Gold-Gold Fruit

Inside the warehouse.

Bang! Bang!

Sephiroth swiftly drew the Revolver at his waist and fired two shots in succession at Hunter, who was clad in Golden Armor. However, as if he had anticipated it, Hunter made slight evasive movements and dodged both bullets coated in Armament Haki.

A flash of sword light, and the Golden Greatsword instantly slashed down at Sephiroth.

However...

The youth's body transformed into a large swarm of bats and scattered in every direction.

Squeak, squeak, squeak...!

Black Mist rapidly spread throughout the warehouse, blocking Hunter's vision.

Behind Hunter, Sephiroth controlled the Black Bats to reform his upper body, then repeatedly pulled the Revolver's trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four consecutive shots, timed with incredible precision, directly sealed off all of Hunter's escape routes.

No matter how Hunter dodged, at least one bullet would hit him.

To Sephiroth's slight surprise, the man in golden armor stopped dodging altogether. Jet-black Armament Haki rapidly covered his back, reinforcing his defenses.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

All four bullets struck his Golden Armor, leaving four dented craters covered in cracks, but none pierced through it.

In the blink of an eye, the cracks and dents had repaired themselves completely.

"Looks like you do have some skill... but compared to me, you're still far too weak..."

Hunter's slightly mocking voice came from within his helmet.

Since Sephiroth's bullets could not break through his defenses, there was no need for him to dodge anymore. He had even been wary enough to evade those first two bullets...

Using Observation Haki, he instantly locked onto Sephiroth, who had just re-formed his body. He turned around, swung the Golden Greatsword, and charged at him. The Black Mist blocking his vision did not hinder his movements in the slightest.

The youth in the black robe drew the Autumn Leaf Blade from his waist and blocked the attack, but his body still slid back half a step.

In terms of pure strength, Sephiroth was slightly inferior to the blue-haired man.

However, combat was not a contest where whoever had more strength was guaranteed to win!

After exchanging a few moves, Sephiroth understood that Hunter was an untrained brawler. His moves were simple and crude, straightforward and direct, with almost no variation. He relied entirely on his extensive experience in life-and-death fights to judge how to attack.

Hunter raised his greatsword again and slashed down. Sephiroth spotted the weak point in his exertion, easily raised the Autumn Leaf Blade, and pressed down Hunter's attack from an extremely tricky angle. He then followed through with a backhand slash at Hunter's neck.

The sound of metal clashing rang out. The long blade coated in Armament Haki only cut about a centimeter into the Golden Armor, which Hunter had rapidly covered in Armament Haki, before it could no longer advance even an inch.

The youth's attack stalled for an instant upon landing, giving Hunter an opportunity to counterattack. He immediately swung his left fist, coating it in Armament Haki, and heavily smashed it into Sephiroth's chest.

The powerful, fierce punch sent Sephiroth flying backward, smashing him into the warehouse wall and leaving a human-shaped crater.

Blood trickled from the corner of the youth's mouth. He brushed away the rubble covering him and stood back up, unable to help letting out a bitter smile.

"Cough!... You bastard, you're wearing such thick armor, yet you're still so agile...

What a headache!"

"Ha ha ha! Of course! The Golden Battle Suit I forged with my ability not only doesn't hinder my speed, it also greatly enhances my strength and defense.

Brat, die!"

After laughing, Hunter stomped heavily on the ground and shot toward the youth.

As Sephiroth swung his blade to deflect the Golden Greatsword, he began his Vampire Transformation.

In the blink of an eye, the youth's height grew from 1.8 meters to 2.3 meters, making him a full head taller than the man in golden armor.

At the same time, his strength surged dramatically. When their blades collided again, he even faintly suppressed Hunter. In terms of speed, he was clearly superior as well.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Crimson Longsword repeatedly struck the Golden Armor, carving line after line of scratches into it, yet it still failed to injure Hunter.

After Sephiroth entered Vampire Form, Hunter could no longer gain any advantage in clashes of strength. If not for the protection of his armor, he would have long since been cut down.

As the two fought, Black Mist shrouded a large area. Pedestrians on the street had no idea what was happening, but their instinct to avoid danger made them hurriedly leave the mist's range.

One-Sword Style: Instant Slash!

After opening up some distance, Sephiroth immediately used Soru, entering a high-speed state. Before Hunter could block or parry, he drew his blade and slashed at Hunter's neck.

The black blade broke through the Golden Armor, and its sharp edge instantly cut into Hunter's neck. However, because Hunter had also covered his skin with Armament Haki, the Autumn Leaf Blade failed to completely sever his neck.

However...

Sephiroth had expected this. He did not linger in battle, immediately withdrawing his blade and retreating, once again opening up distance from the man in golden armor.

"You little bastard!"

Feeling blood gush from his carotid artery, Hunter cursed under his breath. He hurriedly dismissed the Golden Armor around his neck and left hand, trying to press down on the wound and stop the bleeding.

This was a fight to the death. Sephiroth had no intention of letting Hunter catch his breath.

The youth immediately launched a fierce attack with the Autumn Leaf Blade. With his vital point injured, Hunter's condition declined, and he could no longer fully mobilize his Armament Haki.

Before long, Sephiroth had carved several more wounds into his armor.

"You forced me to do this!"

Seeing the youth slash at him again, Hunter hardened his heart. He gathered the more than one hundred kilograms of Golden Armor on his body into his right arm, forming an enormous Golden Right Arm. He desperately poured Armament Haki into it as if it cost nothing.

Gold Blast!

In an instant, the Golden Armor on Hunter's arm collided with the long blade and erupted in a violent explosion!

Golden Fragments burst outward and filled the air. The powerful shockwave blasted Sephiroth away, while Gold Fragments of all sizes embedded themselves throughout his body. His wounds looked exceptionally gruesome and horrifying, and some fragments had even pierced straight through his body...

On the other side, only a thin layer of Golden Armor remained on Hunter's right arm.

"Cough!... Cough!"

Sephiroth coughed violently twice. The blood he coughed up even carried small fragments of his internal organs.

If it had been an ordinary person taking that attack head-on, they would already have collapsed on the ground and waited to die!

However, relying on his powerful recovery ability, he forced himself to stand up at once. Ignoring the injuries and excruciating pain covering his body, he used Soru again.

One-Sword Style: Instant Slash!

In an instant, Sephiroth appeared behind Hunter. The smug smile that had just appeared on Hunter's face froze, and his fine head rolled onto the ground with a "gurgle," tumbling several times.

Under the youth's control, a Black Cloth Bag filled with all kinds of fruit was carried over by a group of bats and placed beside Hunter's corpse.

To rapidly heal his wounds, Sephiroth sheathed his blade and split his body into a swarm of bats.

Rustle, rustle~!

A small pile of Gold Fragments fell to the ground. The bats then re-formed his body, still covered in wounds. After waiting for over a minute, all his injuries finally healed.

He had won this battle by sheer luck. If Hunter had not carelessly allowed him to cut his carotid artery, throwing his mind into chaos and causing him to make one foolish move after another, they would probably have entered a war of attrition. By the time the Marines arrived, they might not even have determined a winner.

After waiting a while, Sephiroth finally dumped out all the fruit from the Black Cloth Bag. Red, green, pink, purple... all kinds of fruit dazzled the eye.

To increase the chances of obtaining a Devil Fruit, he had even had Gild Tesoro add a fruit shop to Umbrella Corporation's businesses.

No matter what kind of fruit it was, no matter whether it tasted good, no matter how well it sold, the quantity did not need to be large. The variety simply had to be complete...

Very quickly, Sephiroth spotted a fruit on the ground shaped somewhat like a gourd, its surface covered in golden spiral patterns... the Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit!