"So you've bulked up in the year you were gone," Linlin said, a thin, chilly smile on her lips. "But if you think you can strut in front of Mama, brat you're still green."
Old grudges and new she meant to settle them all today. With Shiki and Newgate still out on missions, this was the perfect chance.
She slid that long, fat-free leg forward and stamped; the ground shivered. Napoleon came whistling down in a savage chop.
Ares' forearms flashed blood-hued Armament Haki lacquered them to a glassy crimson, white vapor boiling off his skin. He met the blade with a straight, brutal punch.
BOOM!
The blast made Katakuri and Perospero clap hands over their ears.
"There it is!" Katakuri's eyes shone. "That unique Armament Haki!"
That, he knew, was why the world called him Blood-Hand Ares.
The shock wave from their giant-on-giant clash ripped through the street. Wind howled around them; walls cracked; panes blew out in a rain of glass.
And that was only the opening bell.
Ares' left arm varnished scarlet mid-motion, devil's-muscle bunched and swelling. There was a fierce beauty to it, all violent lines and coiled power.
Linlin didn't back off. She folded a fist in her own Armament and slugged back.
BOOM!
Her eyes flashed in surprise. Crossing weapons with him had been one thing but trading fists told a different story. From knuckle to shoulder, Ares' power rolled like a tsunami.
His strength and Haki are worlds past last year!
More than a single tier… How had he climbed so fast?
Her thoughts slashed to that Mythical Zoan he'd stolen from under her nose. Was that the reason? A spark hit dry tinder.
Rage roared up.
That fruit had been hers by right worth a thousand trades, a thousand desires, men included. Kaido should have been eating from her hand. Instead, Ares had turned it all to ash.
"Zeus!" she bellowed. "Thunder!"
A grimacing black thundercloud swelled above.
Purple lances split the sky
and Ares didn't even look up.
"No-Blade Style Hades' Blade!"
His hand flicked. A razor of killing light ripped up and shredded the lightning to mist.
One strike fallen, the next arrived. Prometheus belched fire, a tumbling sun that swallowed Ares whole.
Linlin's grin curled, taunting. "Hot, isn't it? Step aside and let Kaido come with Mama, and I'll call the flame ba "
The last syllable strangled in her throat. Her jaw dropped.
Inside the inferno, Ares stood unmarked and faintly pleased.
"This heat? I can't even feel it," he said, breathing fire like breath itself, the flames reflected in his teeth. "Moves that can't hurt me aren't worth using."
He looked, in that burning sphere, like a flame-crowned king walking the earth.
Perospero and Katakuri stared with mouths wide enough to fit an ostrich egg.
"H-how how is he doing that?" Katakuri whispered. "He's ignoring the heat?"
Their mother had burned countless enemies to death. They'd all screamed, flesh blistering to pulp.
But this
Perospero nearly bit his tongue. "He's not even using that blood-red Armament… How's he tanking the flames? What is that body made of?!"
The image seared itself into their young minds, a brand that would never fade: Tengetsu Ares, standing in fire like it was rain.
From a skull-window of the fortress, Captain John sucked in a breath. "Monstrous. No Haki he's eating that fire on body alone." He shook his head. "More of a freak than a year ago."
Beside him, cloaked in black, Rocks turned a new bounty poster over in his hand and watched the blaze-lit figure below. "I took him aboard for his talent," he said, eyes narrowing with interest. "But his talent and growth have outstripped my estimates."
"Now he's qualified to be named alongside Newgate, Shiki, and Linlin."
Pleased, Rocks let a wolfish grin show. "With Ares back, our hand gets heavier. We gain another edge against the World Government."
Captain John nodded, then frowned at the spider-web of cracks spreading through the district. "If we've seen enough, Captain, perhaps we should stop them. Two monsters trading blows will level half the port."
Rocks laughed. "Why stop it?"
"The fight's just begun we've only seen a slice of Ares' power. Besides…" He tipped his chin toward the raging square. "If he wants to captain one of my divisions, he'll have to conquer them with strength. Looks to me like the perfect stage."
He turned to John. "Don't you think?"
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