A Single Kick Defeated Dobberman, Shocking the Entire Battlefield!

"No, I can't open any more Gates."

Lynn wanted to open another Gate, but he simply couldn't.

The Seventh Gate was already the absolute limit of his current limits.

Even without side effects, he was only one year and three months old. Though his physique surpassed that of ordinary humans, he still couldn't withstand such immense consumption.

"But... it's enough."

Lynn locked his gaze on the figure below who posed the greatest threat to him.

Dobberman.

The muscular man who had nearly killed Sasaki just now.

Good.

He would use him to test the power of the Seventh Gate!

"Yah!"

He let out a short roar brimming with power.

The next second!

Boom!!!

His tiny body shot down from the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow, like a cannonball fired from its barrel!

His speed was utterly extreme!

So fast that the naked eye could barely catch it!

Only a blurry blue afterimage remained in midair, along with the shrill sonic boom produced by violently tearing through the air!

"Not good! He's coming!"

Onigumo roared, crossing his eight blade-arms as he tried to stop him.

Momonga reacted just as quickly, stomping hard and attempting to use Soru to block Lynn in front of Dobberman!

But it was too late!

Lynn's speed had already surpassed their limits of reaction!

Whoosh!

His tiny figure appeared before Dobberman as if he had teleported!

Dobberman's pupils contracted sharply!

He had no time to think. His instincts made him tense every muscle in his body as Armament Haki covered his skin!

"Tekkai!!"

He roared, attempting to endure the attack with his strongest defense!

However.

Lynn's tiny fist, wrapped in blue vapor and carrying unstoppable force, smashed viciously into Dobberman's chest!

Bang—!!!!

A deafening explosion rang out!

It was as though a massive hammer had struck hardened steel!

Dobberman's prideful "Tekkai" was as fragile as paper before that tiny fist!

Crack, crack—

The sound of bones shattering was crystal clear!

Dobberman's body suddenly arched, the muscles on his face twisting as his eyes filled with unimaginable pain and horror!

"Puh—!!"

He opened his mouth and spat out a spray of blood mixed with fragments of organs. As if struck head-on by a train, his body flew backward in an instant!

Rumble!

Dobberman's massive body, like a torn sack, smashed straight through the fortress's sturdy outer wall, carving a long trench before finally vanishing into the rubble!

The entire sequence was lightning-fast!

From Lynn's dive to Dobberman being blasted away, less than a second had passed!

The battlefield fell into deathly silence once more!

Everyone still conscious, including Onigumo and Momonga, stood frozen like clay statues!

They looked at the infant floating in midair, blue vapor rising from his body, then at the direction where Dobberman had vanished.

Their minds were completely blank!

Dobberman!

A Marine Vice Admiral!

A ruthless figure known as the "Fighting Dog," skilled in martial arts and swordsmanship!

Yet he had... he had been sent flying by a single punch from an infant barely over a year old, his fate unknown?!

And that was after using Tekkai to defend himself?!

What... what kind of monster was this?!

Sasaki was completely dumbfounded as well, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit a watermelon!

He knew Young Master Lynn was strong, that his Conqueror's Haki was powerful, and that he could fly.

But opening some unknown "Gate" could send a Marine Vice Admiral flying?

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes—

he would have thought he was dreaming!

One punch had sent Dobberman flying.

The entire battlefield was deathly silent.

A pin could have been heard dropping.

Every gaze, whether from the Marines or the remaining Beasts Pirates, was firmly fixed on that tiny figure in midair.

Blue vapor swirled around him, and his pure white eyes held not a trace of emotion.

Lynn looked like a god or demon descending into the world.

At that moment, the system's cold notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host has defeated a Marine Vice Admiral head-on!]

[Mission "Leapfrog Challenge"... completed!]

[Mission evaluation: Perfect!]

[Mission reward issued: Conqueror's Haki maximum greatly increased!]

An invisible warm current flowed through his entire body, as though a parched riverbed had been nourished by rain.

His mental strength, somewhat depleted from forcibly activating Conqueror's Haki earlier, seemed to recover slightly.

But.

That was far from enough!

Lynn's little face remained tense.

He could clearly feel the violent power stimulated by the Eight Gates within his body rapidly draining away.

Opening the Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder placed far too great a burden on his current young body!

Even the optimized version without side effects couldn't endure consumption at this level.

Forcing out that punch just now—

had already been extremely difficult.

His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.

Every breath carried scorching white vapor.

The blue vapor swirling around him visibly began to thin, its color gradually dimming.

That terrifying aura, which had seemed capable of freezing souls, began to weaken along with it.

"He... he seems to be running out of strength?"

A sharp-eyed Marine officer pointed at Lynn in midair, his voice trembling.

Those words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake!

"It's true! Look! The blue vapor around him is fading!"

"His aura... his aura is weakening too!"

"Damn it! You scared the hell out of me! I thought I was really going to die here today!"

The relief of surviving by the skin of their teeth nearly made some Marines weep with joy.

Onigumo and Momonga exchanged a glance, each seeing lingering fear in the other's eyes after surviving the ordeal, as well as... rekindled fighting spirit!

"That brat... he really was overdrawing his strength!"

Onigumo's gaze turned cold.

"That attack just now was probably his final burst!"

"That's right!"

A sharp glint flashed through Momonga's eyes as he said in a low voice, "Dobberman may have been sent flying, but that brat definitely isn't doing well either!"

"This is when he's at his weakest!"

"Capture him!"

"As long as we can take him alive, it won't matter even if today's mission to attack G-58 fails!"

"Use him to keep Kaido in check... and these seas will become far more stable!"

The fear in their eyes receded, replaced by an even fiercer sense of justice!

"Everyone who can still move! Listen to me!"

Onigumo suddenly roared, his eight spider-like blade-arms pointing at Lynn. "At all costs! Capture that brat alive!"

"Taking him down means securing at least another ten years of peace for these seas!"

"Yes!"

The remaining Marine officers obeyed.

Roaring, they raised their guns and brandished their blades as they once again closed in on Lynn.

Though they were still shaken, they also understood Lynn's importance... for justice, for peace, they would risk their lives!

"Bastards! You despicable Marines!"

Sasaki's eyes nearly split with rage. Dragging his heavily wounded body, he waved his Spiral Blade and tried to rush forward.

"Protect Young Master Lynn!"

But there were barely any Beasts Pirates left beside him, and every one of them was wounded. They simply could not stop the wolf-like Marines.

The Marine encirclement was about to close.

In midair, a flash of crazed resolve passed through Lynn's pure white eyes!

Trying to kill me while I'm weak?

Not a chance!

I'll fight you to the end!

"Roar!!!"

Lynn threw back his head and let out a roar unlike that of an infant, filled with primal savagery!

His tiny body suddenly shuddered!

The remaining energy within him, like the last of his fuel, was ignited without hesitation!

"The Eighth Gate: Gate of Death..."