Time Is on My Side

However, Ark calmly crawled out of the crater, dusted himself off, and looked at Sanya with a composure that remained completely unruffled. "That shot pack quite a punch. It actually hurt a bit."

"What?!!"

Seeing Ark act as though he was completely unscathed, Sanya's expression shifted drastically. Could her full-powered attack truly fail to inflict even the slightest scratch on him?

"Still, you women certainly have some tricks up your sleeves. Looks like I'll have to get serious, too." As he spoke, his aura underwent a sharp transformation. The hands that had turned into wolf claws were now covered in a layer of black Armament Haki. He truly lived up to his reputation as a formidable pirate who once commanded a bounty as high as 120 million, knowing Armament Haki after all. Moreover, judging by its density, his mastery far surpassed Sanya's.

At the same time, a gray wolf's tail grew from his lower back, whipping through the air and gouging deep fissures into the ground.

Lu Ge, who had just rushed to the scene, watched this unfold and immediately turned grave. "Is that... the Zoan-type Gray Wolf Fruit? This aura... and that Armament Haki. This guy looks immensely strong! Sanya might not be a match for him."

Ark fixed his gaze on Sanya. Any trace of elegance had vanished, leaving only a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. "You must be the strongest among them, right? Once I kill you, the rest of them should lose their fighting spirit."

With that, Ark's body morphed at a visible pace, gradually transforming into a werewolf with a wolf's head and a human's body.

The Amazon Lily warriors on the island, who had never laid eyes on a Devil Fruit user before, widened their eyes in shock one by one. "Whoa! Why did that guy suddenly turn into a werewolf? Could this be the perverted wolf that Her Majesty the Empress always talked about?"

"Sanya! Look! Is that a perverted wolf?"

"So perverted wolves look like this?"

"..." Hearing this, Sanya felt her brow twitch violently with irritation. Even at a time like this, they still had the mental capacity to worry about that? She immediately bellowed in anxious panic, "That's not some perverted wolf, he's a Devil Fruit user! I'll explain that to you later. Don't get distracted right now—fall back! Fall back right now, or you'll die!"

While she was still speaking, Ark seized the opening, flicked his feet, and instantly morphed into a blur of gray. He flashed right in front of Sanya with a terrifying speed she couldn't react to, slashing his claws across her body. Amidst a splatter of fresh blood, Sanya shrieked, sent flying backward to crash heavily against the earth. Three bloody claw marks tore across her chest, looking savage and horrifying.

This single strike combined both peerless speed and raw power.

"No way, he's this strong?" Lu Ge muttered, his expression instantly turning heavy upon seeing the scene. "I just got dropped into this world, so according to the standard script, shouldn't they hand me some low-level fodder to grind and warm up? Why the hell am I facing a boss-tier monster right off the bat?"

Meanwhile, the Amazon Lily warriors stared in absolute shock. "No way! Sanya was defeated in a single exchange? Can we even win against a monster like that?"

The tall elder sister Mana immediately let out a sharp cry, "What are you all still spacing out for? Fire arrows! Fire the arrows!!"

These warriors who had never participated in a real battle were truly lacking in discipline, daring to let their minds wander at a time like this.

Awakening as if from a dream, the maidens hurriedly drew their bows and nocked their arrows. In a split second, over a hundred arrows imbued with Haki tore through the air, aimed squarely at Ark.

It had to be said that the female warriors of Amazon Lily possessed remarkable archery skills and pinpoint accuracy. Yet in Ark's eyes, they amounted to nothing. With a mere shift of his stance, he teleported to the side, causing every single arrow to miss. Although each arrow exploded with formidable power the moment it struck the ground, it was all useless if they couldn't hit their target.

Seeing the destructive might of those arrows, Ark turned grim as well. "It seems these women really do have some tricks. If I took a direct hit from those, I'd get hurt too."

"Still, if this is all they've got, it's far from enough."

The next moment, Ark truly plunged like a wolf into a flock of sheep. The plain-looking ones were sent flying directly by his strikes, while the pretty ones were knocked out cold; not a single person could withstand even a single blow from him. In mere moments, over a dozen female warriors were already injured and collapsed on the ground.

Lu Ge watched this one-sided massacre with a grim expression. The current strength of Amazon Lily seemed to have a rather massive gap compared to the era ruled by Hancock later on!

Furthermore, Ark's strength clearly exceeded what they could handle—even Lu Ge himself felt a hint of pressure. If he didn't intervene, would they all end up wiped out? No wonder he never saw Sanya and the others in the original story; they probably perished in this very battle!

Looking at Ark at that moment, Lu Ge felt no fear or dread whatsoever, but rather a trace of excitement and yearning—a craving for battle.

Clearly, this was his first time participating in such a scenario, yet instead of panicking, he found himself filled with eager anticipation. Even he found that reaction somewhat bizarre.

Yet his actions did not falter in the slightest. The power of time surged in his palms, and Lu Ge immediately unleashed his ultimate technique: "Time Is on My Side!"

That was the name he had given to the move that manifested his future power.

The next instant, a familiar sensation washed over him once more, filling his entire body with immense strength. Seeing that Ark was about to deliver a fatal blow to Sanya, Lu Ge flashed forward, forcing him back with a single sword slash and placing himself right in his path. "Your opponent from here on out is me."

"Oh?" Ark regarded the suddenly appeared Lu Ge, a hint of playful elegance crossing his face. "Well, well~ little beauty, do you also want to taste what it's like to be pampered by an uncle?"

"Ugh~" Lu Ge froze on the spot. Feeling the man's utterly playful and perverted gaze, he felt his skin crawl and a chill run down his spine. What the hell! Is this guy a total freak?!

Then, another realization hit him, and he suddenly remembered that he happened to be wearing women's clothing right now. Was this bastard mistaking him for a woman? Damn it, did he look that much like a female? Could he not tell from his voice either?!

In a flash, Lu Ge felt his brow twitch with rage, and he roared at the top of his lungs, "Pamper your mother!"

He launched an attack fueled by fury, instantly coating his katana in black Armament Haki and rendering it a true Black Blade. With a fierce swing, a piercing, razor-sharp blade light flashed through the air, cutting forward with terrifying momentum.

Such a vast and fierce slash caused Ark's pupils to constrict. He didn't dare show the slightest bit of carelessness, and lacking even the time to dodge, he could only raise his wolf claws defensively in front of him. With a crisp clang, the blade light was blocked, but Ark's eyes bulged in shock as a devastating force struck him. Instantly, a massive power blasted him backward, skidding more than a hundred meters across the ground before he finally managed to steady himself.