Unexpected

The aftermath of the explosion echoed across the grounds. For a moment, neither of them moved, as though they had returned to a standoff.

A few minutes later, King's ragged breathing gradually calmed, and his hunched body straightened once more.

"Oh? Finished resting?"

Seeing him steady himself again, Obe praised him. "Not bad physical conditioning. My attack just now wasn't child's play, yet you recovered so quickly."

"You've certainly made me see you in a new light, masked man."

"Indeed, that attack was quite impressive. It's been a long time since I was pushed into such a sorry state. If this had been a real fight to the death, you would have already won."

King acknowledged the damage from Obe's barrage of attacks. If she had pressed her advantage or launched another Haki Bomb, he truly would have been unable to resist.

"Enough with the pointless praise. It's about time you showed some real skill, isn't it?"

Obe still stood with her arms folded, looking completely at ease.

She knew King was one of those so-called "ability users," yet he had not transformed or used his abilities at all.

"That's true. It'll be difficult to defeat you in my current state alone." King sheathed his sword and hung it back at his waist.

"Then watch carefully—the form of a Zoan Type Devil Fruit user!"

The air suddenly froze, and Obe's pupils constricted at the sight before her.

Crisp cracks of shifting bones erupted one after another. King's facial bones let out fine, brittle snaps, his cheekbones bulging into streamlined bone armor while his lips and teeth stretched into a half-meter-long hooked beak.

Then she saw his shoulder blades rise in a grotesque swell as black wing membranes rapidly spread, transforming in an instant into wing blades with a metallic sheen.

When the enormous seven-meter wingspan fully unfolded, a small whirlwind swept through the grounds.

Zoan Type—Ancient Zoan—Pteranodon Form!

Even though she had watched Kaido transform many times, Obe was still amazed by the transformations of these Zoan Type ability users.

A humanoid creature was visibly turning into a beast before her eyes. Its muscles and bones changed completely, and for someone with Obe's scientific mindset, it always felt like common sense itself had been overturned.

"Then let's begin round two!"

"Boom!"

A piercing blast split the air as King flew skyward once again.

Unlike before, his speed had risen by leaps and bounds. It had already surpassed the dynamic vision of ordinary people, making him look like a black bomber cruising through the sky.

King had clearly found a way to deal with the stone bombs. As long as he was fast enough, she wouldn't be able to hit him.

Obe had no immediate answer to such a simple, speed-based solution.

"Speed increased by 216%, and maneuverability is also—"

"Blade Dance Double Emperors!"

Her tactical analysis was forcefully interrupted by a sky full of cold flashes.

King clearly had no intention of giving Obe time to keep thinking. Countless slashes flew from his black wings, forcing Obe below to raise her arms and block.

"Tankyūdon!"

Without the slightest pause, King's next attack came straight at her.

The pterosaur's massive body dove sharply as though defying the laws of physics, its right wing becoming an impossible-to-track arc of slashing light.

The instant the blade edge touched her arm, the rock beneath Obe's feet collapsed with a thunderous crash.

"Clang!"

Amid the shrill ring of metal, the blue figure was blasted backward like a cannonball, carving a trench dozens of meters long through the earth before barely stopping.

She looked at her arm. A faint red mark had appeared where she had been struck, giving Obe a clear understanding of the power behind King's attack.

It was a slash powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone.

"Both your attack power and speed have improved by more than just one level. This probably isn't merely the boost from transforming, is it? What happened to your flames?"

Lifting her gaze from her arm, Obe noticed that the flames on King's back had vanished after his transformation.

"It is a trait of my race. By drawing the flames into my body, I sacrifice defense in exchange for speed and explosive power."

King had no intention of hiding it and directly revealed this racial talent to her.

"I see. Cast off, huh... It really is a troublesome form."

Although she knew his defense had fallen, Obe could not think of a good countermeasure without using her Authority. The initiative was still in his hands.

As for King, although he had seized the offensive initiative, he likewise had no good way to deal with Obe.

Ordinary attacks were little more than an itch to Obe. Even his Tankyūdon from before had not accomplished much.

But if he tried a powerful charged attack, she would surely find an opening and blast him down just as she had earlier.

In his flame-concealed state, King absolutely could not withstand another Haki Bomb.

In any case, I can't give her time to think of a countermeasure.

"Blade Dance Double Emperors!"

Countless slashes came raining down again, leaving Obe with no choice but to keep dodging.

Although she could have easily taken every slash without moving by relying on Armament Haki, Obe still chose to maneuver and evade.

After all, she was not Oshi. She had no habit of acting like an iron-headed fool.

Judging by the timing, the next heavy strike should be coming soon... Based on the timing of King's last attack, Obe silently calculated his next charge.

5, 4, 3... Here it comes!

Sure enough, the moment her thought ended, the slashes from Blade Dance Double Emperors above her suddenly stopped.

Obe immediately snapped her head up to observe King in the sky.

King was currently facing away from the sun, apparently intending to use the sunlight to catch Obe off guard. But Obe's physical abilities clearly exceeded his expectations.

Her vision was completely unaffected by the sun. Every movement King made was crystal clear to Obe below.

"Whew..."

Her right hand clenched as astonishing power quietly gathered within it. Watching every movement in the sky, Obe intended to give King a surprise the moment he came close.

At the very least, I have to break those wings!

Once he lost air superiority, he would no longer be Obe's opponent.

Just as Obe on the ground focused with complete concentration, King's attack began. But this time, it was not the same Tankyūdon as before. Instead...

Huh? What the hell?

To Obe's surprise, King grabbed his crest with one hand and pulled it backward with all his strength, stretching that twisted pterosaur face into a comical cone shape.

"Pfft!"

King's warped expression made Obe, who had been staring at him, freeze for a moment. Then laughter surged uncontrollably from her heart to her face, and the corners of her mouth rose despite herself.

"Damn it! Pfft—hahaha! So you even have mental attacks? How despicable! Hahahaha!"

"No, I can't laugh! I can't laugh anymore! Hahahahahaha!"

Obe could no longer maintain her charged stance, laughing so hard that her whole body went limp.

The rhythm of their life-and-death struggle suffered a fatal break at that moment.

The instant Obe's momentum collapsed, King's attack charged right before her eyes!

"Diao Zi Zun Huang!"

King's head stretched out like a slingshot, and his supersonic headbutt broke through the sonic boom cloud, smashing solidly into her completely open body.

"Ugh!"

Obe, almost entirely defenseless, was struck head-on. She was viciously driven into the ground, and the dust kicked up soon buried the small figure deep within the crater.

"Is it... over?"

"Probably... That kid took King's Diao Zi Zun Huang head-on. She probably can't get back up."

"King's Diao Zi Zun Huang is really incredible. Is this the power of an Ancient Zoan?"

"That's a huge crater. That kid isn't dead, is she?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Can't you see that Boss Kaido and Ra both look calm? That kid is definitely fine."

"That's good. Even though that blue-haired little brat made me lose a lot of money betting, I still kind of like her."

Having landed a successful blow, King returned to human form and descended to the ground, the flames on his back reigniting.

This time, he had genuinely hit her. The soft sensation transmitted through the tip of his beak assured him that she had not managed to defend herself at all.

"I never thought the blue-haired girl would get distracted by King. Was it because of the sun? No, what's so funny about the sun?"

Burufatt could not understand why Obe had suddenly started laughing.

"Boss Kaido?"

"Maybe it was King's face. That kid seemed to suddenly find something funny about King's face?"

Kaido had seen why Obe laughed, but he could not quite understand it either, so he did not dare say for certain.

To be honest, in the eyes of these rough Beasts Pirates men, there was absolutely nothing wrong with King's Diao Zi Zun Huang. It was fast, powerful, and an extremely strong move.

King had also explained to them before that this was actually a special hunting method of ancient pteranodons, and everyone else had found that perfectly reasonable.

After all, no one had ever actually seen how those long-extinct pteranodons hunted.

As for facial deformation? Who cared! No one in the Beasts Pirates would waste their attention on something so pointless.

"Slap!"

Just as King considered going over to check on her, a small hand grabbed the edge of the crater. A figure then flipped out and landed on the ground.

"Cough—cough cough!"

After clearing the dirt from her mouth, Obe finally turned her gaze back toward King.

"Pfft..."

Well, she still could not hold it in. Obe could only look away again.

"What's wrong with you? Is something funny?" King, who had already taken up his stance, looked at Obe and asked in confusion.

"N-Nothing... Pfft..."

"D-Don't talk, please. I'm begging you." Obe suddenly turned her back to him, her shoulders trembling violently.

It's over. Forget looking at him—I can't even hear his voice without remembering that image! Damn it, why would someone who's normally so serious develop such a ridiculous move?!

"Th-This battle counts as your win. Let's... let's stop here for today... Pfft—hahaha!"

Looking somewhat disheveled, Obe quickly covered her mouth and ran off the field. At that moment, she could not even clench her fist, much less keep fighting.

The endless laughter rising from within made her body go weak, leaving her completely unable to exert any strength.

The sudden declaration of surrender caught everyone by surprise. The small blue figure staggered away from the center of the clearing, leaving behind a baffled King and a crowd of equally confused pirates.

"Why did the blue-haired girl suddenly surrender?!"

"Strange, she doesn't even look badly hurt?"

"She seemed to be holding something in the whole time. Maybe she suffered some internal injury?"

"That's right! She covered her mouth and ran away just now. She must have been holding back blood!"

"Doesn't want to show her weak side in front of others? Hmph! What an admirable kid!"

"She's got guts. I acknowledge her!"

"Brother King! Brother King! Brother King!" ×n

Even more pirates began shouting King's name, celebrating his victory—and the victory of the old members of their crew.

"Take a deep breath. Good~~ That's it~ Relax, don't think about it."

At the edge of the training grounds, Ra gently patted Obe's back, helping her regain her composure.

When Obe had run up to her earlier, she had been laughing so hard she was gasping for breath, unable to speak at all. Ra had first used divine power to steady her breathing before gradually calming her down.

"You're way too pathetic, Obe. You actually surrendered because someone made a funny face right in front of you and you couldn't stop laughing."

Oshi had already woken up and was standing nearby with a cup of water.

"You didn't see what the masked man's face looked like then. Pfft—no, I'm remembering it again, hahahaha!"

"To make even your poker face crack, I'm getting curious about just what level of ridiculous facial expression that was."

Oshi handed the water to Obe as she spoke. "Why not try it sometime?"

"Don't! Otherwise, you'll end up like me and never be able to look at that guy's face normally again."

This time, Obe sincerely did not want Oshi to fall into the abyss of ridiculous facial expressions too. If Oshi laughed until she could not breathe, their big sister would have to split her attention to take care of her...

A few minutes later—

"I'm fine now, Big Sister."

After taking several deep breaths, Obe finally returned to normal. Then she lowered her head somewhat shamefully.

"Sorry. I couldn't win this time."

Although there were all sorts of reasons, losing two matches in a row still made Obe feel that she had let down Ra's patient guidance over the past few days.

"It's all right. Winning and losing are not important. As long as you can gain some insight and learn something from these battles, that's enough.

Besides, neither of you used your Authority, did you? I believe your true strength is definitely above theirs."

Ra did not care about whether the two of them won or lost. Rather, she was quite satisfied to see their progress in the arena this time.

"Of course! If I went all out, I could knock both of those guys down with one hand." Oshi put both hands on her hips and proudly raised her little nose again.

"Don't get arrogant."

Ra lightly patted Oshi's little head, which was nearly tilted up toward the sky, then suddenly brought up the question the two had been tacitly avoiding.

"By the way, there are only two days left before it's time to hand in your assignments. How is your preparation going?"

"..."

Yamete!

The expressions on the two little girls' faces suddenly froze! Then they both forced out awkward dry laughs.

"Uh... A-Almost done, probably~ Ha... hahaha~" ×2

That was a lie. In truth, neither of them had any clue what to do yet.

Ra did not expose them. Instead, she smiled and said, "Then I'll wish you a pleasant voyage in advance~"

"Th-Thank you, Big Sister Ra... Ha, hahaha..." ×2