The Unsolvable Paw-Paw Fruit

All Things in the Universe, Turn to Ashes!

The hilt of Scorching Cloud turned a deep purple, and orange flames intertwined across the blade, flickering with light and shadow.

Castle Wall Flame! Luo Ya swung his blade, sending a massive wave of fire sweeping toward Kuma, then vanished under the cover of the flames.

Pressure Cannon! Two paw-shaped air bubbles blasted toward the fire. Bang! The flames and bubbles collided with a deafening roar, followed by shockwaves and fire scattering in every direction.

Luo Ya surged out from the chaos. The flames that had been coiling around Scorching Cloud were gone, leaving the blade glowing with a dark red light.

This was the Setting Sun Blade, which compressed a vast amount of fire to increase both its temperature and cutting power.

Clang! With a sharp ring, Luo Ya was sent flying backward. No matter how troublesome his previous enemies had been, none had dared to take this move head-on. Yet Kuma, bolstered by the Paw-Paw Fruit and Armament Haki, had not only blocked it directly but successfully countered.

Swish, swish. Using the force of the rebound, Luo Ya retreated rapidly, plunging Scorching Cloud into the ground to slow his momentum, carving a long crack into the earth. The webbing between his thumb and forefinger throbbed with numbness from the impact.

Before Luo Ya could even steady himself, Kuma crouched into a sumo stance and began thrusting his palms forward in rapid succession.

He formed a barrage of paw-shaped bubbles, each larger and more solidified than a standard Pressure Cannon.

Boom! Boom! Luo Ya yanked Scorching Cloud from the ground and dodged to the side. The bubbles struck the open ground, shattering walls and rubble and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

Cough, cough. Luo Ya emerged from the smoke, but unfortunately, the "no smoke, no injury" law failed to apply this time.

A large number of bubbles had struck him, but unlike the ones that had passed through Devon to cause internal pressure damage, these acted more like air bombs. They exploded the instant they made contact, and the sheer force of the impact was far greater than anything he had faced before.

A trickle of blood ran down the corner of Luo Ya's mouth. "One broken rib, and my internal organs must be damaged too. Kuma lives up to his reputation." Luo Ya wiped the blood away casually.

The good news, of course, was that Kuma was finally injured. There was a scorch mark on the largest pad of his palm—very faint, and its color blended in with his Armament Haki.

The bad news was that the injury was so minor that it would have healed even if he'd been late to the hospital.

Although Kuma was extremely tall, his legs appeared quite thin—though that was relative.

It meant that close-quarters maneuvering had to be his weakness. In the original story, his movement techniques relied on the recoil of his paw pads to teleport and travel.

I refuse to believe his whole body can deflect attacks like his palms, Luo Ya thought, searching for an opening.

Seeing Luo Ya injured, Kuma blasted two air currents from his palms behind him, launching himself toward Luo Ya like an arrow from a bow.

He reached Luo Ya in an instant. Looking at the two paws already right in front of his face, Luo Ya gritted his teeth.

Pine Torch! Luo Ya swung Scorching Cloud in Setting Sun Blade mode toward Kuma's palms, the blade erupting into a tornado of fire that enveloped Kuma, spinning and burning.

Two point-blank air cannons slammed into Scorching Cloud, and combined with the force of Luo Ya's own swing, they sent him flying directly into a wall.

Bang! Luo Ya fell from the wall, and Scorching Cloud clattered to his feet. Normally, a sword is a swordsman's life; even in death, they would not release their grip.

However, his right arm hung limp, and the bones at his elbow and wrist had pierced through his skin. Kuma's point-blank Pressure Cannon had shattered the bones of his arm into several pieces. With his arm completely broken, no amount of willpower could force his hand to grip the hilt.

Of course, under normal circumstances, a swordsman's greatest strength is their arm power. Trying to break a swordsman's arm head-on was far more difficult than killing them. It could only be said that Kuma's strength was simply too overpowered.

Rolling black flames surged from Luo Ya's body. Under the enhancement of Black Flame Mode, he "elementalized" his right arm and grabbed the fallen Scorching Cloud.

In the distance, Kuma, wrapped in the fire tornado, did not scream like other enemies. Before Luo Ya could think further, a dazzling white light erupted from the center of the flames. Kuma stood with his arms crossed, hands balled into fists to protect his face and neck.

A giant paw-shaped bubble rose from the ground and expanded rapidly, shattering the Pine Torch.

Staring at Kuma, who stood unharmed inside the bubble, Luo Ya cursed, "Damn it, can you be any more of a freak?"

Ignoring the shout, Kuma expressionlessly uncrossed his arms, his large left hand gripping his right wrist.

The giant bubble shrank rapidly, centered on the pad of his right hand, eventually condensing into a tiny point of light.

Seeing the compressed point of light, Luo Ya's senses went into overdrive. He quickly crouched and plunged Scorching Cloud into the ground up to the hilt. In an instant, dozens of pillars of fire erupted from the earth.

Scorching Hell! With Luo Ya's low chant, the fire pillars converged on Kuma, the surrounding air twisting and hissing under the intense heat.

The dozens of pillars gathered, and just as they were about to merge, a massive roar echoed out.

Boom! Surrounded by the fire, Kuma crouched in his sumo stance, arms crossed while his hands splayed wide, each palm glowing with a point of light.

As Kuma clenched his fists, a paw-shaped bubble far more powerful than the last rose up. The highly compressed air turned the bubble a deep blue, snapping the fire pillars clean in half from the center.

The massive noise from their battle was so loud that even from the distant docks, one could clearly see the fire pillars and the four fingers of the paw print in the sky.

Listening to the intense roaring, King Bekli immediately ordered, "Hafiz, go to the palace and watch the battle. If the Black Flame Swordsman wins, call me immediately. I am going to request reinforcements from the World Government." With that, he turned and ordered his soldiers to set sail at once.

He left a stunned Hafiz and two attendants shouting at the docks.