, but in the very next moment, new flames surged from the sword once again.
“Fire?” Anthony stared.
“A Devil Fruit ability?” “Maybe…” Solt narrowed his eyes.
“Another natural Lunarian ability?” “There’s no way…” Anthony laughed awkwardly.
‘There can’t actually be a race that ridiculous, right?’ “Annoying.” Luna raised her greatsword.
“Caress Slash!” The blade swept downward, sending a massive slash of thick flames straight toward Ain.
Ain’s pupils contracted.
“Ain, back off!” Nate leaped into the attack’s path.
“Rankyaku: White Thunder!” His right leg whipped outward.
A thin vacuum blade resembling a laser shot forward and pierced directly through the flaming slash, bursting it apart into countless sparks.
Yet from within the scattering flames, a figure descended like a meteor with a long fiery trail behind her.
Luna gripped her greatsword with both hands as flames continuously erupted from the blade.
“Burning City!” Nate’s entire body abruptly turned pitch-black.
Full-body Hardening was one of the most wasteful ways to use Armament Haki, but right now, he had no choice except to take the attack head-on.
Nate raised his fist high.
Every stray thought vanished from his mind.
The conviction to advance without hesitation.
The will to follow his own heart.
Absolute, unreserved sincerity.
Everything he possessed was poured into that single fist.
‘Serious Punch.’ Then Nate swung.
The instant fist and greatsword collided, the entire world seemed to freeze.
BOOM!
Black lightning danced through the air as violent flames erupted like a tsunami, expanding into an enormous fireball that swallowed Nate completely.
“NATE!!” The expanding shockwave blew Ain backward.
She nearly screamed his name as she hit the ground.
Her call seemed to receive an answer.
At the center of the raging flames, a massive hole suddenly exploded through the fire.
A blackened figure shot upward, and Nate kicked against the air with Geppo to stabilize himself.
“Haa…” He slowly exhaled.
‘That’s seriously hot.’ Still, Luna’s direct combat ability was indeed somewhat below his.
That made sense.
She’d only been training for a year too.
Her stamina, strength, Haki, and even her natural flames were still far from reaching their full potential.
“Nate!” Ain scrambled awkwardly back to her feet.
Only after seeing that he was unharmed did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
High above, Luna beat her wings and steadied herself.
She lifted her greatsword for a closer look and discovered that only half of it remained; the entire front section of the blade had disappeared somewhere in the distance.
“That’s one hell of a punch.” Anthony gave his assessment from the deck.
“That kid’s seriously strong.
Even I’d have trouble taking him down.” “Hey!
What’s that?!” Solt suddenly pointed toward the distant sky.
A dark figure was rapidly approaching through the air, repeatedly kicking against nothing as he flew.
Buckingham narrowed her eyes for a moment before her expression abruptly changed.
“It’s Zephyr!” “Zephyr?” Anthony and Solt both stiffened at the name.
“Black Arm Zephyr?!” “So this should be about enough, right?” Buckingham narrowed her eyes and looked between Nate and Luna, who were still facing each other across the air.
Zephyr had arrived.
Surely the act had gone on long enough.
She cleared her throat and deliberately shouted in a panicked voice, “Lady Luna!
The coating is fully inflated!
We can depart now!” Luna glanced at Nate once, then turned without hesitation and flew back toward the ship.
“YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY!!” Zephyr’s roar thundered from the sky.
Having crossed almost the entire island at full speed, he accelerated yet again.
“Instructor Zephyr!!” Ain looked ready to cry from relief.
He had finally arrived.
“He’s here?” Nate slowly exhaled.
His battle with Luna had been intense, but only a few minutes had actually passed.
‘Then it’s about time to end the show.’ “Don’t think you’re escaping!” Nate kicked against the air and chased after Luna.
Without looking back, Luna calmly called, “Weevil.” “Weevil!
Hurry!” Buckingham immediately shouted toward her son.
“Stop that kid!” “Okay, Mom!” A massive shockwave swept past Luna and headed straight for Nate.
Naturally, Nate had no choice but to let himself be blasted backward.
At the same time, Luna landed safely on the ship.
The coating had completely inflated, neutralizing the ship’s normal buoyancy as the vessel began sinking beneath the sea.
“Bastards!
STOP!!” Fortunately—or so it seemed—Zephyr had arrived at the crucial moment.
Like a meteor, he descended directly toward the coated ship.
‘There’s still time!’ In fact, the fugitives appeared to have made a fatal mistake.
Many of them were Devil Fruit users, so if Zephyr shattered the coating while the ship was descending, they would be finished.
The prisoners aboard realized the danger as well.
Anthony stared anxiously at Luna’s back.
“Lady Luna, what do we do?
That’s Black Arm Zephyr!” The reputation of the former Marine Admiral was enough to make even these hardened criminals nervous.
“What are you panicking for?” Luna remained completely calm.
“He can’t do anything.” Another equally calm voice followed.
Everyone immediately turned toward Byrnndi World, whose expression had become cold and indifferent.
No.
That wasn’t World anymore.
“My lord!” After Nate’s real body had been blown away by Weevil’s shockwave, his consciousness had immediately logged back into World’s body.
Nate looked up at the descending Zephyr and raised his right hand.
‘Sorry, Instructor Zephyr.’ Invisible matter first formed two protective layers around the coating, one inside and one outside.
Then countless thin connection lines extended from Nate’s palm toward enormous swords forming beyond the membrane.
Haki flowed into the swords.
Their invisible forms became visible.
Then—More-More Fruit, activate.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The giant swords shot upward like missiles.
The instant they separated from their connecting lines, both their size and speed multiplied explosively.
In moments, hundreds of gigantic swords covered half the sky like a dense black storm cloud.
“WORLD!!” Zephyr gritted his teeth as he descended.
The man known as Black Arm turned both arms pitch-black, while powerful Haki surged around them.
“HAAH!” He punched downward.
A massive Haki shockwave erupted from his fist and instantly destroyed an entire wave of incoming swords.
But another swarm was already upon him.
Zephyr could only grit his teeth and keep punching.
“Let’s go.” On the deck below, Nate’s lips curved upward.
‘Instructor Zephyr really does seem weaker than Magellan at this point.’ The coated ship continued rapidly sinking.
“BASTARD!!” Zephyr practically ground his teeth together.
It made no difference.
The giant swords seemed endless, flooding toward him without giving him even the slightest opportunity to descend toward the sea.
All he could do was remain furious.
“Hahahahaha!” Buckingham burst into laughter when she saw him trapped in the sky.
“No need to see us off, Zephyr!” Then her grin widened.
“Oh, and I should thank you!
Without you, our lord’s plan wouldn’t have gone nearly this smoothly!” “WHAT KIND OF NONSENSE IS THAT?!” Zephyr roared.
Then he went back to punching swords.
The coated ship successfully disappeared beneath the surface.
“We’re accelerating.” Nate casually placed one hand against the deck.
He’d already reinforced the coating, so there was no reason to hold back now.
More-More Fruit—Activate!
“UWAAAAAH!!” Screams erupted across the deck as the ship suddenly plunged downward at tremendous speed.
Above the sea, the seemingly endless storm of giant swords finally stopped.
Zephyr landed heavily on the shoreline.
His expression was utterly grim.
Nate’s real body slowly walked over with an equally dark look, while Ain followed a few steps behind him.
She opened her mouth several times but couldn’t think of anything to say.
Their interception had completely failed.
They had been forced to watch the fugitives escape right in front of them.
“So…” Nate suddenly let out a quiet laugh.
“I’m still too weak?” “Nate…” Ain had never seen him like this before.
The Nate she knew was always arrogant, narcissistic, and insufferably confident.
‘So even he blames himself when he fails?’ Maybe she should say something to comfort him.
Ain was just about to speak when— BOOM!
An invisible, overwhelming pressure suddenly erupted from Nate’s body.
Ain’s head spun.
She instinctively stumbled several steps backward, struggling to remain standing.
Zephyr, who had been glaring furiously at the sea, froze.
He slowly turned toward Nate.
Even in the middle of his rage, the veteran Marine looked completely dumbfounded.
‘He got so angry…that he awakened Conqueror’s Haki?’ … …