gradually began to fade. Thick black smoke still billowed above the village that had been reduced to ruins. The ground was covered with deep cracks. Trees had been uprooted. Sword slashes, lightning scars, and massive craters stretched across every corner of the battlefield. Slowly, The sounds of clashing weapons disappeared.
...
Amid the shattered remains of the village, Sabo stood there, breathing heavily as he leaned against his iron staff. His chest rose and fell with every exhausted breath. Several parts of his clothes had been torn apart. Long claw marks stretched across his chest, shoulders, and arms. Blood continued to trickle from wounds that had yet to clot.
Beside him, Law looked no better. The white horn of his Unicorn slowly faded away as his body returned to its human form. Bruises covered nearly both of his arms. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and one of his sleeves had been almost completely shredded by Garon's claws.
Several meters in front of them... Garon's massive body slowly collapsed.
THUD...
The captain of the White Fang Pirates remained in his hybrid white tiger form. His body was covered with countless deep wounds. A pool of blood spread beneath his enormous frame. His eyes closed forever, and moments later, his body gradually reverted to its human form.
Sabo: "Damn... I almost thought we were going to lose." Sabo wiped the blood from his cheek.
Law: "If either of us had fought him alone... we probably would've." Law steadied his breathing before letting out a faint smile.
Sabo: "Good thing we weren't fighting alone." A small laugh escaped him.
The two exchanged silent glances. Six months of training still hadn't been enough to overcome their greatest weakness, Haki. And the lack of experience in true life-or-death battles. Despite wielding two Devil Fruits each, possessing extraordinary physical strength, and fighting with abilities that complemented one another perfectly. They had still been forced to push themselves to their absolute limits just to defeat a pirate captain who wasn't even famous in the New World.
Yet, That realization only made them smile because They still had room to grow. And that room was enormous.
...
Not far away, Steel collided once again.
CLANG!!
Kuina gripped Dojigiri firmly with both hands. Her expression remained calm. Her breathing never lost its rhythm.
Meanwhile, Drax's body was covered with countless sword wounds. Even so, the giant scythes replacing his arms continued to swing with terrifying speed.
Kuina slowly inhaled. She knew, She only needed one opportunity. The instant Drax charged once more, She stepped forward. Every movement became incredibly simple. No wasted motion. No unnecessary flourish. Only a single strike.
SHRRAAK!!
Dojigiri pierced straight through Drax's chest, The tip of the blade burst out through his back,
Driving directly through his heart. Drax's eyes widened. At last, Kuina let out a quiet sigh of relief.
But Drax possessed far more battlefield experience than she had anticipated. Even with his heart pierced, His body continued moving. He knew he was already dead, So with every last ounce of strength remaining Both gigantic scythes swung toward Kuina's neck. If he was going to die, He refused to go alone.
Kuina: "Too late..." Only then did Kuina realize this attack make Her eyes widened, She tried to pull Dojigiri free to block the attack.
BOOOOM!!
Koala: "Fish-Man Karate: Karakusagawara Seiken!!" A tremendous shockwave slammed into Drax's side.
Koala appeared beside Kuina in an instant. The powerful strike shattered Drax's balance. His twin scythes shifted several centimeters off course.
SWIIISH!!
The razor-sharp blades merely sliced through the tips of Kuina's hair before passing harmlessly beside her face. A heartbeat later... Kuina pulled Dojigiri free. Drax's body finally lost all strength.
THUD...
He collapsed onto the ground, never to rise again. Silence filled the battlefield.
Kuina: "Thank you." Kuina looked toward Koala, She gave a quiet nod.
Koala: "We agreed on this, remember? No one fights alone." Koala smiled warmly make A small smile finally appeared on both of their faces.
...
Elsewhere on the island...
The battlefield that had once been packed with hundreds of pirates had become a sea of unconscious bodies. Swords. Axes. Rifles. Shields. They were scattered across the ground in every direction.
Bepo simply sat down where he was and his breathing was ragged. Sweat covered his entire body. Several deep cuts were clearly visible along both of his arms. Parts of his white fur had turned crimson as blood continued to seep from the wounds. The Electro lightning that had fiercely surrounded his body gradually faded away. Bepo lifted both hands and they were still trembling slightly.
Bepo: "Haaah... There were... so many of them..." He laughed quietly while rubbing his aching shoulder.
Nearby, Sugar slowly lowered her long rifle. The brim of her military cap still shaded part of her face. Altough there were no significant injuries on her body, Her complexion was far paler than usual. She slowly knelt before sitting on a large boulder, taking several deep breaths. One by one... The countless metal weapons floating high above the battlefield dropped back to the ground.
CLANG... CLANG... CLANG...
Sugar stared silently at both of her hands. She could still feel the power of the Metal-Metal Fruit flowing throughout her body. But controlling hundreds of weapons simultaneously had consumed far more stamina than she had ever imagined. On top of that, she had been forced to maintain the More-More Fruit's power to extend the range of her attacks. At any moment, She also had to be ready to transform using her Mythical Zoan if an enemy managed to close the distance.
Three Devil Fruits, Meant three entirely different powers and three completely different fighting styles that refused to synchronize naturally.
Sugar: "Captain was right... Mastering three Devil Fruits is much harder than I imagined." Sugar smiled faintly before shaking her head.
Bepo: "But... We won." Bepo looked toward her with a tired grin.
Sugar: "Yeah... We won." Sugar nodded quietly.
Sugar slowly looked around the battlefield, the fighting had completely ended.
Hundreds of White Fang Pirates lay defeated, not a single one remained standing.
...
In the distance, A lone figure stood atop the roof of a half-collapsed building. Their captain, Arthur. He had watched every single battle unfold from beginning to end without lifting a single finger. A satisfied smile slowly appeared on his face.
That day, For the very first time since completing six months of relentless training, every young member of the Art Pirates had proven that they had truly become far stronger than before.
Their victory had come at a price, Wounds, Exhaustion, And brushes with death.
But in the end, They had earned that victory through their own strength.
And to Arthur, that was the greatest lesson And the finest result He could have ever hoped for.