Chapter 52: Just as I Intended! Loy's Black Body Flow!
"A troublesome fellow."
On the battlefield, Huaben's body was sent flying backward by Loy's punch once more.
"Boom!"
His body continuously smashed through the ice surface, so much so that blood was faintly trickling from his head.
But after landing, Huaben, who stood up again, merely stuck out his tongue and licked his own blood.
On his face, the wildness grew even thicker.
But this time, he wasn't in a hurry to retaliate.
Because he had already realized the terrifying aspects of Loy's three types of `Wave Fist`.
"The golden wave possesses great power; once approached, it will strike, and enduring it directly will cause injury."
"The blue wave can control water and cause freezing; once hit, the body will be unable to move."
"The red wave can cause burning; its power is even stronger and more dangerous than that flame imp's moves."
Almost perfect defense, powerful control, terrifying destructive power—even Huaben had to admit the power and troublesomeness of Loy's `Wave Fist`.
But precisely because of this, his heart became even more excited.
"Clack!" "Clack!" "Clack!"
The excessive excitement even made him grind his teeth, and he even drooled.
"Boom!"
The next moment, Huaben moved again.
His legs suddenly exerted force, Armament Haki covered his entire body, and he charged towards Loy once again.
Facing the incoming Huaben, Loy naturally swung his fist again.
"Whoosh!"
The golden wave, wrapped in crimson flames, once again blasted towards Huaben.
"Hmm!?"
But what surprised Loy was—this time, Huaben did not dodge again.
"Boom!"
His body forcefully charged into the range of Loy's `Wave Fist`.
"Sizzle!"
Flames and powerful waves once again scorched his body—his flesh almost instantly turned charred black, and his scales began to crumble and disintegrate.
But
"Roar!"
Huaben was still advancing.
Even from between his sharp teeth, his low growl grew even more ferocious.
Just as mentioned earlier, Huaben's alias was "Tyrannosaurus King".
This so-called "Tyrannosaurus" was naturally not an ordinary lizard, but rather his `Devil Fruit Ability`—that extinct ancient creature, the dinosaur.
He was fascinated by those ancient creatures that once flourished, and had always been dedicated to collecting all ancient Zoan `Devil Fruits`.
He was fascinated by the dinosaur's powerful vitality, terrifying strength, and ancient wildness.
Therefore, he saw himself as a dinosaur, and regarded every battle as a hunt.
And without a doubt...
In his eyes, Loy was a powerful prey.
"Facing powerful prey, wild beasts often choose to avoid it."
"But—I am the 'Tyrannosaurus King'!"
He growled lowly.
"The more powerful the prey, the more difficult the hunt, the more it proves one's kingship!"
Pain? Injury?
"Those things will only make me more excited!"
Amidst the low growl, Loy was startled to see.
At this moment, on Huaben's massive Tyrannosaurus Rex body, the shocking charring and obvious carbonization of his body were actually recovering at a visible speed.
He endured the powerful impact waves, as his wounds constantly recovered and tore anew, and charged towards Loy.
Then,
"Kara!"
A crisp sound came—Huaben threw the meteor hammer in his hand.
"Dragon Binding Chain!"
The meteor hammer's chain instantly wrapped around Loy's body.
Seeing this situation, Huaben's smile became almost maniacal.
"Got you!"
He knew the outcome was decided.
Regardless of whether it was a `Devil Fruit Ability`, Loy's `Wave Fist` was indeed troublesome.
But Huaben keenly discovered Loy's "weakness."
"Although your `Wave Fist` possesses strong destructive power, it becomes meaningless once the distance is closed. Because before you can punch, I will tear you apart!"
His weapon, 'Tyrannosaurus Orb', its chain was mixed with Sea Prism Stone, giving it the effect of restraining `Ability User`s and extreme toughness.
Once entangled, it was almost impossible to break free or destroy the chain.
So, all he had to do next was one thing.
"Come here!"
He wrapped the chain around his arm, exerted force with his entire body, and yanked hard at Loy.
He could almost see how he would snatch victory—Loy would be pulled over, and then he would tear him directly apart!
"Hmm!?"
The next moment, Huaben's expression froze.
Because after he pulled the chain with all his might, he clearly felt...
His chain did not budge an inch.
"So that's how it is."
And it was at this moment that he heard Loy's voice.
Hearing these words, Huaben instinctively turned his head.
Then he saw Loy standing still in his original spot, his expression calm.
"Your `Devil Fruit Ability` is very close to `Devil Fruit Awakening`, isn't it?"
Loy looked at Huaben in front of him and murmured softly.
Loy was very clear that ancient Zoan `Ability User`s possessed immense vitality.
But the recovery ability Huaben displayed at this moment clearly exceeded the limits of what he knew.
Therefore, there was only one answer—`Devil Fruit Awakening`.
Only Zoan `Ability User`s after `Devil Fruit Awakening` would possess such exaggerated vitality.
But considering that Huaben clearly had not yet mastered the unique 'transformation' of Zoan `Devil Fruit Awakening`, Loy concluded—the opponent's `Devil Fruit` was very close to `Awakening`.
"As expected of a `Seven Warlords of the Sea`, he still has some strength."
Loy sighed.
Then he looked at Huaben and smiled similarly.
Yes—the opponent was not a `Seven Warlords of the Sea` like `Crocodile`, who was perfectly countered by him, but an ancient Zoan powerhouse proficient in Armament `Haki` and physical combat, on the verge of `Devil Fruit Awakening`.
The opponent was strong.
Therefore...
"Just as I intended."
[Devil Fruit Load: Logia-type • `Mag-Mag Fruit` `Level`3 → Zoan-type • `Dragon-Dragon Fruit` • Wind God Wyvern Form `Level`3.]
[Devil Fruit Load: Logia-type • `Ice-Ice Fruit` `Level`3 → Paramecia-type • `Strong-Strong Fruit` `Level`3.]
Huaben began to feel something abnormal.
At this moment, from the other end of the chain he was gripping, a colossal force emanated!
"Hmm!?"
That immense power even made Huaben experience an illusion—he even felt as if he was being tugged by another dinosaur.
"This guy's strength... How is this possible!?"
His startled gaze turned to Loy.
The opponent was not weakened by the 'Tyrannosaurus Orb', which meant the opponent was truly not an `Ability User`.
He could accept that.
But the key was, what was with this physical strength that was comparable to—no, even stronger than his own!?
"Such physique, simply like Garp in his youth..."
Such a thought involuntarily arose in his mind, but he instantly dismissed it.
He didn't believe it!
"How can a mere Marine possibly compare to Garp? Die!"
He growled lowly, gripping the chain with one hand, while his other hand swung the scythe-knife towards Loy!
Then,
He saw Loy raise his hand.
"Clang!"
The blade covered in Armament `Haki` collided with Loy's arm, but the latter was not severed.
Quite the opposite—Huaben only heard the sound of metal clashing.
He could even clearly see sparks constantly flying from the place where Loy's arm collided with the scythe-knife.
"A non-`Ability User`'s skin, as hard as steel—Big Mom's Steel Balloon!?"
At this moment, Huaben felt a bit dizzy.
But this was still not the end.
Because at this moment, Huaben saw Loy smile at him.
Then,
"Click!"
Huaben heard a strange sound.
That sound came from Loy's body.
At this moment, all of Loy's bones and muscles seemed to begin to constantly change.
His muscles seemed to come alive, constantly bulging and expanding.
His heart seemed to pump blood at an unusual speed, and he could even faintly hear a clear heartbeat.
His skin seemed to begin to tighten, and even his joints made trembling sounds.
His breathing became heavy, as if he was forcefully churning the wind.
It was as if a terrifying weapon was, at this moment, fully exploiting all its potential.
And at this moment, the golden light in Loy's hand even began to recede, and then gradually surged throughout his entire body.
He slowly broke free from the chain, and instead grabbed it with his left hand.
"!!!"
Seeing this scene, Huaben's instinct almost made him want to flee immediately!
"Kara!"
But the chain wrapped around his hand became a fatal weakness at this moment.
"Zephyr's `Black Body Flow`, its essence is to temper and master the ultimate potential of every part of his body, then compress the body to unleash the strongest power."
And at this moment, Loy's gaze was fixed on Huaben.
Feeling the unprecedented power flowing throughout his body, he murmured in his heart.
"This skill can be combined with `Haki`, it can strengthen physical strength and muscle strength, and at the same time, it can naturally also be combined with... `Devil Fruit Ability`."
For `Ability User`s, `Devil Fruit Ability` and `Haki` are one and the same—both are powers existing within their bodies.
And physical techniques like '`Black Body Flow`' or 'Iron Fist', the skills gained through tempering are naturally not limited to `Haki` alone.
Just like Aokiji's `Ice-Ice Fruit` and 'Iron Fist' combination, it can achieve destructive power similar to Garp.
This was what Loy was doing right now.
Although he was far from fully mastering the essence of `Black Body Flow`, still...
"All this hard training recently hasn't been in vain after all."
"`Black Body Flow` `Wave Fist`: Wind King!"
The words fell, and the punch was thrown!
Then,
"Boom!"
It was a wave of destruction!
(end of chapter)