"Think you can stop me? We'll see about that!"
Bασσας roared, his massive frame charging towards Heckle with immense power.
Bασσας was tall, around three and a half meters. In the Blackbeard Pirate Crew, Blackbeard himself was 344cm, and both Jesus Burgess and Van Augur were also over three meters tall.
Compared to Bασσας, Heckle's height of nearly two meters seemed insignificant.
Bασσας reached Heckle and raised a fist, aiming to smash it into Heckle's head.
Heckle didn't back down. Instead, his right arm bulged as he struck fiercely back at Bασσας.
Boom.
Their fists collided, a deafening sound echoing out. Ripples of air stagnated for a moment before rapidly spreading outwards.
Along with the shockwaves, Heckle was sent skidding backward.
"Such immense strength."
As Heckle felt the feedback from his punch, he instantly stomped his feet and leaped backward.
Whoosh.
Heckle's retreating form absorbed some of the force, and he landed slowly about ten meters away, his expression grim.
The power was too great.
His hardened fist was no match.
Heckle was extremely confident in his own strength. In his normal state, he could lift over ten thousand jin, and in his hardened fist state, he could unleash over ten tons of force.
Yet, his strength was still inferior to the opponent's.
"Is that all?"
Bασσας sneered, stretching his fist. He stomped his legs, instantly appearing before Heckle, and threw a punch.
Facing this punch, Heckle took a step, narrowly dodging it, and then threw a straight punch.
But in that instant, his opponent bent his elbow and swept inwards.
"Not good."
Heckle ducked to evade the blow, simultaneously throwing a punch.
But Bασσας's left hand was already smashing down. Heckle rolled, dodging again.
The two exchanged blows, Heckle constantly evading, not daring to clash directly. His opponent's strength was too overwhelming; any direct confrontation would put him at a disadvantage.
However, Heckle's evasive maneuvers couldn't find an opening to attack.
Boom.
Heckle found a gap and punched at Bασσας.
"You fell for it."
A sinister grin spread across Bασσας's face. He ignored the incoming punch and brought his right fist down hard towards Heckle's head.
"I expected this."
Heckle snorted coldly. He tapped his toes, his body retreating rapidly.
But his opponent bent his arm, then swung it upwards, his elbow tracing an arc as a massive shockwave surged forward.
Boom.
Heckle crossed his arms in front of him. The moment he was hit, his body lightened, and he was propelled backward, landing slowly.
"Great strength, and his techniques are not simple either."
Heckle's expression was grim. In terms of raw power, his opponent was far superior.
Furthermore, he was skilled in close combat, utilizing both his fists and elbows effectively.
His attack speed was also not slow.
A direct confrontation would be extremely difficult.
"Death Charge!"
Just then, Bασσας stomped the ground and leaped towards Heckle, bending his arm and smashing his elbow forward.
Boom.
Bασσας appeared where Heckle had been standing. The shockwave emanating from his elbow blasted a fan-shaped mark into the ground before him.
But Heckle was nowhere to be seen.
Soru!
Heckle instantly appeared behind Bασσας and threw a punch.
"Behind me!"
Sensing Heckle's presence, Bασσας instantly spun around and threw a punch at Heckle.
"I can hit you, but I'll get hurt."
Heckle didn't dare to take the opponent's attack head-on. His figure disappeared again, and with a boom, Bassas's fist stopped a meter above the ground, the wind from his punch scattering.
Boom.
A section of the ground caved in directly. Such power was terrifying.
The next moment, Heckle had appeared behind Bassas and threw a punch fiercely.
Bassas still reacted quickly, turning and throwing a punch back at Heckle.
Heckle's speed was still a fraction faster, but he didn't dare to take the attack head-on. After all, Bassas's strength was too great, and trading injuries wasn't a good idea.
Heckle couldn't be hit and could only dodge. As time passed, Bassas's counterattacks became faster and faster.
"What's wrong? Come attack me, why are you dodging?"
Bassas let out a wild laugh, tracking Heckle's movements.
Boom.
Bassas's fist collided with Heckle's, and Heckle was once again forced back.
"Can't go on?"
Bassas looked at Heckle with a sinister grin on his face. "Remember my name, I am Champion Bassas."
"Is that so?"
Heckle moved his fists and said coldly, "I've pretty much tested your maximum speed. I can use that move now."
"What are you talking about?"
Bassas looked at Heckle, confused.
"Second Stage Soru."
Heckle's figure suddenly appeared behind Bassas and he threw a punch.
"Huh?"
Bassas's expression changed. He turned and threw a punch, but with a bang, his fist landed on Heckle's back.
Bassas's body trembled, and intense pain shot through him. He gritted his teeth and threw a punch back, but Heckle had already disappeared.
Boom, boom, boom.
Heckle's figure became faster and faster, exceeding Bassas's reaction speed.
"Power reduced, but speed increased."
Bassas's expression was grim, wondering how Heckle had gained such speed.
This move was an advanced method Heckle had developed by combining Soru with his Devil Fruit.
The Soru he used half a month ago involved accumulating the power of three stomps, and at the moment of explosive power, reducing his weight to ten kilograms.
Now, he could accumulate the power of four stomps.
Using the power accumulated from four stomps to propel a ten-kilogram body had even greater explosive power than ten stomps propelling a hundred-kilogram weight.
Of course, because Heckle's leg strength wasn't particularly strong, the speed of his Soru was only about the same as Kalifa's.
Heckle was very dissatisfied.
So he made an improvement: he used the Kilogram Fruit to modify each stomp.
When lifting his foot, his body's weight would slightly decrease, and when stomping down, his body would slightly increase in weight.
This allowed him to increase the speed of his stomps, reaching ten times per second.
Then, combined with the effect of the final stomp, which involved increasing weight and then reducing it to the extreme, he achieved maximum speed.
Heckle called this ability Second Stage Soru.
Of course, the excessive speed made it impossible for Heckle to control the power of his punches, so he couldn't use Hardening Fist for the time being.
However, Heckle's unarmed strength was still over ten thousand jin, which would be difficult for a physical body to withstand.
Bang, bang, bang.
Bassas was being pummeled like a sandbag, but his muscles were strong, and he continuously blocked Heckle's attacks.
"So fast."
Van Augur saw this scene, his eyes narrowing. With his dynamic vision, he could only barely track Heckle's movements.
If this continued, Bassas might lose.
If that happened, he would inevitably be in danger. He couldn't let this continue.
"Don't move around."
A voice came from not far away. Van Augur heard the voice and withdrew his gaze. He had to think of a way.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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