Neferpitou shot forward in pursuit.
The target of her charge was the tornado-like flying slash Zoro had unleashed.
She didn't dodge.
Facing the incoming slash, Neferpitou simply raised one claw and swung it.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Zoro's tornado-like flying slash was torn apart by her claws.
Without slowing down after destroying the attack, Neferpitou continued charging forward, closing the distance to Zoro in the blink of an eye.
Her claws flashed toward him once more.
Zoro desperately relied on his Observation Haki, trying to read her movements and block the attack.
But the instant his swords met Neferpitou's claws, both blades were knocked aside.
The next moment...
Her claws raked across his chest, leaving several deep, bloody gashes.
"Zoro is defeated!"
"The winner is Neferpitou!"
Watching the match from the sidelines, Lafayette immediately declared the outcome.
The wounds across Zoro's chest weren't fatal.
However, that wasn't because his body had actually withstood Neferpitou's claws.
It was because Neferpitou had withdrawn her strength at the last instant after her attack landed.
Had she not held back...
Zoro's body would most likely have been torn into several pieces.
Seeing that, Lafayette promptly announced the victor.
Panting heavily...
Zoro braced himself with the two swords in his hands and stared at Neferpitou as she calmly turned and walked away.
She's unbelievably strong...
That claw strike just now was probably even more powerful than Lafayette's swordsmanship.
This woman... she's terrifying.
He had been defeated after only a handful of exchanges.
If he said he felt no frustration, he'd be lying.
But more than frustration...
He was shocked by Neferpitou's overwhelming strength.
He had always known she was powerful.
What he hadn't expected...
Was for the gap between them to be this enormous.
During the brief battle...
He had felt like nothing more than a child facing a fully grown adult.
There hadn't been even the slightest suspense.
"Don't get too discouraged."
"Neferpitou is one of the strongest people in the entire crew."
"Forget you—even I don't have much confidence against her."
After receiving treatment from the ship's medical team, Zoro returned to the high platform still looking somewhat dazed.
Seeing his expression...
Law, seated beside him, couldn't help offering a few words of comfort.
"I'm fine."
Zoro shook his head before turning his attention back toward the arena.
Although the defeat had hit him hard...
It wasn't enough to crush his fighting spirit.
He simply needed some time to digest it.
By the time he returned...
The battle in the arena had already changed.
Neferpitou was no longer fighting.
After Zoro's defeat, no one else had dared challenge her.
As a result...
She had successfully claimed the first seat among the Four Heavenly Kings.
The current battle...
Was between Dorry and Robin.
After Neferpitou's victory, Dorry had voluntarily stepped forward as the next defender.
Robin had become the challenger.
Boom!
Dorry swung his gigantic sword downward.
At that exact moment...
A massive arm suddenly burst from the ground beneath him.
Its giant fist slammed into Dorry's wrist, forcing his sword to veer off course and crash harmlessly beside Robin.
But that wasn't the only giant arm created by the Flower-Flower Fruit.
The instant Dorry's attack was diverted...
Robin, who stood with her arms crossed before her chest, immediately controlled another gigantic arm to sweep toward Dorry's legs.
Just like the first one...
The countless arms combined into an enormous limb possessing strength comparable to that of a giant.
Dorry reacted immediately.
As one of the Giant Warriors capable of using both forms of Haki...
His Observation Haki instantly sensed Robin's attack.
With a powerful leap...
He jumped into the air, avoiding the giant hand that had swept toward his legs.
"Dazzling Hundred Flowers—Palm Strike!"
Robin's eyes flashed.
The instant Dorry left the ground...
She dispersed the previous giant hands.
At the same time...
A brand-new giant arm bloomed directly beside Dorry's body.
Boom!
The attack came from a direction almost impossible to defend against.
Even with Observation Haki...
Dorry couldn't avoid it.
The enormous palm slammed across the side of his face.
His gigantic body immediately flew sideways before crashing heavily into the ground.
The earth trembled violently.
Dust exploded into the air.
Dorry's enormous frame smashed a crater into the ground upon impact.
"Ouch..."
"I never expected your Devil Fruit could do something like this."
"Not only can it create giant hands as strong as us giants..."
"It can even make them grow directly from my own body."
Although he had taken the hit...
Dorry quickly climbed back to his feet.
Instead of becoming angry...
He praised Robin sincerely.
"Thank you."
Robin replied with a gentle smile.
Their brief exchange ended...
And the battle resumed immediately.
Dorry strode forward.
His giant sword became coated in Armament Haki before slashing powerfully toward Robin.
Robin responded by growing another enormous arm from countless blooming hands, using it to block the attack head-on.
The battle continued back and forth.
Time after time...
Dorry failed to break through Robin's defense.
Instead...
He was repeatedly knocked back by the giant hands that appeared from impossible angles.
However...
Dorry's massive physique and naturally resilient body made Robin's attacks far less effective than they would have been against an ordinary opponent.
My physical stamina is nowhere near his...
If this drags on...
I'll lose.
Robin breathed heavily.
Sweat trickled down her forehead as she watched Dorry rise once again.
She immediately realized she couldn't continue fighting this way.
There was only one option left.
"Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Form!"
Robin's stamina rapidly drained away.
At the same time...
Countless arms burst forth around her like a raging storm.
They layered over one another continuously...
Until they formed the outline of an enormous figure.
A gigantic version of Robin rose into the sky.
Its size rivaled Dorry himself.
Behind it...
Hundreds upon hundreds of enormous arms spread outward like a divine halo.
The majestic figure resembled the legendary Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara.
"Oh?"
"So Robin has already mastered this technique."
Watching Robin transform into the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara...
Kaito, seated upon the high platform, raised an eyebrow.
A satisfied smile appeared in his eyes.
The Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Form...
Had originally been developed by him.
More accurately...
After acquiring Robin's Devil Fruit ability through the Munch-Munch Fruit...
He had helped Robin refine and create this technique.
"The Flower-Flower Fruit can actually become something that rivals a giant?"
"That technique must consume an enormous amount of stamina."
"Robin probably intends to decide the match with a single attack."
"I wonder who's going to win."
Lafayette and the others looked at Robin's transformed figure in surprise.
As for the rest of the War Pirates...
Their astonishment was even greater.
Even before making a single move...
Robin's Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Form radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure through its sheer size alone.
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