The True Trump Card

Whoosh!

Joseph vanished from where he stood in an instant, moving so fast that he completely surpassed the limit of what Dawn's visual nerves could perceive.

"Which direction?!"

Alarm bells blared in Dawn's mind. Without time to think, he clenched both fists, and two constantly spinning dark vortices abruptly formed around his knuckles.

Relying on his physique, far stronger than that of an ordinary person, he threw ten consecutive punches in every direction, including above his head, in an instant.

Since he could not predict which direction his opponent would attack from, he would attack every direction at once.

"Compressed Air Gatling!"

Ten Air Cannons compressed to the extreme were violently thrust out from another dimension, carrying shrill howls as they covered every direction around him.

Boom boom boom boom—!

The Air Cannons struck the surrounding buildings, ground, and trees, triggering an endless series of explosions. The structures already damaged by the earlier attacks suffered further devastation as bricks, stones, and splinters scattered wildly amid billowing dust and smoke.

Bang!

Directly above Dawn, Joseph had just prepared to use Geppo to stay airborne and swing his Armament Haki-coated arm down like an iron whip when an Air Cannon aimed precisely at his head struck him head-on!

A violent explosion blossomed across his arm. Although Armament Haki blocked most of the damage, the scorching heat generated by the explosion of extremely compressed air, along with its impact force, still caused a burst of blood mist to erupt from his arm. He let out a muffled groan and was blasted backward, crashing miserably into a pile of building rubble, where debris buried his figure.

Only then did the other trainees and staff on the training island react. Some tried to call for help with Den Den Mushi, only to discover that the signal had been completely cut off.

Those with sharp eyes discovered in horror that, at some point, the entire island's sky had been shrouded by a thin yet resilient layer of dark energy. Like a massive cage, it cut off all electromagnetic communication between the inside and outside.

Some attempted to attack the Darkness Prison, only to find that whether they slashed with blades or fired guns, it was like mud oxen entering the sea. Every attack was swallowed completely by the profound darkness. Despair began spreading through the crowd.

Ever since his identity had been recognized, Dawn had quietly used his power to isolate the island from the outside world. He understood clearly that now was not the time for him to expose himself to the World Government.

Stussy, who was closest to the battlefield, was instead unusually calm. Unlike the others, she did not panic as she searched for cover or tried to flee. She simply stood quietly where she was, an indescribable light flickering in her beautiful eyes.

She looked at the blond youth, her heart filled with mixed emotions. She had clearly prepared herself to risk everything, even her innocence and dignity, to walk that thorn-covered path of darkness. Yet this unfamiliar boy's sudden appearance... had disrupted everything.

This unexpected variable sent complicated ripples across the lake of her heart, which had long been frozen over.

Bang! The ground burst apart once more. Enduring the piercing pain shooting through both arms, Dawn stomped the ground repeatedly and used the enormous recoil to vanish from his spot like a cannonball, charging straight toward the rubble that had buried Joseph.

Almost simultaneously, the pile of rubble exploded apart. Joseph shoved away the broken stones on top of him and stood up. By now, the sleeves of his white suit had been shredded into strips of cloth, and the exposed arm bore obvious blackened burn marks, making him look somewhat bedraggled.

The iron will forged through CP0's brutal training allowed him to completely ignore those injuries. His gaze beneath the mask remained cold and focused.

With his Observation Haki fully unleashed, he caught Dawn's high-speed trajectory and, without hesitation, kicked an arcing vacuum slash coated in Armament Haki toward a direction that appeared empty.

"Rankyaku."

Screech!

Dawn, moving at high speed, was forced to reveal himself. A gruesome wound had already appeared across his chest, flesh curled outward as blood instantly dyed his tattered clothes red.

The tremendous impact forced him to stagger back more than a dozen steps before he barely steadied himself. At that moment, the side effect of double pain brought by his power surged over him violently, crashing against his nerves like a tide.

The unyielding will forged through hellish training only made him furrow his brow. He forcibly suppressed the pain that would have made an ordinary person faint.

"Still not enough... the pressure isn't high enough!"

Dawn roared inwardly, his gaze growing fiercer. He adjusted his breathing slightly, ignored the blood flowing from his chest, and charged again like a moth flying into the flames!

Joseph frowned beneath his mask, completely unable to understand why this remnant of the David Clan would commit such an outright suicidal act. Yet his battle instincts made him launch another attack without hesitation.

Over the next few minutes, it became a one-sided and brutal spectacle. Dawn launched one life-risking charge after another, and every time he rushed forward, another horrifying wound appeared on his body.

The cutting slashes of Rankyaku, the piercing blows of Finger Pistol, and the occasional heavy punch or kick coated in Armament Haki...

Before long, he had practically become a man of blood. His golden hair was clumped together by congealed blood, and his once handsome face was covered in bloody grime.

Several timid female trainees had long since covered their eyes in terror, unable to bear watching the bloody scene any longer.

"Meaningless struggle! It's time to end this!"

Joseph seemed to have grown tired of this game. With an enraged shout, he decided to use a killing move.

He covered his entire right arm in a large amount of Armament Haki, then used the extra joints of the Longarm Tribe to whip it at extreme speed. His entire arm became like a steel whip that was both rigid and flexible, lashing precisely toward Dawn's head as he charged in once more, accompanied by a mournful howl that tore through the air. A cruel curve rose at the corner of Joseph's mouth, and he could almost see the detestable brat's head bursting like a watermelon.

Yet at the instant the iron whip was about to reach its target, Joseph suddenly felt his arm grow light—it had missed!

His sure-kill strike only smashed into the ground where Dawn's afterimage had been, shattering the solid earth and sending chunks of stone flying.

"What?! Why did this guy's reaction speed suddenly become so much faster?"

Joseph's heart jolted in shock.

At the moment his move had been fully committed, a large hand covered in blood yet extraordinarily steady clamped down on the arm he had just swung like iron pincers.

"Got you!"

Dawn's voice was hoarse, but it carried the excitement of prey falling into a trap.

The next instant, Joseph felt a terrifying force far greater than before surge through his arm, and his entire body was swung up uncontrollably.

Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Dawn's arm muscles swelled to their limit. Ignoring the groans of his bones, he swung Joseph down against the ground like a rag doll.

"Dark Hell Paradise Drop!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The unending roars, each louder than the last, shook the entire island. Like a tireless giant god, Dawn repeatedly smashed Joseph's body into the earth.

With every slam, the ground trembled violently and split open with new cracks. The surviving buildings that had already been on the verge of collapse crumbled one after another beneath the shockwaves. Stone chips and dust filled the sky like a sandstorm.

Massive circular craters spread outward from Dawn in ring after ring, as though the area had been struck by a meteor shower.

Even with his entire body coated in Armament Haki, Joseph felt as though his organs were about to shift under such pure, savage, continuous impacts of immense force. Every bone in his body groaned under the unbearable strain, as if he would fall apart completely the next moment.

He tried to struggle and use the joint advantages of the Longarm Tribe to turn the situation around, only to find that the hand gripping his arm seemed forged from stellar sea iron. It would not budge in the slightest.

Dawn continued smashing him around like that for a full five minutes. Only when he felt that the bones in both arms had reached their limit, and that continuing might shatter them completely and give his opponent an opening, did he suddenly fling Joseph—now barely human-shaped—like a piece of garbage toward the tallest pile of building rubble nearby.

Rumble! Dust and smoke surged into the sky once again.

Dawn panted violently, sweat and blood dripping from his chin. He stared intently at the rubble, his arms trembling slightly, but the light in his eyes only grew brighter.

The rubble was pushed aside, and Joseph struggled to stand. He looked utterly miserable. His white suit had long been reduced to tatters, his mask was covered in cracks, blood seeped from multiple wounds across his body, and his breathing was chaotic.

He stared fixedly at the blood-soaked blond youth, his face filled with disbelief.

"You... what's wrong with your body?!"

His physical abilities had inexplicably grown dramatically during battle. That completely defied common sense! Joseph could clearly feel that just a few minutes ago, this brat's speed and strength had been nowhere near enough to evade that fatal blow, yet now he had done it!

He had never seen such a bizarre trait in any other member of the David Clan.

Dawn bared his teeth in a smile that mixed pain with exhilaration, blood seeping between them.

"Heh... did you think I'd be stupid enough to reveal my trump card to an enemy?"

TO BE CONTINUED

(PS: Under normal circumstances, the protagonist's special physique cannot fully absorb the energy brought by food to strengthen his body. Only through battle and training can the absorption efficiency be raised to one hundred percent. Although this was mentioned earlier, I am specifically clarifying it because I am worried someone might use the Crimson King.

Also, some readers who do not know may question why the protagonist, with such a powerful body, has not independently awakened Armament Haki. In truth, the claim that Armament Haki can be independently awakened as long as the body is strong enough is completely wrong. It is a typical rumor.

There has never been any official statement like that. The actual situation is exactly the opposite. In the latest plot of Trafalgar Law's official novel, "The Time of Kikoku," it is explicitly stated that Haki is the power of will. In the original manga, Sanji used Observation Haki while his personality was inside Nami's body, and Imu used Conqueror's Haki while possessing Gunko. These also serve as valid proof that Haki is a power of will rather than something determined by the body.

Furthermore, there are examples in the original work proving that the claim that a powerful body can independently awaken Armament Haki is wrong. For example, during the Kuja arc, Luffy's body was clearly stronger than the Zoan-type Sandersonia and Marigold. It was even so strong that the two of them could not withstand Luffy's attacks despite using Armament Haki emission.

But at that time, Luffy truly had not mastered the ability to use Armament Haki independently. Another example is the Funk Brothers in the Dressrosa arc, whose bodies were strong enough to withstand axe attacks coated in Busoshoku Armament Haki, yet they likewise could not use Armament Haki independently.

Bonney is another example. Bonney could use Armament Haki at the age of twelve, so here is the question: was her body very strong?

A little girl who was only twelve years old and had spent most of her life bedridden due to illness—anyone with normal intelligence would not say that her body was powerful.

In short, the conclusion that Armament Haki can be trained by strengthening the body is completely wrong. What should be strengthened is one's will.)