Ben's body began to convulse, his muscles rippling and expanding. His skin darkened and turned into a reddish black. Two massive horns erupted from his forehead, curving upward. His eyes blazed with an intense red. His pupils turned into slits like those of a predatory beast.
His body continued to grow, Ben's height shot to 28 feet. His limbs elongated and thickened with muscle. His legs became longer and more muscular. His tail grew larger and wider. There was a dagger tip. His crotch had a cocoon like shell. He had a towering, hulking presence. His fingers extended into sharp, claw-like talons, and his back arched slightly. The air around him seemed to thrum with an ominous energy. The ground beneath him cracked under the weight of his colossal frame.
The arena fell into a deathly, paralysed silence. As the dust cleared they saw the man transformed. The air grew heavy, thick with a primal, suffocating pressure that made the lungs of every warrior in the stands ache.
Almost every woman in the stadium felt a sudden, intense heat flush through her body. Their faces turned red. Their hearts hammered against their ribs frantically. They looked upon the hulking, 28-foot tall demon with shallow gasps, and a strange, dizzying sensation washed over them.
"He is taller than the palace walls," said a high-ranking captain. Her face was bright red as she gripped her spear. She was panting.
"Those eyes," said a woman. A powerful blush crept up her neck. Her legs felt suddenly weak.
"Look at the ground beneath him! It's shattering just from his weight," said a sharp-eyed navigator. Her eyes were wide. She bit her lip and her heart raced uncontrollably.
"He is different," said another woman as her cheeks were flushed dark as she looked at his massive, muscled limbs. A strange, hungry fire ignited in her chest.
"That colossal, hulking body," said another woman. Her face was red. She could feel her legs shaking. She was unable to turn eyes away from the towering, dark majesty of his presence.
Ben heard all their reactions. He could see their faces were red. He thought he knew his girls were affected by this form of his. He looked around and saw they had some effect as well.
Kikyo looked at the beast. "This is impossible. A man shouldn't be capable of possessing such a heavy, suffocating aura," said Kikyo as a fierce blush stained her cheeks. She struggled to maintain her composure against the raw, masculine energy vibrating through the air.
"What are you?" hissed Sandersonia, her serpentine body recoiling in a mix of predatory instinct and involuntary shiver. Her pupils dilated as she looked up at his colossal frame.
"How can he still be standing," gasped Marigold.
"A man, challenging my divinity with such a grotesque, yet magnificent display of power?" whispered Boa Hancock. She thought this was not an ordinary fruit. She looked around and saw everyone was being influenced by him. Her eyes were wide. She pressed a hand to her heaving chest as it took her breath away.
Marguerite looked at Ben. Her heart was pounding. Her face was flushed. "Ben," she remarked as she felt an urge to fight for him.
Ben thought back to when Marguerite was turned into a statue. He thought of that possibility. He knew it happened once before. He thought they might have shattered it. The thought of her getting shattered like that made him angry. "Dont," Ben said as a conquer haki release.
As the word left his lips, a massive, invisible shockwave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from his 28-foot frame. It was a dark violet and pink pressure wave which roared outward like a hurricane. The arena floor buckled, and the sky itself seemed to darken under the sheer force of his will.
In the stands, the effect was instantaneous. Dozens of Kuja warriors gasped as they were knocked out. Others remained standing, swaying on their feet and sweat poured down their flushed, terrified faces.
"Conqeuer Haki," Ram remarked.
"Only one in a million possesses such ability," Daisy added.
"He... he possesses the qualities of a King? A male... with the Color of the Supreme King?!" gasped Sandersonia, her massive serpentine coils tightening in a reflexive, defensive knot. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
"This is impossible," cried Marigold as her tail thrashed in the dust as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
"A man... with the same power as I?" whispered Boa Hancock, her eyes wide with genuine shock, She gripped the arms of her throne so tightly the stone began to crumble, her face flushed with an intense, heated crimson. "How does he?" she questioned.
Ben thought that took a lot of him to do it. He felt his energy depleting quickly. "Now this is my full power," Ben remarked in a demonic voice.
Sandersonia and Marigold smiled and looked at each other. "That will not make any difference," she said as she panted.
"Snake Slam," Sandersonia said as she imbued Armament Haki in her tail. It turned black and went towards Ben.
"Rakshasa Fist," Ben said as he channelled his energy into his fist. His hand glowed black. He clenched his fist. The air around the fist became distorted. Ben swung his fist and punched the tail. The impact sent her massive form hurtling backward like a ragdoll, where she slammed into the far wall and collapsed onto her back.
Marigold, seeing her sister fall, let out a scream of desperate rage. "Serpent's Guillotine," she shrieked as she swung her massive, heavy-bladed axe with every ounce of her strength. She aimed to cleave through his leg.
"Rakshasa Kick," Ben countered instantly. He pivoted on his massive heel, channeling a torrent of black energy into his elongated leg until it glowed with a terrifying, light-devouring black radiance. He swung his leg at a speed. His shin collided with the falling axe head. There was another violent shockwave ripped through the pit. The sheer kinetic force instantly vaporized the tempered steel of the axe into a shower of sparks and shrapnel. The momentum carried through and struck Marigold in the chest and sent her flying across the arena floor and crashed on the stairs.
"He is pushing them back," Marguerite said.
Sandersonia got up. "We are not done," she remarked. "Snake-Hair Possession: Eight Branch Giant Snake," Sandersonia said as her hair formed like seven snakes.
"We are the Gorgon sisters," Marigold added. "Snake-Hair Possession Flame Snake God," Marigold said as she lit a match and set herself on fire, then formed her hair into two snakes on either side of her. "We will kill you," she said.
Sandersonia sent her hair forward. The fangs of her hair-snakes lunged toward Ben. At the same moment, Marigold's orange hair flared out like a burning sun, her own serpent-locks striking forward to trap him in a pincer attack.
"Rakshasa Barrage," Ben roared as he planted his massive feet and unleashed a relentless storm of fists. His hands moved with such blinding supernatural speed that he seemed to sprout dozens of arms and created a wall of black-glowing strikes. Each punch landed with the force of a cannonball and slammed into the oncoming hair-snakes. The impact of his fists against the hair created a series of thunderous pops that echoed like rapid-fire explosions and forced the sisters' hair back and shattered their momentum.
The sisters were sent backwards.
"What is this power?" Sandersonia panted as she was pushed back.
"He will not win," Marigold said.
Sandersonia and Marigold in their serpentine forms got up. They launched themselves at the 28-foot titan in a final, desperate pincer move. They coiled their massive bodies and lunged forward through the dust. Their fangs gleamed and their tails were ready to strike.
"Shave," Ben said as his massive frame vanished. The sisters, unable to check their momentum, collided with a sickening thud. Sandersonia was hit with Marigold`s flames.
"Ahh im burning," Sandersonia said.
"Sis," Marigold said. She looked concerned.
Sandersonia fell over the side. The heat was so intense that the garments covering Sandersonia's back caught fire and the fabric curled and turned to ash in seconds.
Before the crowd could glimpse the mark, Ben moved and lowered his massive hand. He put his hand over Sandersonia's back. The 28-foot Demon King loomed over her.
"I know," Ben's voice rumbled.
"Marigold, kill him," Sandersonia said. "He is holding me," she added.
"I can't sis," Marigold responded. "He is protecting us," she added.
"That man is protecting us from the Gorgon`s eyes," Ram shouted.
"If anyone sees those eyes then they will turn into stone," Daisy added.
Boa Hancock's face went from a heated flush to a ghostly, terrified pale. She stood. "The combat is over," she shouted. "All of you. Out. Now," Hancock's voice shrieked. "Leave the arena immediately. If anyone looks upon my sisters' backs, they shall be turned into stone," she added.
Hancock sat down back down and covered her eyes. A tear dropped from her face.