"Tempest Kick: Leopard Tail!"
Twisting his waist to exert power, Rob Lucci forcibly regained his balance in mid-air. He then thrust his right claws into the ground below, halting his backward montum.
Tracking Zane as he charged toward him, Lucci used his right claws as a pivot to spin his body and unleash a spiral-shaped shockwave with a kick.
Boom!
He didn't dodge.
Faced with the incoming spiral shockwave, Zane simply raised a fist and shattered it.
Amidst the exploding air currents, Lucci followed closely behind the shockwave. His fingers, sharp as spears, lunged ruthlessly toward Zane's face.
A heavy step with his left foot.
As he left a deep footprint in the ground, Zane leaned forward and struck first, driving his right foot into Lucci's abdon.
With a dull thud, blood leaked from the corner of Lucci's mouth.
Yet, he did not retreat. Instead, he weathered the impact and lashed out with both claws.
Zane's eyes were cold as his fists and feet blurred in a flurry of strikes.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two engaged in brutal close-quarters combat, their fists, claws, and legs colliding frantically.
"Argh!"
A roar tore from Lucci's throat. The pain from his injuries seed to have no effect on him; instead, it only fueled his ferocity.
Way of the Soldier: Killing Fist vs the Six Powers!
Amidst the constant shockwaves of air, Zane and Lucci turned into two blurry shadows, constantly clashing and weaving through the Equality Space.
As a Zoan-type ability user...
Even without awakening, his stamina and recovery far exceeded those of ordinary people.
During the exchange, although Lucci was seriously injured, his ntal resilience combined with his Zoan-type recovery made him incredibly difficult to handle.
But...
"Is this all? Have you reached your limit?"
As the fierce battle continued, Zane suddenly backed away during an exchange, putting so distance between them.
After a period of intense fighting, Zane had also been hit several tis by Lucci.
However, protected by both Nen aura and Armant Haki, his injuries were practically non-existent.
In contrast, Lucci's condition was far more severe.
Zane backing off didn't prompt Lucci to give chase.
It wasn't that he finally wanted to talk; rather, the agony racking his body forced him to do so.
Standing still, Lucci was not only panting heavily, but his body was also covered in wounds.
And that was just the surface.
Internally, his organs had been severely damaged under the continuous assault of Nen-infused attacks.
Of course, even so, Lucci remained locked onto Zane.
If looks could kill, Zane would have already been sliced into a thousand pieces.
Similarly, Lucci didn't respond to Zane's sudden remark. He simply seized the mont to utilize his Zoan advantage to soothe his pain.
"Rob Lucci, I acknowledge your strength, but unfortunately, your life is at its end." Zane looked at the man across from him, a smile suddenly appearing on his face.
Prohibition Mode: Prohibit Devil Fruit.
With a single thought...
Invisible rules enveloped the Equality Space.
In that instant, as the master of the space, Zane imdiately noticed he could no longer sense the power of the Door-Door Fruit.
Then he looked across from him.
"What did you do to ?"
Lucci's expression changed drastically. His body had actually regressed from its hybrid man-leopard form back into a human.
The sudden disappearance of his Devil Fruit ability was a shock that even soone of Lucci's temperant couldn't handle calmly.
"It's over!"
Seeing Lucci revert to his human form, Zane composedly and directly declared his victory in this duel.
And it was true.
Without his Zoan defenses to resist the intrusion of Nen, Lucci had been at a disadvantage even in his hybrid form, let alone now that he had lost his Devil Fruit powers.
The rest was just a formality.
When the battle resud, it only took a few monts.
Zane, his fists stained with blood, looked down calmly at Lucci, who he had beaten to death on the ground.
Although it was a bit of an unfair win, that's just how combat was; seeking absolute fairness was nothing but a dream.
As the mangled corpse lost its final spark of life, it quickly transford into three glowing orbs.
Under the prohibition of Devil Fruit powers, Lucci's death failed to produce a special attribute representing a Devil Fruit.
Zane scanned them and, without hesitation, reached for the blue orb representing the Spirit attribute.
Yes.
Although Lucci was a Devil Fruit user, Zane had chosen to activate Prohibition Mode even while holding the upper hand for a reason.
This wasn't just to test the effectiveness of his Nen ability's prohibition on Devil Fruits, but because from the very beginning, Zane's target wasn't the other man's fruit.
A re ordinary Zoan-type ability held no attraction for him.
Then there were the Physical and Skill attributes.
Both were naturally excellent.
Given the choice, Zane would have certainly wanted both.
But since he could only choose one, he had to pick the one that would help him the most.
The Physical attribute.
Lucci's physical constitution was indeed outstanding.
But for Zane, there were far too many alternatives for physical attributes.
If nothing else, there were always Sea Kings.
Now that he was at sea, with Manlong to hunt for him, Zane would never lack high-quality Sea King at.
Then there was the Skill attribute.
While Lucci's skills were superb, in Zane's mind, their value couldn't compare to his Spirit attribute.
Haki originated from one's spirit and will.
Even in terms of Nen, one's actual aura output was closely related to their spirit.
For a martial arts master like Lucci, his spirit was bound to be exceptional.
Compared to that, skills could only take second place.
He grabbed it and refined it instantly!
As Zane absorbed Lucci's Spirit attribute, a refreshing, cooling sensation surged directly into his mind. He couldn't help but shiver as he slowly closed his eyes.
A mont later, Zane snapped his eyes open. They seed to shimr with a brilliant, translucent light, looking exceptionally bright and clear.
'As expected, both my Haki and aura output have seen a significant increase. Moreover, my reaction speed and various senses have also made considerable progress...'
Zane threw several consecutive punches.
Sotis he shrouded them in Nen, sotis in Haki.
After a bit of testing, a sincere smile spread across his face.
This elite agent really didn't disappoint.
...
Swish!
His figure flickered into existence.
When Zane appeared in the outside world, two figures attacked him simultaneously from the left and right.
One kicked toward his neck, while the other swung a thorny whip to entangle his legs.
Way of the Soldier: Quiet as the Forest!
The sudden ambush didn't catch Zane off guard. It was as if he had anticipated it; with a flicker of his body, he conjured over a dozen afterimages.
The afterimages scattered in all directions.
These lifelike illusions made it impossible for the attacking Kaku and Kalifa to tell which one was real.
Because Lucci had vanished, Kaku and Kalifa hadn't dared to leave, forced to wait anxiously on the spot.
Likewise, when only Zane appeared and Lucci failed to resurface, the two were both shocked and enraged, desperate to capture Zane.
Seeing Zane capable of creating afterimages, Kaku and Kalifa's expressions shifted.
Unable to tell which was real, the two could only grit their teeth and continue their attack on the Zane who had first appeared.
The kick missed its mark, and the thorny whip lashed through empty air.
The Zane standing in place was nothing more than an afterimage.
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