"Armament Haki?"
Roya looked at the pitch-black Armament Haki coating Lao G's fists. He was not surprised in the slightest. With a light leap, he retreated several meters away.
Boom!!
At the same moment, the flames enveloping Lao G seemed to be violently shaken by a tremendous force, blasting outward in all directions and revealing Lao G once more.
At this time, although Lao G had shaken off most of the flames, he was far from unscathed. He looked extremely disheveled—his beard was scorched, and small tongues of fire still flickered on his clothes.
"Damn it, you Marine brat, setting fires so recklessly…"
He had originally not taken Roya seriously at all. He never expected Roya's speed to be so fast, nor his flames to be so ferocious. Caught completely off guard, he was hit head-on. This finally drove Lao G into a state of complete fury.
Burning with rage, Lao G charged at Roya once again.
Taimatsu!
Facing the onrushing Lao G, Roya suddenly swung his sword with both hands. A wave of searing flames burst forth, swirling around him and instantly forming a wall of fire.
"You think this can stop me?!"
Lao G's voice came from outside the flames. Then an overwhelming punch wind surged forward—far beyond what those elite-camp rookies could produce—forcing the flames apart in an instant.
Lao G forced his way through the flames and appeared before Roya, unleashing a barrage of punches at him like a violent storm, unstoppable in momentum.
"Such a mess of techniques."
Facing Lao G's ferocious assault, Roya showed no fear at all. He stepped back slightly, gripped his sword with both hands, and shouted softly as he brought it down in a single swing.
"Getsuga… Tenshō!"
On the blade of the Engetsu, a strange power rapidly condensed. In the next instant, a white, crescent-shaped sword energy burst forth from the blade, slashing fiercely toward Lao G.
This sword energy—whether in strength or sharpness—was leagues beyond the faint energy previously mixed into the flame attacks. As it surged forward, it seemed capable of cleaving everything in its path in two!
Lao G had previously blocked Roya's sword energy and assumed that Roya's slashes were nothing special. But faced with this sudden, terrifying sword energy—whose power was more than doubled—his expression changed drastically.
At such close range, there was no time to dodge. Lao G could only cross his fists before his chest, activate Armament Hardening, and forcibly take the blow head-on.
Boom!!
The sword energy crashed down violently, blasting Lao G backward. The ground beneath his feet cracked apart, and a gash appeared on his wrist, blood spilling out.
After all, Lao G was not a powerhouse like Zephyr or Garp. Even though he could use Armament Haki, it was far inferior to theirs. He could withstand Roya's ordinary slashes, but he could not fully block the vastly empowered Getsuga Tenshō!
"So this is Armament Hardening—nothing special."
Roya stood proudly with his sword in hand.
Seeing this scene, Smoker could not help but feel shocked. Even knowing that Roya was strong, he had not expected Roya's attacks to be this overwhelming. That pirate had used Armament Haki, yet still could not completely defend against Roya's strike.
In terms of offensive power, Roya far surpassed him!
"Impressive."
Lao G glanced at the wound on his wrist, uttered a single word, and finally shed all traces of contempt. He took a deep breath and said,
"I really underestimated you. It seems you're no ordinary brat…"
In the next instant, Lao G charged at Roya once more, and the battle erupted again!
Rumble!!
Roya's flames raged unchecked, steadily raising the temperature of the entire area. Although Lao G could force his way through the flames, he could not be completely immune to their damage and inevitably suffered burns.
Towering flames swept in all directions, igniting the entire street and turning it into a blazing avenue of fire.
At this moment, the members of the elite camp—who had already finished their battles and were searching for remaining enemies and cleaning up the battlefield—saw the flames surge up once again, fiercer than before, rising wave after wave.
"This is… Roya's ability."
"Are there still enemies?!"
Many of the elite camp members had gathered together. Seeing the flames rising in the distance, they cautiously moved closer.
The entire street was engulfed in fire. After approaching, they found they could not enter and could only watch from afar, unable to tell what was happening inside.
Moreover, even just drawing near, they could feel scorching heat rolling toward them. The heat was so intense that the bloodstains on their bodies dried instantly, and sweat evaporated before it could even slide down their faces.
Just as the elite camp members were filled with uncertainty, wondering who Roya was fighting, a thunderous explosion suddenly rang out.
Boom!!
On that street, a building collapsed amid the raging flames, and a figure was sent flying out, crashing heavily onto the ground in the distance in an extremely sorry state.
When the elite camp members saw who it was, their faces were filled with shock and disbelief.
The figure that had been blasted away was none other than Smoker!
"Cough! Cough!!"
Smoker coughed twice, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The elite camp members beside him stared at him in disbelief.
"Smoker… is injured?!"
"You've got to be kidding. Don't tell me Roya was fighting Smoker one-on-one and actually hurt him?"
"No! That's not it—look over there!"
As the elite camp erupted in commotion, someone suddenly noticed something and pointed in the direction Smoker had flown from.
There lay the ruins of a collapsed building, burning fiercely in the flames—and within those flames, two dark silhouettes seemed to be clashing!
Boom!!
Suddenly, the flames burst apart. A figure rushed straight out, covered in burn marks and looking utterly battered, his features almost unrecognizable.
At the same time, another person charged out from the flames and swung a sword down at him.
The first was Lao G. The second was undoubtedly Roya.
After the two emerged from the flames, Smoker—who had been blasted away earlier—had already stood back up. Surrounded by swirling smoke, he charged forward once again.
This was a real combat mission to capture pirates, not some one-on-one duel. Smoker naturally would not stand by and watch Roya fight Lao G alone. After being shocked by Roya's terrifying offensive power, he joined the battle.
However—
Because Lao G could use Armament Haki, the weaknesses of Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit—a Logia with very limited offensive power—were immediately exposed. Compared to Roya and Lao G, Smoker's attack power was somewhat lacking.
His smoke served only as a disruptive, supportive tool. This battle was completely dominated by Roya.
Moreover, because Roya's attacks could genuinely injure Lao G, Lao G often held back part of his strength when attacking Roya in order to leave room to evade Roya's strikes. But when attacking Smoker, he showed no such restraint.
As an officer of the Donquixote Family, Lao G's true strength was fully displayed. Once he fought seriously and went all out, he sent Smoker flying multiple times, beating him until he was injured and coughing up blood.
This was the first time since entering the elite camp that Smoker had encountered such a suffocating and powerless battle during a real combat mission.