Chapter 269: Encountering Zunesha
One day later.
"Finally… success!"
Jiang Qize's eyes lit up as a surge of momentum spread from his body.
Inside him, the bones of his right hand had completely turned black-gold, emitting a cold, dim glow.
Yes—he had coated his bones with Armament Haki, and it had even begun seeping into them.
Yesterday, he had been trying to use Armament Haki to coat his internal organs and blood vessels, but without success. So he decided to temporarily change direction.
After an entire day, he had finally managed to coat his skeletal frame with Armament.
"The power is even stronger than coating the exterior, and the overall durability has increased significantly!"
Jiang Qize sensed it carefully and muttered.
With a thought—
Buzz!!
A layer of Armament Haki instantly covered his body, while at the same time every bone inside him was coated as well, his entire skeleton turning black-gold.
For a moment, the sofa he was sitting on actually sank slightly.
He slowly stood up, clenched his fist, and casually threw a punch forward.
Boom!
The air itself exploded, and a visible shockwave blasted outward.
"My strength has doubled!"
Jiang Qize's eyes brightened.
For someone at his level, increasing strength was extremely difficult.
Even Marine Admiral Zephyr—at their stage, their power had basically reached its limit.
Their potential had already been fully developed. Zephyr was now several decades old, about the same as Whitebeard.
Whitebeard was currently at the peak of his strength.
At least physically, he was at his peak—though his Devil Fruit ability… might still have room to grow.
"Garp has probably coated his bones with Armament as well…"
Jiang Qize narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Sengoku the Buddha" and "Iron Fist Garp"—those titles both implied terrifyingly hard fists. And when Garp punched Luffy, even without visibly coating his fist in Armament, he could still make Luffy—who was made of rubber—feel pain.
"Captain, come look at that!"
At that moment, Camon shouted loudly from the lookout tower.
Jiang Qize turned his gaze.
Several kilometers off the Dragon Flame's starboard bow, an enormous gray wall had appeared.
Below that gray wall, massive waves relentlessly crashed against it.
Jiang Qize's eyes sharpened.
"Is that… Zunesha?" he murmured uncertainly.
His Observation Haki instantly swept outward, covering tens of thousands of meters.
Yet he couldn't see the creature's full form at all—not even any defining limbs.
"Let's go take a look!"
he said to Camon.
"Yes, Captain!"
Excitement flashed in Camon's eyes.
They had encountered another unimaginably massive monster. As expected, the New World was truly dangerous. Didn't you see how serious the captain looked?
It wasn't easy to make the captain show such an expression—not even during the great battle at Sabaody Archipelago had he looked like this.
Camon leapt down from the deck and ran to the control platform, steering the Dragon Flame toward the unknown creature.
As the ship drew closer, they could already feel the sea beneath them trembling.
Thump~ Thump~
With each tremor, the ocean surface quaked, sending up waves.
A powerful, ancient aura rushed toward them.
The oppressive presence gradually calmed their earlier excitement, replacing it with solemn tension.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qize extended his Observation Haki once more, blanketing the land ahead, and at the same time activated the Voice of All Things.
"I see it…"
A glint of light flashed through Jiang Qize's eyes.