The Fire Dragon circled through the air, flying out of the volcano amid a thunderous roar. It coiled above the island and looked down at Luo Ya.
Its jaws gaped open as it spoke in a human voice. "Human, you have disturbed my slumber!"
Luo Ya looked up at the Fire Dragon, so excited he could barely contain himself. "Today, I'll slay a dragon on Lava Island!"
The Fire Dragon wasn't surprised. Swordsmen in this world took pride in slaying dragons, and every year it had to deal with a few who meant it harm.
It opened its mouth and spewed a torrent of magma and flames at Luo Ya.
Seeing this, Luo Ya quickly tapped his feet and rose into the air with Geppo, dodging the blast. Then Ryujin Jakka flashed from its sheath, and he slashed at the Fire Dragon.
Two sword beams hissed through the air. The Fire Dragon twisted its body and dodged them, its enormous frame surprisingly nimble.
After avoiding the sword beams, the Fire Dragon roared and charged at Luo Ya. Scalding magma surged through its foreclaws, shining with a blinding light.
Clang! Four blades of condensed flame appeared and crossed to block the claw. Luo Ya followed up with a slash at the Fire Dragon's neck.
With a clang, Ryujin Jakka bounced away. The scales, thin as cicada wings, were far harder than they looked.
They bore only a faint cut. Magma trickled from it, seemingly the Fire Dragon's blood.
Wounded, the Fire Dragon flew into a rage. Its right claw clamped down on the four flaming blades, and it swung its whole body in a perfectly executed Dragon Tail Whip.
The four blades appeared to block the blow, but shattered with a bang.
The tail continued toward Luo Ya without slowing. Flames roared along Ryujin Jakka as he swung it at the oncoming tail.
The two clashed, separated, then slammed together again with renewed force.
A series of sharp clangs rang out. The tail was left with a deep gash, magma pouring from it in clouds of black smoke.
But compared to the Fire Dragon's size, the wound was like a scratch from a nail clipper on a person.
The Fire Dragon had been circling, making its length hard to judge, but it was at least a hundred meters long.
Its head alone towered over Luo Ya.
When man and dragon finally broke apart, Luo Ya panted excitedly and held Ryujin Jakka level in front of his chest.
Thirty-two blades of flame appeared behind him.
Every blade turned to point at the Fire Dragon. Haki and flames quickly mingled around Luo Ya, becoming Black Flame that surged around his body.
With a series of quick taps beneath his feet, Luo Ya charged at the Fire Dragon at tremendous speed.
Clang, clang, clang! Countless sharp impacts rang out as the thirty-two blades slashed at the Fire Dragon all over its body. Luo Ya gripped Ryujin Jakka and compressed its flames into a pitch-black version of the blade.
Fire Burning City Walls! The attack struck the Fire Dragon's head, unleashing a violent blaze. A powerful explosion sent it flying.
Before it could steady itself, the Fire Dragon was caught by the flaming blades, which kept slashing at its body.
Luo Ya followed close behind and hacked at the same spot on its head several times at incredible speed. Clang, clang, clang! The blows left his arm numb.
Just as Luo Ya thought, No wonder it's a dragon. Its hide is unbelievably tough.
The stunned Fire Dragon finally came to its senses and let out a thunderous roar.
Roar! As it roared, magma coursed rapidly through its body and its temperature soared. A dazzling red light erupted, blasting Luo Ya away.
The blades circling the dragon were scattered as well.
Luo Ya was thrown through the air, with nowhere to push off. He hurriedly twisted his body, trying to regain his balance, but he was no match for the Fire Dragon.
After all, it could fly wherever it pleased and hover in midair. Luo Ya had to keep tapping his feet with Geppo just to stay aloft and fight.
The Fire Dragon noticed this too. While Luo Ya struggled to steady himself, a brilliant light flared in its mouth. It spat a torrent of magma that formed a blazing pillar and slammed Luo Ya straight into the ground.
Fortunately, after fighting for so long, they had moved from above the volcano's crater to the island itself. If the Fire Dragon's breath had knocked Luo Ya into the crater, climbing back out would have been difficult.
After unleashing that blast, the Fire Dragon panted heavily. Its red, slit-pupiled eyes stared at the crater where Luo Ya had landed. It didn't believe that a swordsman radiating murderous intent would be so easily defeated like some other nobody.
Sure enough, a figure wreathed in Black Flame sprang from the crater, feet pounding rapidly as Luo Ya shot back into the air and rose in front of the Fire Dragon.
The thirty-two blades reappeared and joined together into one enormous flaming sword.
As the blades came together, Luo Ya pushed off fiercely. Ryujin Jakka, pitch-black, slashed at the Fire Dragon's head.
With a clang, the massive dragon claw caught the blade. Ryujin Jakka's heat had no effect on it; not even a wisp of smoke rose.
After all, this Fire Dragon had been born from a volcano. Unless Ryujin Jakka recovered its true Shikai temperature, Luo Ya could only rely on its sharpness to cut through.
The Fire Dragon's claw clenched, trying to trap Luo Ya in its grip. Seeing this, Luo Ya quickly concentrated Haki beneath his foot.
Drill Dragon Nail! He kicked the claw and quickly pulled away. As he did, the enormous blade formed by Infernal Fire Prison finally took shape.
It shot behind the Fire Dragon and slashed hard at the junction between its head and body.
With a clang, the blow knocked the Fire Dragon downward. It hurriedly steadied itself, facing the enormous flaming blade as it came down again.
Just as the blade was about to hit, the Fire Dragon threw back its head and roared. It opened its jaws and bit down hard on the blade. Cracking sounds rang out as it bit Luo Ya's flaming sword to pieces.
The Fire Dragon spat repeatedly, trying to clear fragments of the nonexistent blade from its mouth, then angrily charged at Luo Ya, swinging both enormous claws.
Magma welled up over its claws, forming a massive pair of molten talons that it swung wildly at Luo Ya. Magma sprayed through the air with every swing.
Infernal Fire Prison had been shattered, and Luo Ya couldn't form it again so soon. He could only dodge with Geppo, knocking aside whatever he couldn't avoid with Ryujin Jakka.
When it saw that the attack couldn't harm Luo Ya, the Fire Dragon grew even angrier. Magma blazed across its body as thick black smoke billowed out.
Magma erupted from its entire body, shooting into the sky before raining down across the island.
Luo Ya had never seen a volcanic eruption, but he was sure that the Fire Dragon's rage was no less powerful. It was even possible the island had become this way because of the dragon.
His guess was right. The island had once been a barren place where ordinary beasts lived. It wasn't until the Fire Dragon settled at its center an unknown number of years ago that a volcano gradually formed and transformed the island.
Faced with magma raining from the sky, Luo Ya found it hard to dodge while airborne. He simply canceled Geppo, dropped to the ground, and sprinted.
A rumble echoed across the island. The animals hid and trembled, unable to understand why their king was angry again.
As black smoke rose everywhere, the enraged Fire Dragon searched for Luo Ya, its enormous eyes still fixed on the island.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, it whipped around and began spewing magma into a dense stand of trees. Scalding magma poured nonstop from its mouth.
Beneath the pillars of magma, a bare-chested figure ran at full speed. It was Luo Ya, dodging the attack.
The Fire Dragon's assault was too dense. Even as Luo Ya frantically used Soru, he was still caught by some of it, and his pants were burned to tatters.
He hardened his resolve, sheathed Ryujin Jakka, and poured sword intent and Haki into it.
As the blast came, he slashed at the Fire Dragon in the sky.
Line-Cutting Void! A razor-thin black sword beam split the thick blast in two. After cutting through the attack, it continued relentlessly toward the Fire Dragon's mouth.
Roar! Amid the Fire Dragon's thunderous bellow, its breath abruptly stopped. The dragon, which had been spewing magma diagonally downward through the air, was split in two along a line running from the corner of its mouth.
Magma that seemed like blood burst everywhere, but no internal organs could be seen.
Just as Luo Ya wondered what was going on, the Fire Dragon roared again. Its split body began to melt, then reassembled.
Seeing this strange sight, Luo Ya knew better than to count his chickens before they hatched. He slashed several times at the mass of magma in the sky.
The sword beams hissed through the air, passing straight through the magma and continuing toward the sky.
Just as Luo Ya was at a loss for what to do, the magma, which had been churning chaotically, began to take shape.
But it didn't form a dragon. The Great Grade Sword Flame Evil, which Luo Ya had seen flowing through the Fire Dragon's body, appeared first.
The magma rapidly compressed, forming a head and chest on the ground, followed by arms and legs. At last, it took the shape of a middle-aged man.
The man was naked, with bulging muscles and a well-defined six-pack. Long red hair fell to his waist.
He held the Great Grade Sword Flame Evil in his right hand.
Luo Ya was stunned by the sight. He gaped, unable to say a word.
The red-haired man spoke. "You lowly human, I'll chop you into mincemeat."
"W-wait, dragons can turn into humans? Is this really the world of the Pirate King? Do you know any female dragons?"
"Shut up, you piece of trash! I am the Molten Dragon, and I ate the Human-Human Fruit. If not for you, I would have needed only ten more years to completely digest this blade made from Essence of Volcano. You deserve to die!"
"Heh, I thought I'd wandered into a world of immortal cultivation. Turns out you ate 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 Flame Evil at Luo Ya.
Luo Ya had been looking forward to seeing the Fire Dragon's swordsmanship, but after watching him attack, he was thoroughly disappointed.
He had thought that after living for so many years, the dragon's swordsmanship might not be exquisite, but would at least impress him. Instead, it used the very first sword technique Luo Ya had ever learned:
The move once used by the Overlord of Western Chu—Blind Random Slash!
Luo Ya simply dodged the Fire Dragon's swing and gathered Haki beneath his foot, kicking it in the waist.
Dragon Spike! The kick sent the Fire Dragon flying. As it sailed through the air, Luo Ya tapped his feet, and the moment Soru activated, he appeared in front of it at incredible speed.
He slashed at the airborne Fire Dragon's waist.
With a clang, the Fire Dragon brought Flame Evil in front of itself and blocked the blow. But the impact sent it crashing to the ground with a dull thud.
For some reason—perhaps because the Fire Dragon had kept it in its stomach for too long—Flame Evil had developed a sizable chip. Shattered fragments of the blade turned into sparks and fell into the Fire Dragon's body.
Luo Ya had no time to analyze what was happening. While the Fire Dragon lay on the ground, unable to dodge, he hacked at it again and again with all his strength.
Splat! Clang! Splat! Clang! The sounds of Ryujin Jakka cutting through its body and spraying magma-like blood alternated with the clangs of Flame Evil blocking his strikes.
Cracking sounds mixed in as well. Every time Flame Evil blocked one of Luo Ya's downward strikes, pieces of it broke away.
Those fragments also turned into red lights and merged into the Fire Dragon's body.
Focused on his attack, Luo Ya had no choice but to ignore what was happening for now. The lights were surely part of the Fire Dragon's scheme, but he could only try to avoid hitting Flame Evil. He couldn't afford to give up this perfect chance to attack while the dragon was down.
And so, with the red-haired man lying on the ground and wielding a red sword to block again and again with little success,
Luo Ya stood beside him, gripping Ryujin Jakka and hacking down with frantic, powerful blows, one after another.