Roy felt the punch coming—fast, fierce, and sharp enough to rupture bone.
His pupils contracted.
If I take this head-on, I'll get hurt...!
A cold gleam flashed in Roy's eyes. He snorted—and transformed.
In an instant, two slender horns burst from his forehead. Dense fur erupted from his skin, sweeping across his body like wildfire. His muscles bulged grotesquely, and his figure swelled to twice its size.
His legs bent into arcs like taut longbows, brimming with explosive power.
His eyes turned round and wild—black pupils gleaming with icy clarity.
Roy, now caught between man and beast, stood reborn.
The Zoan-type Bull-Ox Fruit—Tibetan Antelope Model. Human-Beast Form!
Yuno narrowed his eyes. "Zoan-type…"
Still, his punch did not stop.
BOOM!
His fist struck Roy dead center, forcing the half-beast backward with a heavy skid—but this time, Roy didn't stagger. He merely slid across the ground, absorbing the full blow without injury.
Yuno blinked. Then grinned. "Not bad. Your defense really is solid."
Roy's aura surged. "You should be proud… You actually forced me to use this power."
Then—CRACK!
Roy's hoofed foot touched the earth and shattered it. His legs blurred, vanishing from view.
Fast!
Even Yuno was shocked. These aren't just quick movements—his legs are like compressed springs!
Roy flickered left, right, then again—leaving afterimages in his wake, zigzagging unpredictably.
But Yuno's expression remained still.
He wasn't fooled.
Just like he'd seen through Instructor Cage's footwork, Yuno's perception pierced the illusion.
Roy noticed the look in his eyes and clenched his jaw.
"You can see me?"
He growled. "So what? Seeing means nothing… if your body can't keep up!"
"Break!"
In a flash, Roy appeared right in front of Yuno, fangs bared in a twisted grin. His arms snapped back—then rocketed forward in a double-fisted slam, aiming to break through Yuno's guard!
A true Zoan blitz!
Yuno's expression flickered with tension. His strength's shot up massively…
But just as the fists crashed down—Yuno vanished.
Dodged.
He weaved past Roy's fists like water flowing around boulders, the blows thundering into empty space.
"If you'd mastered the Moon Step," Yuno said coldly, appearing to Roy's flank, "maybe you'd have stood a chance."
"But there are no ifs."
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
He struck. Blindingly fast punches rained into Roy's side like a storm of iron. Each blow carried power that could crumple steel.
"Devil Fruit or not, don't think that alone makes you unbeatable!"
Roy roared. "Don't get cocky, freshman!"
His fists lashed out to meet Yuno's. Flesh collided with flesh, bone with bone.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Over a dozen heavy punches were exchanged in a matter of seconds. The air rippled from the force. Craters formed beneath their feet.
Then—both retreated, panting.
Roy's expression twisted with fury.
"Damn it…"
Even in his beast form, even with all his strength—he still couldn't break Yuno.
He had even used his Devil Fruit powers—and yet, he still couldn't defeat a freshman.
The realization hit Roy like a hammer.
His face flushed with humiliation as the words he'd thrown at Yuno earlier echoed mockingly in his mind.
What a slap in the face... what a brutal slap in the face!
The battle between the two had stunned everyone present.
The senior students, once brimming with confidence, now stood dumbfounded, mouths agape. Even the instructors, hardened veterans of countless brawls, found themselves momentarily speechless—everyone except Cage.
Cage stared at Yuno, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Wait... is this kid holding back on purpose? Letting Roy save face?"
He couldn't explain why, but the thought kept gnawing at him. And the longer he observed, the more convinced he became.
He was right.
Yuno had allowed the fight to drag on—not out of difficulty, but by choice.
He wasn't struggling. He was training.
Currently, his proficiency in [Swordsmanship] was only 67—far from ideal. He needed it to reach 80 and above. That threshold would push him to a new realm.
He knew that once his [Swordsmanship] reached 80, he'd unlock the ability to perform a flying slash—a true hallmark of a swordsman in this world.
Though his physical limitations meant his raw power wouldn't match that of other elite swordsmen, his technique? It would stand shoulder to shoulder with the best.
And for that, he refused to use precious achievement points.
If he wanted true growth, it had to come the hard way—battle-hardened, honed step by step.
"I wonder what I'll unlock once [Swordsmanship] passes 80..."
But enough was enough.
"If I keep dragging this out... he might lose it."
Yuno glanced at Roy, who was now breathing heavily, his blood pumping erratically. His expression was growing wild, teetering on the edge of a mental break. Rage and confusion twisted his face—he'd poured everything into this fight, and it still wasn't enough.
Yuno's gaze sharpened.
"Can't have my training dummy going crazy on me."
In the next breath, Yuno's presence changed.
Those with sharper senses immediately noticed it—a subtle shift, like a blade being unsheathed. Their eyes instinctively turned toward him.
Only Roy, who stood directly across from Yuno, felt the full force of it—an overwhelming, silent pressure. It pressed against him like the deep sea, filling his lungs with dread.
He took an involuntary step back.
Yuno smiled faintly.
"Senior... be careful."
He vanished.
There was no blur, no flash—just absence.
To the watching crowd, it was as if he had teleported.
By the time anyone could react, Yuno had reappeared directly in front of Roy.
Looking up at the towering figure, Yuno tightened his fist and drove it upward in one clean, devastating motion.
Crack—!
Roy's body shot into the air like a cannonball, his eyes wide with shock.
Before he could even begin to recover, Yuno was already above him.
Mid-air, Yuno stepped off the sky itself with shunpo, flipping his body to align above Roy's chest.
"Hold back... just a little."
With that thought, he twisted his waist and drove his fist downward.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the ground below. Roy crashed down like a meteor, embedded deep into the earth with a crater erupting around him.
Dust billowed. Blood trickled from Roy's mouth.
But even after enduring two full-strength blows, the beastman endured.
His Tibetan Antelope Zoan form had kept him alive.
Unconscious... but alive.