CLANG!
The forge hammer and the naginata locked together once more. Staring dead into Sai's eyes, the dense muscles along Ornn's forearms began to quiver in rapid, controlled bursts.
It wasn't that Sai's physical pressure had suddenly spiked to an overwhelming degree; rather, Ornn was actively manipulating his muscle groups to mimic the micro-oscillations he had felt moments prior.
BUZZ...
Sensing the distinct, high-frequency vibration traveling back down the shaft of his naginata and into his palms, Sai's jaw dropped. A storm of pure shock erupted in his mind.
He... he already mastered the kinetic force mechanism of the Happo Punch?!
Sai knew the strange captain before him possessed exceptional martial comprehension, but learning the core force-distribution mechanics of an ancient military martial art within minutes of a single trade was absurd!
Noticing Sai's stunned expression, Ornn let out a low, satisfied grin.
"So my theory was right. The so-called Happo Punch doesn't rely on raw impact alone. It compresses energy into a localized focus, then releases high-frequency muscular vibrations to project shockwaves straight through physical defenses into internal tissue."
In truth, decoding the force mechanics of the Happo Punch was only a bonus. What truly excited Ornn was that Sai's demonstration had solved a problem that had plagued him for weeks:
The underlying physics of Soru.
Ornn recalled the canonical definition of Soru: stepping onto the ground dozens of times in under 0.36 seconds to generate explosive kinetic recoil for high-speed travel.
Yet, watching Rhea practice every morning, Ornn knew no human leg could physically complete dozens of individual foot-lifts within a fraction of a second. The mechanical delay of moving bone and muscle made it impossible.
Now, understanding Sai's muscle manipulation, the puzzle clicked into place.
The "dozens of steps" in Soru didn't mean lifting and planting the foot repeatedly; it referred to firing the leg's muscle fibers in rapid, microscopic bursts within a single, explosive stomp. Combining dozens of high-frequency contractions into one single contact point was the true secret to instant acceleration!
Sai, straightforward and fierce by nature, saw that Ornn had dissected the physical principles of his style. Instead of denying it, he gritted his teeth and admitted it directly.
"Yeah! I have to hand it to you—I've never met anyone with learning speed like yours... But those are just the basic kinetic principles of the Happo Punch. To unleash its true, destructive potential, you need the internal breathing techniques passed down through generations of the Happo Navy—"
"Big brother! Stop talking!" Boo shouted from the quarterdeck, interrupting frantically. "The secret breathing methods of the Happo Navy aren't meant for outsiders! If Grandpa finds out you gave away our family heritage, he'll cave your chest in!"
Sai froze, his expression shifting rapidly between pride and panic. He let out a long, heavy breath, his brow furrowing. "You're right, Boo... No more holding back."
Yielding the weapon lock, Sai stepped back half a pace, unhanding his naginata. He coated his left fist in a dense, jet-black layer of Armament Haki and drove a heavy straight punch toward Ornn's shoulder.
Ornn knew better than to take an Armament-infused strike lightly. With a low grunt, he channeled his Devil Fruit power, instantly wrapping his shoulder in a semi-solid layer of golden, molten magma.
THUD!
The black-armored fist slammed into the magma shield. Both men groaned in unison.
Even with the viscous, high-temperature magma acting as a kinetic buffer, the force of the Armament-infused punch rattled Ornn's collarbone.
Meanwhile, despite his Haki coating, the three-hundred-degree heat scorched Sai's knuckles, raising dark blisters across his skin.
Yet the searing pain only stoked Sai's battle lust.
"Just like that magma pillar from earlier—you're a Devil Fruit user!" Sai roared, flipping his grip on his inverted naginata and using the shaft planted in the deck as a fulcrum. He vaulted high into the air, coating his heel in a thick layer of jet-black Armament Haki as he brought it down toward Ornn's skull.
[Happo Punch Secret Technique: Wu's Heel!]
Seeing Sai unleash the exact, devastating axe-kick that famously shattered Don Chinjao's hardened skull in the original timeline, Ornn's expression turned solemn. This was, without question, the most dangerous head-on physical attack he had faced since transmigrating into this world.
Not daring to take the strike in his base form, Ornn instantly activated his Hybrid Form.
His frame expanded to nearly seven meters, dark purple metallic muscle surging across his torso as sweeping, rune-engraved ram horns erupted from his brow. Opening his wide jaw, he unleashed a roaring torrent of superheated forge flame directly upward at the falling strike!
[Bellows Breath!]
Facing the wall of fire, Sai couldn't alter his trajectory in mid-air. Gritting his teeth, he expanded his Armament Haki across his entire torso to take the heat head-on.
With a fierce roar, his jet-black heel slammed straight onto the magma-coated horns atop Ornn's head!
BOOM!
The magma shield shattered into spraying embers under the raw, kinetic impact. The roaring forge flames engulfed Sai, igniting his clothes and searing his skin, but the young warrior refused to retreat. He poured every drop of his remaining strength and shockwave resonance through his heel directly into the base of Ornn's horns.
BUZZ... CRACK!
An intense, internal shockwave traveled along the density of the horns straight into Ornn's skull.
A blinding, splitting headache erupted behind Ornn's eyes, forcing a sharp groan of agony from his chest. The vibration was so severe that a faint, microscopic fissure cracked along the surface of his right ram horn—a horn that had previously shattered solid granite without a scratch.
If Ornn hadn't possessed the massive physical buffer of his Zoan Hybrid form and those heavy ram horns to absorb ninety percent of the kinetic force, that kick would have caused a catastrophic concussion.
Yet as an Animal-type Zoan user, Ornn's baseline durability and health pool were staggering.
Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, Ornn reached up with a massive, purple-furred hand, clamping his fingers around Sai's ankle like a steel trap.
With a roar, he leveraged his entire seven-meter frame, slamming the flame-engraved, exhausted Sai directly onto the deck planks!
BAM!
The wooden deck caved inward, forming a deep crater. At its center, Sai's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness, the flames sputtering out against the splintered wood.
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