My Name Is 'Rooster'?!

Outside the great forest, at the watchtower.

"Hey! Brothers, wake up!"

Following Lan Li's advice, the Colonel who had fled here looked at the heavily injured Marine soldiers amid the wreckage of the watchtower, feeling both relieved and anxious.

The relief came from the fact that the situation here was better than expected—though they had suffered an extremely brutal attack and nearly all the equipment in the watchtower was unusable, the Marine soldiers' lives were at least not in immediate danger.

It was not hard to guess that the remaining four bases were probably in the same situation.

Moreover, he had already reported the attack on Arashit Island to Headquarters.

But that was also what made him anxious.

"The nearest support force in the surrounding seas will need at least half a day to get here."

"But even if they make it... can we really be of any help in a battle of that level?"

He murmured softly, his gaze turning toward the center of the distant great forest.

At that moment, from the heart of the forest—

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

The enormous blasts and grinding sounds were like thunder, piercing the ears even from such a great distance.

And with every collision, he could see a giant tree in the Arashi Great Forest crashing down, kicking up clouds of dust.

From time to time, enormous slashes tore from the forest into the sky, shredding all that dust apart.

There was no doubt about it.

It was a battle the Colonel had never witnessed before.

"Can Commodore Lan Li... win?"

He murmured inwardly.

"Can't win."

Meanwhile, within the forest, Commodore Lan Li of the Marines, who was locked in a fierce battle with Luo Yi, silently reached that conclusion.

"So this is the power of an Ancient Zoan Ability User?"

He muttered inwardly.

He had long heard from his mentor, Vice Admiral Huoshan, about how troublesome Ancient Zoan Ability Users were—in fact, among the renowned Shichibukai of the present-day seas, there was one known for an Ancient Zoan ability.

According to Huoshan: facing that man was like facing the savage wilderness of ancient times.

Lan Li had not quite understood before.

But now, he did.

"Boom!"

The sound of something tearing through the air came from behind him—it was a massive tail.

Lan Li barely managed to swing his katana in retaliation.

"Volcano Style: Explosive Slash!"

His Haki and strength erupted at full force.

But in the next instant, it felt as if he had been struck by a mountain. He was sent flying out of control.

"Rumble!"

His body gouged a huge trench into the ground, and the giant trees he knocked over along the way showed just how powerful the impact had been.

Lan Li felt that another one of his ribs might have broken.

"Which one was that again? The third or fourth?"

He forced himself upright with his sword, swallowing the blood about to burst from his mouth. His ragged breathing made it clear that he was already in terrible condition.

Then, he raised his eyes toward his enemy.

That monster stood not far from him.

On the tail of that enormous body, over three meters tall, was a wound he had just cut—a shallow gash.

But now—

"..."

Lan Li could clearly see the muscles and skin around the gash continuously repairing themselves.

In only a few moments, the bleeding wound had become nothing more than a faint red mark.

And that was precisely what gave Lan Li the greatest headache—what even drove him to despair.

"Life Force, stamina, speed, defense, strength... they're completely on different levels."

Even though the other side had not used Haki—perhaps he did not know how, or perhaps he simply did not wish to.

Even though Lan Li had already used his Haki and slashes with all his strength.

But the difference between them lay in the essence of life itself—the Life Force granted by an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit was simply too terrifying.

So...

"My training still isn't enough. If Master Huoshan were here himself, he might have been able to cut through that guy's body."

Lan Li pondered inwardly.

"In a normal fight, I have no chance of winning."

"So I can only gamble everything on the next slash."

He had already made his decision.

At the same time...

"This fruit really is absurd. No wonder even a random Ancient Zoan Ability User is at least one of the Hundred Beasts Pirates' Flying Six or Three Calamities."

Luo Yi was voicing almost the same thought as Lan Li.

That was right.

His battle with Lan Li this time had also been intentional. He had wanted to use this fairly formidable commodore as a whetstone to help himself adapt to his new abilities.

And as the fruit's owner, he understood even better than Lan Li just how powerful the Wind God Pterosaur Fruit was.

"My base combat ability and Body Technique aren't weak. Combined with this fruit's powers, I'm probably close to the strength of a Marine Vice Admiral."

Luo Yi reached that conclusion inwardly.

Of course, considering the astonishing gap between the weakest and strongest Vice Admirals, he was actually being rather conservative.

"Not to mention, I still have... Hm?"

But just as Luo Yi was about to continue analyzing and summarizing, his heart stirred—the unique sense of danger possessed by Zoan Ability Users made him turn toward Commodore Lan Li.

Lan Li had already emerged from the smoke and dust.

At some point, the Great Katana in his hand had been sheathed.

He lowered his body, his right hand gripping the scabbard, his gaze sharp enough to frighten anyone.

"Is he going to decide the victor now?"

Luo Yi immediately understood his opponent's intentions—the man clearly intended to settle the outcome with his next strike.

So...

"Fine."

"I've more or less adapted to the Wind God Pterosaur Fruit's powers. It really is time to end this."

Luo Yi muttered inwardly, his gaze likewise settling on Commodore Lan Li before him.

At that moment...

Boom!

Commodore Lan Li clenched the hilt, his breathing heavier than ever before.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

With each breath, Haki slowly coated his hand, and all the strength in his body gathered at that instant.

His presence was like a volcano gathering pressure, on the verge of eruption.

"When you encounter a powerful enemy, it is naturally a crisis—but it may also be an opportunity."

"Gather your momentum. Bet everything you have on a single sword strike."

"Settle the heart, gather the heart, converge it into one point—this is called the Residing Form."

The voice of his mentor, Huoshan, seemed to still echo in his ears.

Then...

Boom!

In the next instant, a blade's edge flashed forth.

Like a volcanic eruption!

It was a slash—an unprecedented slash!

Its speed and ferocity far surpassed every previous strike, tearing through the air.

Where it passed, countless surrounding trees were split in two in an instant, while enormous clouds of dust exploded after the slash with a thunderous roar.

"When the heart moves, the sword emerges; heart and intent become one—this is called Drawing Unity."

At that moment, Lan Li was deeply satisfied.

Because this was the strongest strike he had ever unleashed.

"Volcano Style: Iaido Slash: Huoshan!"

And at that moment, even surprise flashed through Luo Yi's beast-transformed vertical pupils.

The next instant...

The slash flew past.

"Pshht!"

The head wearing the Rooster Mask, covered in shadowy Dragon Scales, silently parted from its neck!

One strike, beheading!

At last, Lan Li let out a sigh of relief.

"I won."

He slowly collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. It felt as though even the slightest movement of his body had become incredibly difficult.

But—

"That slash wasn't bad."

The sudden voice nearly made Lan Li's heart stop.

"Wha—"

He turned his head in disbelief.

Then, he saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

In the devastated forest, the sunlight was just right.

Luo Yi's severed head, still wearing the Rooster Mask, was turning into countless fine, flowing golden particles of light.

Then—

"Buzz!"

The scattered fragments of light continuously gathered, gradually reforming above the headless body.

Within the dazzling radiance, the outline of a head condensed.

In mere moments, Luo Yi's body had returned to normal.

However, Lan Li could clearly see the changes in him now.

Golden bands of light coiled around his entire body, and even the Dragon Claws in his hand seemed to carry a golden glow.

The forest fell utterly silent.

Lan Li's gaze was nearly vacant.

He stared at the unbelievable posture before him, something impossible to describe with ordinary words.

"A Zoan Ability User, but with Elementalization!?"

The part of his mind still capable of thought replayed the incredible scene from moments ago.

After fighting for so long, he had been almost certain that Luo Yi was a Zoan Devil Fruit Ability User.

Yet what he had just seen was something he had witnessed among the Marines before—extremely similar to the Logia power possessed by Marine Admiral Kizaru.

So he involuntarily arrived at what was almost the only possible conclusion.

"You're... a Mythical Zoan?"

Only the rarest type of Devil Fruit on the entire sea—a Zoan-type Mythical Zoan—could possess such an unbelievable power!

And with that came another conclusion.

That was—

"You weren't even going all out in our fight just now?"

If the other party truly was a Mythical Zoan Ability User, then that conclusion was almost inevitable.

Lan Li was nearly horrified.

He had confidence in his own strength—among the Marines, below the rank of Vice Admiral, he was confident he would not lose to anyone.

But now, this mysterious attacker before him had defeated him without even using his full strength.

"Y-you... who exactly are you?"

He opened his mouth to ask.

Then, he saw the Dragon Claws slowly rise.

"Buzz!"

Golden light gathered over the Dragon Claws, bursting forth in the next instant.

"Boom!"

Lan Li lost consciousness in the next moment.

"Who am I?"

Before losing consciousness, he seemed to hear the other party's calm yet confident voice.

"My name is Rooster."