In the sky above the center of the island, the confrontation between two figures made the very air freeze.
"Iron Head" Chinjao, the twelfth leader of the Happo Navy, was now bristling with rage, his powerful body trembling slightly from extreme fury.
On his legendary head, once capable of breaking through frozen continents in the original story, Armament Haki flowed like black iron, radiating an imposing aura.
By this point in the battle, his Armament Haki was no longer as dense or as dark as before.
His stout, stocky body was covered with numerous wounds that had already scabbed over, his clothes long torn to shreds, leaving only a few tatters hanging to cover his modesty.
Opposite him, Brian stood as still as a mountain.
Compared to Chinjao's outwardly explosive rage, he appeared exceptionally calm.
But in his unfathomable eyes, it seemed as though thousands of ferocious beasts lurked.
Merely standing there, his invisible sense of oppression caused the surrounding ground to sink slightly.
Unlike Chinjao, he looked relatively clean overall, with only a few tears in the upper part of his clothing.
Revealing shallow wounds beneath that had long since healed.
"Brian—!"
Chinjao's roar was heart-wrenching.
"My children—my Happo Navy!!"
Just moments ago, he had felt the life forces in his perception extinguish one after another.
Da Qiang's tenacious, unyielding aura, A Dong's fearless, fierce aura.
And those dozens upon dozens of familiar auras—all gone.
Like candles in the wind, mercilessly snuffed out.
What churned in his chest was not just rage, but also heart-piercing agony and endless self-blame.
It was he who had led them to this desperate place!
If not for his greed, his desire to advance further by guarding that Mermaid here, today's situation would never have occurred.
It was all his fault, his alone!
Chinjao was overwhelmed with regret, tears streaming down his aged face—all because of himself.
"Does it hurt? Are you angry?"
Brian finally spoke, his voice low and magnetic, yet carrying an icy disregard for life.
"The strong prey on the weak—that has always been the only law of these seas. They weren't strong enough, that's all."
"Moreover, you bear a great deal of responsibility for their deaths."
"Since you chose to move against the territory of our Rocks Pirates, you should have anticipated this outcome."
"Even the Roger Pirates have been systematically eliminated by us, let alone your insignificant Chinjao Pirates."
Brian's words were like a sharp blade, digging deeper and deeper into Chinjao's heart.
"Shut up! I'll use your head to honor all my brothers!!"
Chinjao's eyes were bloodshot, his reason drowned in grief and fury.
He stomped violently in mid-air, stepping on a visible trail of white steam.
His bulky body erupted with astonishing speed that belied his size, charging forward like a maddened giant elephant.
"Eight Impact Fist Secret Skill· Martial Heel!"
His massive head, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, wreathed in highly condensed shockwaves, slammed fiercely toward Brian with all his rage!
Facing this strike powerful enough to shake mountains, Brian neither dodged nor evaded.
He merely took a slight breath, and the muscles in his right arm abruptly swelled. Dark green scales instantly covered his skin as his fingers curled into a claw, from which the faint sound of a dragon's roar emanated.
"Hundred Beast· Dragon Claw Fist· Mountain Shatterer!"
Instead of retreating, he advanced, meeting Chinjao's renowned iron head with his claw!
BOOM!!!
Claw and skull collided, erupting with a deafening crash like a giant bell!
A violent shockwave exploded outward in a ring, shaking the space within dozens of meters.
Simultaneously, circular earthquake waves rippled across the ground below, tearing up the already half-destroyed terrain as debris flew everywhere!
Dust and smoke billowed into the sky, engulfing the entire island.
Once again, Chinjao's eyes widened in disbelief!
His unstoppable headbutt—blocked by a single hand?
The power emanating from that claw was abyssal and tyrannical, so overwhelming that it even sent a stinging pain through the proud bones of his skull!
In their previous clashes, though Chinjao had been toyed with and tossed around by Brian, that was then. Now, fueled by immense rage, he was stronger than ever.
How could this still be happening? It defied all reason!
"Even enraged, is this all you're capable of?"
Brian's gaze remained indifferent.
But his left fist shot out like a cannonball, dark red lightning-like Haki swirling around his knuckles.
"Hundred Beast Secret Skill· Ape King Gun!"
THUD!
Chinjao felt as if a meteor had struck his abdomen. His protective Haki shattered instantly.
His organs seemed displaced, and he couldn't suppress a mouthful of blood from spraying out. His massive body was sent flying backward, crashing into the ground below and creating a gigantic crater.
"Urgh—"
Chinjao struggled to rise from the rubble, the searing pain sobering him slightly. Inside, his mind was a storm of shock and turmoil.
"What kind of monster is this guy?! My headbutt actually—"
Most of his rage dissipated, replaced by growing incredulity.
The power surge triggered by his fury vanished completely, reverting him to his earlier weakened state.
This was the real Chinjao—the one who had suffered countless injuries, major and minor, at Brian's hands.
"Your 'Awl Head Pepper' has grown dull."
Brian strode slowly through the air like a king surveying his domain, exuding overwhelming majesty.
With each step, his aura shifted—one moment majestic as a dragon, the next savage as a griffin, then bloodthirsty as a tiger.
The title "Hundred Beast" was fully displayed in this moment.
"Bastard!!"
Chinjao roared wildly, ignoring his injuries as he erupted with power once more.
"Eight Impact Fist Maximum Wheel· Awl-less Dragon· Selfless True Unification!"
He poured his lifelong cultivation and all his grief and fury into this strike. The shockwave condensed before his head grew so immense it distorted the air.
Like a falling black meteor, he shot toward the sky and Brian with the momentum of mutual destruction!
This was the strike he staked his dignity and life on!
A flicker of interest finally crossed Brian's eyes.
"Now this is more like it."
He widened his stance slightly, sinking his posture, and drew his right fist back to his waist.
The chaotic, myriad beastly auras around him suddenly unified, converging entirely into his fist. The extreme compression slightly warped the space around his knuckles, radiating a destructive wave.
"Hundred Beast Secret Skill· Myriad Beast Roar!"
He threw the punch!
No sound was heard, yet it was as if the roars of countless savage beasts exploded on a soul-deep level!
A highly condensed shockwave, wreathed in black and red lightning, tore through space and collided head-on with Chinjao's ultimate headbutt!
There was no explosion—only an all-devouring, blinding light!
The next moment, an indescribably tremendous roar suddenly erupted!
It was as if a black sun had risen from the center of the island, a terrifying energy storm sweeping across all directions.
Even the Beast Girls in the distance, who were cleaning the battlefield and collecting spoils, turned to look.
After a long time, the light faded.
Brian still stood firm in the sky, the corners of his clothes gently fluttering.
Meanwhile, Chinjao knelt on one knee at the bottom of a massive crater.
A clear crack ran from the top of his legendary iron head down to his forehead, blood streaming out and staining his ferocious, unwilling face.
"Da Qiang—A Dong—everyone—"
His unfocused gaze turned toward the direction where his subordinates had fallen in battle, two trails of blood-streaked tears sliding down his face.
"Sorry—this old man—is useless—"
His massive body finally tilted forward, collapsing heavily onto the scorched earth, silent forever.
Brian cast a cold glance at Chinjao's corpse, then turned and left directly through the air.
His low, lingering words drifted on the wind.
"Forty this year, just in time for the coffin."
"Originally, you would have become a remnant of the old era. Dying here is your blessing."
In the original story, Chinjao would have been crippled by Garp a few years later, wasting the rest of his life in obscurity.
To die by his hand now was also Chinjao's "fortune"!