Jango swayed the ring in his hand. It was a special hypnosis tool.
"Watch this ring... listen to me... when I say, 'One, two, Jango,' you will forget all fear and pain."
"Your muscles will erupt with a thousand times their power! You will become an unstoppable beast!"
"One, two, Jango!"
"Roar—!!"
Accompanied by an inhuman roar, Buchi's already fat and burly body underwent a horrifying transformation in an instant.
His eyes rolled white, bloodshot veins covering them. The fat on his body seemed to inflate in an instant, transforming into hard, iron-like slabs of muscle!
His previously loose pirate clothes were instantly torn apart with ripping sounds, revealing bulging muscles like granite beneath.
A violent, chaotic aura filled with destructive desire erupted explosively from Buchi, sweeping outward in all directions!
Usopp, who had been watching from the top of the slope, was so frightened by that presence that he fell onto the ground. "Wh... what kind of monster is that?! Did he transform?!"
Even Zoro's gaze narrowed slightly. "Hypnosis? It can actually draw out the latent power of the human body. Interesting."
"Die—!!"
Buchi, now hypnotized, had completely lost his reason. The only command remaining in his mind was to tear apart the enemy before him.
The ground beneath his feet exploded as he charged at Ronan like an out-of-control heavy tank, carrying terrifying explosive force and suffocating wind pressure!
Rather than panicking at the muscle monster rushing toward him, Ronan's eyes lit up with delight.
"Perfect!"
Ronan was overjoyed. Sam had been fast earlier, but his strength had been too weak, offering almost no benefit in tempering Ronan's physique and power.
But this Buchi before him was practically the perfect punching bag sent by heaven!
"This is exactly the kind of power-based sparring partner I need!"
Boom!
Buchi arrived in an instant. His enormous palms, tipped with sharp Cat Claws like two massive shovels, came crashing down at Ronan!
Ronan did not take the attack head-on. With a slide of his feet, he used Xing Yi Footwork to dodge sideways.
Rumble!
Buchi's claws slammed heavily into the spot where Ronan had just been standing.
The hard rocky ground shattered instantly, sending rubble flying and leaving behind a pit half a meter deep!
"What terrifying strength!" Nami cried out.
But although that power was immense, it appeared clumsy and rigid in Ronan's eyes, sharpened by Observation Haki.
"Strength means nothing if you can't hit anyone."
Ronan sneered. Rather than rushing to counterattack, he began using Buchi's attacks to hone his Movement Technique and force-dispersing skills.
He weaved through Buchi's storm of heavy punches, occasionally blocking with the spear shaft as he felt the immense vibrations transmitted through it.
Ronan could clearly feel that under the shock of that immense strength, his bones and muscles were undergoing deep tempering.
Meanwhile, Sam, who had recovered a little stamina, saw that Ronan seemed to be "suppressed" by Buchi. A vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
"Perfect! That brat is tied up with Buchi!"
Sam silently lowered his body and turned into a gray afterimage once more.
Using Buchi's massive body as cover, he circled around to Ronan's side and rear.
Just as Ronan dodged one of Buchi's sweeping strikes and had yet to regain his footing—
"Die!!"
Sam shot out from beneath Buchi's armpit, his sharp Cat Claws aiming directly for Ronan's heart!
The attack was incomparably sinister. Combined with Buchi's frontal pressure, it almost completely sealed off all of Ronan's escape routes.
"Ronan, watch out!" Luffy and Zoro shouted at the same time.
Yet there was no panic on Ronan's face. Instead, a mocking sneer appeared.
"I've been waiting for you."
Within the perception of his Observation Haki, Sam's cold killing intent was as obvious as a torch in the night.
Ronan did not turn around. His movements were as fast as lightning.
His right hand gripped the butt of the spear and lifted it upward, while his left hand violently thrust the shaft forward!
The blood and qi within his body boiled in an instant. His spinal Dragon crackled explosively as a surge of Whole Body Force shot from the soles of his feet to his fingertips!
Xingyi Great Spear - Fierce Tiger Pushes Mountain!
This move emphasized force flowing continuously from top to bottom, uniting the inside and outside as one.
At that moment, the spear seemed to come alive. It was no longer a simple thrust, but carried an overwhelming force of "push"!
The Zhangba Iron Spear streaked through the air like a black bolt of lightning, striking after yet arriving first!
It did not block Sam's claws. Instead, it stabbed directly into the path Sam had to take to attack!
To the onlookers, it looked as if Sam had foolishly rammed himself onto Ronan's spearpoint!
Squelch—!
The teeth-grating sound of flesh and blood being pierced rang out.
The spearhead, as thick as a child's arm, instantly pierced through Sam's thin chest, bursting out through his back and carrying a huge spray of grim blood mist!
"Urgh... ah..."
Sam's pupils dilated instantly. The Cat Claws in his hands stopped less than ten centimeters from Ronan, but could not advance another inch.
He lowered his head to look at the cold iron spear piercing his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"How... is that possible..."
Ronan gave him no chance to leave any last words.
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he violently shook his arm!
"Collapse!"
A tremendous shaking force erupted along the spear shaft.
Sam's body, like a rag doll, was flung into the air by Ronan before being violently hurled to the right!
Borrowing the force of the swing, Ronan turned smoothly. The butt of his spear lashed out like a whip, smashing brutally into Buchi's face as he attempted a sneak attack, using the impact to pull away.
Bang!
Sam's corpse slammed heavily into the nearby rock wall, the sound of shattering bones clearly audible.
He slowly slid down the wall, leaving behind a horrifying streak of blood on the stone. He was already dead.
"Sam!!"
When Jango saw this from afar, he was so frightened that he nearly dropped his glasses.
Having lost his partner, Buchi felt no grief at all due to his deep hypnosis.
He merely roared even more violently, charging at Ronan again like a tireless beast.
"All right, the fly's been dealt with."
Ronan flicked the blood droplets from his spearpoint and stared intensely at Buchi as he charged over again.
"Now it's time for our private lesson."
The battle that followed became a one-sided slaughter.
Ronan no longer merely dodged. He began confronting Buchi head-on.
Xingyi - Collapsing Spear!
Ronan's spear struck Buchi's incoming fist.
When the iron spear collided with the flesh-and-blood fist, it actually produced the ring of clashing metal.
Though Buchi could not feel pain under hypnosis, the physical damage was very real.
The skin on his fist split open, and his finger bones shattered.
Using the rebounding force, Ronan continuously adjusted his force-generating technique.
Xingyi - Splitting Spear!
The iron spear rose high, then smashed down upon Buchi's shoulder like Mount Tai bearing down.
Buchi's hard muscular armor caved in instantly beneath the blow, and his collarbone let out a crisp crack.
Xingyi - Drilling Spear!
The spearpoint spun like a Poison Dragon boring into the heart, leaving bloody holes across Buchi's thigh.
Ronan's attacks came without end—lifting, striking, splitting, pushing.
The Zhangba Iron Spear seemed alive in his hands. Every strike landed precisely on the weakest points in Buchi's muscular defenses.
Though Buchi was fearless in the face of death, before absolute technical suppression, he was nothing more than a living target that could only take a beating.
Blood dyed the slope red. Buchi's massive body was already covered in wounds, without a single patch of uninjured flesh left.
Yet under Jango's commands, he continued mechanically swinging his fists.
Finally, after Ronan took another of Buchi's punches head-on, the long-awaited notification sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Host's Strength attribute has increased!] [Strength: 12 → 13] [Ding! Host's Physique attribute has increased!] [Physique: 12 → 13]
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