We'll Meet Again Soon!

Joy Boy's enormous body was embedded in Little Garden's dome. Broken stones and rubble rained down, quickly piling into a small mound.

A moment later, Joy Boy stirred. His massive figure crashed back to the ground, smashing a humanoid crater into the earth. Then he planted both palms on the ground and slowly rose to his feet.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi had carved a long wound across his lower back. Though he had failed to evade Yoriichi's slash, Joy Boy had relied on his formidable Haki to greatly lessen the damage inflicted upon his body.

The blood-soaked wound looked horrifying, but the slash had not reached Joy Boy's spine. In his current state, such an injury was nothing at all and would not affect his combat ability in the slightest.

"Hehehe—"

Though he was merely a puppet controlled by another, Joy Boy suddenly bared his teeth in an inscrutable grin at Tsugikuni Yoriichi after getting back to his feet.

That strange chuckle made Yoriichi's brows furrow slightly.

Yoriichi had not held back at all in that strike. Of all the enemies he had faced before, not a single one had been able to take that blow head-on without any defense and still stand up again.

Yet the giant before him had done it. This meant the other party's Haki was powerful enough to withstand Yoriichi's attacks directly. Even if Yoriichi found an opening and attacked, the giant's powerful defensive Haki would still keep Yoriichi's blade from reaching his bones.

For Joy Boy in his current puppet state, if Yoriichi's slash could not damage his bones, then it would be impossible to substantially weaken his combat strength.

That also meant Yoriichi might not be able to defeat the enemy before him.

If he could not even break through the enemy's defenses, how could