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Boom!!!
A violent shockwave swept across the entire island, flattening the jungle as trees snapped and were hurled like twigs. Dozens of Rocks Pirates were caught in the force and collapsed, unconscious before they hit the ground.
"Impressive power, Ayr," Rocks said, a faint smirk curving his lips as he stood tall amidst the chaos, the air humming with residual Haki from the blast.
Boom! Bang! Bang!!!
The clash of blades thundered across the battlefield. The steel sang as Ayr's Kurama-enhanced blade met Rocks' brutal strikes, each collision distorting the air around them and shattering the landscape. Craters formed beneath their feet, gravel erupted skyward, and the ground was cracked beyond recognition.
Ever since Ayr had entered Kurama Mode, his strength had multiplied several-fold—his speed, power, and chakra capacity reaching monstrous levels. Chakra laced with Kurama's malevolence surged violently through his body, enhancing his every strike.
Yet… even in this formidable state, Ayr still fell short.
Rocks D. Xebec, the tyrant of the seas, hailed as the strongest man in the world, was overwhelming. His swordsmanship was not just refined—it was absolute. Each swing of his blade carried years of murderous instinct, tempered with otherworldly Haki.
If not for the raw destructive force Ayr commanded while in Kurama Mode—his ability to tank and counter with sheer power—he would've long been cleaved down under Rocks' relentless offense.
Rocks wasn't just dominant in swordsmanship. His Armament Haki could fracture boulders without effort, his Observation Haki predicted attacks before they landed, and his Conqueror's Haki… was on another level entirely.
Even when Ayr had first boarded the Rocks Pirates' ship, he had sensed that Rocks' Conqueror's Haki had reached its pinnacle. Since then, Rocks had only honed it further. His presence alone could drive weaker men to madness.
Ayr's Conqueror's Haki was prodigious—refined through numerous deadly battles and instinctive mastery—but it hadn't yet reached the true summit. Compared to Rocks, Ayr's will was still unrefined iron to polished obsidian.
Then there was the matter of experience.
Rocks had been sailing these seas since boyhood. Decades of bloodshed, conquest, and rebellion had turned him into a living war god. Ayr, despite his monstrous potential, was still new to piracy, still accumulating the deadly wisdom that only life-and-death duels could teach.
Talent could bridge many things—but not time.
Their duel raged on. The island itself bore the scars of their clash—half of it lay shattered, scorched, or submerged from their titanic confrontation.
Ayr was desperate to land a serious blow on Rocks. But despite Kurama Mode amplifying him far beyond his base level, Rocks' sheer power made him near-impervious. Finding an opening, a weakness—it was like trying to injure an ancient beast with a needle.
"Ayr," Rocks said coolly, his sword resting lightly at his side. "If this is all you've got, then you'll never earn my acknowledgment."
He had read Ayr's power completely. With his immense Observation Haki, he saw Ayr's limits as if they were written plainly before him. The monstrous strength Ayr now wielded—he was laying it all bare.
And yet…
He still hadn't surpassed Rocks.
He hadn't even reached the threshold.
Having confirmed this, Rocks began to hold back. After all, this battle wasn't meant to deny Ayr the promised bounty of three billion berries, eight Devil Fruits, and an Evolved Mythical Zoan. No—this was simply a test.
A test to determine whether Ayr was a threat to his rule.
And he had seen enough.
"He's holding back now."
Ayr immediately sensed the change. Rocks' blade no longer bit with the same savagery. His movements, though still precise, lacked the earlier intent to kill.
So, the old monster had made his decision.
Which meant now, if Ayr wanted to prove himself—he had to go beyond.
"To end this…"
Ayr's eyes glinted fiercely. He had one more move.
The battlefield trembled as he leapt back, one hand forming seals, the other extending as a black spiral began to form.
"Ōdama Rasenshuriken—Kurama Variant!"
This wasn't the Rasengan passed down from Minato to Naruto. No. This was a technique belonging to the Uzumaki lineage, specifically passed to Ayr through the sealed memory of Uzumaki Menma, a legend of an alternate Konoha.
Menma had once used this very technique to obliterate Konoha Village in a single blow, when corrupted by dark chakra.
It was a jutsu of devastation.
A small, black sphere spun rapidly in Ayr's palm, vibrating with dark chakra and condensed wind release. It pulsed like a miniature black hole—drawing light, sound, and air into itself.
It was no larger than Ayr's palm.
But its aura was cataclysmic.
The gravity of the jutsu bent the environment around it. Space itself seemed unstable.
Ayr threw it.
BOOM!!!
The explosion wasn't just sound—it was felt in the bones. A blinding column of destruction surged skyward, ripping open the heavens. Lightning crackled. The entire island buckled under the weight of the blast.
Onlookers screamed, clutching their heads as the shockwave shattered eardrums.
Entire forests were uprooted and flung sky-high. Massive boulders disintegrated. Wild beasts ran in terror, their instincts screaming of apocalypse.
When the dust finally began to settle, a deafening silence fell.
At the epicenter of the blast… lay a colossal crater. Deep. Endless. A pit that looked like the wound of the world itself.
And within it… stood Rocks.
Blood dripped down his bare chest, his coat torn to rags. Deep gashes marked his arms and torso—proof that Ayr had drawn blood.
"C-Captain Rocks… is injured!"
"H-He actually managed to wound the captain?!"
"That's impossible! How could that guy… Ayr… do that much damage?!"
The pirates on the island, witnessing this for the first time, were dumbfounded.
"I've been part of the Rocks Pirates for years," one veteran murmured. "I've seen Yonko-level monsters try and fail to harm the Captain. But this guy…"
"I joined before Ayr, and look at me… I'm just a regular crew member. And now he's a chief officer… and he can wound Rocks?"
"The gap… between us and him… it's hopeless…"
Rocks, the man who could command even monsters like Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom without fear… had been struck.
And not by any pirate…
But by Ayr, the rising devil among devils.
"Impressive power, Ayr," a deep voice cut through the murmuring crowd.
The Golden Lion Shiki stepped forward, his gaze cold, yet grudgingly respectful.
"When you first joined, I wiped the floor with you. You weren't weak, but you weren't this. Now…"
He clenched his fists. "Now, even I can't ignore you."
He wasn't wrong.
Ayr's talent had always been fearsome, but now… it was undeniable.
No one in the Rocks Pirates could match him in potential. Even Whitebeard and Kaido had to acknowledge the truth.
In the new era rising… Ayr was destined to become a storm no one could stop.
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