Chapter 51: Aren't We a Bit Too Weak?
Above the frozen sea, from within the billowing thick smoke, Huaben's figure walked out step by step.
His body had swelled by at least five times its original size, covered all over by blue-black scales, and his bulging muscles brimmed with destructive power.
"Bang!"
A thick, powerful tail swept across the ice surface, creating huge indentations and cracks on it.
His arms had transformed into beastly forelimbs, still clutching that scythe-like meteor hammer.
At this moment, he had clearly deviated far from his human form.
Or perhaps, this was his true form.
[Devil Fruit user 'Huaben' detected.]
[Confirmed Devil Fruit as 'Ancient Zoan: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Tyrannosaurus Form', currently analyzing and storing into 'Devil Fruit Encyclopedia'.]
The voice in his ear didn't surprise Loy in the slightest.
"You all, step back a bit first."
He casually spoke a sentence to Hans and the others, then, before the Escort Unit Marines could react, he directly leaped down from the battleship again.
The immense force caused the battleship, which was originally unable to move due to damage to its rudder and power furnace, to instantly shift a considerable distance backward.
Loy's figure, however, used the momentum to land on the frozen sea surface, facing off against the gigantic Tyrannosaurus from a distance.
And at this moment...
"You've got some nerve, Marine kid."
Huaben, whose body had almost recovered halfway, feeling the pain wracking his body, and looked at the wreckage of his fleet behind him, his teeth almost grinding to dust.
His vertical pupils stared fixedly at Loy: "Fish-Man Karate, Fox-Fire Style... I don't recall *them* having that level of power."
He had clearly heard Loy's previous bluffs as well.
But very clearly, Huaben's first reaction was one of skepticism.
As a Pirate who had roamed the New World, he had naturally seen the Fish-Man tribe and Fish-Man Karate—that unique martial art indeed had the marvelous effect of controlling the surrounding water.
And due to his relationship with Kaido, he had also heard of Wano Country's 'Fox-Fire Style'—this swordsmanship was indeed rumored to 'burn and slash everything with flames'.
But their power? How could it be so exaggerated?
"Perhaps those people you've seen weren't skilled enough."
Loy, however, calmly remarked.
"..."
But Huaben didn't retort; he just looked seriously at Loy: "Kid, they said... you're Zephyr's disciple?"
"Genuine, no doubt."
Loy said calmly.
"So that's it. If it's that old geezer's disciple, then it's somewhat possible."
Huaben seemed to accept Loy's explanation—he was a Pirate from the same era as Kaido, and had experienced Zephyr's peak period.
But it was at this very moment—
"Buzz!"
A surging sound boomed, interrupting Huaben's words.
And in front of him, Loy had already thrown a punch.
Facing the shockwave imbued with scorching magma-like flames, Huaben's pupils constricted once more.
His body abruptly leaped, dodging the attack, but the scorching shockwave still melted another huge hole in the ice surface behind him.
"Calling someone else's teacher an 'old geezer' in front of his disciple—you really had the nerve to say that, Pirate!"
Loy's expression remained icy.
He extended his hand towards Huaben, who had reappeared not far away.
"Since we're going to fight! Come on!"
Hearing this, a savage grin also appeared on Huaben's face.
"Good!"
From his throat, a deep, beast-like roar emerged: "Kid, you'll soon find out... the consequences of infuriating me!"
The moment his words fell.
"Boom!"
The giant tail swept through, and the ice surface crumbled.
And Huaben's enormous figure instantly vanished from its spot.
The next moment, his colossal figure had already appeared beside Loy.
And above his head, pitch-black Armament Haki had already covered him—as Kaido's confidant and a user of an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, he naturally possessed extreme mastery in Armament Haki!
"Tyrannosaurus Chariot: Crash!"
His massive head slammed down violently towards Loy.
Loy neither dodged nor retreated, and golden light erupted from his right fist.
"Shockwave Punch: Quake!"
The shockwave burst forth, fiercely colliding with the Tyrannosaurus's head.
"Boom!"
"Crack!"
The deafening roar made the entire ice plain tremble, and the wild, violent power caused the ice layer beneath their feet to instantly collapse, forming a massive crater.
"This impact... Is this kid really not an Ability User?!"
And at this moment, Huaben could clearly perceive—the powerful impact emanating from the other side of his head.
Even with the strength of his current Tyrannosaurus transformation and the enhanced toughness of his body covered in Armament Haki, he could still feel the shockwave relentlessly tearing at his skin and flesh.
But very clearly, this level of injury was not enough to make him fall.
"Boom—"
Huaben struggled to turn his body, and his giant tail already swept towards Loy from behind him.
And this collision also pulled open the curtain on this great battle.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
At this moment, on the Escort Unit's battleship in the distance.
"So strong!"
The Escort Unit Marines could only stare wide-eyed at that great battle.
No—to be precise, they couldn't even quite comprehend it.
Because the two people on the battlefield... were too strong!
Huaben, despite his enormous physique, was at this moment displaying a terrifying speed that clearly did not belong to that body type.
His figure continuously flickered across the entire ice surface battlefield, each flicker leaving behind enormous, monstrous footprints on the ice.
His scythe-like meteor hammer in hand, his tail behind him, and even his claws, teeth, and head... proficient in Armament Haki, he fought using almost every part of his body; every attack could conjure massive deep pits or even pierce through the ice surface.
That berserk posture was just like a true wild beast.
In contrast, Loy's movements were somewhat slower.
But whenever Huaben's powerful attacks approached Loy, they would be met by his swinging golden fist, unleashing powerful shockwaves that blasted them away!
Where his fists swept, extending frost and scorching flames continuously alternated.
That terrifying destructive power was even more dreadful than Huaben's!
"Captain..."
And at this moment, Hans and Fal looked at the two monsters on the battlefield, wanting to say something.
But in the end, they couldn't utter a single word.
They had already contacted Marine Headquarters via Den Den Mushi, but there was no response for the time being.
Besides that, they could do nothing.
Because they were very clear—they couldn't offer any help in a battle of this caliber.
"I'm telling you, Fal, aren't we a bit too weak?"
Hans, rarely, didn't refer to his good friend as 'Marine Fal'.
"..."
Fal didn't speak; he just gripped the ship's rail tightly.
(End of Chapter)