The Rusted Three-headed Flail

"Whew! Calm down, I have to stay calm!" At this life-or-death moment, Buffett instead recovered a trace of his former self, and his mind began racing.

"This fence is made from the latest alloy. There's no way to destroy it in a short time, which means escape is impossible. Do I have no choice but to fight him head-on?"

"But it's been nearly ten years since I last fought someone on my level, while this guy clearly clawed his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. In a fight to the death... I can't possibly be his match!"

"But I don't need to fight him to the death. I just need to stall for a while. As long as Chief Huajao comes to support me, it'll still be hard to say who wins and who loses."

With that thought, Buffett took a deep breath, turned around with a smile, and said, "Haha! You must be the Crimson Swordsman Apophis, sir? I'm the master here, Benjamin Buffett. Welcome to the Mafia's Paradise!"

However, Apophis remained unmoved and continued advancing.

"Perhaps... there's some misunderstanding between you and me, Lord Apophis. But as long as we clear things up, I think we can still become friends."

Seeing that the other man still showed no reaction, Buffett began to panic and urgently asked, "Who exactly wants me dead? No matter how much they offered, I'm willing to pay double... no, triple the reward!"

"Is there really no room for negotiation? I'm still a pirate with a bounty of 120 million Beli. If we truly fight until both sides are destroyed, it won't benefit either of us!" Buffett threatened fiercely despite his inner weakness, quietly shifting his steps to the side.

His Three-headed Flail hung on the side wall. It had once been proof of his strength, but as time passed, it had gathered plenty of dust and was even covered in rust.

"I'll give you the chance. Go pick up your weapon." At last, Apophis's indifferent voice came from beneath the deathly still Ghoul Mask.

Buffett froze. He had not expected his intentions to be seen through completely, nor had he expected his opponent to refrain from attacking while he was unarmed. Was it some outdated, vulgar bushido code, or did Apophis simply look down on him?

"Hehe! That condescending attitude really pisses me off. You'd better not regret your choice. My title of Skull Crusher, Buffett, is—"

Buffett had wanted to keep talking trash, but Apophis's halted steps began moving forward again. Frightened out of saying another word, he dashed forward and grabbed his weapon.

It was a two-meter-long iron rod, with three spiked iron hammers attached to its tip by chains. The sharp barbs glinted coldly under the sunlight. Put simply, it was a special weapon made by fastening three meteor hammers to one iron rod.

With his weapon in hand, Buffett seemed to regain his lost confidence. Raising both hands above his head, he swung the Three-headed Flail. The meteor hammers spun at high speed, releasing thunderous sonic booms.

If that struck a human body, it would probably turn the victim into a pile of mush in an instant.

"I've used this to crush the skulls of countless enemies, Apophis. You aren't the first, and you definitely won't be the last!"

Apophis walked forward silently. An ancient Long Sword slid into his right palm, reflecting ghostly green flames. His aura became chilling and sharp, as though he had transformed from a wandering phantom into a death-seeking demon god.

"How can your sword come out of your body? What's with those dark, evil flames? What are you? A man, a ghost, or some kind of monster?"

Humanity's oldest and strongest emotion was fear, and its oldest and strongest fear was the unknown.

Faced with a situation that had clearly surpassed his understanding, Buffett kept retreating until he was soon pressed against the cold fence.

There was nowhere to run!

When fear reached its limit, it became utter rage. Buffett swung the Three-headed Flail and roared hysterically, "You damned monster, get back to wherever you came from!"

In the Pirate World, great strength could destroy everything.

For example, Edward Weevil, who called himself Whitebeard Jr. in the future, had become one of the Shichibukai who suppressed the Grand Line merely because he possessed the same strength Whitebeard had in his youth.

Buffett's strength naturally could not compare to that kind of monster, but the intelligence reports had not exaggerated him much. He truly possessed terrifying brute force capable of collapsing a small mountain with one punch. Under his control, the three meteor hammers crashed into the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread in every direction.

With just one strike, half the hall collapsed.

Yet when Apophis stepped on the meteor hammers, Buffett could not pull them free even after straining until his face turned red, despite possessing strength comparable to that of the Giant Race.

"What kind of joke is this? How could I lose to a swordsman in a contest of strength?" Fear had completely consumed Buffett's heart. The strength he had always been proud of had actually been surpassed by a swordsman.

Indeed, the strongest swordsmen had to possess ultimate strength and speed.

Without strength, there could be no attack. Without speed, they could not hit their targets.

On the other hand, swordsmen who pursued ultimate offense were generally frail in terms of physical toughness.

Relatively speaking, ordinary swordsmen usually won through speed, while their weapons could make up for their attack power.

That was precisely why Buffett was so horrified when he realized that his opponent was even stronger than he was. Did this guy really have no weaknesses at all?

At that moment, Apophis suddenly lifted his toe. Buffett had no time to withdraw his strength and, caught off guard, fell flat on his face. The three meteor hammers flew back and smashed into him, making him cry out miserably.

"Apophis, what do you mean by this?" Buffett gritted his teeth as Apophis's indifferent voice emerged from beneath the mask once more.

"The game ends here. I have no interest in continuing to play with trash like you."

"Play? You said you were playing?" Stung by those words, Buffett's blood surged to his head and his vision turned crimson. With a furious roar, the muscles across his body knotted like ancient tree roots as explosive power poured endlessly from within him.

"There's a limit to how much you can look down on someone! Die!"

The rapidly spinning meteor hammers crashed down, faintly carrying the sound of raging wind and thunder.

Apophis flicked upward with the Seven Star Sword in his right hand. There was no flashy technique, only ultimate speed and strength.

The iron meteor hammers instantly crumbled into powder, as if weathered by time, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Buffett was blasted away by an overwhelming force, even shattering the alloy fence in an instant.

"If this had been ten years ago, I never would have been this pathetic..." Buffett lay on the ground, looking up at the Ghoul Mask.

"The moment you chose to retreat from the Grand Line, you were destined to become a loser!" Apophis's icy voice shattered his final illusion.

"Was today's defeat already destined ten years ago?" Buffett muttered in a daze.

"What kind of joke is this? With just one strike, the underground ruler of the Aitfei Kingdom, Skull Crusher Buffett—the great pirate who once had a bounty of 120 million Beli—has lost the ability to resist!" Watching through binoculars from afar, Capone Bege felt a chill run through him. He had entertained thoughts of taking down Buffett and replacing him, but in terms of strength, he was far weaker than Buffett. Otherwise, a man as ambitious as him would not have stayed obedient for so long.

"If it were me, I'd only be in an even worse state." Cold sweat had completely soaked Capone Bege's back. For the first time, he felt that the underlings around him gave him no sense of security at all. "No, this is still too close. I have to retreat to the other side of the island immediately."

Thanks to Burning I for the 100 reward, Uncle Sanshui for the 100 reward, and Green Green Green Green Green Bird for the 100 reward.