BOOM!
At that mont, an even more terrifying force erupted.
Crackle—crash!
Dark-purple lightning raced wildly across the ground, spreading in all directions. The earth was torn apart in an instant. In that very mont, Ochoku's pupils shrank—he stomped down hard, and moved!
"ROAR!"
He opened his mouth and unleashed a horrifying shockwave, crushing forward without restraint. Ochoku had completely abandoned his weapon. After all, the Devil Fruit he had searched for over ten years—the mont he obtained it, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to mastering it.
To be precise, after more than a decade of research, Ochoku had long since figured out how far the Shockwave Fruit could be developed, and in what ways it could be used. Now, he was simply putting all those ideas into practice.
BOOM! BOOM!
Shockwave after shockwave blasted forth from Ochoku's mouth. In an instant, countless shockwaves engulfed Arthur completely.
Step!
Arthur moved just as fast. Spinning around in a flash, Excalibur carved through the air in streaks of light, cutting apart every shockwave. At the sa ti, Arthur's speed surged to an astonishing level.
In terms of pure speed, Arthur had reached a truly frightening realm. After all, his Red Dragon bloodline had awakened to 40%, and the resulting enhancent to his physique—and every other aspect—was nothing short of monstrous.
"ROAR!"
Another shockwave burst from Ochoku's mouth, montarily halting Arthur's advance. That brief pause was all Ochoku needed to break free from Arthur's range. In the next instant, he launched an even fiercer assault, his attacks coming at blistering speed.
"Destruction Shockwave!"
Clenching both fists, two massive shockwaves erupted simultaneously.
Crackle—snap!
Dark-purple lightning danced across them.
"Hmm?"
Arthur frowned slightly and murmured,
"Did he coat it with Armant Haki?"
Naturally, Arthur reacted instantly.
"Wind King's Spear!"
A spear ford entirely of compressed wind pierced forward in a straight line.
BOOM!!!
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky. From within it, two figures burst out at the sa ti, clashing at high speed. The fight quickly reverted to close-quarters combat. At so point, Ochoku had already picked up his greatsword again.
Combining the greatsword with shockwaves, his fighting style beca remarkably complete. Once he fully unleashed his Devil Fruit ability, his overall combat power increased by at least thirty percent.
It was obvious—
Ochoku was a nightmare to deal with.
Arthur saw this clearly. But at the sa ti, Arthur revealed even greater strength.
BOOM! BOOM!
The deafening explosions forced everyone to retreat again and again.
CRASH!
Looking at the terrifying crater blasted out by the shockwaves—followed imdiately by raging winds that seed ready to annihilate everything—it felt as if two natural disasters were colliding head-on.
The battlefield had beco completely incomprehensible.
For a mont, everyone looked at one another helplessly. What else could they do?
Retreat. Keep retreating.
If they didn't, they would simply be waiting to die.
---
"This… this is insane…"
Neptune stared at Arthur and Ochoku, who had beco walking calamities, and muttered in shock:
"Are these two… monsters?"
"No—no…"
"Is this what the top-tier fighters of the seas are really like?"
Gareth finished off another pirate who had tried to ambush them. Hearing Neptune's words, she replied calmly:
"Sir Neptune, I don't know how strong our enemy truly is. But I do know one thing—
Our King can beco far stronger than this. Far stronger."
Wham!
With a flick of her spear, Five Warriors, Gareth pierced straight through another pirate. Even while speaking, she never relaxed her guard. On the contrary—she beca even more decisive and ruthless. The mont an enemy lowered their guard, she struck without rcy.
"..."
Neptune swallowed hard.
Even stronger than this…?
Just imagining it made his scalp tingle.
She wasn't joking.
This was simply the truth.
Arthur and Ochoku were strong—undeniably so.
Both were true Admiral-level combatants.
But then—
Three months ago, at the God Valley battle, how many people had Rocks D. Xebec fought alone?
Don, Gray, Kong, Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, Roger, Rayleigh, Gaban—
Eight Admirals and one near-Admiral.
And the result?
Don and Gray were beaten to death.
Kong was left half-dead.
Sengoku, Zephyr, Rayleigh, and Gaban were forced out of the battlefield.
Garp and Roger stood up at the very end purely through sheer willpower.
They won—but any clear-headed observer could see the truth:
Rocks D. Xebec died because he had reached his limit.
Had his life not burned out at that mont, he could have crushed every single one of them.
And yet…
Had Rocks truly reached the absolute pinnacle of the world?
Not necessarily.
If he truly had, given his personality, he would have launched a full-scale frontal assault long ago—why bother with sches and waiting?
Still, even if Rocks wasn't the undisputed strongest, he was damn close.
---
BOOM! BOOM!
Arthur and Ochoku's battle grew even fiercer. Both had now unleashed their full strength—holding back any longer would be suicidal.
"Wind King's Hamr!"
Arthur spread both hands wide as terrifying gales converged. Countless Wind King Iron Hamrs smashed straight down at Ochoku.
"Multiple Shockwaves!"
Ochoku spread his fingers, unleashing a storm of shockwaves in response.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Their shockwaves collided, annihilating everything in their path. In re monts, everything shattered. With the two of them at the center, chain explosions erupted nonstop, the deafening blasts threatening to swallow the world itself.
It all happened so fast—
In the blink of an eye, everything changed.
HUM—
A sound of annihilation echoed.
Both figures vanished.
...
Silence fell.
Despite the rest of the battlefield still raging, every pair of eyes was fixed on those two.
Because their outco was the true key to the war.
If one side fell—
Everything would change.
"Did… soone win?"
Neptune asked hesitantly, still dazed.
Fisher Tiger answered seriously:
"Your Majesty, a battle at their level won't be decided so easily. Unless one side is overwhelmingly superior, there's no way to determine the winner in a short ti."
"I see…"
Neptune nodded slowly, though his mind was still spinning.
Seeing such a battle firsthand—it was only natural.
Unless you witnessed it with your own eyes, the concept of an Admiral's power was just an abstraction.
Only now did he truly understand how terrifying it was.
—
BOOM—! BOOM—!
Explosions continued to thunder.
Arthur raised his hand, unleashing endless gales, and smirked:
"Ochoku, is that all the Shockwave Fruit can do?"
"Hahaha!"
Ochoku laughed boldly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid! This is just the overture!"
Arthur replied calmly:
"Then this is just the overture to my overture. We're only getting started."
"WHAT?!"
"Wind King's Sword!"
"Destruction Shockwave!"
"Wind King's Hamr!"
"Multiple Shockwaves!"
"EXUU—CALIBUR!!"
"Eternal Shockwave!"
The two exchanged techniques at blinding speed.
Finally, Arthur fired the damn Excalibur.
Ochoku had intended to tank it head-on—
but the instant he sensed its power, his expression changed. The force was utterly absurd.
He retreated imdiately.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The majestic blast pierced straight through Fish-Man Island and blasted deep into the sea. Countless Sea Kings and fish were obliterated in an instant before the attack finally dissipated.
"Tsk."
Arthur clicked his tongue in irritation as the smoke cleared, revealing Ochoku still standing.
"Figures. Your reaction speed's still sharp enough to dodge it."
The Excalibur had been infused with ninety percent of Arthur's magical energy.
Had it not been dangerous to completely drain himself mid-battle, he would have used one hundred percent.
Even so, its destructive power should have been enough to swallow Ochoku whole.
Would it have killed him?
Arthur wasn't entirely sure.
One thing he was sure of—no sane opponent would ever just stand there and take a full blast Excalibur head-on.
Like Ochoku—he sensed danger and ran imdiately.
...
"..."
Ochoku stared at the massive hole left behind, then spoke gravely:
"Arthur… good thing I've always been on guard against that move. Otherwise, I really would've been hit."
Arthur chuckled lightly.
"Relax, Ochoku. You could always try letting it hit you and see what happens."
"Tch!"
Ochoku scoffed.
"Say sothing sensible! If you've got guts, take one of my shockwaves head-on!"
"Co on."
"I'll fire one—you tank one?"
Arthur didn't hesitate in the slightest.
With the Red Dragon bloodline, why would he be afraid of a life-or-death exchange?
"..."
Ochoku's mouth twitched.
Only then did he realize—
Arthur and Kaido were the sa kind of people.
Are these guys… insane?
Once that thought crossed his mind, Ochoku beca even more cautious.
An enemy wasn't scary.
A lunatic enemy was.
You never knew what kind of suicidal move they'd pull next.
"Hmph."
Arthur cracked his neck, reading Ochoku's thoughts perfectly.
"Ochoku. Let's continue."
He lifted his sword. After dispelling the Wind King's Barrier, he didn't bother reapplying it—there was no need anymore.
In the past, he had hidden his strength as a tactic.
Now?
His power was already sufficient.
Britannia had been established.
If he kept hiding now, it would only sha Britannia itself—and that was unacceptable.
Arthur was the King of Britannia.
"Of course."
"Round Two."
Ochoku gripped his greatsword and charged.
CLANG!
They collided instantly—but in the next mont, a short sword shot out from within Ochoku's greatsword.
"Wind King's Shield!"
Arthur reacted in ti, blocking the sudden strike.
To be honest, he hadn't expected that.
The speed was insane.
Ochoku wasn't wielding a simple greatsword—It was a mother-and-child blade.
Unexpected, but… entirely in character for Ochoku.
"Tch."
Arthur laughed.
"Of course it's you, Ochoku."
"Hmph."
Ochoku snorted, saying nothing.
-------------------------------///
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