Killing Calamity! Observation Haki Awakens!

The lively sounds gradually faded away.

It seemed he had reached a sparsely populated area, and the alleyways had grown quiet.

Occasionally, he saw iris flower baskets hanging from the walls, their purple petals swaying silently in the damp, muggy wind.

Jogo looked over the maze-like alleys, wondering whether he should find somewhere nearby to rest and settle down for the time being.

"Comfort isn't a concern. My top priority now is staying hidden."

"Too many people come and go at inns, and sleeping under a bridge is the same... Ideally, I should stay directly in a local's home, pretending to be some distant relative or something."

History had taught him that having a local help cover for him was the perfect way to hide!

"Unfortunately, I don't know anyone here. Getting a local to willingly take me home and cover up my tracks will be a little difficult."

Using Traits would make getting into someone else's home easy enough.

For instance, "Historian."

Unfortunately, its effect worked through fear. Just like that Capone Family driver he had scared witless, it would instead increase the risk of drawing suspicion.

The newly upgraded "Archaeologist (Blue)" worked similarly.

Its new effect was: [Small chance to awaken the primal fear in the genes of creatures affected by Conqueror's Haki.]

It would not be of much help in this regard either.

"Let me think. How did the stories I read before deal with something like this?

Hmm... A pure and pretty schoolgirl and her timid boyfriend run into trouble. Just when they are helpless, a tanned blond athletic guy steps in to help. To show his gratitude, the boyfriend invites the blond guy home to entertain him..."

Lost in wild thoughts, Jogo headed deeper into the alley.

He could not afford to be careless. Quite a few people were looking for him now.

"The Happo Navy counts as one. Sai and Abu definitely won't let me off so easily."

Jogo counted on his fingers in his mind.

"The Capone Family probably counts too. What I did back then wasn't exactly discreet, and with the Capone Family's intelligence network, it shouldn't be hard for them to figure out I was responsible."

"And the Marines... I wonder how much Hina reported to that major. I killed three Intelligence Unit members when I boarded Nezumi's ship.

If that major refuses to show Hina any consideration and insists on pursuing the matter, he might be looking for me too..."

Hiss—

Wait...

The more he counted, the more something felt wrong. He scratched the back of his head, utterly baffled.

How had he managed to offend all three major forces in the West Blue after only half a month at sea?

Was there even a place left for him in the West Blue?

"Could Ohara's feng shui be bad?"

"I'm such a kind and peaceful person. Why does everyone have it out for me?"

Just as he thought that, a woman suddenly cried out from a side alley ahead.

"Ah!!"

The cry cut off halfway through, as if someone had covered her mouth.

Jogo's eyes lit up, and he sprinted toward the entrance of the side alley.

Who said those magazines had nothing real in them? Wasn't this his chance to step in and help?

"Stop!" Jogo rushed to the mouth of the alley and shouted.

He looked inside—and froze.

In the side alley, a muscular man wearing only swim trunks was entwined with a curvy beauty in a bikini. They were all over each other, their pants halfway off, and it looked like they were just about to seal the deal.

But at Jogo's righteous shout, the swim-trunks man shuddered all over. His state immediately declined, leaving him limp and weak.

The two people in the alley turned to look at Jogo together.

Jogo's expression did not change. Meeting their gazes, he examined them and commented,

"Nice position. Please continue!"

With that, he turned to slip away.

The swim-trunks man blanked for a second, pulled up his pants, and flew into a rage.

"Stop right there!!"

Where had this brat come from?

How dare he ruin his grandpa's good time?

Did he think all these muscles were just for show?

If he couldn't give a proper explanation today, then he would serve as a replacement meal!

He sprinted after him from behind.

The bikini beauty felt no shame whatsoever. Instead, she gave him a sultry look and giggled flirtatiously.

"Go get him, darling~ Show him the spirit of our gang's strongest fighter and teach that brat a lesson~"

"If you catch him, your sister-in-law will play something exciting with you tonight~"

At those words, the swim-trunks man's blood surged. His speed suddenly skyrocketed, and like a rutting bull, he charged at Jogo.

"Roar!!!"

"Stop, brat!!"

Jogo really did stop in place.

The swim-trunks man was delighted.

"Scared now?"

This was the strength of the gang's number one fighter!

Just as he thought he was about to catch his prey effortlessly, the figure before him suddenly shot backward at astonishing speed!

In the blink of an eye, Jogo was already in front of him.

Fine black hair drifted past his eyes.

The swim-trunks man only had time to catch the sudden gravity in those black eyes before he could react to what had happened.

The next second, a hand like a steel clamp seized his throat. Terrifying strength surged through that hand, nearly tearing his neck apart as he was lifted and hurled forward like a ragged sack!

The world spun around him!

"I'm done for. He's an expert!"

The swim-trunks man finally realized something was wrong. His face changed drastically as he opened his mouth to cry out.

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept past him!

In his downward-falling field of view, a young man with a white buzz cut and sausage lips appeared from nowhere. He was unbelievably fast, kicking up a gale as he brushed past him!

Without sparing him so much as a glance, he chased straight after the black-haired, black-eyed guy!

Even stranger, the swim-trunks man clearly saw that the outer side of the buzz-cut man's defined arm had transformed into a gleaming blade!

No... It wasn't only the outside of his arm...

Both of his feet had become curved blades as well. As though skating across the ground, he carved two straight tracks into the earth!

"What the hell is that? Am I hallucinating?"

He even saw a strong, familiar arm spraying blood as it spun through the air behind the buzz-cut man!

It had to be a hallucination... How could there be an arm that wasn't attached to someone's bod—

The wind slammed into his face. In the instant before he hit the ground, the swim-trunks man's eyes widened as he understood.

—No, that was my arm!!!

"Ah!!!!"

He landed headfirst, clutching his severed arm as he rolled across the ground and let out a pig-slaughtering scream!

Yet no one paid him any attention anymore!

A piercing whistle tore through the narrow alley. In the blink of an eye, the buzz-cut man collided with the black-haired man!

Clang!!!

Thick knuckle dusters firmly blocked the slashing blade!

With the swim-trunks man serving as a buffer, Jogo had finally managed to put on the knuckle dusters at the last moment after sensing danger.

Even so, the tremendous force carried by the blade drove him continuously backward.

His rubber shoes scraped the ground with an ear-piercing screech.

Before he could regain his footing.

The next second, sharp and rapid winds rushed toward him. Countless vicious flashes of blade light erupted before his eyes!

So fast!

Cold sweat broke out across Jogo's back.

Rather than swordsmanship, it was closer to close-quarters combat!

It abandoned swordsmanship's attack range in exchange for extreme speed and unimaginable attack angles!

Clang clang clang clang clang!

The crisp sound of metal striking metal came down as densely as a rainstorm.

Jogo gritted his teeth, his fists leaving afterimages as they collided with the blade flashes!

A white buzz cut... and the ability to turn his entire body into blades...

He already knew who this sudden attacker was!

"Daz Bones!!"

Jogo shouted the name. Through the gaps in the blade light, he caught sight of that young, cold, merciless face.

Even as shock filled him, cold sweat rose in his heart.

Daz Bones—the user of the Dice-Dice Fruit, the future Mr. 1 of Baroque Works, Crocodile's number one enforcer, a powerhouse whose body was hard enough to withstand even a strike from Mihawk!

Even in the original story, he had been a formidable figure.

Though he was still young now, his strength was no weaker for it.

If Jogo had not suddenly felt an extremely dangerous sensation in his heart earlier and instinctively retreated,

he would probably already have been cut in two!

Of course, the current situation was far from good as well.

After only this brief exchange, Jogo had realized that his hand-to-hand combat was no match for Daz Bones's!

It was not that Daz Bones's combat skills were outrageously powerful.

On the contrary, in terms of hand-to-hand combat alone, Daz Bones had not yet reached the heights he would attain in the future.

One could even say he and Jogo were evenly matched.

But the Dice-Dice Fruit made every one of his movements dangerous to the extreme!

This was a killing machine through and through!

Jogo had still dared to test the strength of his combat skills against Gotti.

But Daz Bones...

"One mistake and I'll die!"

Bloody gashes opened across his arms. Jogo's gaze turned cold as realization flashed through his mind.

"If this continues, I'll definitely die!"

"I can't let him keep dragging me into this close-range rhythm!"

"I have to widen the distance!"

His peripheral vision swept to the side.

—The bikini-clad gang boss's woman, who had been laughing so wantonly earlier, was now completely terrified by the battle between the two men and had collapsed onto the ground.

As the gang leader's woman, what had she not seen before?

She had seen gang wars, seen groups of people beat one another bloody with knives, guns, and clubs, and seen gang punishments torture traitors until they were no longer recognizable...

She could even get aroused beside a mangled corpse.

But the scene before her...

Brought her nothing but fear!

She had never seen such a horrifying duel before!

The air was torn apart, while deep trenches were carved into the ground and walls!

That terrifying blade light could no longer be described as "fast" or "ruthless." Merely watching from the side made it hard to breathe!

She could not imagine how terrifying it felt to stand opposite those flashing blades!

Yet that black-haired guy had actually held on until now!

Listening to those dense collisions.

She had no doubt that either of these two men possessed the ability to wipe out her gang alone!

But she could tell as well,

that as the black-haired brat's injuries grew more serious, he was about to lose!

Just as she thought that, she suddenly noticed the black-haired brat looking at her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, in her terrified gaze, the black-haired brat took a blade strike head-on and reached for her!

Before she could scream, five sharp flashes of blade light suddenly burst forth!

Daz Bones remained expressionless. The insides of his five fingers transformed into blades, and like a meat grinder, they viciously clawed down at Jogo's hand!

"Spiral Slash"!

"Your eyes gave you away!"

Since the battle began, he finally spoke his first words.

Such an obvious look... He had been waiting for this moment!

"Leave that arm here... What?"

Before he could finish, his eyes widened.

Air slipped through his palm—the blade-transformed hand had grabbed nothing!

A feint!

He jerked his head up.

Across from him, Jogo feinted, then used the opening to retreat rapidly and widen the distance.

At the same time, he flung the backpack off his back at Daz Bones.

Whoosh!

A silver streak flashed past, slicing the backpack cleanly in two.

Tools scattered across the ground. Through the fluttering checks and Beli spilling everywhere, Daz Bones saw Jogo behind them, holding up his palm toward him.

Trait switch:

[...

Conqueror's Haki (Awakened):

Traits equipped: "Flower-Flower Fruit (Gold)" "Otherworldly Soul (Silver)"

...]

"Hundred Flowers Wither: Ten-Ring Dance"!

With a twist of his palm, terrifying force encircled Daz Bones's head. Ten points erupted at once, twisting into a single force!

Conqueror's Haki output: 1000%

In an instant, dust scattered, and the air throughout the entire alley twisted, taking on a faint red hue!

Time itself seemed to stop for a moment.

The man in swim trunks and the woman in a bikini fainted in terror.

Daz Bones felt as though a hundred thousand iron hammers had struck the back of his head in an instant. He let out a muffled groan, rolled his eyes back, and toppled forward.

Seeing this, Jogo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, tenfold Conqueror's Haki still works... right?"

His eyes widened.

Screech!

Right in front of him, Daz Bones, who should have fallen, suddenly transformed his hands and feet into blades, driving them into the ground and forcibly holding his collapsing body upright.

"Interesting move... You nearly knocked me unconscious."

Daz Bones slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"No, even if it didn't knock me out, that feeling probably suppressed both my ability to think and my body's ability to move!"

"So the intelligence was right. I never expected you to be hiding a move like this!"

"But..."

Daz Bones looked at Jogo, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"It seems you can't maintain this suppression for long!"

Jogo's heart instantly sank to the bottom.

For the first time, his killing move had failed!

Daz Bones was right.

With his current soul strength, he could maintain tenfold Conqueror's Haki for at most four or five seconds.

Once that limit was exceeded, he would pass out even faster than his enemy.

And the pressure from Conqueror's Haki—or rather, its overwhelming intimidation—

if it could not surpass the opponent's enhanced willpower in an instant and reach a level sufficient to "cut off the opponent's consciousness,"

then no matter how long it lasted, it would never knock them unconscious!

At its core, Conqueror's Haki's intimidation had always been meant for clearing fodder.

Anyone who had awakened any type of Haki or eaten a Devil Fruit, as long as their will was strong enough, who would care about this kind of suppression?

The fact that Jogo had pushed it to this level was already the result of the Traits carrying him with all their might.

But now, even the Traits had reached their limit!

So a Devil Fruit user's soul strength, enhanced by willpower, was already enough to resist the intimidation of tenfold Conqueror's Haki?

It gave him no time to think.

Whoosh!

Daz Bones charged forward again, even more violent slashes engulfing Jogo!

For a moment, Jogo felt like a tiny boat caught in a storm. Terrifying winds and waves could tear him apart at any moment!

Bloody blossoms burst across his body, blood streamed from his nose, and a stabbing pain shot through his mind. His face grew paler and paler.

"What do I do... What do I do?"

One plan after another flashed through his mind.

"Run?"

"Could I outrun a Dice-Dice Fruit user who could skate across the ground?"

"Call for help?"

"Who around here could save me?"

"Surrender?"

"Let him cut off my hands and feet?"

"..."

Under Daz Bones's cold blade light, every thought seemed to be shredded to pieces!

Only then did he suddenly realize something.

—From the moment Daz Bones ambushed him, he had already had no way out!

"So it has come to this... There really is no way back..."

Jogo gritted his teeth, his face trembling before turning savage the next second.

"Then I won't retreat!!"

It was as if wildfire had erupted from those dark pupils.

The moment he realized there was no retreat left, Jogo stopped hesitating. He took the initiative and let go of everything.

Forget everything!

Abandon everything!

Since he could not retreat, then he would attack!

His bloodstained fists became afterimages as they struck against the terrifying blade light head-on!

Clang clang clang clang clang!!!

Attack!

Blood mixed with the shockwaves and was blasted into a crimson mist!

Attack!!

Blade light carved flesh from his body, but Jogo's expression remained savage, utterly unaware of it.

Attack!!

Attack!!

There was only attack!!!

Amid the flying sparks, the flames burning in those dark pupils seemed ready to set both himself and his enemy ablaze!

Crisp collisions rang throughout the alley.

In a daze, Jogo felt as though everything within him had been drawn into a straight line.

Body, soul, thoughts, will...

Countless pieces of information became clear within his perception.

He saw Daz Bones subtly changing the direction of his slashes. He heard the sound of his own soles scraping against the ground. He sensed the unsettling vibrations in the air...

Gradually, he once again felt the warning sensation that had surged through him at the mouth of the alley.

Instinctively, he twisted aside.

A fierce gale howled past right in front of him!

"Mutilation"!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

The sturdy wall behind him was instantly sliced into blocks and collapsed.

Daz Bones's eyes widened as he stared at Jogo, who was covered in blood and seemed about to collapse, yet had casually dodged his hidden killing move with a single sidestep. His eyes were full of disbelief.

"He dodged it again!"

"How is that possible?!"

If the first time had been the result of careful plotting, then this time... it seemed to be instinct?

You had to be kidding.

Instinct at that level?

Calling it luck would have been more believable!

Yet as the battle continued, Daz Bones grew more and more shocked.

He discovered that his blades were landing on Jogo less and less often.

No matter how fiercely he attacked, he was gradually becoming unable to inflict any effective damage on Jogo!

—Those fists seemed to block with increasing precision, and they always evaded some of his most crucial attacks!

"This rate of improvement..."

"Impossible!!"

"Shouldn't I be the one with the advantage?"

"What exactly did you do?" he could not help asking.

But the only response he received was silence, fists, and those pupils that had nearly descended into madness!

"I understand now!"

"If that's the case, then taste this move!"

A cold glint flashed through Daz Bones's eyes as he abruptly withdrew.

He lowered his center of gravity, brought his wrists together, transformed his fingers and palms into blades, and assumed a stance as though firing a wave.

All the strength in his body concentrated!

The next moment, he turned into an afterimage and shot forward!

His palms thrust out!

"Bubble Daisy Slash"!!

This was one of the most insidious moves in his entire arsenal.

Even if his opponent blocked it, the radiating slashes would still strike them.

"Die!!"

Whoosh!!!

A wild gale surged up as ten radiating cutting slashes screamed forward, effortlessly shredding the ground and walls into fragments!

Everything in their path, even the air itself, was torn apart!

...Except Jogo was not hurt.

Amid the dust and smoke,

Daz Bones stared blankly at the figure off to one side, who had seemingly foreseen the attack and avoided it long before it arrived. His mouth slowly fell open.

"Why?"

"Why could you still dodge it?!"

"That's impossible!!!"

A heavy rush of wind rose as Jogo seized the opportunity, closed in, and smashed a fist into Daz Bones's face!

Clang!!!

Amid the sound of steel colliding, Daz Bones flew backward.

When he climbed back to his feet, his face was already dark with gloom.

As a Dice-Dice Fruit user, he could turn his entire body into blades. That punch had been powerful, but it had not inflicted any physical damage on him.

However, the blow to his pride was immense!

He had watched his prey go from being completely overwhelmed by him, to matching him evenly, to now seemingly surpassing him...

"No, it's an illusion!"

Daz Bones came to his senses and stared at Jogo, who stood motionless ahead of him in a fighting stance, drenched in blood. He spoke one word at a time.

"Jogo, is it? I admit that you're a formidable guy."

"But unfortunately, I will be the only one who wins."

"Have you not noticed? Although you can now block all of my attacks, you have no way to hurt me."

"And your condition is very wrong!"

He looked at the ground, completely stained red with Jogo's blood.

"After losing that much blood, how much longer can you last?"

The answer was silence.

Jogo pointed his fists at him without saying a word.

Daz Bones's expression darkened.

"Not going to talk?"

"Then let's continue. Let's see who will be the one still standing when this day is over!"

Just as he was about to attack, a rapid series of footsteps suddenly sounded.

A figure wearing a green cloak and wielding a guandao rushed out from the alley opposite them.

The moment he saw Jogo, his face lit up with delight.

"Kakaka~ I finally found you!!"

Daz Bones frowned.

"Has a friend arrived?"

He sized the man up for two seconds, seeming to remember something. A flicker of shock crossed his face, and the next moment, he turned without hesitation, leaped onto the wall, and vanished into the alley.

"It's Sai, the rising pillar of the Happo Navy!"

"Looks like I'll have to wait for another chance."

Sai stood amid the ruined alley, withdrawing his gaze from the fleeing figure and looking in surprise at the collapsed stone walls around him.

"They actually went through a battle of this magnitude?"

"Looks like that guy who ran away wasn't ordinary either!"

He walked over to Jogo, tilted his head, and spoke with considerable smugness:

"Keep running!"

"Run some more for me, then. Well? Do you still have the strength to run now?"

He reached out and grabbed Jogo by the shoulder.

Before he could apply any force, the bloodied Jogo went limp and collapsed to the ground.

He fainted?

Sai stared at Jogo lying unconscious on the ground, stunned for several seconds.

"He fought to this extent?"

After thinking it over, he clicked his tongue, hoisted Jogo onto his shoulder, and headed back the way he had come.

He failed to notice the faint smile Jogo had raised at the last moment on his back.

[...

Observation Haki (Awakened)

Trait Equipped: None

...]