You Didn't Think I Was Actually That Weak, Did You?!

"I'm going to tear you apart while you're still alive."

A powerful aura spread from Camel Tepieru, cracking the ground beneath his feet. He lunged at Chaos, and his right hoof shot out like lightning. Chaos dodged to the side at the last moment.

But Camel Tepieru reacted quickly, planting his left foot deep in the ground and spinning around. His right leg swept toward Chaos's head with a whoosh.

Chaos raised both hands to block, a trace of pain crossing his face. He was sent flying, and before he could even land, Camel Tepieru, his eyes bloodshot, raced behind him and launched another devastating kick.

"Ugh!"

Blood sprayed from Chaos's mouth as he crashed into a hill, sending cracks branching all across it. He didn't stop to catch his breath, quickly moving away. The next instant, Camel Tepieru's long leg plunged into the rock face. He looked back at Chaos and swung a hoof at him.

Chaos raised both hands to block. The tremendous force drove his entire body into the dirt, while countless rocks shot away with a whistle. The small hill collapsed and exploded apart.

Billowing dust obscured the view. In the distance, many pirates watched through binoculars, utterly engrossed.

From the looks of things, the Golden Emperor had completely fallen behind and could only defend himself.

He hadn't launched a single attack so far. He seemed to do nothing but dodge, dodge!

The ground split apart and chunks of it heaved upward. After carving out a trench more than thirty meters long, Chaos lay at the end of it, his entire chest stained red with blood.

He quickly rolled over, braced his right hand against the ground, and spun in midair. Once he steadied himself, he crossed his arms in front of him. The next second, Camel Tepieru kicked at him, and Chaos kept retreating, dispersing the force.

Camel Tepieru's assault was relentless, giving Chaos no time to catch his breath.

But that was exactly the kind of pressure Chaos needed.

Ten minutes later.

Half an hour later.

An hour later.

Chaos's dodges became more and more successful, more natural, and more effortless!

"Something's not right!"

"Why do I feel like the Golden Emperor's getting more and more relaxed, while Camel Tepieru's having a harder and harder time?"

"You noticed that too?"

"It's been an hour, and Camel Tepieru still hasn't taken down the Golden Emperor. He clearly has the upper hand, so why can't he finish him off?"

"The Golden Emperor's dodging seems to be getting better and better."

"I can't make sense of this at all!"

More and more pirates began to think something was strange. Camel Tepieru had definitely had the upper hand throughout the fight. Couldn't they see the Golden Emperor was constantly on the defensive and dodging?

But it had been a whole hour, and he was still dodging—and getting better at it. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like he was toying with Camel Tepieru.

Another half hour passed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dust flew everywhere across the battlefield as gusts of wind swirled up, creating a mighty spectacle!

"You're too weak!"

Chaos had completely found his rhythm. At some point, he'd opened his eyes and was dodging left and right with his arms folded across his chest, looking remarkably carefree. Despite his battered face, he was full of confidence.

He glanced sidelong at Camel Tepieru with scorn. He was clearly the more battered of the two, yet he struck a pose that was three parts arrogance, three parts disdain, three parts conceit, and one part utter disregard for everyone around him.

A whoosh cut through the air. Chaos merely tilted his head, and Camel Tepieru's right hoof grazed his shoulder, ruffling a few strands of hair. Chaos closed in and drove a knee into his chest. With a heavy thud, Camel Tepieru spat blood and flew backward, hitting the ground and tumbling until dust swallowed him in an instant.

"That's the feeling I wanted."

Chaos flexed his hands. Everything around him had never seemed so clear and bright. He could sense the breathing and heartbeats of the pirates watching from afar.

His Observation Haki no longer worked only now and then. He could turn it on and off at will.

He'd taken the most important step in mastering Observation Haki. From now on, all he needed to do was keep training in this direction, and he would naturally grow stronger.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

A powerful gust scattered the dust, revealing Camel Tepieru, snarling like a demon as he roared.

Especially when he met Chaos's cool, contemptuous gaze, his anger only grew, like oil thrown on a fire.

His eyes turned bloodshot, and Camel Tepieru's body swelled again, eventually transforming into a gigantic camel in full beast form.

He shot forward like an arrow, the fierce wind tearing into the ground as he charged without hesitation.

Chaos stepped forward and raised his right fist high. His opponent could no longer put him under pressure.

There was no point in dragging this out. It would only waste time.

Bang!

His fist, as big as a sandbag, collided with the camel's head. Chaos's feet sank deep into the ground as he was shoved backward. After leaving a trench more than ten meters long, he forced himself to a stop.

"Seventy-nine million? You're not that impressive!"

Chaos's hair stood on end as he held himself proudly at an angle, stopping Camel Tepieru with one hand. His face was full of disappointment.

"Impossible! There's no way you're this strong!"

Camel Tepieru roared like a madman. He had clearly been crushing Chaos before. How had the tables turned so quickly?

His pride and confidence began to crumble.

Chaos let Camel Tepieru keep pushing him backward, his expression full of disdain. "I was just using you to train my Observation Haki. You didn't think I was actually that weak, did you?"

"Ah!"

Camel Tepieru roared at the sky and charged like a locomotive. No one had ever dared to humiliate him like this since he'd started out.

Chaos let his right arm hang at his side and calmly walked toward Camel Tepieru. His flying miniature knife earrings and the golden rings on his hands all flowed together. Amid sparks and the clang of clashing metal, they transformed into a thin, slender golden rapier, which Chaos caught in his hand.

The earth rumbled and shook. Just as man and camel were about to collide, Chaos took a small step to the left, reversed his grip on the golden rapier, and thrust. The two passed each other.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The sharp smell of blood spread across the battlefield. Camel Tepieru, who had been charging forward, slowly came to a stop. A gash suddenly split open down one side of his body. It widened in an instant, spilling out blood and his internal organs.

"N-no way!"

Camel Tepieru crashed to the ground. His vicious face was filled with terror. He couldn't believe he'd lost just like that.

He'd clearly been crushing his opponent before.

Why?!

The bulging, bloodshot eyes gradually lost their light. Camel Tepieru returned to human form, his body torn open from the waist upward, nearly split in two.

With a fatal wound like that, he wouldn't survive unless he awakened his Devil Fruit.

Chaos didn't even look back. He flicked the blood from his rapier, which quickly turned back into earrings and rings and returned to their proper places.

Looking toward Demon Valley Town, Chaos soared into the sky. He needed to take a bath!

Then he'd eat a huge meal and fully consolidate his Observation Haki, before going off to fight.

He'd awakened Observation Haki to a basic level. Next came Armament Haki and the other six techniques.

"Camel Tepieru was actually killed."

"That was way too sudden."

"How is that possible? He was taken out in the blink of an eye."

"That pirate had a bounty of seventy-nine million, and he was a Devil Fruit user, too."

In just one afternoon—only one afternoon—the news spread through half of Demon Valley Town.

Camel Tepieru had been killed.

The fame of Golden Emperor Gaia Chaos began to spread. Lion King, Zebra Killer, and Camel Tepieru had all become stepping stones for him, and he'd made a spectacular entrance.

They'd all had bounties over fifty million, and they were all Devil Fruit users.

In the future, that would be the equivalent of starting out by killing pirates with bounties over a hundred million.

His starting point was high, and he was a little too arrogant, having skipped straight past the "million" bounty range.