Yellow Monkey's Retreat

"Whoa, seriously?" Yellow Monkey's expression changed at once. Without even giving it much thought, he transformed into a streak of golden light and shot backward.

This guy was already ridiculously strong, yet he actually had even stronger techniques?

The moment Ian finished speaking, a powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body, and Hyorinmaru pointed toward the sky.

Hyorinmaru possessed the power to control the weather. Everything in the sky was under his command!

As Ian activated his Bankai, the sky suddenly darkened. Heavy clouds gathered, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and fierce winds howled!

Crack, crack...

As the sound of spreading ice crystals rang out, a pair of enormous ice wings appeared behind Ian. A dragon's head extended along Ian's right arm and bit down on Hyorinmaru's hilt!

With a spread of his wings, Ian seemed to break free from the pull of gravity, slowly rising into the sky!

Ian looked at Yellow Monkey and smiled. "Let's continue, Admiral Yellow Monkey!"

Feeling the pressure radiating from Ian, Yellow Monkey wiped away his sweat and gave an awkward smile. "Lord Ian, I consider myself no match for you. How about we simply call this an introduction and leave it at that?"

Ian looked at Yellow Monkey, his tone somewhat teasing. "What? Is Admiral Yellow Monkey scared? But not fighting won't do. If you don't let me have my fill, don't even think about leaving today!"

Ian had no intention of letting Yellow Monkey leave so easily. Even if he was willing to, the system was not...

Before the two had begun fighting, the system had already issued a ding—

[Ding. Detected someone harboring hostility toward the host.]

[Mission One: Defeat or kill the person harboring hostility toward the host.]

[Mission Reward: One lottery draw!]

When he had fought Hawk-Eye last time, the system had strangely failed to issue a mission.

He had no idea why...

Could it be because Hawk-Eye had not shown any hostility toward him?

Ian did not know either. He understood very little about the system's mechanisms.

Therefore, for the system reward, he definitely had to fight Yellow Monkey...

Although, with Yellow Monkey's mobility, killing him would probably be rather difficult. After all, the Glint-Glint Fruit truly had exceptional speed, and even Ian was not confident he could keep Yellow Monkey from escaping.

Still, driving Yellow Monkey back should count as defeating him, right?

"Uh..." Yellow Monkey's mouth twitched. He had not actually planned to capture Ian in the first place. Ian was a monster capable of killing Donquixote Doflamingo and fighting Hawk-Eye to a draw.

Even he had no absolute confidence in victory.

Naturally, he had started this fight so he could report back to Fleet Admiral Sengoku afterward. But now that he no longer intended to fight, his opponent still refused to let him go...

Is he a battle maniac like that Kaido bastard? What a pain... Yellow Monkey cursed inwardly. He hated dealing with people like this the most.

Once they locked onto someone, there was no getting away without letting them fight to their heart's content!

"What a hassle..." Yellow Monkey felt even more miserable. Why had he slacked off so casually? Had he known, he would have gone to carry out Aokiji's mission instead. He had never expected one bout of laziness to bring him such enormous trouble.

What rotten luck!

Yellow Monkey secretly gave the still-conscious soldiers a look, telling them to quickly carry away the unconscious Marines. He would stall this guy for now, and once the Marines had withdrawn, he would run too...

There was no point in continuing the fight. On his own, he simply could not do anything to Ian!

"Come on, continue!" Ian raised his hand and slashed down. As crack, crack sounds of spreading ice crystals rang out, an extreme chill condensed, and spike after spike of ice burst forth, charging at Yellow Monkey in a straight line!

Ian spread the wings behind him and followed close behind the attack. He opened his five fingers as lightning condensed into a pillar. "Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"

The Thunder Roar Cannon struck first, shooting directly toward Yellow Monkey!

"Laser!" Yellow Monkey was utterly helpless, but he did not dare let his guard down. Golden light flashed at his fingertips, and a laser beam shot out, colliding with Ian's Thunder Roar Cannon!

BOOM!

After a deafening explosion, the two attacks annihilated each other amid the blast. Flames shot into the sky, lightning flickered wildly, and the ground at the point of impact suddenly caved in.

"Tempest Kick: Aurora!" Light flashed around Yellow Monkey's right leg as he swung it forcefully. A crescent-shaped Tempest Kick blazing with dazzling golden light tore through the air, colliding with the incoming ice spikes and shattering them!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The attacks collided one after another, ice shattered apart, and the temperature dropped again. A layer of white frost spread across the surroundings!

"Ice Dragon Tailspin: Twin Dragon Convergence!" Ian's Observation Haki caught Yellow Monkey's movements. He grinned and slashed twice in succession, sending two lifelike ice dragons surging forth!

One from the left and one from the right, as though they possessed intelligence, they charged in from different directions!

Yellow Monkey drew a deep breath, feeling the air's bone-piercing chill sting his lungs. He had no intention of taking Ian's attack head-on, and his body suddenly vanished by making use of the light particles scattered around him.

Yet Ian's twin dragons seemed to have trackers installed. After missing their first strike, they suddenly twisted around and charged again!

Yellow Monkey dodged several times in succession, but the ice dragons still caught up to him, giving him a terrible headache. "Observation Haki that can foresee the future really is troublesome..."

"Then I'll destroy them!" Yellow Monkey's gaze sharpened. Two light swords over ten meters long suddenly appeared in his hands, one on each side. He stepped through the air with Geppo, advancing rather than retreating as he charged straight at the twin dragons!

"Ten Fists Sword Slash!" Yellow Monkey shouted as sword intent burst from his body. His twin swords slashed down at the ice dragons before him. With a boom, an explosion erupted, golden light soared skyward, and frost surged outward!

That strike shattered the ice dragons, but Yellow Monkey himself was blasted away. His body turned into a streak of golden light, piercing through every building behind him before finally crashing into the ground with a boom, creating a massive crater dozens of meters wide!

Golden light condensed into Yellow Monkey's body once more. He gasped heavily as the spreading chill invaded his body, covering him in a layer of white frost!

"Millennium Ice Prison!" Ian flashed forward, his sword tip pointing at Yellow Monkey. The surrounding cold surged, condensing into countless ice pillars that thundered inward from all directions!

If he were hit, the cold might directly freeze the light particles. Even Yellow Monkey, who had already awakened his power, would not find it easy to break free!

However, Yellow Monkey's Observation Haki was no weak either, and his reflexes were among the best in the world. Sensing the incoming attack through his Observation Haki, he flashed away once again. At the spot where he had been standing, the spinning ice pillars suddenly closed together with a dull bang!

"Light-Speed Kick!" When he appeared again, Yellow Monkey was already above Ian's head. Golden light burst from his raised right foot as it came down upon Ian like an axe!

Ian narrowed his eyes and covered both hands in Armament Haki, raising them above his head as he prepared to take Yellow Monkey's strike head-on.

Even Ian found this movement method, which was like teleportation, somewhat troublesome. Someone unable to foresee the future might not even have time to react before Yellow Monkey struck them!

Even he could only barely react!

With a boom, Ian was driven down by Yellow Monkey's kick. He crashed into the ground like a meteor, creating a massive crater as dust filled the air.

Inside the crater, Ian was uninjured. With a casual wave of his hand, he unleashed a burst of wind pressure that scattered the dust, then raised his sword and slashed to the side.

As the slash fell, Yellow Monkey appeared at just that moment, and his light sword collided with Ian's blade.

Yellow Monkey had come prepared, while Ian had responded hastily. Yet relying on his superior physique, Ian still matched him evenly!

The two held their swords against each other in a deadlock, force erupting between them. Waves of power spread outward, and beneath their explosive strength, the ground slowly sank before finally splitting apart, cracks spreading in every direction!