A massive flying slash burst from Teach's kick, a Rankyaku so large that it carved through the rain as it soared straight toward Jones.
Jones crossed two enormous tentacles in front of him to shield himself, but the slash carried overwhelming force. The blade of compressed air carved deeply into the thick limbs. A sharp crack followed. Both tentacles snapped apart.
Even so, the Rankyaku weakened as Jones's flesh rapidly eroded and dissolved it.
Despite its massive size, Jones's vitality bordered on monstrous. The severed tentacle pieces jerked and writhed on the ground like gecko tails, filled with tenacious life. Ever since Jones entered full beastification, the ten thousand tentacles that composed his body merged into eight colossal ones, each one brimming with extreme regenerative power.
The twitching ends of the severed limbs crawled back toward their bases and reattached. In seconds, the giant tentacles were whole once more.
Teach saw an opening. His figure blurred, his body flickering through the air as he aimed directly for Jones's head. He already understood that the tentacles were a distraction. If he wanted to damage this monster, he needed to hit its head.
The rest was meaningless inconvenience.
Jones noticed his approach. Three giant tentacles swung toward Teach with frightening speed, trying to seize him. A fourth tentacle split before his eyes, rapidly dividing into more than a thousand smaller tendrils.
Large limbs for raw defense. Smaller ones for coverage and entanglement. Together they formed a suffocating net designed to stop Teach at any cost.
The large tentacles had hardened skin and were far more troublesome to cut. The smaller tentacles lacked durability but were numerous enough to drown him. If they wrapped around him fully, escape would become nearly impossible.
Jones had learned from the pain Teach inflicted earlier and adapted quickly.
Teach swept through the storm of limbs. "Demon Claw: Ghostly Blossom." Countless claw arcs flashed. The tentacles in front of him were severed by the flurry of slashes.
But even disconnected, the severed pieces shot toward him with uncanny precision, their movements as quick as living traps seeking to coil around him.
Teach's Observation Haki guided every step. He wove left and right through narrow gaps, dodging the living flood. A surge of power erupted from his body, a fierce shock of intent that blasted back everything near him.
"Gun Fist."
He clenched his fists, one raised and one lowered, and extended his arms. All his strength gathered into both limbs. A violent shockwave erupted forward, compressed into a cylindrical burst of force.
The technique was a Rokushiki secret art, the Rokugan. With countless tentacles blocking him and Jones's head still distant, he needed a piercing blow to tear apart anything in his path.
The shockwave shot forward like a cannon round. A deep pit formed in the soil beneath it. Every tentacle in its path was crushed instantly.
The beam tore across the battlefield like a straight line of destruction and slammed into Jones's head.
The impact was devastating. A large portion of Jones's head caved inward. Skin tore away, leaving the entire area a mangled, bloody ruin.
Jones roared and whipped multiple giant tentacles toward Teach. Teach flashed aside, slipping away from each strike.
He had found a new method. The shockwave attacks not only shredded the tentacles but also drained Jones's stamina far more than simple slashes ever could. Severed tentacles reattached too quickly for claw attacks to matter. The impact techniques forced Jones to spend real energy to regenerate.
If he could keep up the pressure, Jones's strength would collapse.
Across the battlefield, Gar was locked in a vicious struggle with two Central Guard captains.
Gar fought against both at once and felt exhilarated. His opponents were members of the Kraken Kingdom royal family's elite guard, the two strongest among the ten Royal City Guard.
Oaks was a Black Panther Zoan user, powerful and fast. Hocheng wielded the Rage-Rage Fruit, a Paramecia ability that increased strength proportionally to anger.
Together they pressed Gar hard. Oaks' speed and Haki made him extremely dangerous. Hocheng provided relentless pressure, though his strength fluctuated with his emotions.
Gar swung his double-edged hunting knife at Hocheng, forcing him to dodge. Without pausing, Gar spun with the motion of his attack. Oaks tried to strike him from behind but ducked when the blade passed near his head. Gar followed through and kicked, but Oaks slipped back with agile precision.
Oaks was the real threat. Hocheng was capable but still gathering momentum, his ability building only as he grew angrier.
Gar lunged at Hocheng again, claws striking forward. Hocheng was nearly caught. Oaks moved in an instant, his panther-like speed surpassing even Gar's. His kick slammed into Gar's side and sent him sliding backward.
Gar dug his feet into the ground to halt his movement. Blood trickled from several wounds, but his focus sharpened. Oaks had the edge in technique and speed. Hocheng's ability remained incomplete.
The Rage-Rage Fruit required emotion. Anger had to be cultivated. Hocheng's aura gradually intensified, but his physical strength had not yet caught up.
The cautious balance changed when Hocheng's breathing grew heavier. His fists trembled. His muttering turned into a harsh chant.
His face reddened. His teeth clenched. Anger surged through him like a tide.
His body swelled, muscles bulging. Flames began flickering across his arms as the air around him heated. His entire frame grew more imposing.
The sudden flames shocked everyone. The Rage-Rage Fruit was supposed to increase power with anger, not produce fire.
Teach spared a glance during his battle. The sight reminded him of the Emotion-Emotion Fruit. That Devil Fruit altered temperature based on emotional shifts. It allowed extremes of heat or cold depending on the user's feelings.
This Rage-Rage Fruit was likely a related 'subordinate fruit'.
Teach turned back to his own fight as a new wave of giant tentacles rushed him.
Hocheng, now fully enraged, charged at Gar with a roar. Flames trailed behind his steps. His mind focused on one thought repeated again and again.
"How dare you disrupt His Majesty the King. I must kill you. I must kill you."
His loyalty made anger easy to sustain. The northern city, the pep rally, the chaos caused by the Nightfall Pirates. He forced himself to grow angrier with every breath.
His flames crackled, but the rain weakened them. Their temperature reached several hundred degrees. Powerful, but nothing compared to Wallace's flames or Gar's own thousands of degrees.
Gar stood firm. He fought Wallace often and was unfazed by heat.
The problem was Hocheng's physical strength. Combined with Oaks' speed, it created a dangerous situation.
Wounds accumulated on Gar's body. His blood ran hot. The pain ignited his ferocity rather than diminishing it.
He needed to end this quickly.
He threw his head back and roared at the sky. He needed that familiar surge again, the one he tasted a month ago. He needed rage to replace moonlight and trigger the transformation that slumbered in his bloodline.
He had failed to control it several times, only sensing fragments of the state. But today, with anger and pressure closing in, he felt the spark.
A silver glow spread across his fur.
Despite the storm clouds overhead, Gar shone with brilliant light. More and more spectators noticed it.
His body expanded from four meters to five, muscles thickening. His fur turned denser and snow white. His red eyes flared with primal intensity. His hair flowed back like a mane of silver fire.
Sulong.
Oaks and Hocheng froze for a heartbeat.
If Gar had been a threat before, he now radiated overwhelming menace. His presence alone pressed against them like a physical weight. His expanded muscles were two full circles larger, and every movement carried a violent surge of power.
The next exchange would decide everything.