"Sorry, but you lost."
Cross turned around, bent down, and picked up the long blade his opponent had dropped. With a smile, he said, "Which means, your sword now belongs to me."
"Skillful Grade Blade: Kagehide!"
"A rare and worthy sword indeed."
He weighed the katana in his hand with satisfaction. Its gleaming blade was mounted on a black-lacquered scabbard. Along its edge, a beautiful wave-shaped hamon shimmered in the light. Carved into the blade itself were the characters: Yamakawa Kagehide—Mountain and River Keishuu.
Acquired Equipment — Named Blade: Kagehide +1!!!
At that moment, Mad Bear Onik's eyes burned blood-red. Watching his subordinates fall one after another had driven him into a rage.
"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
In the blink of an eye, his body began to expand, ballooning outward like an overinflated beast. With a loud rip, his clothes tore apart at the seams. Jet-black fur erupted across his skin, spreading until he was completely covered.
In mere seconds, he transformed into a massive, upright black bear, towering over four meters tall.
"Whoa—"
Cross's eyes widened in surprise. "So you're a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user!"
Devil Fruits, known as the incarnation of the Sea Devil, grant mysterious powers to those who consume them, but at a cost: the eater becomes cursed by the sea, unable to swim for life. Because of that, not everyone is willing to eat one.
Take General Humil, for instance. He would rather sell a Devil Fruit for money than take the risk of consuming it.
Cross hadn't expected that just after recently eating his own Devil Fruit, he'd already run into another user. Was this what they called attraction between devils?
...Or maybe it was just coincidence.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump...
The ground trembled as Onik, enraged and transformed into a rampaging beast, charged forward like an out-of-control war machine. Every step he took left craters in the sandstone floor.
Faced with the oncoming menace, Cross didn't hesitate. He darted to the side in a flash.
BOOM!
A moment later, Onik's massive paw slammed into the floor, smashing through the sandstone like it was paper. A crater formed beneath his fist, spiderweb cracks radiating outward. The sheer force of the blow shook the entire red-brick warehouse.
"You little brat, just die already!"
Onik roared, fists swinging wildly. Each punch came down like a storm, sending shockwaves and sand flying in every direction. The sheer force of his attacks stirred up a thick cloud of dust, quickly filling the warehouse.
Suddenly, Cross stopped in his tracks and thrust out a palm—BAM!
Fist met palm. A deafening thud echoed through the warehouse as a blast of force rippled outward, kicking up a burst of wind that pushed outward in every direction. The floor beneath them cracked like shattered glass, forming a massive spiderweb of fractures.
"Impossible?!"
Onik's eyes widened in disbelief. This brat, who'd been dodging up until now, had just caught his punch one-handed?
And even worse, no matter how hard he tried to push forward, he couldn't budge Cross an inch. He couldn't even move his fist by a centimeter.
"I thought you'd be stronger. Looks like I overestimated you."
With a calm gaze, Cross looked up at him, then swung his right arm, Kagehide slashing toward Onik's chest.
Alarm bells blared in Onik's mind. He staggered backward, just barely avoiding the strike.
Even so, a long red line opened across his chest, the sharp wind alone had drawn blood.
"Tch." Cross examined his sword, then nodded with approval. "It even cuts air. Now that's sharp."
"You little brat! Taking my subordinate's sword, don't get cocky!" Onik bellowed. Rage boiled over as he swung his massive arm, aiming a brutal slap at Cross.
"Mad Bear: Crushing Palm!!"
His enormous bear paw carried terrifying force, cutting through the air with a roar.
"Heh... Let's use you to test the blade."
Cross sneered, thrusting Kagehide forward. Just before the blade reached Onik's hand, he twisted it in an elegant arc and slashed at the wrist instead.
Onik panicked and reflexively pulled back, but he wasn't fast enough. The blade carved into the back of his paw, slicing deep to the bone.
Unfazed, Cross flicked the blood from the edge of his sword and darted around to Onik's right flank. Before Onik could react, Cross snapped his leg up and swept it across—
CRACK!
His kick landed squarely on the back of Onik's knee, forcing the massive bear to stumble and crash to one knee, smashing the ground beneath him.
"Damn you, you—"
WHAM!
Just as the bear tried to rise, Cross spun and unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick to the back of his head, slamming Onik's skull into the sandstone floor. His entire face smashed into the ground like a stamp into wax.
If the warehouse floor had been a mold, it would've made a perfect mask of his face.
"Borrowing your head for a sec."
Cross muttered under his breath, gripping Kagehide in both hands. He raised the blade high overhead like an executioner ready to deliver judgment.
Onik, still dazed and face-down in the dirt, suddenly froze. His primal instincts, those of a beast, screamed danger. It was a killing blow.
Without a second thought, he rolled to the side.
SLASH!
BOOM!
Cross's blade came down with invisible force, cleaving a deep trench several meters long into the stone floor.
"Argh, argh, argh, damn it!"
Onik scrambled to his feet, one paw clutching his aching face, the other rubbing the back of his neck, ice running down his spine.
"You dodged it?"
Cross raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smirked. "Well, since you've shown me your power, it's only fair I show you mine."
"Didn't you say these cannons were yours? Try calling out to them, see if they answer."
"Enliven: Autonomous Artillery Corps!!"
Suddenly, the cannons arrayed in the center of the warehouse began to move.
Their wheels creaked to life, positioning themselves in formation. One by one, their black maws turned, aiming directly at Onik.
Then, from the open crates, glossy black cannonballs rolled out on their own. Each had cartoonish eyes and mouths as they bounced across the floor with cheerful thumps, leaping into the barrels of their matching cannons with grins on their faces.
Next, several barrels of gunpowder sprang upright. The wooden plugs popped off their tops, and the powder inside poured itself into the cannon chambers.
Finally, for those cannons that hadn't yet been loaded, torches appeared from who-knows-where. The cannon mouths opened like jaws, each one biting down on a lit torch like a veteran gunner, ready to fire.
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