Mock Town had been completely swallowed by smoke and dust.
As Luffy and Blackbeard clashed with power capable of shaking the very foundation of the town, everything had already been reduced to ruins under the relentless shockwaves.
Broken beams creaked miserably in the wind.
Shattered signboards were swept into the air, only to be crushed into powder by the turbulent blasts.
Ronan held his long spear horizontally, the tip of his foot lightly touching the rubble. His figure stood firm like a pine tree unmoved by a raging storm.
A cold system voice echoed in his mind.
His eyes flashed with icy sharpness.
He didn't allow himself to be distracted.
Because in front of him—
"Champion" Jesus Burgess, like a wounded boar, was charging again, panting heavily.
"Wihahahaha! Die, you toothpick-wielding trash!!"
Burgess raised his massive arms, thick as ancient tree roots. His bloodshot eyes were filled with ferocity.
Each step he took crushed stone into powder beneath his feet.
Ronan let out a cold snort.
Looking at this opponent who relied purely on brute force with no technique, a trace of boredom surfaced in his heart.
"You can't even trigger my kill-intent state… At this level, you're not even worthy of being my whetstone."
At the instant Burgess's punch, capable of shattering boulders, was about to land—
Ronan moved.
Unlike Luffy's explosive brutality, Ronan's motion was light—
Yet carried the weight of thunder.
His waist and stance aligned perfectly.
The spear in his hand transformed into a streak of deep blue light cutting through the chaos.
"Xingyi Spear — Thousand-Pound Sweep!"
The spear sliced through the air with a piercing, dragon-like howl.
Forged from Adam Wood and Seastone alloy, and infused with Vajra Inner Energy—
It unleashed overwhelming destructive force.
"CLANG—! CRACK!!"
The moment Burgess's arm collided with the spear shaft—
His so-called combat prowess became a joke.
With a sickening crack—
Both of his elbows shattered under the terrifying vibration.
White bone fragments tore through flesh, glistening horrifyingly in the sunlight.
"AAAAAA—!!!"
Before his scream could fully escape—
Ronan's follow-up had already arrived.
The spear became a raging dragon in his hands.
With a flick—
Dozens of cold, deadly points exploded outward.
"Puchi! Puchi! Puchi—!!"
In an instant too fast for the eye—
Burgess's massive upper body was riddled with dozens of bloody holes.
He froze in place.
Looking down at his ruined body—
The arrogance in his eyes vanished.
Replaced by endless fear and despair.
"Boom!!"
His corpse slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of blood mist.
Zoro, who had been guarding the flank, twitched at the corner of his mouth at the near one-sided slaughter.
"Hey, hey… Ronan. At least let me test my blades."
He slid Wado Ichimonji back into its sheath, clearly annoyed.
"It's already over? I didn't even get a turn."
Ronan spun the spear once. The blood on its Seastone tip was instantly shaken off by inner force, leaving it spotless.
"Quit complaining, Zoro."
"That was just fodder to clear the way."
"The one worth all of us teaming up to kill…"
"…is that fat bastard."
"BURGESS—!!!"
A furious roar exploded from the center of the battlefield.
Blackbeard, who had been locked in combat with Gear Second Luffy, saw his trusted subordinate killed so effortlessly.
His already dark expression twisted into something demonic.
"Zehahahaha… good, very good! A bunch of nobodies from the East Blue… daring to kill my crew in front of me!!"
His fists clenched tightly, the knuckles turning pale from the pressure.
Then—
Something changed.
The entire town trembled.
That presence—
Was absolute darkness.
The sunlight over Mock Town was swallowed.
Black smoke poured from every pore of Blackbeard's body.
Thick.
Heavy.
Hopeless.
It devoured light itself.
The surrounding ruins—
The moment they touched the black smoke—
Melted silently, like ice in acid.
"Since you're all so eager to die…"
"I'll show you what true… divine power looks like!!"
"Black Hole!!"
Blackbeard thrust out his right hand—
It became darkness.
"BOOM—!!!"
A terrifying gravitational force erupted toward Luffy.
Luffy had been fighting head-on, unleashing his full power.
The consumption of Vajra Inner Energy was immense.
Now—
He was at the tail end of Gear Second: Vajra Mode.
His six-meter body still emitted scorching steam from the rapid circulation of blood.
But within that white vapor—
A faint trace of red had begun to appear.
Capillaries—
Breaking under overload.
"Damn… too much energy drained!"
Luffy tried to move—
But his body felt chained down by invisible restraints.
"RAAAH—!!"
He roared, his feet slamming into the ground like hammers.
But under that overwhelming gravitational pull—
The marble beneath him crumbled like sand.
And Luffy—
Like a meteor caught by a black hole—
Was dragged uncontrollably toward Blackbeard's hand.
"Brat! In front of my gravity, all defense is meaningless!"
Blackbeard grinned viciously, sensing Luffy's exhaustion.
"That form of yours… has reached its limit, hasn't it? Get over here!!"
"Armament!!"
Even as he was being pulled in—
Luffy roared.
Despite his nearly depleted energy—
His fists were still coated in dense black Haki.
He prepared—
For one final strike.
But Blackbeard had been waiting for exactly this moment.
"Stop struggling, brat!! In front of my darkness, your Haki is nothing but a flicker of fireflies!"
He swung his fist—
A brutal arc tearing through the air.
That punch—
Forged through decades of battle—
Carried advanced Armament Haki—
Heavy.
Savage.
Absolute destruction.
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