"So that's Logia intangibility, huh?! His body turned to sand. What a pain."
"Truly fascinating… No wonder it's said to be the strongest of the three Devil Fruit types."
"This is the first time I've seen it in person. Now I get why normal attacks don't work on him."
"Guess I better train my Haki harder. If I run into someone like him alone next time, I'll be dead meat."
…
Arlan, Oliver, and the others traded amazed remarks. For most of them, this was their first encounter with a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. The ability to turn one's body into an element? Definitely eye-opening.
Shhhh—
As the impact wave settled, streams of golden sand floated through the air, slowly gathering together into the form of a man—Crocodile.
"Decent power… but too bad you can't touch me. We're not in the same league, kid." Crocodile sneered at Aeridar, his tone thick with contempt.
"Logia types are real trouble, huh?" Aeridar scratched his head, then called out, "Oi, Crocodile—how about we take this to the desert? No sense wrecking this place with our moves. You don't want to ruin your rep as a hero here, do you?"
Crocodile narrowed his eyes. The brat's right—his attacks were destructive. Even if they couldn't hit, fighting in the city would tear it apart. Not good for his image as a 'hero' of this nation. With that thought, his body dissolved into a swirl of sand and drifted out toward the outskirts.
"Outside. Now."
Seeing him head off, Aeridar smirked slightly but didn't follow right away. Instead, he turned to Arlan and the others.
"Hey—you lot. Watch that birdman. Don't let him escape. And if he tries… kill him."
"Damn it…" Hovering in the air, Copra cursed under his breath. He spun around and tried to flee.
Swish—
The moment his wings moved, a massive slash shot past in front of him, soaring nearly a hundred meters high before fading.
"Oi, oi—Birdman. Didn't you hear our captain?" Oliver strolled forward, Yubashiri pointed to the ground, Nagamitsu resting lazily on his shoulder. "Stay right where you are."
"That's one hell of a slash…! A swordsman?!" Copra flinched, hovering midair with a grim face.
Seeing Copra halted, Aeridar didn't waste words. He stomped the ground and launched himself like a cannonball into the sky, shattering the stone beneath him with a thunderous boom. He shot up, dropped, then launched again—soon vanishing from sight.
Gulp.
Watching the display, Copra instinctively swallowed hard.
"H-He jumped… with just his legs…?!"
To him, it was insane—this man launching himself over a hundred meters in the air with brute force alone. Landing and leaping again like some kind of monster (think Hulk-style travel). Terrifying.
Of course, the truth was Aeridar used his Impact-Impact Fruit to unleash explosive force from the soles of his feet, propelling himself skyward. Upon landing, he'd fire off another shockwave to cancel out the impact. The ground suffered—but he didn't.
Still, that kind of power needed an equally monstrous body. Without that, the recoil would rip a normal man apart.
Boom, boom, boom…
Suddenly, a crisp rhythm echoed through the sky. Copra turned—Arlan was approaching, stepping through the air.
"Floating up there's a pain, you know. Why not come down?" Arlan activated Geppo, closing in fast.
"Skyburst Kick Barrage!"
As he drew near, Arlan's expression turned sharp. He twisted in midair, lashing out with a spinning kick—
Whoosh—
The fierce wind pressure from his foot whipped up a swirling vortex, hurling toward Copra.
"Damn you—this'll explode… you bastard!!" Copra cursed, gripping a short spear tight. Muscles bulging, he hurled it with force into the approaching gust.
Shreee!
A piercing whistle tore through the sky. The steel spear became a streaking shadow aiming for Arlan's chest.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of explosions lit up the air. The blasts warped the sky itself—heat waves and black smoke cloaked both fighters from view.
Clang!
Something long and black crashed to the ruined street below. On closer inspection—it was the scorched, twisted remains of a short spear, mangled by the force of the blast.
Bang!
On the ground, Dimitri's rifle smoked faintly from the barrel.
"Damn sniper…!"
Blood sprayed from Copra's right wing. Now, with only one wing intact, he couldn't stay airborne. He began to fall, using his remaining wing to slow the descent.
"W-What do we do?! The captain's getting swarmed!"
"Should we back him up?"
"Are you nuts? We'll just get slaughtered!"
"Exactly! And they've got two hundred men waiting outside the inn."
"Half stay and watch—half go call reinforcements."
"Good plan. Move!"
Not far away, members of the Flying Shot Pirates were hidden in a building. After a quick discussion, they split into two teams. The less-injured ones ran off to get backup—faster, more mobile. The seriously injured stayed behind to keep eyes on the fight.
"Nice teamwork."
Oliver smirked coldly. Without missing a beat, he swung Nagamitsu in a clean arc—
Fwoosh!
A pale blue-white slash cut through the air.
One-Sword Style—Skycleaver!
"Damn it! I'm almost outta spears!" Copra had just landed when he saw the attack screaming toward him. He frantically pulled another short spear from the ebony case on his back.
His spear box wasn't large—only six could fit. One had rusted from Backan's ability. One he'd thrown earlier. Another got blown to pieces just now. This was number four.
As the slash drew near, Copra's left wing snapped forward—his feathers becoming a blur of shadow.
Falcon Arrow Barrage!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His feathers barely slowed the slash. A closer look revealed them split and falling—brown feathers cleaved in two.
"You won't take me down that easy!"
Unfazed, Copra readied his spear again. His right arm bulged with muscle, veins popping as he let out a battle cry and met Oliver's slash head-on.
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