'BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!'
The clash of metal echoed across the sky. Red-and-black Conqueror's Haki lightning continuously tore through the clouds overhead as terrifying energy erupted wave after wave.
The ground across Little Garden kept shattering. Hills and forests collapsed or were swept away entirely, and the magma spewing from the central volcano was repeatedly vaporized by the sheer pressure of Haki before it could even hit the dirt.
The usually noisy Straw Hats were dead silent. The clash playing out before them was simply too fast to follow.
Brogy swung his massive axe, his heavy Armament Haki dragging a wave of airborne magma along as he swept the blade toward Monkey's waist.
At the same time, Dorry's giant sword thrust forward like a venomous dragon, its tip aiming straight for Monkey's face.
Faced with the joint attack, Flying Nimbus burst forward with terrifying speed, carrying Monkey through a backflip that slipped clean through the narrow gap between their weapons.
In the same breath, Monkey whipped his iron staff to the right single-handedly. The shaft expanded mid-swing, its black surface coated in dense Haki.
'BANG!'
It slammed square into Dorry's right shoulder.
"Guh!" Dorry grunted in pain, the heavy blow staggering his massive frame. His feet carved deep trenches into the earth before he managed to catch his balance.
Without missing a beat, Monkey rode Nimbus right onto Brogy's shoulder. With Ruyi Jingu Bang shrunk back to normal, he caught Brogy's axe with one hand while thrusting his other fist straight toward the giant's face beneath his helmet.
'ROAR!'
As his fist drove forward, the air echoed with the ferocious roar of a tiger.
Brogy reacted instantly, tilting his huge head aside while bringing his giant shield around with his left hand.
'BOOM!'
Fist slammed into shield. Brogy felt an absurd amount of force shock through the metal. Even with the shield dispersing part of the blow, his massive frame was knocked off balance.
Just as he started to stumble, Dorry reached out with his massive arm and pulled him back.
The moment they caught their footing, Monkey was already in their faces again. He leaped into the air, unleashing a rapid storm of kicks. Each strike hit like a cannonball, the resulting shockwaves grinding huge boulders below into dust before the gale swept them into the sky.
The two giants frantically raised their shields against the barrage, but the sheer force still drove them back and sent them flying.
'BAM! BAM!'
Only when their massive bodies crashed into the dirt did the noise finally snap the Straw Hats out of their shock.
They exchanged stunned looks. Nobody knew what to say, the battle was already far beyond anything words could describe.
Dorry and Brogy were undeniably powerful. As former captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates who had sailed the seas for over a century, continuous combat had honed their skills to an extraordinary peak. Combined with the natural strength and durability of the Giant race and their formidable Armament Haki, they were practically flawless warriors.
Yet against the man in the monkey mask, they were being completely suppressed. And it wasn't just a slight disadvantage, anyone could see they were being outmatched in every single metric.
In speed, Monkey aboard the Flying Nimbus moved faster than the eye could follow. In raw power, his slender frame somehow overpowered both giants whenever they clashed. But the biggest gap was in combat technique. His iron staff swept across the field, changing length and thickness at will, seamlessly mixed with Rokushiki techniques, palm strikes, and kickboxing.
He seemed a master of every martial art in existence, constantly spotting openings in the giants' attacks that lasted only a fraction of a second. Combined with his high-level Ryuo and the red-and-black lightning of Conqueror's Haki Infusion, he firmly held the upper hand against both legendary warriors at once.
If Dorry and Brogy represented the absolute peak of warrior skill refined over centuries of battle, Monkey's style was pure art.
Even Dorry and Brogy themselves were running out of ways to process the enemy before them.
"Gahaha... now that's some unbelievable strength," Brogy grunted with a smirk, despite the dull ache in his palms. "Has someone like this really appeared on the seas after a hundred years?"
Feeling his body churn with pain, Dorry understood exactly what his old friend meant. They couldn't remember how long it had been since they were so thoroughly outclassed by a single opponent. In fact, ever since becoming true warriors, only one person had ever made them feel this helpless.
"He's just like His Majesty Harald was in his youth..."
Indeed. Monkey's strength, physique, and Haki all recalled the King of Elbaf, Harald. Dorry and Brogy had grown up as giant warriors in roughly the same era as Harald, so they knew better than anyone what kind of monster he was. The King was a natural Ancient Giant, possessing strength and talent absurd even among giants, alongside supreme Conqueror's Haki. That was how he'd taken the throne at just forty-five, an unheard-of age for a giant, and his strength had only grown exponentially from there.
The only person to ever completely dominate Dorry and Brogy was that King.
"Now this brings back memories, Dorry!"
"Yeah, Brogy."
The two giants spoke quietly. What were they remembering? The crewmates who had long since returned home? Elbaf's brew? The snoring of Elder Leaders Jorul and Jarul? Maybe all of it. But more than anything, they missed the pressure of standing before a superior opponent, the days of their youth when they fought side-by-side, battled to their hearts' content, and pushed each other beyond their limits.
They tightened their grip on their weapons.
"Brother... I think we're just about ready, aren't we?"
"Yeah! It's not perfect, but I've more or less remembered the feel of it."
They exchanged a look, then let out a roaring laugh as they turned toward the distant sky.
"Let's beat this absolute monster and go home in glory!"
Their aura surged violently. 'BOOM!' Dorry and Brogy vanished from their spots, appearing right beside Monkey in almost the exact same setup as before. They struck simultaneously, a pattern that had repeated dozens of times already in this fight.
Except this time... Monkey's eyes lit up.
Because in that split second, he realized something about their joint attack:
''There are no openings.''
That single realization explained where his overwhelming edge throughout the battle had come from.
{Fusion Devil Fruit - Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan: War God Form LV5}
{Fusion Materials: Giant Fruit LV5 + Size-Size Fruit LV4 + Battle-Battle Fruit LV5 + Antoria "The Gladiator" Fruit LV5}
{Devil Fruit Effect: Combines the abilities of four Devil Fruits.}
{Level 3: Gain the full effects of all four Devil Fruits. Gain the physical strength of the Giant race, the ability to freely change size, and the ability to freely use any combat technique previously seen or learned. During battle, the user can see an enemy's openings; attacks targeting those openings ignore defenses and inflict direct damage. The user can challenge an enemy to a duel; after winning, they can undergo an additional transformation and strengthen themselves.}
{Changing size alters strength and physical durability, but places a tremendous burden on the body. The stronger the body, the greater the size it can withstand.}
{Level 4: ...}
{Level 5: Devil Fruit Awakening - War God. After Awakening, the user gains the physique of an Ancient Giant. As battle continues, the user accumulates "Battle Marks," up to a maximum of four. Their appearance can be freely adjusted, and they cannot be destroyed. Each Battle Mark greatly enhances all attributes. Once all four Battle Marks have formed, the user enters "War God Form." In this state, the user can freely alter their size and appearance, gains immunity to restraints and negative effects, and receives a massive boost to all attributes. Combat skills reach the absolute pinnacle, and every attack ignores all conditions to inflict direct damage to the enemy's true body. All allies receive a massive boost while in War God Form. When facing multiple enemies alone, all effects are further enhanced.}
{Additional Fusion Effect - War God Domain: After forming all four Battle Marks and entering War God Form, the user can establish a dueling arena nearby using the four Battle Marks. Within the arena, the user cannot be injured, is immune to all negative and control effects, and their strength, stamina, and combat attributes never decrease. The user can freely manipulate the arena terrain. However, the Battle Marks can be targeted and destroyed by enemies inside the arena to break the Dueling Arena. Enemies cannot leave before the arena is destroyed; if they feel fear or attempt to flee, the user's attacks completely ignore defenses and trigger a "Fatal Effect."}
Yes, this was Monkey's Fusion Devil Fruit, an unprecedented power born from merging four distinct Devil Fruits. Its passive traits were responsible for his performance so far: near-flawless combat instincts, eyes that could instantly spot enemy flaws (making strikes targeting those flaws ignore defenses), and physical strength exceeding even full-sized giants.
Throughout the fight, Monkey had felt a strange resonance between Dorry and Brogy. Their strength, aura, and timing were slowly synchronizing. Yet until this moment, he could still see the minute gaps between their moves, because as long as two separate people were attacking, slight differences in timing were inevitable.
Those split-second differences were openings.
But not this time.
"Blue: Half Sun!"
"Red: Half Sun!"
Monkey couldn't find a single opening. Though the attacks flew in from two different directions, his senses picked them up as if coming from a single entity. There was nowhere to dodge.
Even the Armament Haki coating their weapons seemed to awaken, spreading and bleeding together until the two streams merged into a single, terrifying wave.
"Hero Secret Art: Blue-Red Combined Attack!"
With that roar, the slashes burst forward faster than anything before, the fused Armament Haki completely sealing off every escape route.
As captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Brogy the "Red Ogre" and Dorry the "Blue Phantom" were never at their strongest fighting alone. Their stamina was formidable, but their true terror lay in fighting side by side. Though they hadn't used this joint technique in a hundred years and needed time to recall the rhythm, the legendary power that once shook the world shone through once more.
"Sun Saw!"
Dazzling cyan and red light exploded along the paths of axe and blade, the intertwined radiance looking as though they had sliced sunlight itself out of thin air.
'BOOOOM!'
An unprecedented shockwave tore through Little Garden. The blast sent dinosaur carcasses flying into the sea and even drew out the massive "Island Eater" Goldfish lurking offshore. A mushroom cloud rose into the sky, filling the air with thick dust.
"Cough, cough... Did we... win?!" Usopp hacked through the dust, jumping up excitedly. "As expected of Master Dorry and Master Brogy! They really are the strongest! Though that Twelve Zodiac guy was pretty crazy too."
"Hey... that Mr. Monkey isn't dead, is he?" Nami began to worry. If a member of the Twelve Zodiacs died here, it would send shockwaves across the entire world.
But moments later, they realized something was horribly off.
"Guh..."
"Ah..."
The two giants who had unleashed that apocalyptic blow were staring ahead in sheer shock. They were still putting every ounce of strength into their weapons, pushing hard enough that the dust finally cleared.
When the smoke dissipated, the scene left them speechless.
Monkey's slender figure was still standing calmly on the Flying Nimbus. Dorry's giant sword and Brogy's massive axe were resting directly on his shoulders.
Yet he was completely unharmed. Not a single scratch.
The blades trembled as the giants poured all their force into them, but the weapons couldn't budge another millimeter. They couldn't even break his skin.
Only now did the Straw Hats remember: at the very start of the fight, Monkey had caught their attacks with his bare hands. Everything since had been so chaotic that they'd completely forgotten.
Looking back across the entire battle, Monkey hadn't sustained a single injury.
"You big guys really pack a punch," Monkey said casually. "Aside from my colleagues in the organization, not many people could land a hit like that on me. Shame, though... if this is the limit of your power..."
"...it still can't break my Vajra Unbreakable Body!"
(End Of Chapter)
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