Pfft—
A surging wave of Armant Haki suddenly wrapped around the long rifle in Beckman's hands.
Beckman gripped the rifle near its muzzle, using the stock as the point of force, and swung it fiercely toward Hancock's position.
BOOM!!!
Under Beckman's unconventional way of using a firearm, a massive blast of air instantly surged forth like a raging tide, crashing straight toward Hancock.
Yet faced with Beckman's attack, Hancock rely let out a disdainful chuckle.
"An attack of this level dares to appear before this empress?"
"Then allow to show you what true power looks like!!!"
As soon as her words fell, Hancock abruptly spread both hands, then swiftly brought them together before her chest, forming the shape of a heart.
"Moonblast · Volley of Ten Thousand Arrows!!!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Endless peach-pink arrows suddenly shot from the heart in Hancock's hands, instantly forming a magnificent rain of arrows that swept horizontally toward Beckman's attack.
Strangely enough, after the glittering arrows condensed from Moonblast collided with Beckman's attack, they actually began rapidly consuming the Armant Haki contained within it.
Until Beckman's attack no longer carried any threatening power, sweeping across the earth like nothing more than an ordinary gale.
And then, the remaining glittering arrows seed to receive so sort of command. They nimbly turned again, scattering through the air and surrounding Beckman's body from every direction in a complete three-hundred-sixty-degree encirclent.
Then, under Beckman's astonished, bitter smile, they suddenly rained down!
"Hey, hey, hey… what kind of ability is this now?!"
Beckman grumbled helplessly.
Even so, he imdiately raised the flintlock rifle in his hand and swung it rapidly like a baseball bat.
Every swing shattered the glittering arrows coming from one direction.
However, before long, Beckman's brows knitted tightly.
"Sothing's wrong! Why is my Haki being consud so quickly!?"
Realizing that the situation was unusual, he hurriedly coated one fist in Armant Haki and took the initiative to et the arrows before him.
In the next instant, under Beckman's deliberate cancellation of his Haki supply, the Haki on the surface of his fist, after offsetting the glittering arrows, rapidly dispersed like a layer of water being evaporated.
"Just as I thought!" A sharp gleam flashed in Beckman's eyes. "These arrows actually have the ability to gnaw away at Haki!?"
"The power of Fairy-type Pokémon? How in the world was such a troubleso ability created?!"
"What a headache!"
The corners of Beckman's mouth pulled downward. As one of the top players of Pokémon World, he instantly recognized the Pokémon move Hancock had used.
But even though he knew Hancock was using Moonblast—a move that could lower the enemy's defense in the ga—at this mont, he could only endure Hancock's relentless baptism of attacks.
After all, this was no longer a simple Pokémon move.
Hancock had combined a Pokémon move with her Devil Fruit technique, Slave Arrow. Not only had its maneuverability beco far more agile, but because she had split one powerful attack into countless arrows, the special effect attached to it had been greatly amplified!
The force behind these arrows was not especially strong. But if Beckman chose to take them directly with his body, he would be affected by Slave Arrow and his body would enter a petrified state.
Yet if he chose to defend with Armant Haki, then the result would be exactly like this: his Haki was being eaten away by endless arrows.
At this mont, Beckman had already fallen into an unsolvable dead end.
Unless he possessed so kind of Teleport-like move, or could attack Hancock directly with ntal power without using his physical body and interrupt her technique…
Otherwise, sooner or later, he would be swallowed up and petrified by this endless barrage of arrows due to excessive Haki consumption.
"Isn't this a little too fast?"
Beckman felt unwilling in his heart. No matter what, he was still the vice-captain of an Emperor of the Sea's crew. Even if it was a forr Emperor, for his curtain to fall so simply was far too sudden.
However, Hancock's move was clearly a natural instant-kill counter against people with his combat style.
If he possessed the sa level of explosive power as Red-Hair, it would not be impossible to fight her. But unfortunately, when it ca purely to physical strength, Hancock—who had undergone Fighting-type Pokémon-ization—was much stronger than him!
Pokémon moves plus Devil Fruit abilities… wasn't this way too absurd?!
After pondering it for a long while, even Beckman, who was known for his intelligence, discovered that he had absolutely no possibility of victory.
Forget winning. If he continued to hold out, once he consud too much of his Haki, Hancock would very likely beat him until he had no strength left to fight back.
Although he was unwilling, in the end, he still slowly raised his hand, then suddenly shouted toward the sky:
"I surrender!!!"
Swish—!
The glittering arrows that had covered the entire sky suddenly froze in midair. Hancock, too, stepped onto a pink heart and rose into the air.
In her hands was a longbow condensed from both Fairy power and Devil Fruit power.
Those endless arrows just now had clearly been fired from this pink energy longbow.
"What did you say?"
Hancock did not completely lower her guard, and still aid the bow in her hands at Beckman.
But Beckman looked as though he had already accepted his fate, shaking his head dejectedly.
"I'm not fighting anymore! I can't fight this at all! The difference in strength is too great!"
Hancock, who had already ranked among the stronger mbers of the Seven Warlords before joining the Straw Hat Pirates, possessed strength second only to the top-level Emperor commanders even before joining them.
Now, after undergoing Pokémon-ization, her strength had reached the level of a Marine Admiral. Paired with all sorts of Pokémon moves, perhaps she could even clash with a weak and powerless Emperor of the Sea like Big Mom.
And just like that, the third-to-last battle of the Elbaf rulership arena match ended silently.
After his defeat, Beckman returned to the giant formation. However, he was not mocked by the giants for losing this battle.
Instead, Jarul comforted him with a simple, "You worked hard."
Although Beckman's actual battle had indeed looked as though he had not exerted much effort—whether attacking or being attacked, not much had truly happened, and he had simply judged that he could not win before voluntarily surrendering…
Under the current embarrassing state of the giants themselves, not a single giant would bla Beckman for anything.
However, the giants had not completely given up either.
Jarul's gaze shifted toward the only two remaining fighters: Shanks and Gaban.
Although he had already made the decision to join under the Straw Hats, that did not an he wanted to lose every single match in this arena battle.
There was still quite a difference between joining voluntarily and being forced to join.
Noticing Jarul's gaze, Shanks also turned his head and looked toward his forr companion.
"So, will you go, Uncle Gaban? Or should I?"
"Seeing how scruffy your beard is now, it really makes unwilling to be called 'uncle' by you."
Gaban turned his head and let out a mocking laugh, as though lanting the rciless passage of ti.
Imdiately afterward, however, he suddenly pulled out a pair of two-handed axes from behind him.
"You brat should stay behind and anchor the final match. This is also a good chance for to see later just how far you've grown, as the one the captain placed such high hopes on."
"For now, let these old bones of mine stretch a little."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Uncle Gaban!"
Shanks's eyes curved into crescent moons as he smiled. Then he stepped aside, respectfully watching Gaban move forward.
Once upon a ti, he had also watched Gaban and the others from behind like this.
But looking now, those figures he had once thought towering and majestic seed sowhat hunched with age.
"Uncle Gaban and the others… they've all grown old too…"
Shanks's eyes inexplicably grew moist as he could not help sighing inwardly.
At the sa ti, Gaban, who had already walked to the center of the battlefield, did not seem anything like what Shanks was imagining. Instead, he spun the twin axes in his hands in a beautiful flourish, then lightly swept his gaze across the figures in the front row of the Straw Hat formation.
"So then, who will my opponent be?"
"I hope it's a beautiful young lady like the one just now~"
Gaban lightly licked his lips. Perhaps because he had put so distance between himself and his wife, his aura had also beco frivolous.
And just as Gaban was full of expectation, a woman with long pink hair and revealing clothes walked out from the Straw Hat camp.
In her hand was a freshly roasted chicken drumstick. Judging from her oily, shining mouth, this was clearly not the first drumstick she had eaten.
"Oh my~"
"Another beautiful young lady with very distinctive features."
Seeing the person who had appeared, Gaban's eyes suddenly flashed.
He had not expected his wish to actually co true. The Straw Hats had truly sent out a beautiful woman whose figure was in no way inferior to Hancock's just now.
However, compared to Hancock, who had been filled with queenly majesty while also possessing a fairy-like agility, this contestant who appeared now clearly did not possess such a rare temperant.
One could only wonder what kind of expression Gaban would show if he learned that the beauty before him who made his eyes light up was actually an eleven-year-old little girl.
That was right.
The challenger who walked out from the Straw Hat camp this ti was none other than Jewelry Bonney, who possessed the wondrous Devil Fruit ability—the Age-Age Fruit.
"Old man, I'm your opponent!"
After arriving before Gaban, Bonney fiercely bit a huge chunk of at from the chicken drumstick, swallowed it down ravenously, and spoke to Gaban with disdain.
Gaban's gaze flickered slightly. "It seems this lady has quite the fiery temper~"
Imdiately afterward, however, the corners of his mouth rose all the way.
"But that's fine too. A hot-tempered lady has even more flavor."
"Hey, don't tell you're so old pervert!?"
Hearing Gaban's extrely strange words, Bonney, who had swallowed the entire drumstick in a few bites, furrowed her brows slightly.
"Who knows~" Gaban continued to smile frivolously, neither admitting nor denying it.
Clearly, if the entire One Piece world was a symtrical world, then Gaban's counterpart would be the original Straw Hat Pirates' third fighter—Sanji.
Only, compared to Sanji, who thoroughly upheld chivalry, Gaban did not possess the fatal weakness of refusing to hit won.
BOOM!!!
The prelude to battle instantly began.
Gaban, who had originally looked like a dried-up old man, suddenly crossed his arms, his entire body sinking heavily downward.
In an instant, a surging force of blood and vitality wildly surged from within his body, filling every part of him.
Under the terrifying replenishnt of vitality, Gaban's body abruptly swelled, his muscles bulging and reflecting a hard, tallic sheen.
In the blink of an eye, the frivolous Gaban had transford into a muscular warrior wielding twin axes.
"Interesting~"
Sensing the oppressive aura coming from Gaban, Bonney's eyes also narrowed abruptly.
She quickly finished off the chicken drumstick in her hand, then, following the usual procedure, directly erupted with a field of bright white light from within her body.
However, unlike the Pokémon-izations of the previous fighters…
As she evolved, Bonney's body actually slowly floated upward, and a faint pinkish, unusual glow burst out around her.
In the end, these faint lights rapidly gathered around Bonney's eyes.
As the light of evolution faded, an adorable long-haired little girl whose eyes radiated Psychic light appeared before everyone.
"Hm!?"
Looking at Bonney, whose body had actually beco smaller after evolving, the giants and the audience in front of the screens all let out a soft sound of confusion at almost the sa ti.
After all, the people on the Straw Hat side had all beco bigger the more they evolved. Now that soone had suddenly evolved in the opposite direction, it was truly difficult for them to adjust.
But none of that had anything to do with Bonney on the battlefield.
After evolving, Bonney's original round-toed leather boots suddenly vanished. Her bare little feet slowly descended, yet stopped and hovered in midair with only the slightest distance between her and the ground.
Perhaps because of the influence of the Fairy type, her body and cheeks had also beco slightly rounder, making her look exceptionally adorable.
"Then… let the battle begin."
After evolving, even Bonney's thoughts seed to have undergone a slight change.
Her tone had shifted from her previous unruliness to sothing inexplicably cold.
But what changed along with it was the Psychic aura constantly erupting from Bonney's body.
Perhaps it was precisely because this Psychic power was far too surging that Bonney's mind had been affected.
Fortunately, all of this was only temporary. It was just unknown whether, when Bonney truly grew up in the future, she would be able to completely control this Psychic power that had surpassed the limits of what she could endure.
Swish—!
Bonney, who had transford later, chose to attack first.
And the opening move she used was completely beyond Gaban's expectations.
"Your strength looks rather impressive. But now…"
"It's mine!!!"
"Power Swap!!!"
Bonney spoke faintly in a cold voice.
And after her words fell, a surging wave of Psychic power suddenly poured out from her body, wrapping toward Gaban like a tide.
"What is this!?"
Gaban's heart froze slightly.
But seeing the strange energy about to envelop him, he hurriedly guarded his mind and used an aura ford from the combination of Armant Haki and Conqueror's Haki, creating a small energy barrier around his body.
For so reason, he had a premonition…
If Bonney truly succeeded in releasing this move, then there would be almost no need to continue the rest of the battle.
This was not future sight from top-tier Observation Haki.
It ca from the depths of his heart…
The instinctive fear of a living creature!!!
(End of Chapter)
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