"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Rest!"
Natsuya pressed a hand to his chest. The Door-Door Fruit ability activated, opening another valve within his body!
At that moment, an even fiercer surge of energy erupted from Natsuya's body, forming a gale that swept outward.
Rob Lucci's hair was whipped up by the wind before quickly falling back down.
At that moment, gravity flashed through his eyes again.
He still could not figure out what ability Natsuya was using.
But that ominous premonition only grew stronger.
To him, Natsuya seemed somewhat different now.
But Rob Lucci naturally could not retreat because of that.
As he had said, he did not believe Natsuya could turn things around.
When it came to stamina, as a Zoan Fruit user, he held an absolutely crushing advantage!
Of course, after what had happened earlier, Rob Lucci no longer dared to underestimate Natsuya.
At that point, he immediately used a technique that consumed less strength.
"Life Return: Paper Art Martial Body!"
With a low shout from Rob Lucci, his muscular body suddenly shrank by a size, making him look leaner and more human.
This was a Fruit ability technique he had developed in conjunction with the Navy's Rokushiki.
Though he was still in a half-human, half-beast form, shrinking his body into a human shape reduced his energy consumption and increased his speed as well.
After transforming, Rob Lucci vanished again and charged at Natsuya.
Natsuya raised an eyebrow when he saw Rob Lucci's transformation, but he said nothing. A mysterious smile rested on his lips as he met the attack head-on!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Finger Pistol: Spots!"
"Chain Finger Pistol!"
The two clashed fiercely once more.
Before long, a faint smile appeared on Rob Lucci's face.
"Hmph, all that mystifying nonsense."
He had thought Natsuya had used some new ability earlier, but upon clashing again, he was stunned to find that Natsuya's strength had not changed at all!
It was exactly the same as before!
So he had merely been putting on an act and trying to fool him?
Realizing this, Rob Lucci's heart settled completely.
If Natsuya was only bluffing, then he would undoubtedly be the victor of this battle!
But half an hour later, Rob Lucci's expression began to look slightly off.
An hour later, Rob Lucci's face darkened.
Two hours later, shock could no longer be concealed on Rob Lucci's leopard face.
"How is that possible!?"
As he watched Natsuya continue battling him without pause, utter disbelief flashed through his eyes.
Leaving aside the time they had fought before, just counting from when Rob Lucci had used Paper Art Martial Body—
Natsuya had actually fought him fiercely for a full two hours!!
Two hours! What kind of concept was that!?
That was an astonishingly long time!
Of course, some powerful fighters could battle for days and nights without issue!
But one had to remember that the intensity of combat for Rokushiki Superhumans like them was no joke!
The Navy's Rokushiki was powerful, but using it consumed a tremendous amount of stamina!
And Natsuya had used Rokushiki to fight him fiercely for a full two hours!
Yet now, even Rob Lucci, who had used Paper Art Martial Body, was beginning to struggle, while Natsuya still looked as though he had strength to spare!?
How was that possible!
At the same time, even Kalifa, who had been watching the battle, was utterly shocked.
So much time had passed that she had naturally long since rescued both Blueno and Kaku.
However, since she had to "take care of" the two of them, she had no free hand to "help" Rob Lucci.
Of course, even so, Kalifa still believed Natsuya had little chance of winning.
After all, Rob Lucci was CP9's strongest member in eight hundred years!
Natsuya could never defeat him!
Perhaps he might still have a slight chance if he fled.
But what Kalifa never expected was that Natsuya had not fled. Instead, he had begun a fierce battle with Rob Lucci.
And that battle had lasted two full hours!
Leaving aside his chances of winning, stamina that rivaled Rob Lucci's alone was enough to shock anyone.
Yet Natsuya was not surprised in the slightest.
Because that was the effect of the Gate of Rest!
It removed the limits of physical fatigue, overworked the body's energy to restore stamina, and offset the exhaustion caused by the Gate of Opening's rate of energy consumption.
Simply put, it neutralized the Gate of Opening's side effects.
Of course, it did not neutralize them completely, and it would still damage his body. But at least for now, Natsuya's sustained combat ability had increased tremendously!
And that was why he had been able to battle Rob Lucci until now!
In fact, he could hold out even longer!
And so, Natsuya continued fighting Rob Lucci with ease.
After a while, Rob Lucci began to falter.
It was not that he could not continue, but that he had no idea where Natsuya's limit lay.
What if Natsuya could really last longer than him?
With that thought, Rob Lucci hesitated no longer and immediately shouted.
"Life Return, release!"
His body abruptly expanded, returning to its original muscular form. Then he stomped forward and charged at Natsuya like a tank!
"Finger Pistol!"
"Flying Finger Pistol: Draw!"
"Tempest Kick: Victorious Bird!"
Rob Lucci's sudden eruption immediately put Natsuya at a slight disadvantage.
Noticing this, Rob Lucci was invigorated and hurriedly pressed his advantage.
In truth, Natsuya's strength after opening the Gate of Opening was still somewhat inferior to Rob Lucci's half-human, half-beast form.
In a true contest of strength, Rob Lucci was unquestionably superior.
Thus, even though Natsuya launched counterattacks, he was still suppressed by Rob Lucci.
Realizing this, Rob Lucci could not help but feel delighted, though at the same time, he was somewhat frustrated.
If he had fought like this from the start, he would not have needed to battle Natsuya for so long.
Of course, even if he wanted a direct clash, it still depended on whether Natsuya agreed.
Natsuya's Door-Door Fruit ability was ultimately troublesome due to how adept it was at escaping and hiding.
So this time, he intended to give Natsuya no chance to escape again and suppress him outright!
"Rokushiki Ultimate Technique: Six King Gun!"
The next moment, Rob Lucci seized the opening and used Shave to appear before Natsuya. He brought his hands together and unleashed an enormous shockwave!
Bang!!!
Amid the thunderous blast, Natsuya's entire body shuddered.
Kalifa's expression changed. Even top-tier Iron Body could not defend against such a terrifying Rokushiki Ultimate Technique attack!
But immediately afterward, she discovered in surprise that Natsuya's staggering figure suddenly steadied himself.
A visible green energy surged out from within Natsuya's body.
That was!?
Before you continue