Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Four: Power and Speed
"Who are you?"
Heckler's arms hung down as he gazed at the figure not far away, his expression stern.
"Ah, it doesn't matter who I am; what matters is that I must take you down." The Zombie Samurai, Ryoma, stood there in a kimono and wooden sandals, his right hand gripping the famous sword Autumn Water as he twirled it gracefully.
"Oh really? Then go ahead and try."
Heckler brushed his hands against his waist, donning iron gauntlets, and raised both hands.
"Night Bright Melody Pierces Through."
Suddenly, Ryoma stepped forward, thrusting his sword.
"That's fast."
Heckler's eyes narrowed, but his right hand was already clenched into a fist, striking out.
In that instant, he reduced his body weight, channeling the explosive power from within to propel his light arm forward in an instant.
Clang.
Heckler's fist struck the blade from below.
With a snap, the blade ricocheted off, but Heckler abruptly turned his head.
Whoosh.
A blood mark appeared on Heckler's left cheek, blood slowly oozing out.
"Is that sword energy?"
Heckler stared intently at the Zombie Samurai before him, raising a hand to wipe away the blood.
"Well, I thought this would be enough to pierce your skull," Ryoma said, tilting his head.
"Very good."
Upon hearing this, Heckler stomped his feet on the ground and instantly appeared in front of Ryoma, throwing a powerful punch.
Clang.
Ryoma's sword struck Heckler's fist, but the violent shockwave split the air, slicing through it and flying past on both sides.
Crash, crash.
Two trees behind Ryoma exploded into splinters.
"You're not too bad yourself," Ryoma replied with a smile. With a flick of his right hand, his long sword transformed into multiple blades, launching toward Heckler.
"Wine Barrel Dance, consecutive strikes."
The blades rushed toward Heckler at an incredible speed, quickly enveloping him.
"Two-Step Shave."
However, in the face of this move, Heckler instantly vanished, retreating backward.
"Hmm?"
Ryoma's strike missed, and suddenly his right hand swung the long blade backward.
Clang.
The blade struck Heckler's fist, colliding with the iron gauntlet above, producing a crisp sound.
But in the next moment, Ryoma's expression changed. He crouched down, raising his left hand to press against the back of the blade, stopping the advancing punch.
"What immense strength."
Heckler looked at his opponent, surprised that despite using Iron Fist, he was still blocked by the blade.
This was merely a decayed corpse.
If he were in good health, how much stronger would he be?
Heckler was somewhat taken aback. With a push from his feet, he disappeared again, reappearing at Ryoma's side and launching a punch.
Clang.
Ryoma once again blocked Heckler's fist, but this time, Heckler's left fist struck out toward Ryoma's face.
In that instant, Ryoma's long blade slid downward, slicing toward Heckler's abdomen.
"Hmm?"
Faced with the strike, Heckler dared not exchange injury for injury. The opponent was a Zombie; the outcome of being hit was uncertain, but he was flesh and blood. If he were struck, it would be a loss.
Thus, Heckler could only dodge and then charge again.
Heckler threw a punch, but this time Ryoma did not block. Instead, he pivoted, his long blade slashing diagonally downward.
"That’s fast."
Heckler had no choice but to evade, creating some distance.
As time passed, Heckler's stamina continued to deplete. Whether it was his shaving technique or Iron Fist, neither could be sustained for long.
Heckler's immense strength and speed were built upon his Devil Fruit Ability and physical prowess.
This state of combat was precisely difficult to maintain.
"Since that's the case."
Heckler narrowed his eyes and leaped toward Ryoma again, aiming a left punch at his head.
In response to this punch, Ryoma sidestepped.
Heckler's right fist followed, but Ryoma used the momentum from his sidestep to slash diagonally toward Heckler's chest.
However, Heckler did not dodge or evade; he threw a right-hand punch.
Thud.
Ryoma's blade struck Heckler while Heckler's fist connected with Ryoma's head.
Bang.
Ryoma's head exploded, leaving a deep gash on Heckler's body that exposed bone.
"We've won."
Heckler laughed, then collapsed to the ground, gazing at the distant corpse with a smile.
However, at that moment, he noticed that Ryoma had not fallen; instead, he slowly raised his blade.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Heckler remembered that he was a Zombie. Even with a shattered head, he might not be dead.
But now, Heckler was too weak to stand...
The enormous OZ towered at nearly eighty meters tall, its massive frame blocking out the sun.
Before OZ, Xiaqiu lay prostrate. Its own gigantic body was equally imposing, stretching about sixty meters long, not much shorter in length.
But in terms of volume, it was significantly larger.
"Jie jie jie, I will kill you."
OZ let out a sinister laugh and raised its massive arm, swinging it down toward Xiaqiu.
In response to this attack, Xiaqiu did not dodge or evade; instead, it charged forward to meet the blow head-on.
Boom.
The fists and the horns collided, and Xiaqiu's body bent slightly, yet he remained unharmed.
"Is that all you've got?"
Xiaqiu shook his head in disappointment. OZ's physical strength was formidable, but it still fell short compared to his current self.
He took the initiative to attack, maintaining a longer distance, while Xiaqiu passively defended. OZ's strength couldn't compare to his own.
Having faced three powerful Vice Admirals, Xiaqiu estimated that very few could defeat him in terms of physical power.
"Is that useless?"
Suddenly, OZ took the mace from his back, gripping it tightly as he swung it down again.
"Bring it on."
In response to this strike, Xiaqiu gathered Armament Haki at his head and thrust upward with force.
Boom.
The mace collided with Xiaqiu's horns, producing a resonating sound.
Crack, crack.
After a brief moment of stasis, the mace shattered into pieces, falling to the ground.
"Huh?"
OZ stared blankly at the remnants of the mace in his hands, his expression one of utter astonishment. The mace had actually broken?
“Is the Mace useless?”
Seeing this scene, OZ suddenly felt a twinge of fear and began to climb towards the mansion above.
“Running away?”
Xiaqiu watched this unfold with a sense of helplessness, unsure whose soul was currently inhabiting OZ's body, as it seemed so cowardly.
He could follow him up, but that would be somewhat troublesome.
So for now, he had to let him leave and focus on killing Moria first. Without Moria, he would naturally be unable to move freely.
However, at that moment, a voice rang out, “OZ, kill him.”
It was Moria's voice; his command left OZ with no choice but to obey.
“Die.”
OZ jumped down from the tall mansion, his feet aimed directly at Xiaqiu.
Boom.
OZ's feet hit the ground, causing the earth to tremble and creating a large crater. Smoke billowed around him, but OZ's face showed surprise.
“No one? Where is he?”
OZ slowly stood up and looked around, his gaze catching a figure through the smoke. “There.”
But in the next moment, Xiaqiu appeared right in front of OZ and bit down on his knee.
Crack.
OZ's knee shattered, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to maintain his form, his hands bracing against the earth.
But in that instant of kneeling, Xiaqiu's six legs stomped down, propelling him upwards over twenty meters into the air. With his towering height of over ten meters, he appeared beside OZ's neck.
"Die."
Xiaqiu opened his massive jaws and lunged forward to bite.
Crack.
Xiaqiu's teeth clamped around OZ's neck, crushing it and severing half of it in one swift motion.
"Is he dead?"
Xiaqiu landed heavily on the ground, exhaling a breath.
However, in the next moment, a gigantic fist came crashing down towards Xiaqiu.
Boom.
The fist struck the ground where Xiaqiu had been, but he had already vanished, reappearing in the distance with a corpse in his mouth.
"The body of Ryoma."
Xiaqiu chewed on Ryoma's remains. He sensed the threat to Heckler and detected OZ's movements, so he charged in and bit down on Ryoma.
Faced with Xiaqiu's attack, Ryoma had no chance to react and was swallowed whole, torn into pieces.
“Ryoma should be able to provide quite a bit of energy, right?”
Xiaqiu thought, even though a long time had passed, the residual power was still comparable to that of Zoro at the time.
If it weren't for the fact that he was using Brook's swordsmanship instead of Ryoma's own, it was likely that Zoro would have found it nearly impossible to win against him, even in his weakened state.
The remnants of his body might not reach the level of a Vice Admiral, but it should possess the Enhanced Energy of a Major General.
“Thank you, President,” Heckler said to Xiaqiu.
“You're seriously injured.”
Xiaqiu looked at Heckler, then added, “But fortunately, there's a doctor here, Battle Resolution.”
Xiaqiu vanished from sight, not charging towards OZ, but appearing behind the recently transformed Moria, ready to strike.
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