"Was this... my limit?"
After sending Ace flying with another punch, Azure Austin felt his strength steadily draining away.
He clenched his fist, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
He had not even been forced into dragonification. Ace and Sabo from the New World were a little too weak.
The version of himself in this world was stingy too. Was he afraid Azure Austin would play them to death?
Azure Austin sighed helplessly.
Of course, Ace and Sabo were simply too durable. Even if they did not have a tenth of his toughness, their constant ability to get back up had successfully exhausted his energy.
"Eh... forget it. This counts as one of your strengths, I suppose~"
Azure Austin sighed. As he caught Sabo's final punch, the last trace of his strength was finally spent.
"You still understand far too little about the power of dragons, kid."
Azure Austin smiled and transformed one hand into a dragon claw, reaching for Sabo's head.
Sabo's face had already been beaten beyond recognition. He tensed at first, then froze as he watched the dragon claw stop before him, shatter into fragments, and slowly fade in midair.
"Oh, right. There's also the thing the old man gave me. This originally belonged to that guy [Black Spear], didn't it? Now it's returning to its rightful owner.
Remember to make copies of it soon."
A Devil Fruit fell from the flickering light and landed in Sabo's hand.
There were several photographs as well.
They were photos Old Gick had left for him years ago, saying they had been given to him by the grown-up Austin. Azure Austin knew that did not refer to the real him.
So now they were being returned to their rightful owner.
He told Sabo to make copies as soon as possible because he had