Amid the explosive crack of the air, Norton reached out and caught the claw sweeping down at him. Veins bulged on his hand, but it remained as steady as a mountain.
In his werewolf form, Mongula had enough strength to shatter mountains and split stone, yet he could not budge Norton!
"Again! You still have more strength, don't you? Unleash your potential!" Norton's eyes blazed as he smiled expectantly, though to Mongula, that smile was as terrifying as a demon king's.
A trace of fear silently spread from the depths of his heart, stinging the werewolf Mongula's pride.
"Claw Pistol!"
The werewolf Mongula swung his sharp claws, their wind tearing transparent trails through the air.
In his werewolf form, Mongula was several times faster than before, far beyond the speed of sound-even faster than a bullet.
Yet Norton still handled him with effortless ease!
Mongula was horrified. He had never encountered such a terrifying opponent, whose strength and speed seemed inexhaustible.
Bottomless!
Mongula had never felt anything like this from anyone.
"Finger Pistol: Wolf Fang!"
Under the crushing pressure, the werewolf Mongula unleashed unprecedented potential!
All the Armament Haki covering his body condensed at that moment, gathering on his fangs and turning their ghastly white surfaces black. Mongula opened his gaping maw and lunged to bite Norton!
His black fangs clashed, throwing off sparks. With a clang like striking iron, Mongula's attack missed once again.
Norton reappeared a few steps away, frowning slightly at the foul stench coming from Mongula's mouth.
"Don't think you can escape!" The werewolf Mongula threw back his head and let out a piercing howl that carried far into the distance.
Nami, the Duke, and Funing, who had escaped the hall, all heard the terrifying wolf's howl and could not help looking back toward the Royal Palace.
"What on earth is happening over there with Mr. Norton?" The Duke's heart pounded wildly.
"We can't worry about all that! Just leave it to Norton!" A flicker of concern crossed Nami's eyes, but she quickly looked away. "Norton's strong! He'll be fine!"
Funing also took the Duke's hand. "Come on, Dad! Let's get back to the castle first! All the guards are heading toward the Royal Palace!"
Outside the Royal Palace, the patrolling guards were drawn by the piercing howl and poured into the palace.
Not only that, but several figures in black uniforms, people Funing had never seen before, also followed the crowd into the Royal Palace.
"Who are those people?" Funing asked curiously.
"They're agents from the World Government's intelligence agency, known as 'CP'!" The Duke's expression darkened. "You're right, Funing. This situation is far too complicated. Let's return to the castle first!"
"Wait! I need to bring the White Pearl back!" Funing said.
"There's no time! Leave it to Mr. Norton! He'll protect his own ship!" The Duke's expression was grave.
Something momentous was about to happen in this country!
Meanwhile, inside the Royal Palace Hall.
The wolf-headed monster's terrifying black figure flashed about constantly, his enormous claws swinging like black steel and whipping up violent gusts of fetid wind.
Mongula used the Rokushiki Ogi, Life Return, to unleash his body's potential, his muscles tightening like iron.
The silver-haired figure darted through the violent, foul wind and deadly claw strikes, always dodging at the last possible instant.
"Not enough! Not enough! Not enough! Your speed, your strength-none of it is enough!"
A wild smile spread across Norton's face as he opened his arms. "Unleash your body's potential! This alone isn't nearly enough to satisfy me!"
Facing the werewolf Mongula's furious assault, Norton only dodged and occasionally blocked, never taking the initiative to attack.
This only made the werewolf Mongula's momentum grow stronger and stronger!
The pillars, dome, and walls of the Royal Palace Hall were steadily destroyed beneath the werewolf Mongula's fury-fueled assault. Dust billowed like thick fog, and falling stone crashed down with thunderous rumbles. The entire Royal Palace Hall was already showing signs of collapse!
The red light in the werewolf Mongula's eyes grew brighter and brighter, his terrifying appearance making him look utterly berserk.
Eventually, Mongula stopped calling out his attacks altogether. When the power within him swelled to its absolute limit and could grow no further, all he wanted was to pour that strength into every swipe of his claws amid his furious roars!
An intense bloodlust gradually took over Mongula's consciousness.
Without him realizing it, under the immense pressure Norton exerted and the provocation of his words, cracks appeared in the barrier that had always held Mongula back. Mongula touched the realm known as "Awakening"!
According to legend, when a Devil Fruit User's "body and mind" matched their "ability," they would enter the realm known as "Awakening"...
After Awakening, their combat strength would rise dramatically, and they would gain such terrifying vitality that they could get back up no matter how many times they were knocked down.
Zoan Awakening carried enormous risks. Forcing an Awakening when one's "body and mind" did not match one's "ability" would end in failure!
If the Awakening failed, the user would still gain terrifying vitality and recovery, but their consciousness would fall under the control of the animal will dwelling within the fruit.
In other words, they would lose their reason and human intelligence, becoming a slave to their Devil Fruit!
The Jailer Beasts of Impel Down, for instance, were Zoan users whose Awakenings had failed.
"That should be about it..."
Norton murmured as he watched the terrifying, berserk werewolf, sensing that the power within him had already been pushed to its limit.
In other words, he had reached the upper limit of his Limiter.
And so, Norton clenched his right hand, finally preparing to throw his second punch.
"It'd be no fun to finish you in one hit. In this state, you should be able to take a few more punches, right?" As his words fell, Norton seriously threw a punch!
It was a plain, unadorned punch, without any coating of Armament Haki or the enhancement of a combat technique like the Six Powers. Yet it abruptly extinguished the bloody light gleaming in the werewolf's eyes. His instinctive fear of death snapped Mongula back to his senses in an instant!
Norton's fist rapidly grew larger in Mongula's vision, like a mountain bearing down on him!
The black fangs coated in Armament Haki snapped and flew away. Mongula's savage wolf head twisted and deformed, spilling bright red blood...
At that instant, Mongula heard the sound of bones breaking!
After his partial Mythical Zoan Awakening, his bones were even harder than steel, yet beneath Norton's fist, they snapped as easily as rotten wood.
An immense force engulfed Mongula, launching him like a cannonball and turning him into a massive blur through the air!
That blur punched through the Royal Palace's pillars, pierced the fog-like dust, blasted through thick walls, and even shot off the island, carving a long, narrow wake across the sea before finally disappearing.
The guards and World Government CP Agents who had just flooded into the Royal Palace Hall witnessed an astonishing sight. The silver-haired man still held his punching stance, and before him lay a deep trench with no visible end. It cut through the Royal Palace Hall and the town's streets, extending an unknown distance all the way to the surging sea!
Around the silver-haired man, whose figure resembled a demon king, dense smoke dispersed like fog.
"I still overestimated you... You couldn't give me my fill." Norton withdrew his fist, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the guards and agents.
They all felt as though they had plunged into an abyss.