Rear Admiral Black Fist

Luo Ya walked down the empty road, smoking a cigarette, his mind racing.

He felt no discomfort at killing for the first time; in fact, seeing others sliced in half and charred to cinders even stirred a strange sense of excitement within him.

It seems dying so many times in the Soul Space has left a lasting impact. I can feel the Stickman's hostility growing.

"Hey! You brat up ahead, where do you think you're going? What would happen to the dignity of our Navy if we just let you walk away?"

A muscular brute, at least two and a half meters tall, stood there. His Navy uniform looked as if it might burst at any second, and the cloak inscribed with the word "Justice" fluttered in the wind.

"Does trash like this have Navy protection too? What an absurdly fast response time. But that's fine—I haven't had my fill yet!"

With that, Luo Ya unleashed a crescent of orange-yellow flame, the sword energy whistling through the air toward the Marine.

The brute let out a cold snort, not even bothering to dodge.

He stomped his foot, cracking the earth beneath him and sending out a shockwave of invisible air.

Then, coating his entire body in pitch-black Armament Haki, he leaped forward to meet the attack head-on.

He was clearly a master of physical arts, a man who favored brute force.

"Hah!"

The brute roared, slamming a fist directly into the sword energy without any fancy tricks.

"BOOM!"

A wild, tyrannical force erupted. The flaming sword energy stalled for a split second before shattering into pieces.

"A Mera Mera no Mi user?" Before the brute could finish his sentence, endless flames surged from the point where the sword energy had broken, engulfing him.

"BANG!"

The next moment, the brute was knocked out of the air by the residual force of the strike, crashing into the ground.

But he was a true master of physical conditioning; his body was tough and his vitality astonishing. He barely paused before pushing himself up from the ground.

He looked a bit disheveled, his clothes reduced to rags by the flames, but thanks to his Armament Haki, he remained completely unscathed.

"Kid, the name's Matt. Are you a Devil Fruit user? Or a swordsman who has mastered the intent of flame? You're a rare face in the West Blue."

"I'm Luo Ya. And don't think I'm going to reveal my abilities in the middle of a fight!" Before Luo Ya could finish, a biting gust of wind from a fist rushed toward his face.

Matt tapped his feet in rapid succession, using Soru to appear before Luo Ya in a near-teleport, his fist glowing with black Armament Haki.

By the time Luo Ya reacted, the fist was already upon him. He gripped his hilt and slashed out!

Support Slash! This time, Luo Ya condensed the power of the strike into the blade, holding it back rather than releasing it. The edge of Scorching Cloud emitted a brilliant orange glow.

"RUMBLE!"

The orange blade collided with the black fist.

The impact roared like thunder, and the invisible shockwave kicked up layers of dust.

"Pfft!"

Matt's expression shifted slightly as he was forced to take a step back, while Luo Ya coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood and was sent flying backward.

The outcome of their direct clash was clear.

Luo Ya possessed many advantages, but he had only been training for five or six months; while his physical stats were not weak, he was still far behind a powerhouse like Matt, whose physical arts had been honed to the absolute limit.

"Kid, to think you could hurt me and break through my Armament Haki? You haven't mastered the power of Haki yet, have you? A swordsman's lethality is truly second to none."

Matt held up his right fist. A charred wound covered his knuckles, and blood dripped steadily from his fingers.

Shaking the blood from his hand, Matt stomped the ground and charged at Luo Ya again. When one punch failed, he followed up with another, then an elbow, then a knee—a relentless storm of attacks.

Every strike carried an incredible weight, possessing the power to shatter mountains and split stones.

The fierce wind of his punches ravaged the area, sending sand and rocks flying.

Luo Ya struggled to keep up, and a momentary lapse in concentration allowed Matt to land a knee strike that sent him soaring.

"Pfft!"

Luo Ya spat out a large mouthful of dark red blood.

"Ha, that's the spirit! Now, let the second round begin!"

All Things in the Universe, Turn to Ashes. As Luo Ya whispered the words, the hilt of Scorching Cloud turned deep purple. The long blade became entwined with orange flames, flickering in and out of existence.

Luo Ya gripped the sword with both hands, and with a bang, he stomped the ground and charged at Matt.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

The two engaged in a fierce melee. Luo Ya's storm-like offensive was met by Matt, who blocked every strike with his fists, producing dull, heavy thuds.

Even with his Armament Haki, Matt's knuckles were beginning to show bone.

The power of Ryujin Jakka imbued into Scorching Cloud was far more than a simple addition of strength. It was a mystery what material could withstand the heat of Ryujin Jakka; after all, the flames of its initial release reached temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees—far exceeding the 1,200 degrees of Akainu's magma.

With a hiss, Luo Ya seized an opening during their fierce exchange and slashed Matt across the chest, the scent of searing flesh and burning skin drifting through the air.

Bang! Matt seized his own opportunity and returned a heavy punch to Luo Ya's eye socket, sending the world turning black for him. Luo Ya dropped to one knee, clutching his eye with one hand and using his sword to prop himself up so he wouldn't collapse.

"That really stings, kid. The temperature of your flame sword intent is ridiculously high, sss!" Matt hissed, drawing in sharp breaths to soothe the agony of the burns.

Because the temperature of Ryujin Jakka was so extreme, non-lethal wounds were cauterized instantly, effectively stopping the bleeding. However, the side effect of such cauterization was excruciating pain.

Anyone who has ever been burned by fire knows that even a flick of a lighter causes a piercing, heart-wrenching pain, and a lighter's flame is only a few dozen degrees.

Luo Ya covered his left eye, feeling the world spin as waves of nausea washed over him.

"Blegh!" He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with food scraps.

After purging his stomach, Luo Ya felt slightly better and began to breathe heavily.

I feel like I could pass out at any second. That punch to the eye has really messed me up, and breathing is difficult—I must have broken a rib, as every inhale comes with a stabbing pain.

I have to use that move. Everything rides on this one strike, Luo Ya thought to himself.