"Hiss—hiss~"
As Leno's words fell, two piercing hissing cries suddenly rang out.
The orange and green figures in the arena rapidly stretched and expanded, transforming in the blink of an eye into two massive pythons!
Their enormous bodies arched slightly, vertical pupils locking tightly onto Leno, as if ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.
"They appeared!"
"I really wanted to see Lady Marigold's Snake God of Flame!"
"And Lady Sandersonia's Eight-Headed Serpent!"
As the sisters' Devil Fruit powers manifested, the already lively stands instantly erupted into boiling chaos.
Everyone stared excitedly at the two gigantic figures in the arena, the roar of voices surging like a tsunami across the entire coliseum.
They screamed themselves hoarse, eyes filled with fanatical devotion!
"What a majestic presence~"
"This is proof of earning the title of mighty warrior after defeating the Gorgon!"
"The cursed imperial sisters are still as valiant as ever~"
"AAAAAAHHHH—!"
Cursed?
Hearing the worshipful voices mixed into the deafening roar, Leno couldn't help rolling his eyes inwardly.
These citizens were really naïve in a cute way—after all this time, they still believed the lies the Hancock sisters had woven back then.
"Charge!"
Right then, a cold shout rang out!
In an instant, arrows, cannon fire, slashing attacks, and sweeping snake tails all surged toward Leno almost simultaneously.
He completely ignored the female warriors' barrage, casually twisting his body as the dragon scales covering him clattered loudly.
Stepping forward, he spread his arms wide and took the full brunt of the storm of attacks head-on—without dodging or blocking!
Boom boom boom~
Heaven-shaking explosions erupted as thick black smoke instantly swallowed Leno's figure.
Terrifying shockwaves rolled outward, sweeping across the entire arena like raging tides.
Like a violent gale passing through, the spectators in the stands were knocked left and right, chaos everywhere!
At that moment, the besieging warriors' eyes flickered as they stared warily at the dense cloud of smoke.
Only moments later, two shockwaves burst upward from within, sweeping away the surrounding smoke with devastating force.
As the haze cleared, Leno's figure reappeared before everyone.
He still maintained the same open-armed posture from before. Aside from some torn clothing, there wasn't a single wound on his body!
Behind him, a thick dragon tail swayed, kicking up clouds of dust.
The scales on his body rippled like waves, gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight—like a suit of luxurious violet-gold armor.
Seeing him completely unscathed, the attacking warriors were struck dumb in shock!
That all-out assault just now hadn't even broken through his defense!
"How is that possible?!"
"He clearly didn't even use Haki—just how monstrous is his physical body?!"
"..."
Among the warriors, the unwilling Ran drew her bow and fired another arrow at Leno.
"Clang—!"
As the arrow struck the scales on Leno's chest, it actually produced the sound of metal colliding!
Even an arrow coated in Armament Haki couldn't pierce his dragon scales. This horrifying sight utterly crushed their remaining hope.
Not only those in the arena—even the spectators in the stands were deeply shaken.
In their limited understanding, Haki-coated arrows on Kuja Island had always been unstoppable.
Yet today, faced with those faintly glowing purple scales, their proud attacks were rendered completely useless.
Seeing them all standing there like statues, Leno didn't give them time to recover.
His dragon eyes flared open as abyss-like Conqueror's Haki erupted forth, instantly engulfing everyone in the arena!
Under this terrifying spiritual pressure, the female warriors' faces turned pale as they all dropped to one knee!
Cold sweat streamed down their faces, eyes filled with horror.
This is… Conqueror's Haki!
And one even more terrifying than the Empress's.
They clenched their teeth, struggling to rise under the crushing pressure.
But the rampant crimson lightning coursing around them left their bodies numb and powerless—standing up was nothing but wishful thinking.
Marigold and Sandersonia were also suppressed by the crimson lightning, unable to maintain their giant serpent forms as they slowly reverted to human shape.
"This bone-chilling sensation… is he serious?"
"It's like facing an Asura…"
"Damn it… how can he be this strong…"
"S-So this is Brother-in-law's presence…"
Looking at the female warriors who were now almost completely incapable of fighting back, Leno's smile grew increasingly wild, arrogant, and domineering!
So this is what bullying noobs feels like—damn, it's satisfying!
I haven't even made a move yet, and you're already down?
Honestly—now that you think about it!
There's really an urge to grab them all and ruthlessly toy with them.
Outside the arena, as they watched the crimson hell completely envelop the circular battlefield, the spectators seemed to have their throats collectively seized, falling into dead silence.
That figure standing amid the crimson lightning—like a god or demon—was etched deeply into every citizen's mind.
For many years afterward, whenever they recalled that terrifying figure, they would still space out for a long while. The impression was simply too deep.
"This man is terrifying beyond belief…"
Crouched in a corner of the stands, Elder Nyon was also stunned by the sight before her. Truly, seeing was believing.
Back in her day, she had witnessed plenty of great storms, but Conqueror's Haki of this level had only been seen in a very small number of individuals.
"With this level of presence, he might already be able to contend with that terrifying man…"
Watching Leno's exaggerated grin, she unconsciously compared him to that overbearing, flamboyant figure.
But when she thought of Leno's current age, even with mental preparation, her pupils still shrank sharply.
In the future, perhaps…
Meanwhile, atop the high platform, Empress Hancock perfectly demonstrated what a 'true solo performance' looked like!
Silently watching Leno the entire time, her emotions rose and fell with every change in the arena.
When Leno endured the attacks, she frowned, worried, even unable to suppress the killing intent surging in her heart;
When Leno unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to dominate the entire field, her eyes sparkled as she nearly shouted out loud in applause for him.
But when she saw all the citizens struck dumb by Leno's overwhelming presence, she curled her lips in disdain, secretly mocking their lack of knowledge.
Every time she thought about how Leno was doing all this for her, the Empress trembled with excitement, completely unable to contain herself.
Standing nearby, attending to her, Enishida stared wide-eyed at the Empress's rapid shifts in expression.
She carefully covered her mouth, afraid the Empress might notice her at such a moment.
...
...