Tiger Emperor Fist: The Ultimate Rokushiki Technique

His special constitution was Dawn's greatest reliance—and his true trump card.

After Doctor Kureha's diagnosis years ago, along with countless tests at the brink of life and death—or rather, countless reckless brushes with death—he had learned that when his body endured immense pressure, it truly unleashed astonishing potential. The efficiency of his physical strengthening was directly proportional to the pressure he withstood.

And there was no pressure more immediate or greater than being gravely wounded and on the verge of death. Those seemingly suicidal charges before had been meant to deliberately create such extreme pressure and forcibly elevate his physical capabilities!

Now, in this severely injured state, the rate at which his physique strengthened had reached a staggering level. But the cost was equally immense—the energy he had stored in advance within his body through Life Return was draining away like a burst dam.

He was gambling that before his reserves were completely depleted, his physical attributes would strengthen enough to surpass his opponent's!

Judging by the situation now, he had won the gamble! Though the price had been severe, the results were obvious.

"Although I haven't figured out exactly what caused your physical abilities to suddenly grow so much stronger."

Joseph's voice became incomparably grave, his killing intent locking onto Dawn as tangibly as substance.

"But I know this: to the World Government, your existence is far too dangerous! For justice, I must erase you completely here, no matter the cost!"

He judged that the potential and strangeness of this David Clan remnant had elevated his threat level to the highest rank.

No matter what had caused this mutation in his body, it had to be nipped in the bud!

He suddenly raised a hand and removed the cracked mask from his face, revealing the face of an utterly ordinary young man—the kind who would disappear into a crowd without notice.

Then, from the inner pocket of his ruined suit, he carefully took out an ancient porcelain bottle. Inside was Hero Water from Alabasta, a forbidden drug capable of vastly stimulating human potential for a short time, but at the cost of burning away all life. Anyone who drank it was certain to die.

Without the slightest hesitation, Joseph pulled out the stopper, tipped his head back, and drained the Hero Water in one gulp!

Years of brainwashing and education had long made him place the World Government's interests above his own life. For justice, sacrificing his life was simply the natural end.

"Gulp..."

As the Hero Water went down, Joseph's eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins. The muscles across his body swelled wildly like inflated balloons, bursting apart his tattered suit jacket!

Armament Haki instantly covered his entire body, completing full-body hardening!

An aura far more violent than before swept out from him like a storm, rolling even the rubble across the ground!

Bang!

The ground beneath his feet exploded as though struck by a bomb. At a speed unprecedented for him, nearly beyond the limit of visual perception, Joseph crossed the distance between them as if teleporting and appeared before Dawn.

His arm, with its two elbow joints, twisted and drew back at an eerie angle that completely defied human anatomy. Then, like a cannonball leaving its barrel, he threw a straight punch containing all his strength, the effects of the Hero Water, and his determination to kill.

The air along the path of his fist compressed to an extreme, releasing a thunderous boom.

There was no avoiding it. The speed and power of that punch had completely exceeded the limits his strengthened body could handle.

Having made his judgment in an instant, a trace of resolve flashed through Dawn's eyes.

"Since I can't dodge it... then let's see whose life is tougher!"

He sharply inhaled and used the force-generating technique of Iron Body from the Rokushiki. The muscles throughout his body instantly swelled and tightened like boulders, making his frame seem a full size larger.

He took a small step back, stabilized his stance, and mobilized the core strength of his waist and abdomen along with every inch of muscle in his body. All that power converged in his right fist as he met that deathly straight punch with a fierce strike containing all his spirit, will, and flames of vengeance.

That punch pierced the air on both sides of its path, blasting out rings of white shockwaves and releasing a terrifying roar like that of a ferocious tiger.

"[Ultimate Rokushiki Technique: Tiger Emperor Fist]!"

The Longarm Tribe's advantage in arm length allowed Joseph's fist to strike Dawn squarely in the chest first.

"Crack!" A clear sound of bones breaking rang out.

"Pfft—!" Dawn spat out a huge mouthful of blood. His face instantly turned the color of wax paper, and his chest visibly caved in. His body swayed violently, as though he would collapse completely at any moment.

However, before Joseph could savor the thrill of the kill, he felt a terrifyingly penetrating shockwave erupt from his heart.

That shockwave forcibly pierced through his hard Armament Haki defense and struck directly at his internal organs.

"Pfft!" Joseph also spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of organs. The bloodshot veins in his eyes rapidly faded, replaced by disbelief and extreme unwillingness.

At that moment, the Hero Water's side effects erupted violently. The rapid loss of life force left him unable to support his body any longer.

Like a puppet with cut strings, he was carried backward by the remaining force and sent flying into the ruins once more, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He wanted to struggle. He wanted to rise and complete his mission. But his body no longer obeyed him, and his life force was receding like the tide. He could only stare wide-eyed at the starry sky shrouded in darkness and use his last trace of strength to spit out a hoarse curse:

"Justice... will prevail... you... sooner or later..."

Before he could finish, his head tilted to the side, and he fell into eternal darkness.

Dawn remained in his punching stance as wisps of white smoke slowly dissipated from his fist. He coughed up several more mouthfuls of clotted blood, and only by planting his feet into the ground as though they had taken root did he barely manage to remain standing.

He carefully sensed the oppressive force within him, which had completely boiled over and surged because of extreme emotion, unwavering conviction, and a battle between life and death—as though it might burst from his body at any moment. At last, a sincere, blood-stained smile appeared on his pale face.

He had done it! He had crossed the threshold for projecting Conqueror's Haki!

The entire battlefield fell into dead silence. Only the mournful whistling of the night wind through the ruins remained, along with the unconscious groans of some trainees who had been knocked out in the distance.

The few who remained conscious looked at the ruins that had buried CP0, then at the figure who still stood despite being gravely wounded and near death, like a demon god. They all sucked in cold breaths, their bodies turning icy. One of the Celestial Dragons' strongest shields had just... died?

High in the air, wrapped in deep, dark energy, an enormous three-masted sailing ship hovered silently like a ghost.

Inside the cabin, Lucci, Kalifa, and Kaku watched the entire battle below through specially designed observation windows. Heavy iron chains and shackles still bound them.

All three had fallen into prolonged silence, their emotions like a lake into which a massive stone had been thrown—surging and impossible to calm.

Lucci in particular had seen it most clearly. Dawn's final, life-or-death punch had clearly launched a highly condensed shockwave through his fist.

Its principle and conception were extremely similar to the Ultimate Rokushiki Technique he had recently been trying to perfect: Rokuogan.

He had never imagined that the man who had forcibly abducted them had already surpassed him by so much in his mastery of Rokushiki.

That realization struck him far more deeply than witnessing CP0's death.

"He... he's almost done for! Take this chance and kill him! Avenge Lord CP0!"

From within the crowd, someone shouted hoarsely, driven by extreme fear and some faint hope of luck.

That cry was like a spark cast into boiling oil, instantly igniting the survivors' last courage. Several instructors and trainees who could still move flashed vicious looks, picked up their weapons, and slowly approached Dawn, who appeared to be at the end of his strength.

TO BE CONTINUED