Dragon's Breath

As the participants arrived one after another, the quarterfinals of the fighting tournament officially kicked off.

Luo Ya drew number one, making him the first to take the stage, while number two was the bearded pirate who had caught some attention earlier.

The man was shirtless, revealing a sturdy physique, but the more Luo Ya looked at him, the more familiar he seemed, until he finally realized who it was once he stepped onto the ring.

Wasn't this Brownbeard from the original story? The one who supposedly got turned into a half-man, half-beast creature by Caesar.

His beard wasn't braided into three strands yet, but the thickness and color were identical.

"Haha, the Navy is truly useless if they can't even catch a guy like you."

"I am Brownbeard, a pirate with a bounty of 170 million! If you're smart, get lost now. I don't have time to play house with a kid who hasn't even grown his hair out yet."

As soon as he stepped onto the stage, Brownbeard began to mock Luo Ya relentlessly, perfectly embodying the trait of his original counterpart: a mouth that couldn't keep itself shut.

Moreover, because Luo Ya's bounty was composed not only of the initial Black Fist Matt and the defeat of Kuma, but also of slaughtering entire islands and killing countless people, Brownbeard was deeply annoyed that Luo Ya's bounty was higher than his own.

"Heh, it looks like you won't get the chance to become a centaur, Brownbeard." Luo Ya cracked his knuckles, the sound popping sharply.

"The rules remain the same as the qualifiers: losing the ability to fight back or falling off the ring counts as elimination. The match begins!"

Following the referee's command, Brownbeard threw a heavy, powerful punch, his fist coated in a dark, glossy sheen as it tore through the air toward Luo Ya.

Luo Ya formed his left hand into a dragon claw and—bang!—caught Brownbeard's right fist directly in his palm.

"Heh, what a piece of trash." As the words left his lips, Luo Ya's pitch-black dragon claw lunged straight for Brownbeard's throat.

Brownbeard was, at the very least, a pirate capable of causing trouble in Whitebeard's territory in the New World; he lifted his right leg high and kicked directly at Luo Ya's left arm.

Taking advantage of the momentum, he lowered his body, causing Luo Ya's sure-fire strike to miss.

With his left arm kicked, Luo Ya was forced to release the fist he had been holding.

Luo Ya shook his numb left arm, then stomped hard on the ground, charging toward Brownbeard like an arrow released from a bow.

His right claw was raised high, dark Armament Haki swirling around it to form five sharp, pointed fingertips.

This was a technique from the Dragon's Training Manual: Dragon Hook Claw, which used Armament Haki to harden the fingertips into the claws of a dragon.

Compared to the standard Dragon Claw Fist method of crushing enemies, Luo Ya preferred this Dragon Hook Claw. Given his current grip strength, it was nearly impossible to inflict heavy damage on enemies through raw pressure alone, whereas the wounds caused by tearing were far more direct.

Before Brownbeard could steady his footing, he saw Luo Ya's fierce approach and realized it was too late to block. He rolled on the ground, causing this strike to miss once again.

Taking advantage of the moment Luo Ya's momentum was spent, he quickly rose and threw a punch aimed at the back of Luo Ya's head.

Bang! The pitch-black fist collided with an elbow; Luo Ya had anticipated the move and bent his arm to block the blow.

As the two traded blows, Brownbeard's extensive combat experience allowed him to land several hits on Luo Ya, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth.

Wiping the blood away, Luo Ya only grew more spirited as the fight progressed.

As the battle continued, Luo Ya became increasingly adept, his claws moving faster and at more devious angles, leaving Brownbeard struggling to keep up.

In his panic, Brownbeard was struck squarely in the chest by one of Luo Ya's Dragon Hook Claws, tearing away a large chunk of flesh.

Bang! Brownbeard, his chest drenched in blood, flew backward and hit the ground.

"Huff, huff... You brat, you're asking for death!" Brownbeard roared as he scrambled to his feet.

Before he could steady himself, Luo Ya grabbed him by the face. The terrifying grip strength caused Brownbeard's eyes to bloodshot, and thick, red blood began to stream from his ears.

He mumbled something, but it was muffled by Luo Ya's palm. He began to lash out wildly at Luo Ya, but Luo Ya dodged every strike.

As Luo Ya tightened his grip, three distinct indentations appeared on Brownbeard's skull. Brownbeard's fists hammered frantically against Luo Ya's left arm, producing dull, thudding sounds.

On one hand, Luo Ya's mastery of the Dragon Claw Fist was still lacking—he had only possessed it for a few months and couldn't match the grip strength of Sabo, who could crush a skull instantly.

On the other hand, Brownbeard had some real strength, leaving Luo Ya in a stalemate for a moment.

"Heh, Dragon's Breath." Luo Ya muttered.

He slightly loosened his left hand, and Brownbeard's voice leaked through his fingers.

"Spare me! Ah!" Before the words were finished, the left hand tightened instantly. The moment the scream rang out, Brownbeard's head exploded like a watermelon hitting the ground.

His arms fell limply to his sides, and he slowly collapsed to his knees.

Dragon's Breath was a lethal technique within the Dragon Claw Fist, utilizing a zero-distance attack similar to a focused strike.

It instantly exerted high-speed force, consuming a massive amount of Armament Haki and stamina to drastically increase the power of the blow in a single moment.

In Dressrosa, when Sabo used it for the first time, he slammed both fists into the ground, creating a massive explosion of smoke and force—like the breath of a dragon—that shattered the entire rock layer beneath him.

As Brownbeard's head burst, the entire arena fell into a deathly silence. Looking at the headless corpse on the stage and the red and white mess scattered across the floor, everyone present found it difficult to stomach.

Madalina was so terrified that she buried her head in Brunen's chest, trembling.

Luo Ya shook the filth from his hand and looked at the referee. "Shouldn't you announce my victory?"

"The one advancing to the final four is the Black Flame Swordsman, Luo Ya!" But this time, the advancement did not trigger the cheers from the crowd as it had before.

Luo Ya didn't care; he shrugged and walked off, planning to return to the hotel to shower and change his clothes.

Regardless, the final four matches wouldn't start until tomorrow, and the ones who would advance were already clear—watching or not made no difference.

Back at the hotel, Luo Ya sat on the sofa in his pajamas, deep in thought about the battle with Brownbeard.

"Closing yourself off to build a chariot is never as good as going out and gaining real experience," Luo Ya thought to himself. Although the battle with Brownbeard had only lasted a few hours, it had been more effective than a month of burying himself in solitary training. Take Dragon's Breath, for example; before, it had been hit-or-miss, but after this fight, he could at least guarantee a one-hundred-percent success rate in unleashing it.

After finishing dinner in his room, Luo Ya headed to the training grounds to continue practicing his Dragon Claw Fist; after all, physical combat was not his strong suit. Even if he couldn't take home the championship in the end, he at least didn't want to lose in an unsightly manner.