The sea wind, heavy with smoke and the stench of sulfur, swept across the scorched earth beneath the skies of Lulutak Island.
High above, the clouds had been torn apart by clashing Haki, revealing a pale, ashen sky split like a wounded canvas.
Gern's figure retreated like a specter, his movements ghostly and precise. The black blade Bahuang traced a pale vacuum裂 through the air, cleaving Douglas Bullet's pursuing shockwave cleanly in two.
"Your opponent isn't me," Gern said with a faint upward curl at the corner of his mouth. His gaze flicked to both sides as he raised Bahuang, its tip pointing straight at Bullet."It's your turn—both of you!!"
"Roger!"
Two figures exploded off the warship's deck in the same instant.
Lipo kicked hard against the planks, her body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The twin carrot daggers in her hands gleamed with a cold green sheen under the sunlight.The Mink tribe's innate explosive power turned her charge into little more than a blur.
Her daggers crossed as she slashed, the shrill scream of blades tearing through the air piercing to the ears.
Bullet snarled, swinging up a thick arm shrouded in jet-black Armament Haki, forming a wall of flesh and iron before him.
CLANG!
Steel met flesh—and sparks erupted.
"So strong…!" Lipo's pupils contracted as the recoil numbed her grip, her palms ringing painfully from the impact.
But she didn't retreat.
Borrowing the force, she spun and snapped out a whip-like kick toward Bullet's waist.
"Too slow!" Bullet growled, his left fist blasting forward like a cannon shell, aimed straight for her face.
At the brink of impact, a flash of gold erupted between them.
"Gold—Shackles!"
Tesoro slammed his right palm into the ground. In an instant, several golden chains surged up from beneath Bullet's feet, coiling around his wrist and forcibly dragging his punch off course.
BOOM!
The shockwave grazed past Lipo's ear, pulverizing a reef behind her into fine dust.
"Thanks!" Lipo rolled as she landed, springing back to her feet and tightening her grip on the daggers.
Her breathing had grown ragged, but her eyes remained razor-sharp.
"Tch." Bullet glanced at the golden chains wrapped around his arm and snorted. "Just toys."
His muscles bulged violently as Armament Haki surged like a tide. With a sharp crack, the golden chains shattered, fragments scattering in all directions.
Tesoro let out a muffled grunt as the shattered gold liquefied again, flowing back into the ground.
"Not done yet!" he barked, dropping into a half-crouch with a wide grin."After all—I'm not the main attacker!!"
As his words fell, the sea wind swept past, brushing against Lipo's fluffy ears behind him.
She lowered her stance, muscles in her legs coiling like loaded springs.
"Rabbit Kick — Crescent Moon Arc!"
Her hind legs exploded into motion. Her toes struck the scorched earth, spiderweb cracks spreading outward as she launched diagonally like a released arrow.
Her trajectory wasn't straight—
Midair, three intersecting white afterimages appeared.
This was a variant of the Mink tribe's Moon Step, tailored to the rabbit Minks' unparalleled speed—using midair re-steps to create deceptive phantoms.
Bullet's fist tore through a residual image.
Lipo had already slipped into his blind spot.
"Carrot — Thorn Rain!"
Her twin daggers became streaks of green light, unleashing dozens of icy flashes in an instant.
Each thrust precisely targeted the thinnest points of Bullet's Armament Haki—Joint seams. Tendon connections.
Sparks erupted as steel scraped against hardened Haki, bursting like fireworks in a torrential downpour.
"Annoying flea!" Bullet roared, swinging his left arm in a wide sweep.
But Lipo had already predicted it.
The moment the massive arm came crashing in, she curled her body midair. Her flexible Mink waist twisted effortlessly, letting her spin like a real rabbit in flight.
Bullet's fist skimmed her back, the pressure tearing her Marine uniform—but she used the wind pressure to accelerate her descent instead.
"Rabbit Kick — Falling Meteor!"
Her knees, coated in Armament Haki, slammed down like twin meteors onto Bullet's collarbone.
THUD!
With a deafening impact, the three-meter-tall giant was driven down onto one knee, the ground collapsing beneath him.
Lipo flipped backward with the recoil and landed lightly, her daggers crossed defensively before her chest. Her chest heaved violently, the blood-soaked bandages beneath her uniform staining even darker red.
"Interesting," Bullet spat blood onto the ground. "That rabbit-style martial art of yours… not bad—"
He surged up without warning, his right fist detonating the air with a sonic boom.
Lipo's pupils shrank to pinpoints. Her rabbit ears snapped straight up, screaming danger.
At the critical instant, she triggered the Mink tribe's innate Electro. Lightning crackled through her fur, her speed surging by nearly thirty percent.
Bullet's punch obliterated nothing but an afterimage crackling with residual static.
The real Lipo flashed behind him, dagger stabbing straight for his back.
"Did I—?!"
CLANG!
Bullet's back muscles suddenly bulged outward. Armament Haki spread like black iron along his spine.
The dagger's tip stopped less than an inch from his skin.
The rebound shattered Lipo's grip, blood spurting from her palm.
"His battle instinct is insane…" she grit her teeth as she retreated."How does Gern even fight monsters like this head-on…?!"
Her foot slipped—
Bullet's hand was already closing in on her ankle.
"Got you, little rabbit," Bullet grinned.
But—
The ground suddenly surged upward.
Countless golden spikes erupted from the scorched earth, stabbing toward Bullet's lower body like thorny brambles.
Forced to abandon the grab, Bullet stomped down hard.
The earth cracked, a shockwave obliterating the golden spikes—but that brief pause was enough.
Enough for Lipo to close in again.
Her figure split abruptly, two afterimages attacking from both sides.
The daggers flashed like falling stars, aimed straight for Bullet's throat and heart.
Bullet's gaze sharpened. He crossed his arms, Armament Haki hardened to its absolute limit.
CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks exploded as the slashes were violently deflected—but Lipo didn't stop.
She vaulted upward, her legs snapping together like scissors, locking toward Bullet's neck!
"Cheap tricks!" Bullet roared.
Conqueror's Haki detonated outward, blasting Lipo away in a violent shockwave.
"Gold — Heavy Cannon!"
Tesoro seized the opening, his right arm turning fully to gold as he smashed in from the side, aiming for Bullet's temple.
Bullet didn't even turn his head.
He punched back.
BOOM!
Fists collided. Tesoro's golden arm warped instantly, his arm going numb as the air compressed into visible ripples.That single blow carried enough force to shatter a warship's armor.
At the moment the two forces met, a sharp glint flashed in Tesoro's eyes.
His fist suddenly liquefied, turning into viscous molten gold that wrapped around Bullet's arm like a swamp.
At the same time, golden ripples spread across the ground within a hundred-meter radius.
He had been seeding gold dust into the soil throughout the fight.
"Sink for me!"
The earth transformed into a golden mire. Bullet's legs sank instantly to the knees.
He snorted coldly, muscles bulging as he tried to rip free through brute strength alone.
But Tesoro didn't give him the chance.
"Gallows!"
Dozens of razor-sharp golden spears erupted from the mire, lunging toward Bullet from every direction like the fangs of a colossal beast.
"Hah!" Bullet roared, Conqueror's Haki erupting and shattering half the spears.
"Not done yet!" Tesoro snarled, forcing the gold to liquefy and reform again.
"God-Binding Chains!"
Countless golden chains burst forth, coiling around Bullet's body like massive serpents.
Each chain tightened relentlessly, metal grinding with a teeth-aching screech.
"Now!!"
The sudden constriction delayed Bullet's movements by half a second.
That was all it took.
Lipo inhaled sharply and exploded forward, her body turning into a spiraling white meteor.
"Moon Rabbit—"
Her Electro-wreathed feet slammed into Bullet's chest.
"Star-Shaking Impact!!"
BOOM!
For the first time, Bullet's massive body was blown backward, carving a hundred-meter trench through the scorched earth.
"…We did it…" Lipo dropped to one knee, gasping.
Then the smoke parted.
That figure stood up again.
"Nice teamwork," Bullet said, tearing away his shredded shirt to reveal demon-like musculature rippling across his back."But playtime's over."
The air twisted.
His figure vanished.
CRASH!
Tesoro didn't even have time to turn.
A mountain-crushing force slammed into his side.
The golden armor he'd hastily formed shattered on contact. His ribs snapped with a nauseating crack.
The world spun.
His body flew like a stone hurled from a catapult, sailing hundreds of meters before crashing into the wreckage of a warship.
Steel screamed as it twisted. Smoke and dust erupted skyward.
"Tesoro!" Lipo's ears shot straight up, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
She moved on instinct to rush to his aid—
Then a bone-chilling cold crept up her spine.
Bullet's breath washed over the back of her neck.
"Where are you looking, little rabbit?"
"When—?!" Her fur exploded outward as Electro sparked—
A massive hand coated in jet-black Armament Haki was already descending like an iron vise toward her throat.
"That's all you've got? Guess the Marines' new generation isn't much after all."
"Is that so?"
A cold voice spoke from behind him.
"I was thinking it was about time to wrap this up."
Bullet's pupils shrank violently. His Observation Haki screamed—but it was too late.
A whip-like kick wrapped in pale震波 smashed into his side.
"Black Quake — Bonebreaker!"
BOOM!
Bullet's body flew like a cannonball, blasting through three ruined structures before finally skidding to a halt.
He dropped to one knee, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, searing pain ripping through the muscles along his waist.
"You two did well just now," Gern said calmly as he lowered his leg.The black blade Bahuang angled toward the ground, pale fractures of energy flickering along its edge.
"So…"
His gaze hardened.
"Class is over."