"I see, so he's an Ability User..."
Kid's expression turned solemn. After witnessing Allen's transformation, a hint of wariness finally appeared in his eyes.
Although they had only exchanged a dozen or so blows so far, he had been going all out from the very beginning. Yet, in his opponent's eyes, this was merely a warm-up.
He had thought he was only at a slight disadvantage, never expecting that his opponent hadn't even truly revealed his strength yet.
*Tch, looks like I'm in big trouble now.*
Kid scoffed inwardly. Though his expression was grim, he didn't show the slightest hint of fear. On the contrary, his heart burned with an increasingly fervent excitement.
*No matter how strong the enemy is, as long as I fight with my life on the line, there will be a chance for victory. As long as I defeat him, I can become even stronger!*
That was exactly how he had made it this far!
"Keep that boring praying to yourself, and don't look down on me, you bastard!"
Kid shouted angrily. The impact drill at the end of his mechanical right arm spun at high speed as he suddenly accelerated forward. Wherever he passed, nearby metal parts flew toward his left hand, rapidly constructing another mechanical arm.
Cannons formed the five fingers of his mechanical left arm, while cold weapons like swords, spears, and halberds made up its razor-sharp nails. Dragging the two massive mechanical arms controlled by his magnetism, Kid's charging speed remained completely unaffected.
"Magnetism: Destructive Spiral!!"
Kid leaped high into the air. His mechanical right arm howled through the wind as the massive, high-speed spinning impact drill at its end smashed down viciously!
Faced with such an attack, Allen wouldn't easily choose to take it head-on unless absolutely necessary. He tapped his feet against the ground and quickly leaped backward to evade.
Boom!!
The impact drill slammed into the ground, effortlessly piercing the hard stone slabs as if they were made of tofu, before erupting into countless cracks that spread outward.
"What a flashy but useless trick. How could you possibly hit anyone while dragging such massive arms around?"
Allen sneered mockingly.
After landing back on the ground, his legs rapidly turned a greenish-brown. His slender thighs bulged, transforming to resemble the legs of a locust.
Allen slowly crouched down, his legs tensing forcefully as bundles of muscles bulged out like steel cables.
As the master jumpers of the biological world, locusts possessed a specialized jumping structure in their hind legs. Combined with the energy storage of their arthropod resilin, it allowed them to easily leap distances far exceeding their own body length.
When a Devil Fruit perfectly bestowed this ability upon a human, even an ordinary person could casually jump across an entire football field.
And with the enhancement of his formidable physique, this metric skyrocketed exponentially!
Allen planted one hand on the ground, his gaze fixed on Kid, who was launching another fierce charge. His eyes darkened, and his thighs instantly erupted with terrifying kinetic energy!
Bang!!
Accompanied by a loud boom, the ground shattered with countless dense cracks as if struck by a meteorite. Allen's figure instantly vanished from Kid's shrinking pupils, leaving behind only a powerful shockwave rippling outward!
"So fast!"
Kid was instantly alarmed. Before he could even react, Allen's figure had already appeared right in front of him, and a muscular, tightly coiled leg filled his vision!
Bang!!
The explosive impact sent out a ring of astral wind. With a ferocious glare, Allen arched his knee and viciously drove it into his opponent's abdomen, sending him flying!
"Gwaah!!"
Kid's face twisted in agony as he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. His pupils violently shrank and trembled as his body shot out like a cannonball, crashing into a building at the edge of the square!
Boom!!
The building collapsed with a thunderous crash. Flying rubble kicked up billowing clouds of dust, and the powerful shockwave overturned countless nearby stalls.
"Cough... cough, cough!"
Kid painfully coughed up blood once more. His body lay paralyzed in the ruins, feeling as though his consciousness was about to slip away from his body.
Before he could even stand up, he saw Allen back in the square, bending his legs and crouching down again, his muscles tensing in preparation for another explosive charge.
*You've got to be kidding me... With that terrifying jumping power, I can't even see his movements at all!*
Cold sweat seeped from Kid's forehead. He hurriedly raised his mechanical left arm, aiming the five cannon-fingers at Allen.
"Magnetism: Meteor Catapult!!"
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
The pitch-black muzzles let out a dense roar. Enhanced by his magnetism, cannonball after cannonball whistled toward Allen at astonishing speeds, like a shower of meteors!
Boom!!!
Fierce flames instantly engulfed Allen's body. Black gunpowder smoke billowed into the sky, and a frantic explosive shockwave swept outward.
Kid gritted his teeth and propped himself up from the rubble. Although this move was much stronger than ordinary artillery fire, he knew this level of attack wasn't enough to take Allen down.
Thus, he aimed his mechanical right arm into the smoke. The massive drill spun at high speed, and purple electrical arcs burst from the mechanical arm.
Sure enough, in the very next second, Allen's figure broke free from the thick smoke and charged forward.
Kid had anticipated this. With an angry shout, he unleashed a powerful electromagnetic force!
"Magnetism: Hell Thrust!!"
Bang!!
The fully charged, high-speed drill detached from the mechanical arm! It instantly broke the sound barrier as it shot forward, twisting the very air in its path into a spiral ripple!
However.
A glint of red flashed in Allen's eyes. This terrifyingly powerful move had already been predicted by his Observation Haki. His well-developed thighs stomped the ground fiercely, erupting with teleportation-like speed!
"Shave!!"
The simple movement technique was executed by Allen with the effect of a flash step, his charging figure instantly vanishing from the spot.
Whoosh!
The massive thrusting impact drill was easily evaded. It streaked across the square like a shooting star, flying straight toward the streets. If it landed there, the entire street would undoubtedly be obliterated into ruins.
The civilians who were hiding or watching the battle from the edge of the square all stared in horror. Their faces turned pale, leaving only a single thought in their minds.
*We're going to die!*
Just as the drill was about to land, Kuma's figure appeared out of thin air, blocking its path. He removed his glove to reveal the paw pad on his palm and struck the bottom of the drill from below.
Pop!
As if by magic, the massive drill instantly vanished without a trace.
Before the residents could even recover from the terror of facing death, Kuma's figure vanished from the spot once again.
At the exact same time Kuma appeared to save the civilians, Allen, having dodged the flying drill, shifted right in front of Kid.
"Bastard!"
Kid glared furiously at Allen, nearly shattering his back teeth from gritting them so hard. In his mechanical right arm, a chainsaw replaced the drill's position, spinning at high speed as it slashed horizontally outward.
However, as if he had anticipated this all along, Allen made his move the moment Kid raised his arm. With a flash, his figure appeared behind Kid.
"Do you still not get it? You can't win. The true gap between you and me isn't in physical combat or Devil Fruit abilities, but in Haki!"
Allen curled his lips into a savage sneer. The instant Kid snapped his head around, Allen raised his powerful leg and viciously whipped a kick right into his face!
Bang!!
"Gwaah!!"
Blood mixed with shattered teeth flew through the air. Kid's face was warped by the blow as his body was sent flying backward across the square. With a thunderous boom, he crashed through a wall and smashed right into the clock tower.