After a whole night of intense thought, Luo Ya finally came up with the perfect plan.
After learning that Ambuseton, the general of this country, went out to sea every day to hunt pirates, Luo Ya decided to offer his services. After all, a slave collar was little more than a trinket to him.
That way, he could either take Ambuseton out when he was alone or bring him back to the palace and slap a wolf-dog brand on him, avoiding the layers of obstacles he'd face breaking into the palace.
No time like the present!
Early the next morning, Luo Ya headed to the docks and made for the largest ship. A bald, burly man stood on its deck, wearing ocher-colored armor and a battle skirt in the style of ancient Greece.
Two absurdly large swords hung at his waist. They had no hilts; instead, each had a groove in the back of the blade to serve as a grip. Their edges were covered in serrations. A great many "citizens" bustled about on the ship.
"Stop! Who are you? What are you doing here?" a burly man holding a cutlass demanded.
"Heh. I'm here to join General Ambuseton."
"Plenty of people want to join the general. Who do you think you are? Get the hell out of here!" he said, shoving Luo Ya away.
"Hold it!" the bald man ordered. The man with the cutlass turned around, confused. "General?"
"The famed Black Flame Swordsman wants to join me? You're more than welcome!" he laughed. He had clearly recognized Luo Ya.
Luo Ya awkwardly rubbed his nose. Damn! I forgot about the bounty poster. Guess I'll have to do this the hard way.
Given Luo Ya's strength, there was obviously something fishy about him offering to join. Besides, Luo Ya was infamous in his own right, having taken part in countless battles to destroy countries and assassinate kings and nobles.
Drill Dragon Nail!
With a bang, Luo Ya kicked the man holding the cutlass into the crowd. Blood mixed with chunks of his innards spilled from his mouth. He was clearly done for.
Ryujin Jakka flashed from its sheath, and a massive column of flames formed, slashing toward Ambuseton.
The people on the ship scattered in an instant under the scorching heat, scrambling into the sea or fleeing to the docks. Meanwhile, a crowd quickly gathered nearby. After all, the last time pirates had invaded Osama was two years ago.
"Who is this guy, daring to challenge General Ambuseton?"
"He's pretty handsome. I wonder how many Beli he'll fetch."
"Serves him right! He hurt so many citizens. His Majesty the King will surely make him suffer."
As the column of flame dissipated, the bald man raised his twin blades and brought them down in a cross. His whole appearance changed dramatically.
Scales covered his body, each marked with strange cracks. He grew to well over ten meters tall, and a thick tail swished behind him.
His head stretched out entirely, transforming him into an upright, humanoid crocodile.
"Hahaha! Luo Ya, I've been wondering how to find you, and now you've delivered yourself right to me. You'll be my slave from now on!"
Ambuseton roared and charged at Luo Ya. His two great blades were instantly coated in gleaming black Haki.
He brought them crashing down at Luo Ya.
Clang! Luo Ya raised his sword to block. The tremendous force bent his knees. He took a step back with his right leg and gathered a great deal of Armament Haki.
Dragon Spike!
With a bang, he kicked Ambuseton away. The recoil numbed Luo Ya's right leg, and he hurriedly put some distance between them.
"Now that's an interesting move, but it won't do you any good!" Ambuseton glanced at the leg that had been kicked and charged at Luo Ya again with a roar.
"Damn it! This is bad." Luo Ya realized he was in trouble. Enemies with especially huge builds tended to have boundless stamina and tremendous defense.
A blow to the abdomen or lower leg was bound to do far less damage, and at one meter eighty-nine, Luo Ya could barely reach Ambuseton's shins.
As Ambuseton roared and charged toward him, Ryujin Jakka rapidly turned black, its temperature rising just as quickly.
The instant Ambuseton lunged at him, Luo Ya rolled forward, leapt up, and slashed at Ambuseton's knee. That's right—he really jumped up and went for the knee!
"It worked!" The familiar feel of the strike told Luo Ya that this blow would severely hamper Ambuseton's mobility.
Before Luo Ya could celebrate, a massive foot kicked him all the way to the docks.
He hit the ground with a thud and slid dozens of meters, smashing through countless wooden crates before being buried under them with a crash.
The onlookers erupted into cheers.
"General Ambuseton is so strong!" "No wonder he's an Ancient Zoan Terror Crocodile Fruit user. His strength is terrifying!"
Ambuseton paid no heed to the crowd's cheers. He looked toward the depths of the pile of crates and said, "If you're really that weak, I might as well take your head and claim the bounty. You're worth a pretty penny, after all!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the air rang with a series of swishes.
Twelve black-and-red blades of fire shot out and floated motionless in the sky.
Boom!
Luo Ya burst out of the crates and brought his blade down on Ambuseton's head. Clang! Ambuseton blocked it with his crossed swords.
Meanwhile, eight blades of fire flew around behind him and plunged into his back. Squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch! Red blood gushed out.
Yet Ambuseton seemed barely affected. He swung his blade and sent Luo Ya flying. Then he brought his other blade down hard on Luo Ya in midair.
Clang! Clang! A series of sharp rings sounded as four blades of fire struck Ambuseton's sword, making it miss.
His strike hit empty air and kicked up a cloud of dust with a boom. Luo Ya used the opportunity to call the eight blades of fire back. The moment they left Ambuseton's body, the wounds they had left behind stopped bleeding and nearly healed.
"Are you tickling me? With a reputation that big, you're pathetically weak, kid! Hahahaha!"
Ambuseton laughed wildly and charged at Luo Ya again.
This time, Luo Ya raised Ryujin Jakka before his chest. The twelve blades of fire converged on it and fused into one.
Ryujin Jakka transformed into a massive sword ten meters long and one meter wide!
He brought it down on Ambuseton's head. The blades met with a clang, and Ambuseton's terrifying strength actually held Luo Ya down with one hand.
His other hand swung a blade toward Luo Ya's waist. In an instant, Luo Ya's eyes turned blood-red.
Clang! Four newly formed blades of fire crossed and blocked the mighty strike. Ambuseton roared, then somehow forced his blade down even harder, pressing Ryujin Jakka right up to Luo Ya.
With a swish, the upper half of the colossal Ryujin Jakka split back into four blades of fire. They shot straight at Ambuseton's face and crossed as they slashed down.
"Ah!" Ambuseton screamed, his crocodile jaws gaping as he let go of both great blades. He spread his hands in front of his face, wanting to cover it but afraid to touch it.
Luo Ya was delighted. It seemed Ryujin Jakka wasn't the problem. Rather, the scales with those cracks protected other parts of Ambuseton's body, making them highly resistant to damage.
As an Ancient Zoan Terror Crocodile Fruit user, Ambuseton's greatest strengths weren't his physical power. They were his terrifying bite force and his scaled hide.
Moreover, he could barely feel pain where his scales covered him, and the regenerative power from his Awakened Zoan abilities was also terrifying.
The soft skin on his chest and his face were his most vulnerable spots.
That was why Ambuseton had always dismissed attacks on other parts of his body, yet guarded his chest so thoroughly.
Realizing this, Luo Ya seized the opportunity and gathered sixteen blades of fire into Ryujin Jakka. Then he slashed diagonally down across Ambuseton's chest.
Kzzzt! A teeth-grating sound rang out. Ambuseton's finely crafted yellow armor burst apart, leaving a gash across his chest. Blood gushed out in torrents.
"Ah!" Ambuseton cried out and fell to his knees. The smell of roasting flesh filled the air as the agony of being burned by Ryujin Jakka's flames finally took effect.
The flames burned at a scorching three thousand degrees. Just thinking about it made Luo Ya shudder. Back in Soul Space, even a thousand degrees had nearly driven him mad.
"No! Impossible! How could General Ambuseton fall?" "Who is that man? How could he defeat General Ambuseton?"
"Get up, General Ambuseton! If you lose, who'll stop this pirate?"
The people gathered there shouted in disbelief. Ambuseton's strength had become deeply ingrained in their hearts.
But as an Awakened Devil Fruit user, Ambuseton wasn't going to fall so easily. Just as Luo Ya was about to take advantage of the opening and behead him in one strike,
Ambuseton's body grew larger again as he screamed. His cries turned into ear-splitting roars.
A colossal beast, fifteen meters long, sprawled on the ground. Its thick-clawed limbs dug into the earth.
Its long crocodile snout was at least two meters long.
Clang! Luo Ya's beheading strike hit the thick scales and bounced right off, leaving only a faint white mark.
Luo Ya's heart tightened. Ambuseton's defense had already been absurd, and his full beast form had taken it even further, increasing both his size and his toughness.
"Roar!" Ambuseton, now fully transformed into a crocodile, roared and swung his head around to bite Luo Ya. Its teeth interlocked, each one like a sword.
Luo Ya hurriedly kicked out. With a bang, his foot struck Ambuseton's thick lips.
He used the force to send himself flying backward, but Ambuseton didn't pause. It opened its jaws wide and snapped at Luo Ya.