New World, Winner Island.
A full two days and nights had passed since Oven had brought his men to provoke them. Not only had the battle not ended, it had only grown more intense.
The oddly shaped limestone pillars had long since collapsed with a roar, broken into several pieces and scattered across the ground. The once-level terrain had been ravaged beyond recognition, covered in bottomless craters and crisscrossing fissures.
Amid the rubble, Oven's expression was so grim it seemed ready to drip water. Within dozens of meters around him, the Heat-Heat Fruit's power kept driving the temperature higher. The ground had been baked until it cracked, and even the air warped from the heat.
He had originally thought that this time, he would easily reclaim his dignity and wash away his previous humiliation. Reality, however, had delivered a resounding slap to his face.
Forget meeting Dawn himself—even three nameless nobodies he had never heard of had completely blocked their path.
Not only had the humiliation not been washed away, it had instead been branded even deeper onto his face.
Colorful musical notes sprang from Uta's mouth one after another, like a barrage of dense bullets crashing toward Oven.
Oven let out a roar, his fists whipping through the air. He unleashed one scorching Heat Wind Fist after another, detonating every incoming note midair.
Having expended a great deal of stamina, fine beads of sweat seeped across his forehead, only to evaporate instantly in the surrounding heat.
After stomping on the ground dozens of times in rapid succession, Uta vanished from where she stood. When she reappeared, she had silently circled around to Oven's side.
She raised her slender arm high, and vibrant staffs flew from her palm, Armament Haki flowing over their surfaces. Like pythons, they coiled around Oven