Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
─────
Chapter 469: Dragon Claw Star Crusher, A Chokehold Counterattack
Meruem hovered in mid-air. He didn't even lift a finger. He simply opened his mouth.
A mass of sickly-green, high-density Nen frantically compressed within his maw. The surrounding air was sucked dry; even the light was completely swallowed by the energy sphere.
Without any wind-up, a massive pillar of green light blasted forward, obliterating everything in its path and tearing black rifts through the very fabric of space.
Dragon had absolutely no intention of retreating. If he retreated, the three brats behind him would die right here today.
His purple Rinnegan erupted with intimidating light as he thrust his hands forward. Invisible walls of repulsive force layered themselves in front of him. Advanced Armament Haki covered his entire body like a suit of black armor, dyeing the repulsive walls before him a deep, dark red.
"Super Shinra Tensei!" Dragon roared, his voice filled with unquestionable resolve.
The energy cannon slammed dead-on into the invisible barrier. The world lost all sound. There was no explosion, only an extreme, high-frequency hum that threatened to make eardrums bleed.
Immediately after, a massive mushroom cloud erupted into the sky from the center of the NGL Autonomous Region.
The violent shockwave expanded outward with world-ending momentum. Giant trees within a ten-mile radius were uprooted, and layers of topsoil were violently peeled away.
Kuma instantly threw his arms wide. A massive pink paw bubble firmly shielded Luffy, Ace, Sabo, and Ivankov in the center. The bubble warped violently under the onslaught of the shockwave. Kuma's boots carved two deep trenches into the ground as he was pushed back. He raised a hand to push up his slipping round sunglasses; this power had already exceeded what he could casually block.
The extreme heat completely evaporated the surrounding oxygen. Ivankov found it incredibly difficult to even breathe, his large face flushing bright red. This power was simply unreasonable.
Ace felt his internal organs churning. His proud Pyro element was pitifully small in the face of this pure, destructive force. This was a true monster.
Sabo's hand holding the broken blade was trembling, while Luffy stared wide-mouthed at the apocalyptic scene outside, unable to even voice his shock.
The smoke and dust at the center of the battlefield hadn't yet cleared when a dark silhouette tore through the shockwaves and shot high into the sky.
Dragon's right arm was wrapped in black-red Ryuo so dense it looked like dripping ink. Conqueror's Haki danced wildly along his arm in the form of black-red lightning, while Chakra roared through his meridians.
Using the immense thrust from the explosion, he actively closed the distance, getting right in the face of the hovering Meruem. This was the combat intuition of a top-tier powerhouse from the One Piece world: playing defensively would never defeat a monster. Only close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat could make the enemy feel pain.
"Dragon Claw: Secret Technique: Star Crusher!"
Dragon curled his five fingers into razor-sharp claws. The tips of his fingers carried a sharp, space-tearing whistle as he aimed directly for the Ant King's expressionless face. If this strike connected, even a mountain made of solid steel would be crushed to powder.
Meruem showed no intention of dodging. He merely let out a disdainful scoff from his nose and clenched his right fist. Purplish-black Nen coiled around his fist like boiling asphalt. He swung directly at Dragon's incoming claws.
A head-on clash.
The fist and the dragon claw collided ferociously in mid-air. The dark red lightning of Conqueror's Haki and the purple Nen viciously tangled and shredded each other. The two vastly different high-dimensional energies yielded not an inch.
A massive black abyss cracked open right in mid-air—the physical manifestation of space being completely shattered.
Dragon let out a muffled groan. The webbing between his thumb and index finger split completely open, blood spraying wildly down his wrist. Yet, the fighting spirit in his eyes grew even fiercer.
Meruem wasn't having an easy time either. His supposedly indestructible knuckles let out a brittle crack under the strain. The bone had fractured.
This surprised the newly evolved Ant King. He thought he was already invincible; he didn't expect this human to actually be able to hurt him. However, this minor pain didn't make him flinch; instead, it thoroughly triggered his ferocious Chimera Ant nature.
The two engaged in a close-quarters brawl thousands of meters in the sky, their movements completely untrackable by the naked eye. Every collision was accompanied by thunderous booms that shattered the cloud layer into scattered fragments. The entire sky over the NGL Autonomous Region became a symphony of black-purple and dark-red.
Dragon pushed the Rinnegan's perceptive abilities to their absolute limits. Meruem's speed was absurdly fast, but the Rinnegan could always capture the faint trajectory of his Nen flow just in advance.
Dragon's body twisted bizarrely in the air, repeatedly dodging the Ant King's lethal strikes aimed at his heart, while simultaneously and mercilessly smashing his Ryuo-coated fists into the enemy's body. The internal destruction of Advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo) blasted straight into Meruem's insides.
If this were an ordinary Chimera Ant Squadron Leader, they would have exploded into a pile of mush long ago. But Meruem merely coughed up a mouthful of foul, green blood. Relying on the absurd regenerative abilities gained from devouring his Royal Guards, he forcefully endured the internal destruction of Ryuo. His damaged organs were restored to perfect condition in the blink of an eye, nourished by his Nen.
He was even beginning to enjoy this brutal, flesh-tearing slaughter.
Watching from below, Ivankov stomped his feet anxiously. This simply wasn't a battle a human could intervene in. His proud Hormone-Hormone Fruit abilities were less than a fart in the face of this level of collision.
Ace gripped his steel pipe tightly. Only now did he realize that the profiteering Blake charging a one-million-Beri entrance fee was practically an act of charity. This crushing pressure of facing the absolute pinnacle of the world was something he could never experience playing pirate in the East Blue for the rest of his life.
Sabo took a deep breath, trying hard to clearly see the movements high above, but apart from the constant flashing lights and deafening sonic booms, he could see nothing.
Luffy, however, was watching with great enthusiasm. He even thought the way Dragon fought looked a bit cool.
Far away in Foosha Village's tavern, Blake leaned against the counter, watching the virtual screen. He grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and munched on them with relish.
Dragon's performance had indeed exceeded his expectations. Rinnegan plus all three advanced types of Haki—in the Hunter world, this loadout was practically a cheat code.
But Meruem's mutation was also fascinating. Fusing Youpi's physical durability with Pouf's cellular manipulation... this ant was now an unkillable monster. His stat sheet had probably already touched the threshold of a High-Tier dungeon.
Blake was very curious to see who would ultimately survive this war of attrition.
The battle high above had reached its climax. Dragon's breathing was growing ragged. Using Advanced Armament Haki on every single punch put a terrifying toll on his stamina. Looking at the monster across from him who wasn't even panting, a rare surge of frustration welled up in his heart.
Is this guy's stamina infinite? The cost of maintaining Shinra Tensei and Advanced Ryuo was immense. If it weren't for the massive life force provided by the Rinnegan holding him together, he would have been dragged to death by Meruem long ago.
Meruem's attacks, however, were only growing fiercer. Every beat of his wings whipped up a storm of Nen. He had completely adapted to Dragon's fighting rhythm. The Rinnegan's precognition was gradually failing to keep up with his pure, unadulterated increases in speed.
Meruem's tail lashed casually through the air, creating materialized sonic booms with every strike. He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of overwhelming a powerhouse. This was the entertainment a King deserved.
Dragon gritted his teeth, mobilizing all the remaining Chakra in his body. He was going to settle this in one strike.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
An incredibly powerful gravitational force erupted from Dragon's left hand, locking directly onto Meruem. The Ant King's forward momentum jerked to a halt as his body was uncontrollably yanked toward Dragon.
Dragon's right hand formed a pitch-black dragon claw once more. This time, he aimed straight for Meruem's heart.
A sly glint flashed through Meruem's eyes. Not only did he not try to break free from the pull, he actually went along with the force, accelerating his sprint forward.
Dragon's razor-sharp claws thrust forward with an unstoppable, devastating momentum. But just a fraction of a second before they pierced his heart, Meruem suddenly twisted his body. He completely abandoned all defense, allowing Dragon's Ryuo-coated claws to stab cleanly right through his own left shoulder.
With a muffled squelch, green blood splattered across Dragon's face.
Dragon's heart skipped a beat. This monster left an opening on purpose! The agonizing pain of having his left shoulder impaled didn't even make Meruem frown. Riding the momentum of the pull, he pressed his body entirely flush against Dragon's. Their faces were so close they were practically touching.
A cruel smirk tugged at the corners of Meruem's mouth.
The long tail behind him, acting like a venomous snake that had laid in wait for far too long, whipped forward with a piercing shriek. Dragon didn't even have time to pull his right hand out to defend himself before that iron-hard tail wrapped in a death grip around his throat.
─────
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations