Realizing this, Shamrock stopped holding back.
With a low shout, he called out:
"Cerberus!"
The rapier in his hand suddenly erupted with a dark glow. From the blade, an immense surge of Devil Fruit power mixed with Haki burst forth like a violent tide.
A chilling growl echoed through the air.
In front of the sword's tip, space itself seemed to distort—then a gigantic three-headed hound materialized out of nothing.
The monstrous beast radiated savage ferocity.
Around its massive body curled the dark crimson flame clouds unique to awakened Zoan users.
All three heads opened their jaws simultaneously, unleashing a silent roar toward Kuma and Lipo, its terrifying presence crushing the air itself.
Unfortunately for him—
Kuma was no ordinary opponent. With his self-awareness, natural instincts, and a Devil Fruit ability that bordered on absurd, he had no intention of patiently letting the enemy show off their tricks.
Before Shamrock's "ultimate move" had even finished charging…
Before the summoned Cerberus had fully completed its roar—
Pop!
Kuma vanished.
In the very next instant, he appeared directly in front of the newly formed dark-flame Cerberus.
His paw-covered right hand lifted calmly.
Then he gently pressed forward.
There was no earth-shattering collision.
Only a slight ripple in space.
The gigantic Cerberus—brimming with awakened power and looking overwhelmingly terrifying—was treated like nothing more than a rubber ball.
Before it could even cry out—
Pop.
Kuma's Paw-Paw power sent the enormous creature flying.
Its entire body shot away like a streak of light, vanishing across the distant horizon of the sea, flung who knew how far away.
"!!!"
"...Huh???"
Ryokugyu and Shamrock both froze.
Their minds went completely blank for a second.
What the hell kind of fighting style was that?!
A painstakingly summoned awakened trump card—
Erased with a single casual slap before it even made a sound?!
How were they supposed to fight something like that?!
Kuma didn't care whether they were stunned or not.
At the very moment he sent Cerberus flying, his left hand had already been prepared.
In the instant Shamrock's mental state broke from the shock—
Kuma's palm was already silently pressing against his face.
"Ursus Shock."
Kuma's calm voice rang out.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!
The compressed paw-shaped shockwave detonated at point-blank range.
Shamrock didn't even have time to raise a defense.
All he felt was an indescribable crushing force smashing straight into his face.
His vision went black.
Blood burst from his mouth as he was blasted backward through the air.
His body disappeared into the dense jungle of the island, smashing through countless massive trees before finally vanishing from sight.
Dirty!
Too damn dirty!
This was fighting without the slightest regard for "fair play"!
"YOU BASTARD!!"
Ryokugyu finally snapped out of the chain of blows, both shocked and enraged.
His arms instantly transformed into thick, writhing vines.
Dozens—then hundreds—of massive tendrils lashed toward Kuma, trying to entangle and crush him while he appeared momentarily "stiff" after releasing Ursus Shock.
But—
"Your opponent is me, plant-man!"
A sharp, lively shout rang out.
Two streaks of orange-red light flashed across the battlefield in a crossing pattern.
"Rabbit Kick—Carrot Flash Barrage!"
Lipo combined Geppo and Soru, her speed reaching an incredible extreme.
The pair of carrot-shaped daggers in her hands carved dazzling arcs through the air.
Each strike landed precisely on the vines rushing toward Kuma.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The vines were sliced apart effortlessly by the daggers coated in Armament Haki.
The cut surfaces were smooth.
Sap sprayed through the air.
"You filthy rabbit! Do you really think you can stop me?!"
Ryokugyu completely lost his temper.
The humiliation burned inside him.
A mere Mink girl daring to block his path?!
A bright green aura erupted around him.
Even more vines—thicker and denser—burst forth like a forest going berserk.
But the moment his angry declaration ended—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A far more violent explosion erupted from the crater in the distance.
The next second—
A miserable figure shot out of the pit at even greater speed than before.
It was Somaz.
His entire body was wrapped in thorns and smeared with blood as he was hurled straight toward Ryokugyu's direction.
Clearly—
Bullet had just delivered another brutal blow at the bottom of the crater.
Ryokugyu instinctively tried to dodge or catch his ally.
At that moment—
"KUMA!!!"
Bullet's wild laughter and roar echoed from the crater.
"Leave those two soft bastards to you and Lipo!"
"That guy who looks exactly like Red-Hair—I'll handle him myself!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
Before the last echo faded—
Bullet's body had already launched out of the crater like a missile.
With thunderous sonic booms and shattered rocks trailing behind him, he blasted through the air toward the jungle where Shamrock had been sent flying.
And almost at the exact moment Bullet shouted—
Whoosh!
Kuma, who had just begun moving forward, vanished again mid-motion.
In the next instant—
He appeared directly between Somaz, who was flying toward Ryokugyu, and Ryokugyu himself.
Perfect timing.
A seamless shift across the battlefield.
Facing the incoming Somaz and the startled Ryokugyu—
Kuma raised both hands high.
His palms aimed forward.
The Paw-Paw pads compressed the air violently, releasing a sharp, vibrating hum.
No words.
No hesitation.
Only pure destruction.
"Ursus Shock — Maximum Output."
A gigantic white paw-shaped shockwave more than five meters wide condensed instantly.
Then—
It detonated at point-blank range.
The overwhelming blast swallowed both Somaz and Ryokugyu completely.
Blinding white light exploded outward.
A deafening roar devoured everything.
Far away in the forest—
The thunderous explosion of Kuma's Maximum Ursus Shock echoed behind Douglas Bullet.
The shockwave gust even lifted dust and fallen leaves at his back.
But Bullet didn't care.
His entire focus remained locked on the jungle ahead.
His massive body slammed into the ground like a falling meteor.
His feet carved deep trenches into the earth as he forced himself to a halt.
The instant he landed—
A beast-like instinct forged through countless life-and-death duels made every hair on his body stand on end.
Danger.
An attack of extreme speed.
"Armament — Full Body!"
Without a second of hesitation, Bullet roared.
His muscles expanded to their absolute limit.
Pitch-black Armament Haki surged from his body like a tidal wave.
Within a thousandth of a second, it coated every inch of his skin.
He became a towering statue of blackened steel.
The moment his Haki armor completed—
SHING!
A crimson streak faster than the eye could follow flashed past his side.
It moved like lightning appearing from nowhere, cutting through the air at an impossible angle.
Where the red flash passed—
Space itself seemed to split open.
"...Tch."
A faint slicing sound followed.
On Bullet's chest—covered in top-tier Armament Haki—
A shallow yet unmistakably clear slash wound appeared.
It hadn't broken his defense.
But the terrifying speed and sword intent behind that strike were undeniable.
Ten meters behind him—
The red light gathered and solidified.
Shamrock's figure emerged once more.
He looked rather battered now.
His elegant God's Knights uniform was torn in several places, covered in dirt and the marks left by Kuma's earlier Ursus Shock.
But the hand gripping his rapier remained perfectly steady.
His eyes were just as sharp as before.
Slowly turning around, he looked at the shallow cut across Bullet's chest.
A faint hint of acknowledgment flashed in his gaze.
"Your reaction speed… your defense… your mastery of Haki…"
He spoke calmly.
"As expected of the 'Demon' Douglas Bullet, one of the strongest 'Calamities' under Heaven-Shaker Gern."
A brief pause followed.
Then Shamrock concluded quietly:
"You truly possess the talent and strength of an Emperor-level warrior."
...
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