At this moment.
After opening the first three of the Eight Inner Gates, Natsuya shot toward Hawkeye!
With a swish!
He did not use Shave, but his speed was now nearly on par with it.
In the blink of an eye, Natsuya crossed more than half the distance.
But this time, he did not close in on Hawkeye completely. Instead, he landed atop a wrecked ship and watched Hawkeye with flickering eyes.
It was worth mentioning that although his previous battle with Garp had ended with Natsuya fleeing, he had gained tremendously from that fight.
There was no need to mention the Battle Points. At the same time, it had tested all of his abilities and given Natsuya invaluable combat experience!
Yes, combat experience!
Especially experience fighting Haki users.
Although Natsuya had already fought countless battles before this, very few of his opponents had been Haki users. It could even be said that there had been none at all.
After fighting Garp, he naturally gained a more direct understanding of Two-Color Haki.
Natsuya's physical abilities were already formidable, and with the enhancement from the first three of the Eight Inner Gates, they became even more extraordinary.
But against a powerhouse who wielded Armament Haki, that kind of strength still seemed insufficient.
So at that time, Natsuya had begun thinking of a way to deal with opponents like that.
The simplest solution was for him to learn Armament Haki as well.
But what if he encountered such an opponent before he had learned Armament Haki?
What then!?
And now, Natsuya's concern seemed to have come true.
There was no doubt that Hawkeye was also a powerhouse who wielded Armament Haki, and his Armament Haki would not be weak either!
Against someone like that, even if Natsuya opened the Gate of Life, he could not guarantee that he would break through Hawkeye's defenses!
So what should he do?
Natsuya had already thought of a solution.
At that moment, his eyes flashed, and his reddened fingers suddenly began stabbing wildly into the air before him.
"Door-Strike Dog!"
"Chain Finger Pistol!!"
In that instant, an incredible sight appeared!
The moment Natsuya's reddened fingers stabbed out, they vanished into the air.
The next instant, red finger shadows appeared behind Hawkeye alongside air doors and launched a frenzied surprise attack!
"Hm!?"
Hawkeye raised a brow. Without turning around, his body suddenly swayed in a bizarre manner.
He dodged the barrage of Finger Pistols in flashes.
"Observation Haki!"
Natsuya narrowed his eyes at the sight.
Just as expected, Hawkeye was a Haki user as well.
And what he had used just now was Observation Haki!
The evasive effect of Observation Haki was clearly far superior to Paper Art.
But Natsuya knew very well that both Paper Art and Observation Haki had flaws.
That flaw was that once an attack became fast enough, it could no longer be dodged!
Even if you foresaw the enemy's attack, you still could not evade it if you were not fast enough!
With that thought, Natsuya's hand movements accelerated, and his two fingers completely turned into afterimages.
Puff! Puff! Puff!!!
Even the air seemed to explode under the barrage.
The red Finger Pistols appearing behind Hawkeye became a mass of crimson phantoms, engulfing him.
Just as Natsuya had expected, Hawkeye's Observation Haki could not deal with an attack like this. In the end, he was struck by the Finger Pistols!
But the instant the Finger Pistols hit Hawkeye's body, a pitch-black color surged across his surface. At first glance, it did not seem much weaker than Garp's Armament Haki!
Clang! Clang! Clang!!!
The Finger Pistols struck Hawkeye's body and immediately produced a series of ringing metallic sounds.
Seeing this, Hawkeye curled his lips into a smile.
"The information sent by the Marines said that your Devil Fruit ability is extremely strange. It seems that was indeed true."
It had to be said that Natsuya's ability had impressed even him.
Not only could it unleash his potential and greatly increase his strength.
It could also attack from a distance.
Such long-range attacks were practically impossible to guard against!
Paired with that astonishing burst of speed, ordinary people would probably be unable to withstand Natsuya's move.
But unfortunately, this Natsuya apparently had not mastered Armament Haki!
Meanwhile, Hawkeye himself was a powerful Armament Haki user!
That alone put him in an invincible position!
Realizing this, Hawkeye became even calmer.
Of course, the information also stated that Natsuya's Door-Door Fruit ability was especially suited for escaping.
So he should end this battle quickly.
With that thought, Hawkeye tightened his grip on Yoru, about to unleash a heaven-shaking slash.
But at that moment, Natsuya smiled.
"Something even stranger is yet to come!"
Hawkeye froze at those words.
Immediately afterward, an even more incredible scene unfolded!
Hawkeye was struck by a Finger Pistol again, but this time, at the instant it hit his body, a door actually appeared on his surface!
Hawkeye's body had originally been covered in Armament Haki, yet that door led directly into his body. It was as though it had opened a gap amid the layers of Armament Haki!
Then, an even sharper Finger Pistol suddenly plunged into that gap.
With a soft puff, Hawkeye's expression changed dramatically.
Without a second thought, he swung Yoru behind him!
Bzzzz!!!
Amid a clear sword hum, a mist-like slash spread outward, directly obliterating the crimson afterimages formed by the Finger Pistols.
But before that, Natsuya had already activated the Mirror of Heart Door, predicted Hawkeye's movements in advance, and withdrawn his fingers.
At this point, Hawkeye's gaze toward Natsuya became serious for the first time.
Inside the Different Dimension.
Nami's eyes widened in shock.
When she had seen Hawkeye take Natsuya's Finger Pistol attack without harm, she had thought her earlier judgment was correct.
A man like Hawkeye, the world's greatest swordsman, truly was not someone they could defeat.
But she had never expected the battle to suddenly change so drastically.
She had not even seen what had happened when she saw a smile appear on Natsuya's face, while Hawkeye, the world's greatest swordsman, turned grim. A streak of bright red blood even slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth!
What had happened!?
At that moment, Natsuya grinned as he watched the blood trickling from Hawkeye's mouth.
The exchange just now sounded complicated, but it had actually been very simple.
Natsuya had merely taken advantage of Hawkeye's moment of carelessness to use the Door-Door Fruit's ability and open Hawkeye's body!
That was right—open Hawkeye's body!
This was the method Natsuya had devised to deal with Armament Haki users!
In fact, this idea had also been inspired by Garp.
Generally speaking, when people used Armament Haki for defense, they covered specific parts of their bodies with it. Those who were stronger could even cover their entire bodies.
Both Garp and Hawkeye could clearly achieve full-body coverage.
With that being the case, it seemed impossible for Natsuya to break through the defenses of someone like them.
But do not forget that his Door-Door Fruit ability could open the Gate of Heart!
It had already been said that opening the Gate of Heart could produce three effects!
One was eavesdropping on thoughts, one was stealing abilities, and the final one was simply opening the body, much like surgery!
And now, Natsuya had used that final effect to simply open Hawkeye's body and attack him from within!
That way, even if Hawkeye covered his surface with Armament Haki, he naturally could not defend against Natsuya's Finger Pistol!
Thus, the current situation had come about.
Hawkeye had already suffered internal injuries!
Realizing this, Natsuya's spirits rose as well.
He saw hope of defeating Hawkeye!
Before you continue