Whose Defense Is Stronger

The ground within a ten-meter radius exploded, leaving behind a smoky crater as Chaos vanished from his original spot. Simultaneously, Ox charged out, ascending and looking down. The two were like streaks of light, crossing hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye before colliding with earth-shattering force.

Chaos's hands were covered in jet-black Armament Haki, while Ox, enveloped in swirling steam, was also clad in Armament Haki.

Elbows clashed, and the two stared at each other at point-blank range.

At almost the same moment, Chaos and Ox clenched their left fists and punched out. The surrounding air seemed to be swept away. Amidst flying hair, a shockwave erupted, tearing up and indenting the ground around them.

Their punches were like missile impacts, and the collapsing pit beneath their feet continued to expand.

"Shigan!"

"Shigan!"

With their Haki-infused fingers meeting, the two pulled apart and shot away. The next second, they soared into the sky and collided mid-air. Ripples surrounded them, and even the thick mangrove trees couldn't withstand them, snapping and falling.

"This is getting more interesting."

Knees as black as ink collided, and Chaos laughed maniacally.

His arrogant eyes were filled with excitement and mockery.

In contrast, Ox was exceptionally serious, his face etched with solemnity.

This Golden Emperor knows Rokushiki.

Bang bang!

Rumble!

The two vanished from the sky and reappeared twenty meters above the ground. Their elbows clashed, and they shot along the ground, explosions erupting wherever they went, filling the air with smoke and dust. When their tracks became visible again, Chaos landed an uppercut on Ox's chin, causing him to tilt his head back and spit blood.

However, Chaos also took a left hook, his entire body leaning to the left as he spat blood. A fifty-meter-wide, spiderweb-like crater instantly appeared.

Time seemed to slow down the battle.

Chaos used his left hand to prop himself up, then launched his legs like cannonballs.

But Ox reacted quickly, pressing his elbow down while leaning back and kicking his right foot, kicking up a large amount of dirt and gravel towards Chaos's chest.

Faced with this counterattack, Chaos could only block with his right hand.

Explosions erupted from the powerful collision, sending Chaos flying and tumbling. He left a massive gully before bracing himself with both hands, performing backflips, and finally burying his feet deep into the ground to absorb the force.

Meanwhile, Ox soared into the sky. As a large amount of blood dripped down, he used Geppo to control his body.

One high, one low, they faced each other. Chaos flashed a manic grin, spitting out clotted blood from his mouth. He took a step forward, bent slightly, and the ground beneath him exploded as Chaos rocketed upwards, charging straight at Ox.

"Rankyaku."

Ox quickly kicked out twice, forming crescent-shaped slashes over twenty meters long. They formed a cross-slash, diving down one after the other, while Ox himself vanished into the sky.

The surrounding airflow exploded. Chaos shifted his body, dodging consecutively. But at this moment, Ox reappeared, pressing down with a powerful kick.

As if anticipating this, Chaos disappeared a step ahead and reappeared behind Ox, sweeping his leg in a similar fashion.

But it missed.

He had only swept an afterimage of Ox.

The air behind him exploded, and Chaos's lips curled into a proud smile.

Swish swish swish!

Continuous afterimages danced in the air. Every attack the two landed hit only the other's afterimage. Observation Haki and Soru had been pushed to their limits, predicting and dodging in advance, and quickly launching counterattacks.

This silent confrontation was the most thrilling and perilous.

"Such incredible speed!"

"I can't keep up at all."

"Is this a Marine Vice Admiral?"

"The Golden Emperor's close-combat ability is actually this strong."

At this moment, all the onlookers, gazing up at the constantly exploding roars in the sky, could only catch glimpses of dissipating afterimages. Only the stronger pirates could see some details.

"The Golden Emperor is too arrogant. He's not using his abilities, but fighting Ox with pure martial arts. Does he think he can defeat him with just his physical prowess?"

Many pirates looked up at the Goddess of the Heavens. The death of Dragon Horn Jax had made it clear to all pirates that it was no mere decoration.

"I admit the Golden Emperor is powerful, but it's impossible to defeat Ox in terms of martial arts. The Marines' Rokushiki is famous for its martial arts, and Ox is no ordinary Marine Vice Admiral."

"That's not necessarily true. Didn't you see the Golden Emperor also knows Rokushiki?"

"That's what's truly terrifying."

The pirates' exclamations and various speculations did not affect the battle.

Whoosh!

Rumble!

At this moment, thirty meters in the air, Chaos brought his fists down in a thunderous smash. Jax blocked with his hands above his head. Accompanied by a massive explosion, they plummeted straight down. A small mushroom cloud rose, and powerful winds kicked up dirt and stones, sweeping across the land.

Chaos gasped for air in mid-air and unleashed two consecutive Rankyaku kicks, slicing through the obscuring dust and clouds. Below, Ox could be seen standing in a large pit, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, steam swirling around him as he glared menacingly at Chaos.

Like a meteor impacting the Earth, a ring-shaped shockwave appeared once more.

A dazzling array of afterimages collided, each blow equivalent to a missile explosion.

"Pfft~"

Chaos shot out, breaking through several red trees before crashing diagonally into the town, tumbling repeatedly. A large section of houses exploded and was reduced to ruins.

Numerous screams and cries rose and fell.

Aux followed closely into the thick smoke, but the next second, a large hand grabbed his ankle and violently lifted him, throwing him to the ground. The impact created a shockwave that blew away the surrounding dust.

Even though Aux instinctively covered his head with his arms at the last moment, he couldn't help but spit out blood.

Bang bang!

Chaos, with a bloodied mouth, grinned and tightly gripped Aux's ankle, smashing him back and forth against the ground. The surrounding ruins and broken walls flew like bullets.

At this moment, Aux's face was covered in blood, and he could no longer focus on defense. He forcefully twisted his body and swept his right leg towards Chaos's head.

Chaos dodged at the critical moment, but this gave Aux an opportunity.

"Rokushiki Secret Art: Finger Gun Barrage."

Aux's face contorted with ferocity. His hands came together, imbued with Armament Haki. The bulging veins and arteries on his hands moved like small snakes, and his ten fingers shone like gun tips with a cold glint.

Chaos didn't panic; a look of disdain even appeared on his face.

Chaos's chest puffed out, and he rapidly underwent Goldenization. Armament Haki covered his chest, forming a black and gold hue. Simultaneously, he activated Tekkai, creating a triple defense of Armament Haki, Goldenization, and Tekkai.

He was confident he could withstand the opponent's attack.

With that, he clenched his right fist and also lunged at Aux.

"Tekkai."

Facing Chaos's counterattack, Aux's attack remained unchanged. He also used Tekkai and Armament Haki for defense.

This was going to be a head-on collision, a test of whose defense was stronger and whose attack power was higher!

Bang!

A heavy metallic collision sound. Both attacks landed on the opponent simultaneously. Chaos's face showed a slight trace of pain, but Aux's entire face contorted.

He quickly turned his head and vomited a torrent of blood, which shot out like a stream of light, creating a sonic boom.

Chaos gritted his teeth, his feet sinking deep into the ground, stubbornly enduring the impact with his black and gold chest.

The strength of their defenses was evident. Aux only had the dual defenses of Tekkai and Armament Haki, while Chaos had the triple defense of Tekkai, Armament Haki, and Goldenization.

"Whoosh!"

A fan-shaped shockwave formed behind him as Chaos shot out, catching up to Aux. He stomped his foot heavily into Aux's abdomen, then quickly spun his body for a roundhouse kick. Before Aux could fly away, Chaos grabbed his hair and delivered a heavy knee strike to his face. Bone-cracking sounds echoed continuously as Chaos pressed down with another kick.

An area of several hundred meters caved in, and a massive shockwave continued to spread.

But Chaos's combination punch attack had only just begun