Meanwhile.
Just as Franky completed his transformation, Kana standing opposite him finished his as well.
Upright, sharply pointed ears. Ash-gray sideburns. And razor-like claws!
The man who had once been human completed his transformation in an instant, becoming a gigantic werewolf whose eyes gleamed with savage ferocity!
Zoan-Type · Ancient Zoan · Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dire Wolf!
About ten years ago, it was precisely because of this rare Devil Fruit that Kana rose from being a small-time punk in the North Blue to a notorious pirate whose name once shook the seas.
That was… until one day, when he happened to run into Marine Vice Admiral Garp, who was returning home to visit family—and Kana had the misfortune of mocking that dog-faced old man to his face.
And then…
When Kana regained consciousness, he found himself inside the boiling cauldron of Impel Down, undergoing a full-body "sterilization."
According to the original course of events, Kana should have fallen victim to Blackbeard's cruel game, becoming nothing more than a stepping stone for other members of the Blackbeard Pirates to regain their freedom.
But under the bold and overwhelming presence of the Golden Lion, he narrowly escaped death—and even rose to become a minor executive within the Black Lion Alliance.
"So it really is a Zoan-type ability user, just like Robin's intel said!?"
Seeing Kana's werewolf transformation, Franky showed no particular surprise.
After all, once Robin assigned everyone their opponents, she had conveniently sent them detailed intelligence on each of them as well.
Franky's eyes narrowed slightly.
Robin's information had been extremely thorough—clearly noting that in his human form, Kana's strength wasn't particularly impressive, roughly on the level of a pirate worth one or two hundred million Beli.
However, with the boost from a rare Ancient Zoan, his strength, speed, and overall combat ability were drastically amplified, allowing him to step into the ranks of high-tier pirates.
In short—
This was the type of guy whose combat power would plummet the moment he lost his Devil Fruit abilities!
BOOM!!!
While Franky was still analyzing the situation, Kana had already lost his patience.
Jet-black Armament Haki instantly coated his claws as he crouched low, launching himself toward Franky at terrifying speed.
"Rending Claws · X!"
A move name utterly devoid of aesthetics or artistry burst from Kana's mouth.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Franky like a shadow, his massive claws crossing as they slashed downward in a brutal strike!
CLANG!!!
The sound of metal colliding rang out instantly, piercing and sharp, echoing across the battlefield.
The next second—
"Gah—what a powerful hit!"
Under Kana's stunned gaze, Franky raised his cannon-barrel arm and blocked the attack head-on with the muzzle itself.
The long, vertical claws—razor-sharp and narrow—left only a faint white mark on the surface of the barrel.
It was so shallow it looked as though it could be wiped away with a casual swipe.
Yet despite this, Franky himself wore an expression of astonishment.
"As expected of an Ancient Zoan user!"
"To actually leave a mark on Wapol Special Alloy No. 12138…"
"Even Zoro can't cut through this special metal right now!"
Under Red's occasional power-level grinding, both the devourer Wapol and the bomber Gem had long since surpassed Level 40.
And as their levels rose, their control over their Devil Fruit abilities naturally improved as well.
This allowed the two of them to provide the Straw Hat Pirates with increasingly powerful and abundant foundational resources.
Wapol Special Alloy No. 12138—also known as Vibranium!
A special metal that combined extreme hardness with the ability to absorb, store, and release kinetic energy!
Because its properties were almost identical to the Vibranium from Marvel, Red had suggested naming this powerful alloy "Vibranium."
There was no need to elaborate on how strong it was.
Unfortunately, the cost of producing this metal was astronomical—several times more expensive than even the metal used for the Going Merry's hull!
After burning through nearly one billion Beli in resources, they had only managed to obtain this small piece used in Franky's arm cannon.
Since it couldn't really be made into anything else useful—and it happened to coincide with Franky's upgrade—it was installed directly onto his body.
Naturally, this was something known only to the Straw Hat crew.
…
…
"This… this is impossible!?"
Amid the rubble, Kana stared in disbelief at how easily his attack had been blocked.
But in the very next moment, Franky moved.
His other arm suddenly vented scalding steam as his palm thrust forward.
The liquid inside the transparent container churned violently, as if eager to enter a new body.
At that sight, Kana's beast-like pupils shrank abruptly.
As a rare Ancient Zoan user, the Dire Wolf Fruit granted him two abilities.
The first was the overwhelming boost to his physical stats in beast form.
The second was a unique beastly instinct—one that enhanced his already sharp vigilance.
When combined with his Observation Haki, this instinct caused it to evolve into something just shy of true future sight—
"Kana's Shiver."
Whenever he was about to be injured, he could sense the danger an instant in advance.
But after nearly ten years in prison, Kana had almost forgotten he even possessed such a passive ability.
Yet at the moment Franky attacked—
"Kana's Shiver" went absolutely berserk!
It screamed at him, warning him that if he didn't dodge this attack—
He would die!!!
"Damn it!"
Despite his confusion, Kana ultimately trusted the instinct that had saved his life countless times. His powerful legs kicked off the ground, rapidly pulling distance between himself and Franky.
However, just as Kana thought he had evaded the attack, his beastly instinct flared once more with an even stronger sense of danger.
Then he saw it—
From the shadows, Franky wore a devilish grin that sent chills down his spine.
Before Kana could react, a sharp click rang out from the attacking palm.
To his horror, the hand detached from Franky's arm, still connected by a chain, and continued flying toward his abdomen—coated in multiple toxins.
"Franky · SUPER Five-Poison Palm!"
"Armament Defense!!!"
PFF!
Unable to dodge in time, Kana instantly mobilized his blood and Haki, coating his abdomen in hardened Armament Haki.
BANG…!
Another massive impact followed.
But this time, instead of the crisp clash of metal, the sound was a dull, drum-like reverberation.
Franky's flying palm trembled violently as it struggled against Kana's reinforced body.
In the end, Kana's Armament Haki proved superior, blocking the attack.
"Tch! What a shame!"
Sensing the kinetic energy fading, Franky flicked his arm, retracting the hand via the chain mechanism.
With a clean click, it snapped perfectly back into place.
"The hell!? This kind of pressure—from a pirate with a sixty-million Beli bounty!?"
Kana frowned deeply, cursing furiously in his heart.
"Did those Marine idiots even investigate properly!?"
"If they can't assign bounties, they should step aside and let someone competent do the job!"
For the first time in his life, Kana felt genuine rage toward the Marine bureaucracy.
But the next instant, blood-red fury flashed in his eyes.
No matter what, he couldn't show weakness in front of his enemy.
"As expected of the Straw Hat Pirates—the ones who defeated Marine Admirals!"
Kana laughed loudly, forcing composure.
"To think even the lowest-bounty member has this level of strength!"
"Now I see why Blackbeard told us to be extremely careful of you!"
"But—" Kana suddenly raised his head, baring his fangs. "You're a steel-modified human, right?!"
"With your body stuffed full of metal, can you really still move that fast!?"
WHOOSH!
The instant his words ended, Kana's figure turned into a streak of black shadow and vanished from Franky's sight.
Only his final words lingered in the air:
"Dread Shadow Step!"
Though he had never learned the Six Powers' Shave, as a physical-type fighter, Kana had developed his own combat techniques.
Using the powerful legs of his Dire Wolf form, his burst speed was so terrifying that even Marine vice admirals proficient in the Six Powers would struggle to keep up.
This was how he survived on the seas.
However—
"A speed-type opponent, huh!?"
Though disappointed his attack had missed, Franky never expected to take down a pirate with a bounty nearing five hundred million Beli so easily.
In the next moment, a brilliant light flashed across his eyes.
"In that case—guess I'll have to use that move!"
"Franky · SUPER Taunt!"
WHOOM—!
A sinister aura suddenly burst from Franky's body, spreading outward.
In an instant—
A figure appeared abruptly in the open space.
It was Kana, who had been preparing to ambush Franky!
"W—what's going on!?"
Kana froze in shock.
But when his gaze landed on Franky, a strange emotion flooded his mind.
Blood-red rage consumed his vision.
"YOU DAMN BASTARD!!!"
He roared, losing all restraint, and charged straight at Franky in a frenzy.
"Wolf Fang Rending Bite!!!"
This time, Kana opened his mouth wide, revealing fangs coated in jet-black Armament Haki, biting savagely toward Franky.
"What am I doing!?"
Seeing Franky calmly raise his reinforced cannon arm and aim it straight at his mouth, doubt flashed across Kana's face.
Then—
"CRUNCH!"
Even though his mind screamed that biting down would hurt, his body followed through regardless.
CRACK… SNAP!
The sound of breaking echoed.
Tears streamed from Kana's eyes, soaking his gray-white fur.
"What a simple-minded guy!"
Franky laughed loudly, mocking him as he stared at the shattered teeth.
Dark-type move—Taunt!
A bizarre technique with no offensive power, yet designated by Red as one of Franky's standard skills!
True to its name, Taunt directly interfered with the opponent's mind, forcing them to immediately attack the user.
The duration varied depending on the difference in strength and mental fortitude between the two sides.
Spit!
Though a physical fighter, Kana's mental strength was far from weak.
Unfortunately, he snapped out of it just a moment too late.
Leaping away from Franky, he watched as two white, bone-like objects fell from his mouth—
His once-proud fangs.
"YOOOOU BASTARD!!!"
Kana roared, his words whistling through broken teeth as his aura surged violently toward Franky.
But at that moment, Franky's body suddenly floated into the air like a helium balloon.
"Oh, right!"
"So you were saying my weakness is speed, huh!?"
"Mm… that's actually not wrong."
"Usopp just relocated my jet thrusters, and I'm still not fully used to them…"
"So yeah—speed really is one of my weaknesses!"
"But for you—not so much!"
BOOM!!!
A thunderous jet roar erupted from Franky's feet.
Blazing flames blasted downward, leveling his body parallel to the ground as he shot straight at Kana!
At the same time, Franky's hair transformed into rows of sharp, metallic spikes.
"Franky · SUPER Sea Urchin Assault!"
BOOM!!!
The flames intensified, pushing Franky's speed even higher as he became a fiery meteor tearing through the air toward Kana.
"T—this is insane…!"
Staring at the figure that looked straight out of Astro Boy, Kana felt utterly done with life.
Why…
Why did this half-naked pervert seem to have endless hidden mechanisms in his body!?
At that moment, Kana sincerely felt—
Even if Franky suddenly ripped off his own junk and threw it like a grenade, he wouldn't find it strange anymore.
Because his tolerance had been permanently raised today.
"Don't think I'm an easy target…!"
From initial arrogance, to caution, to now a voice on the verge of tears—
In just ten minutes, Kana's spirit had been thoroughly crushed.
And now, toothless and desperate, he made his final decision.
To hell with it.
Let fate decide the outcome.
(End of Chapter)