Molten Dragon

Accompanied by a heaven-shaking roar, the fire dragon coiled its body and soared out of the volcano, hovering in the sky to look down at Luo Ya.

The dragon opened its maw wide, speaking in a human tongue, "Human, you have disturbed my slumber!"

Luo Ya looked up at the fire dragon above him, his excitement beyond measure. "Today, I shall slay a dragon on Lava Island!"

The fire dragon was not surprised to hear this; after all, swordsmen in this world took pride in dragon-slaying, and it dealt with several ill-intentioned swordsmen who sought its life almost every year.

Immediately, it opened its mouth and spewed a massive torrent of magma and flames toward Luo Ya.

Seeing this, Luo Ya tapped his feet in rapid succession, using Geppo to ascend into the air and dodge the breath. In mid-air, Ryujin Jakka was instantly unsheathed, slashing toward the fire dragon.

With a swish-swish sound, the fire dragon twisted its body to evade the two sword beams, its massive frame proving exceptionally agile.

After dodging the sword beams, the fire dragon roared and flew toward Luo Ya, its front claws surging with molten magma that shone with a blinding light.

Clang! With a sharp ring, four blades condensed from flames appeared, crossing to block the claw. Luo Ya followed up immediately, slashing his sword toward the fire dragon's neck.

Clang! Ryujin Jakka was deflected instantly; the scales, which appeared as thin as cicada wings, were unimaginably hard.

Only a faint white mark remained, and the magma slightly seeping from it seemed to be the fire dragon's blood.

Enraged by the wound, the fire dragon clamped its right claw tightly onto the four fire blades and swung its entire body rapidly, unleashing an authentic Dragon Tail Whip.

Bang! The four manifested fire blades attempted to block the attack but were shattered instantly.

The tail, unimpeded after smashing the blades, whipped toward Luo Ya. The flames atop the Ryujin Jakka in Luo Ya's hand roared and churned as he swung it toward the incoming dragon tail.

The two collided, separated, and then slammed into each other again with great force.

Clang, clang, clang! Crisp sounds rang out as a deep gash was carved into the dragon's tail, the magma flowing from it billowing with thick black smoke.

However, given the fire dragon's size, this wound was no more than a fingernail scratch to a human.

After all, while the dragon was coiled and its exact length hard to gauge, it was at least over a hundred meters long.

Even its head towered far above Luo Ya.

As the man and dragon separated after their clash, Luo Ya panted heavily in excitement, holding Ryujin Jakka level before his chest.

Thirty-two blades of flame suddenly manifested behind him.

All the fire blades turned their tips toward the fire dragon. Luo Ya's entire body surged with Haki and flames, which rapidly merged to form black flames swirling around him.

With a rapid succession of taps under his feet, Luo Ya slashed toward the fire dragon at high speed.

Clang, clang, clang! Countless crisp sounds erupted as the thirty-two fire blades struck the fire dragon's entire body repeatedly. Luo Ya held Ryujin Jakka, compressing all its flames into a pitch-black version of the blade.

Fire Burning City Walls! The moment it struck the dragon's head, a violent explosion of flame erupted, blasting the fire dragon away.

Before the fire dragon in the distance could stabilize itself, the fire blades caught up, continuing to slash at its entire body.

Luo Ya followed closely, slashing the dragon's head repeatedly at the same spot with blinding speed. Clang, clang, clang! The impact left Luo Ya's arm numb.

Just as Luo Ya marveled that it was truly a dragon to have such thick skin, the stunned fire dragon finally regained its senses and let out a heaven-shaking roar.

ROAR! Accompanied by the roar, the magma all over the fire dragon's body flowed rapidly, its temperature rising sharply. It instantly erupted with a dazzling red light, blasting Luo Ya away.

The fire blades that had been circling the dragon's body were also scattered in disarray.

Luo Ya, sent flying through the air with no leverage, twisted his body in an attempt to stabilize himself, but he was far inferior to the fire dragon in this regard.

After all, the dragon could fly at will and hover in place, while Luo Ya relied on Geppo, tapping his feet constantly just to maintain the ability to fight at such heights.

The fire dragon noticed this as well. While Luo Ya was struggling to stabilize, a brilliant light flared in its maw, and a massive pillar of magma erupted from its mouth, slamming Luo Ya directly into the ground.

Fortunately, after fighting for so long, the battlefield had shifted from above the crater to the island itself; otherwise, had he been slammed into the volcanic crater by that breath, it would have been difficult for Luo Ya to get back out.

After unleashing such a fierce breath, the fire dragon panted heavily. Its red, slit-like pupils stared fixedly at the deep crater in the ground; it did not believe that this murderous swordsman would be finished off so easily like other small fry.

Sure enough, Luo Ya's figure, wreathed in black flames, emerged from the crater, his feet stomping rapidly as he ascended quickly to face the fire dragon.

The thirty-two fire blades reappeared in the air, coalescing into one massive blade.

As the fire blade formed, Luo Ya pushed off the air with all his might, the pitch-black Ryujin Jakka slashing toward the fire dragon's head.

Clang! It was caught in the dragon's massive claw. The intense heat of Ryujin Jakka had no effect on it; not even a wisp of white smoke rose.

One had to realize that this fire dragon was born from the volcano itself; unless Ryujin Jakka was fully restored to the temperature of its true Shikai, he could only rely on its sharpness to hack away.

The dragon's claw tightened, attempting to crush Luo Ya in its palm. Seeing this, Luo Ya rapidly condensed Haki beneath his feet.

Drill Dragon Nail! He kicked the dragon's claw and pulled back quickly. As he retreated, the massive blade condensed from Infernal Fire Prison finally took shape.

He flew rapidly behind the fire dragon and slashed fiercely at the junction between its head and body.

Clang! The blow sent the fire dragon's body plummeting downward. It scrambled to stabilize itself, facing the giant fire blade that was slashing down once more.

Seeing it about to strike again, the fire dragon tilted its head back and roared, opening its maw wide to bite down hard on the blade. Crunch, crunch! Crisp sounds echoed as the fire blade Luo Ya had condensed was bitten to pieces by the dragon.

Spitting out the non-existent remnants of the fire blade, the fire dragon lunged at Luo Ya in a rage, its two massive claws waving.

Magma surged onto the dragon's claws, eventually forming a pair of giant magma claws that it swung wildly at Luo Ya, spraying magma across the sky with every movement.

With Infernal Fire Prison shattered, Luo Ya could not condense it again in the short term and could only use Geppo to dodge. When he couldn't avoid an attack, he swung Ryujin Jakka to knock the magma away.

Seeing that this move could not subdue Luo Ya, the fire dragon grew even more furious, its entire body glowing with magma as thick black smoke billowed out.

With black smoke billowing from its entire body, a massive torrent of magma erupted into the sky before raining down rapidly across the entire island.

Although Luo Ya had never witnessed a volcanic eruption, he was certain that the rage of this fire dragon was no less destructive than one; in fact, it was likely that this very island had been shaped by the dragon's presence.

Luo Ya's guess was correct. This had originally been a barren island inhabited only by ordinary beasts, but ever since the fire dragon arrived to settle in its center countless years ago, it had gradually formed a volcano, transforming the island into what it was today.

Facing the rain of fire covering the sky, Luo Ya, caught in mid-air, found it impossible to dodge in time and simply canceled his Geppo, landing on the ground to sprint away.

A thunderous roar echoed across the entire island, causing the local animals to hide and tremble, unable to understand why their king was enraged once again.

As the black smoke filled the sky, the furious fire dragon continued to scan for traces of Luo Ya with its enormous, glowing eyes.

Suddenly, as if it had sensed something, it turned abruptly and began to spew a massive torrent of fire toward a dense thicket, with scorching magma erupting continuously from its maw.

Beneath the column of magma, a shirtless figure was sprinting wildly—it was Luo Ya, desperately evading the attack.

However, the fire dragon's assault was too dense; despite Luo Ya's frantic use of Soru, he was still caught in the blast, his trousers scorched to rags.

Gritting his teeth, he sheathed Ryujin Jakka, pouring his sword intent and Haki into the blade with reckless abandon.

As the breath attack descended, he unleashed a single strike toward the fire dragon in the sky.

Line-Cutting Void! A razor-thin black sword aura sliced the thick torrent of fire in two, and after cleaving through the blast, the unstoppable energy surged toward the dragon's maw.

ROAR! Accompanied by the fire dragon's earth-shattering cry, the breath attack ceased abruptly. The dragon, which had been spewing magma at a downward angle, was split in two starting from the corner of its mouth.

Magma, which seemed to serve as the dragon's blood, exploded into the sky, yet no internal organs were visible.

Just as Luo Ya was feeling puzzled, the fire dragon's roar sounded once more; the two halves of the dragon began to dissolve and then rapidly reconstructed themselves.

Seeing this bizarre scene, Luo Ya knew better than to celebrate prematurely and unleashed several slashes toward the mass of magma in the sky.

The sword auras, however, simply whistled through the magma and vanished into the sky.

Just as Luo Ya felt at a loss, the chaotically churning magma began to take shape rapidly.

It did not condense into a dragon form; instead, the great blade Yan Sha, which he had previously seen flowing within the fire dragon's body, emerged first.

The magma compressed rapidly, forming a head and torso on the ground, followed by arms and legs, until it finally solidified into a middle-aged man.

The man was naked, his body rippling with muscular definition and an eight-pack, his long, fiery red hair cascading down to his waist.

The great blade Yan Sha was gripped firmly in his right hand.

Luo Ya was stunned by the sight, his mouth hanging open, speechless.

The red-haired man spoke up, "You lowly human, I shall mince you into meat paste."

"Wait, wait—dragons can transform into humans? Is this really the world of One Piece? Do you know any female dragons?"

"Shut your mouth! You piece of trash, this King is a Molten Dragon who consumed the Human-Human Fruit. I only needed ten more years to completely digest this blade made from the Essence of Volcano. Your crimes are unforgivable."

"Heh, I thought I'd accidentally wandered into a cultivation world. So, it's just a Devil Fruit." Luo Ya shook his head in disappointment.

"DIE!" The fire dragon, now in the form of a red-haired man, roared and swung Yan Sha toward Luo Ya.

However, Luo Ya, who had been looking forward to the fire dragon's swordsmanship, was deeply disappointed the moment it made its move.

He had expected that after living for so many years, even if the technique wasn't refined, it would at least be impressive. Instead, the move it used was the very first sword technique Luo Ya had ever learned—the same "Blind Random Slash" once used by the Overlord of Western Chu!

Luo Ya sidestepped the dragon's swing, gathered Haki in his foot, and kicked the dragon in the waist.

Dragon Spike! With a powerful front kick, he sent the fire dragon flying. As the dragon soared through the air, Luo Ya tapped his feet repeatedly, activating Soru to instantly teleport in front of the dragon.

He brought his blade down toward the dragon's waist.

CLANG! The fire dragon had managed to raise Yan Sha in mid-air to block the strike, but the force of the blow slammed it into the ground with a dull thud.

Whether it was because the blade had been inside the dragon's stomach for too long or some other reason, a significant chip broke off from Yan Sha. The shattered blade fragments turned into sparks and fell into the dragon's body.

Luo Ya had no time to analyze the situation; taking advantage of the dragon lying on the ground, he unleashed a flurry of powerful slashes.

Squelch! Clang! Squelch! Clang! The sound of Ryujin Jakka slicing through magma-like blood alternated with the sound of Yan Sha parrying the blows.

Interspersed were the sounds of cracking; every time Yan Sha blocked a downward strike, more fragments were chipped away.

These fragments, too, turned into red motes of light and merged into the dragon's body.

Luo Ya, focused on his assault, could only choose to ignore this for the moment. Although the light motes were undoubtedly part of the dragon's scheme, he had to avoid hitting Yan Sha as much as possible while refusing to give up this perfect opportunity to attack while the dragon was pinned down.

And so, the red-haired man lay on the ground, waving his long red blade in a futile attempt to parry, while Luo Ya stood over him, swinging Ryujin Jakka in a relentless, powerful barrage of strikes.