Knock Bellamy Skyward, Grit Swift Slash!

Aeneas reacted with astonishing speed. The instant Bellamy revealed his killing intent, Grit surged through Aeneas's body. He instantly entered the Pit Grit state, charging both fists as his left and right punches readied to strike!

Snap!

But Bellamy was unlike any enemy Aeneas had encountered before. He had risen to prominence in Tinos and had even come close to overthrowing the boss of an Underground Syndicate.

Although Bellamy was not yet as strong as he would be when he later faced Luffy, he was still a major boss for the current Aeneas!

The Spring-Spring Fruit's spring abilities were inherently extremely troublesome—much like the protagonist Luffy's Gum-Gum Fruit.

This was Aeneas's first time facing a Devil Fruit user. He wanted to see just what made a Paramecia so superhuman!

Spring Hopper!

Bellamy made the first move, mercilessly compressing himself to the limit before clenching both fists and charging at Aeneas with all his strength.

"If you lose to something like this, then you're not qualified to be my subordinate!" Bellamy said smugly.

The delight Aeneas had felt at meeting a character from the original story and receiving an Encounter Reward was instantly extinguished. Looking at Bellamy's arrogant, unruly face, his eyes held nothing but contempt.

"When did I ever say I wanted to be your subordinate?" Aeneas shot back without yielding. "Stop being so full of yourself!"

The aura of Iron Wrist circulated through him as his eyes locked firmly onto Bellamy's position.

Frontal Charge!

Bellamy's attack speed was incredibly fast, practically the fastest of any enemy Aeneas had encountered so far—though Vergo using Soru did not count.

One characteristic of the Spring-Spring Fruit was that it could not change direction in midair.

That was one of the Spring Man's weaknesses.

But as long as he was fast enough, he could touch down on another foothold, swiftly turn back and rebound, constantly building momentum and accelerating. There would be no need to perform the difficult maneuver of stopping and turning sharply in midair.

Bellamy was still far from capable of that.

Therefore, although Aeneas could not clearly track Bellamy's movements, he could predict where Bellamy's next punch would land.

However, this was Aeneas's first time facing the power of springs head-on. Bellamy himself was already strong, and after being continually compressed and rebounded through his springs, the force transmitted into Aeneas's left heavy punch was enormous.

"No way?"

The instant they made contact, Aeneas realized how serious the situation was.

"This force is even more terrifying than Little Black's!" Aeneas's left heavy punch was merely preparation for his right heavy punch. If the left heavy punch was defeated, then he would not be able to throw the right heavy punch at all!

"Damn it!" The moment Aeneas's left heavy punch met Bellamy's Spring Hopper, it showed signs of collapse. Without even the slightest delay, it was blasted away by Spring Hopper.

Crack—

Aeneas was sent flying and smashed through a large tree more than twenty meters behind him. The tree fell with a crash, while Aeneas's entire body felt as if it had come apart.

"Is that all?" Bellamy looked disappointed instead. "I thought I'd found someone interesting. Looks like you're not worthy of becoming my subordinate!"

Aeneas had not planned on competing with Bellamy in a war of words, but could he really put up with someone acting that obnoxious?

He was playing Sett, the Boss!

Knuckled Down!

Aeneas did not waste words on Bellamy. Spring Hopper hurt, but it also made the Grit around Aeneas surge and leap even more fiercely.

Just as Bellamy was stunned that Aeneas could still stand, Aeneas's fists gleamed gold as he charged straight toward Bellamy.

"Wait, when did—?" By the time Bellamy snapped out of it, Aeneas had already thrown his punch. It was too late for him to use spring compression.

This was another weakness of the Spring-Spring Fruit: every attack required compression to build momentum first. Though its power was considerable, Bellamy was currently just a target before a faster opponent.

This weakness could be overcome. As long as Bellamy trained diligently, he could shorten that delay.

Aeneas was also playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses. Knuckled Down greatly mitigated his shortcoming—whether he could successfully follow his left heavy punch with a right heavy punch at eight times the speed and eight times the power!

Aeneas's fist shone with golden light as his left heavy punch slammed into Bellamy's abdomen. Bellamy's spring-loaded legs, which had already been half compressed, were directly knocked back to their original shape.

Bellamy's whole body bent forward, his limbs flung out before him. Spittle flew from his mouth, his eyes bulged with fury, and veins stood out all over his body.

That was only the left heavy punch. Bellamy had not yet lost consciousness. He looked at Aeneas, about to stubbornly spit out a few words, when the right heavy punch rose from below and struck straight into his chest!

Bellamy's eyes flickered. This time, he was prepared. He wanted to use his spring body to disperse the force into the ground, but the instant the right heavy punch connected, golden light exploded.

Terrifying power erupted from a single point in an instant.

This time, Aeneas knocked Bellamy flying—straight over thirty meters into the air.

Bellamy's body traced a parabola through the sky, leaving behind a perfect arc before crashing down!

Smack!

Rocks shattered, and turf flew up.

Terror appeared in Bellamy's eyes.

"What the hell?" Bellamy finally understood. The rumor had been true. Though it had only been a bit of hearsay, the power Aeneas unleashed at that moment truly lived up to the name "monstrous strength"!

"This guy is terrifying!" Bellamy's entire body ached, and for the moment, he could not even get up.

The pain in his body could not be dispersed or rebounded through his springs. In other words, Bellamy had taken both of Aeneas's punches in full.

If Bellamy had known the duration of Knuckled Down, he would definitely have been glad he was knocked away rather than remaining in place and enduring the attacks head-on.

Because Knuckled Down lasted long enough for Aeneas to throw four right heavy punches.

But every time, the first right heavy punch would send his opponent flying, so Aeneas had not fully displayed the power of Knuckled Down.

Grit filled the air around Aeneas. His expression shifted as he felt that an opportunity might have appeared.

Aeneas drew the Hundred-Jin Iron Sword from his back and controlled his Grit, gathering it onto the Iron Sword.

"This was originally Haymaker, gathering Grit on the fist. What will happen if I imitate it and focus Grit on the Iron Sword instead?" Aeneas circulated his power with all his might, but since this was not the original Haymaker, much of the Grit scattered away.

Yet a small portion still remained on the Iron Sword.

A sudden realization struck Aeneas, and he wanted to swing the greatsword out!

Slaash!

The blunt Iron Sword seemed to turn into a sharp weapon, cutting even the surrounding air apart. Aeneas gripped the Iron Sword with both hands and unleashed the slash!

A golden sword aura actually formed in the air?

"I'll call this move Grit Swift Slash!" Seeing that the technique had succeeded, Aeneas felt excitement surge within him, though he forced himself to speak calmly.