"Oh? Going straight for the sword?"
Obe watched King coat his blade with the flames from his back, and her interest was piqued.
"How interesting! You can manipulate flames too. Are you one of those so-called ability users, or some special race?"
King's eyes flickered when he heard the words "special race," but he gave no response. He simply swung his sword and slashed straight at Obe.
Seeing the attack coming, Obe immediately stopped talking.
She was not someone who liked to chatter during battle. On the contrary, silence and composure were her fighting style... unless her opponent was Oshi.
Without any unnecessary movement, Obe raised one arm to block the slash. Then, she actually grabbed the blade with her hand and yanked King closer.
Neither the scorching flames on the sword nor its sharp edge seemed to affect her in the slightest.
"?!"
Feeling the immense force coming through his sword, King involuntarily stumbled forward.
Before he could react, an indigo-blue fist tore through the air toward him. The terrifying sonic boom alone made it clear that this punch was anything but ordinary!
Without hesitation, King released the hilt, kicked forward, and spread his wings to fly into the air, causing Obe's punch to miss.
Boom!!!
The punch, carrying tremendous force, struck empty air, yet the wind it generated still made King stagger in the sky.
Though her attack had failed, Obe was not disappointed. She merely raised her head and stared expressionlessly at the battered King flying overhead.
After retracting her fist, Obe released the other hand that was still holding his blade. The sword fell to the ground, and the flames wrapped around it immediately went out.
In just one exchange, the "Race of Gods" had fallen into a disadvantage against the young Phantom God!
"You've got to be kidding! That brat!"
"That punch could probably turn someone into pulp all by itself, right?!"
"Did... did you hear that sonic boom just now?"
Without a doubt, Obe's seemingly ordinary punch had instantly overturned everyone's understanding of her.
"Are you planning to stay up there forever?"
Seeing that he still refused to come down, Obe lightly hooked her leg and kicked the sword back toward King in the sky.
King raised a hand to catch the flying blade, then narrowed his eyes at its still-quivering body.
[Excellent reflexes, sharp judgment, and this unimaginable strength. What a troublesome opponent.]
Compared to Oshi, who was clearly more of a mage-type fighter yet loved close-quarters brawling, warrior-type Obe excelled at using calculations to control the rhythm of the entire battle. She was unquestionably a tactical fighter.
Flames wrapped around the blade once more. King beat his wings and circled through the sky, seemingly searching for an opening.
Seeing that King intended to use his aerial advantage to keep her at bay, Obe did not sit idly by and immediately devised a countermeasure.
What was the most direct way to deal with a flying target? Or rather, how could one shoot down an aircraft quickly and efficiently?
She gathered power in her right fist and smashed it violently into the ground. An invisible shockwave erupted instantly, shattering the earth beneath Obe's feet as dust filled the air and rocks flew everywhere.
The violent tremors also made the pirates watching from afar sway from side to side, unable to keep their footing.
"An... an earthquake? Another earthquake!"
"She caused such a powerful tremor with just her fist!"
"That's too outrageous! She's so tiny, yet she's practically a monster!"
King continued circling in the air. Apart from his vision being slightly obstructed, he was unaffected.
He had not even considered launching a sneak attack while Obe struck the ground. Who knew whether that was one of the brat's traps?
Obe rapidly slapped the shattered rocks hanging in midair, sending stones of various sizes shooting toward King like cannonballs.
"Worororo~ Throwing rocks? What an interesting brat!" Kaido, watching from afar, found Obe's method of dealing with the airborne King amusing.
Watching the rocks fly at him, King simply beat his wings, intending to evade them.
But just as a small stone grazed past his shoulder, something unexpected happened. King's body suddenly lurched as though he had been struck.
[Hm? What was that?! I clearly dodged it!]
The stones rained down on King, forcing him to activate Observation Haki to evade them.
Then the same thing happened again. Even though his body had dodged in his perception, he still felt as if he had been hit.
Left with no choice, King tried to widen the distance between himself and the rocks. But Obe's attacks were far too dense, leaving him no openings. He could only keep dodging with Observation Haki.
Then, after once again concentrating his Observation Haki on the stones with all his might, King finally discovered their abnormality in shock.
Every stone Obe had thrown was coated in Armament Haki! Even more outrageously, the Haki on them was actually flowing!
That was why he was still getting hit even after dodging the stones.
Did you think your Haki was free?!
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded in the sky. The black figure seemed to be bombarded by invisible cannonballs, getting knocked this way and that like an awkward dancer.
[This can't continue. That brat's attacks are too dense. I can't keep being a target!]
King forcibly stabilized himself in midair, then disregarded the stones and charged straight toward Obe.
"Fire Dragon..."
Before King could call out his move, he saw Obe below suddenly open her mouth, seemingly saying a word.
Then she extended her right hand, gave a thumbs-up, and sharply pressed it downward.
"Killer Queen! First Bomb!"
Boom! The stones striking King and surrounding him suddenly exploded violently! Flames and smoke instantly swallowed him.
[I already touched these stones, you know~]
She had patiently waited for the moment King completely gave up dodging, then directly detonated the divine power inside the stones, turning them into energy bombs. Their power even far surpassed ordinary naval shells.
And that was where Obe and her sisters were truly terrifying.
The three of them possessed extraordinary talent for energy control. Things like energy coating and energy flow came as naturally to them as breathing.
Even after energy left their bodies, they could still control it remotely. They were practically beloved children of energy.
Of course, only Ra could currently perform extremely precise control like weaving clothes. Obe could at most trigger simple explosions, but that was more than enough.
A black figure fell from the smoke onto the ground, flames still burning fiercely across his back.
"Cough... cough..."
King braced himself on his sword and struggled to stand. Fortunately, he had not withdrawn the flames around his body earlier. Otherwise, that hit would probably have left him unable to get back up.
Looking at Obe with disbelief, King asked, "Detonating Haki from a distance? How did you do that?!"
"Is that difficult? Well~ as long as I feel like it..."
Watching him in such a sorry state, Obe felt the pleasure of finally getting her revenge.
Well, the two sisters were practically identical in that regard.
"You've got to be kidding! Big Brother King is hurt!"
"That brat actually beat Big Brother King!"
"How is that possible? That guy is stronger than even the officers!"
"It's not over yet! Big Brother King hasn't gone all out!"
"Big Brother King! You can do it!"
The surrounding pirates found it hard to believe that King had been pushed completely onto the back foot.
King had been a veteran of the crew since the Beasts were first established. Though he was only fifteen, his formidable strength and dependable character had earned him considerable prestige within the Pirate Crew.
Over the year since the Beasts were founded, he and Burufatt had fought across the east and west, building an illustrious reputation in the New World. It would not be an exaggeration to call them one of the Beasts' signature banners.
Now that they saw King, who had only just turned fifteen, being beaten into such a miserable state by a child who had only recently joined, the pirates who had always followed him found it difficult to accept.
"King's every move is completely within her control. What a frightening brat~" Burufatt folded his arms, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the battle ahead.
If Obe had been fighting him instead, the outcome truly would have been hard to say...
"King is still a brat himself. Although everything he went through before I brought him out made him seem mature now, at his core, he is still a newcomer who has only just set foot upon the sea."
Kaido stared at King in the distance, as though recalling the past.
"Haha! That's right, King is only fifteen, after all."
Compared to Burufatt, an old hand who had been roaming the Grand Line since childhood, King was indeed somewhat immature when it came to combat experience.
Before you continue