Sorbet Kingdom

Luo Ya stood on deck, breathing in the salty sea breeze. Their destination, the Sorbet Kingdom, was a winter island, so he had changed into warm clothes well in advance. Sure, he could handle the cold, but going without proper clothes would just be stupid.

Still, there were plenty of people who dressed a certain way just to look cool. Crocodile, for instance, wore a full-length fur coat in the sweltering desert to maintain his image.

After three days at sea, they reached their destination. Hafiz was waiting at the dock, craning his neck for a glimpse of them.

Luo Ya moored the ship and headed over to Hafiz and the others.

Smack! "Heh, don't tell me you've already reached the palace." Luo Ya exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"The Imperial City is on the verge of falling. The city guards are the only thing slowing him down. If you hadn't shown up soon, we were already prepared to put out to sea."

"Fine. Which way is the palace?" Luo Ya asked. Hafiz and the others hurriedly pointed the way. Luo Ya nodded and sprinted toward the palace.

The streets were full of nobles and merchants fleeing with their families and luggage. Even large numbers of soldiers in matching armor were running toward the docks.

At last, Luo Ya heard the thunder of battle and raced toward it.

The figure who came into view was Bartholomew Kuma. At nearly seven meters tall, he was an intimidating sight.

Facing him was a bearded giant, over two meters tall, clad in battered armor covered in cracks, dust, and bloodstains.

Kuma barely reacted when he saw Luo Ya, keeping the same blank expression. The giant, however, looked overjoyed. "It's the Black Flame Swordsman, Luo Ya! I'm Devon, a general of the kingdom. Help me take down this traitor!"

At that, Kuma stopped attacking and glared at Luo Ya with a sour look. Devon seized the chance to take deep breaths and recover.

"Heh, don't mind me. Keep going." Luo Ya shrugged under their gazes, then sat down right there on the ground.

"What do you mean by that? King Berkley hired you to deal with him, not to sit back and watch!" Devon demanded.

"Kuma, can you get rid of that annoying fly first? Otherwise, I'll take care of both of you." Luo Ya wore a chilling smile.

Kuma paused in surprise, then came to his senses and launched himself at Devon.

Devon had never been a match for Kuma to begin with. Years of pampered living had made him forget how to fight altogether.

At this point, Kuma should have been traveling around with the Revolutionary Army, fighting and kindling the fires of revolution.

By comparison, Devon was barely holding on with whatever skill he had left from his youth. After such a long fight, he was steadily being pushed back.

"Pirates really are pirates. You're all a pack of faithless beasts!" Devon roared at Luo Ya. He unleashed a heavy blow, forcing Kuma back.

His muscles swelled until his once-fitting armor bulged around him. A pitch-black king appeared on his forehead.

Short, fine fur covered his body, striped black and yellow. It was obvious at a glance that his Zoan Devil Fruit had transformed him into a tiger.

As a tiger-man, Devon bared his fangs and thrust out both claws, pouncing at Kuma with a deafening roar.

Kuma raised a palm covered in paw pads and struck Devon with it. The charging Devon was sent flying.

Luo Ya watched closely. The moment Devon touched the paw pad on Kuma's palm, all the force in his body rebounded off it. His sharp tiger claws had no effect at all.

With Devon helpless in midair, Kuma bent his legs slightly and thrust both palms forward, firing two enormous paw-shaped bubbles.

"So this is Pressure Cannon?" Luo Ya exclaimed, thrilled. He remembered that the attack could pass through a person and strike their entire body. It was formed by compressing air with the paw pads.

Thud! Devon hit the ground after two Pressure Cannons passed through him. His transformed form had already disappeared.

The blood he coughed up stained his carefully groomed beard red, and his fine armor shattered all over the ground.

"Heh, what a waste. I thought I'd get to enjoy the show, but he went down in one hit." Luo Ya mocked Devon.

Unfortunately, Devon was already dead and couldn't hear him. Otherwise, he would have cursed Luo Ya out.

If I could beat him, would I have spent a fortune hiring you? You shameless, despicable bastard! I could curse you with a whole basket of insults!

"Black Flame Swordsman Luo Ya, were you also hired by King Berkley to prop up his brutal rule?"

"Heh, I don't care about his rule. I'm interested in you, Bartholomew Kuma. I hope you can give me a good fight. Hahahaha!"

Support Slash!

Laughing, Luo Ya unleashed a fierce wave of flaming sword energy as he drew his blade, sending it flying toward Kuma. At the same time, he kicked off the ground, rushed up to Kuma, and slashed diagonally down at him.

Black Armament Haki coated the soft paw pads on Kuma's hands, turning them glossy black and showing just how thoroughly they had been hardened.

His right palm touched the sword energy from Support Slash and immediately repelled it. With a clang, his left palm caught Scorching Cloud, and wisps of white smoke rose from his hand.

Luo Ya was taken aback. Ryujin Jakka was constantly releasing its heat through the blade of Scorching Cloud. Besides its own temperature of over a thousand degrees, that heat also greatly enhanced the blade's sharpness.

To think Kuma could grab it barehanded! That could only mean his mastery of the Paw-Paw Fruit had reached its peak.

While Luo Ya was distracted, Kuma kept Scorching Cloud gripped in his left hand and brought his right palm down toward Luo Ya's chest. Though calling it his chest was not quite accurate: at nearly seven meters tall, Kuma's hand only looked small by comparison. In reality, it was almost as big as Luo Ya's upper body.

A gust of wind rushed at him, and Luo Ya snapped back to his senses. He kicked straight into Kuma's left palm and was immediately flung backward by the tremendous force.

In their clash of strength, Kuma couldn't withstand Scorching Cloud's heat and opened his hand. Aside from wisps of white smoke rising from his palm, it was completely unharmed.

"Heh. Now for round two." From a distance, Luo Ya slid Scorching Cloud back into its sheath.