"ROAAAAR!"
The beast-man roared as he swung a massive cartwheel-size battle axe and charged toward Goff. Despite his bulky frame, he moved with a speed that surpassed even a leopard, blurring across the ground and leaving deep, clear footprints in his wake.
"So fast!"
He covered dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. Goff's eyes widened as he hastily raised his spear with both hands to block.
CLANG!
The clash of metal rang out violently, its echo sharp and deafening. Onlookers all around winced and covered their ears, grimacing in pain.
"Damn it… this power…!"
Goff's arms trembled as a terrifying force, several times greater than before, exploded down from the orc's axe. It forced his body backward despite his resistance, dragging his feet along the ground and carving two deep gouges over ten meters long.
"His strength has clearly increased," Aeridar silently calculated. "The last time he struck with full force, Goff was only pushed back a few steps. Now, he's carving trenches in the ground. The power gap is obvious."
The beast-man, his mouth bristling with fangs and tusks, growled low:
"I'm gonna stomp you into paste."
"So this is why they call you 'Orc,' Otto," Goff muttered with a dark glint in his eye. "You're a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, aren't you?!"
"Devil Fruit?" Otto sneered in his beastly form. "Heh… Don't insult me. I'm no defective user. I'm a perfect warrior." His final words rang with unshakable pride.
"You turn into that and dare call it perfection?" Goff shot back, his tone laced with disbelief.
Truth be told, Goff was convinced this transformation had to be from a Devil Fruit, what else could grant such strange powers?
Aeridar, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes.
"A 'perfect warrior'? So… not a Devil Fruit user?" He frowned, a flicker of suspicion rising. "Could he be the product of some mad scientist's experiment?"
In the world of One Piece, where individual strength reigns supreme, science and its so-called black technologies still defy belief.
The most famous among them? Dr. Vegapunk, the genius said to be 500 years ahead of human understanding, the World Government's foremost scientist. His creations, the Pacifistas, had the firepower to annihilate pirates with bounties over 100 million berries. He cracked the secret of how Devil Fruits transmit their powers, even enabling inanimate objects to gain Devil Fruit abilities.
His accomplishments include: giantification experiments on humans, discovery of Lineage Factors, the creation of the first artificial Devil Fruit, poison-resistant combat suits, and even the fire-breathing dragon on Punk Hazard? Another of Vegapunk's engineered lifeforms.
Then there's Caesar Clown with his own suite of terrors—artificial Devil Fruits, deadly gas weapons like KORO, and nerve toxins that shut down muscle control.
Not to mention Zephyr's Seastone-crushing mechanical arm, the Vinsmoke family's genetically enhanced children (including Sanji), and the legendary Pure Gold, said to grant eternal life...
With such a vast arsenal of black tech in this world, Aeridar was convinced: if Otto wasn't a Devil Fruit user, then he must be one of those human experiments.
But did he really have no flaws?
Otto's proud claim of being a "perfect warrior" lingered in Aeridar's mind, was it the truth or a delusion?
"If I'm right…" Aeridar's eyes gleamed coldly as he stared at the beast-like Otto. "Then finding the scientist behind him might be just what I need for my next plan."
"Think what you want," Otto growled with a sinister smirk. "I'm still going to tear you to pieces!"
With that, Otto lunged like a cannonball, his massive form rocketing forward, battle axe cleaving through the air with terrifying force. The wind pressure alone was enough to choke.
"Don't act so smug! Who was it that got knocked flying earlier? Oh yeah... you!"
Goff spun his spear in a flourish and charged to meet the blow.
CLAAAANG!
Spear and axe collided with a thunderous crash. The air shook violently. A shockwave erupted from the point of impact, rippling outwards like a tangible gale.
The ground beneath them caved inward with a loud CRUNCH, forming a crater three meters wide.
"G-Goddamn it!"
Goff grit his teeth, the bone-jarring force numbing his arms. His palms nearly split open from the tremor, his steel spear vibrating wildly in his grip.
The two locked weapons for a moment, then were blasted apart, each stumbling back.
"Huff… huff…"
Panting heavily across the crater, Goff glared at Otto. He was stuck, caught in a battle that was rapidly spiraling beyond expectation.
"Damn tattooed freak…"
Otto gripped his battle axe with one hand. Even through his beastly visage, the tension on his face was visible to all.
He hadn't expected this guy, this stubborn bastard, to still stand firm even against his transformed strength.
Just as they were about to launch into another clash, a sudden surge of figures burst from the alleyways on either side of the street.
Dozens of people rushed in.
Some grabbed Otto—leather-clad fighters, most of them tattooed with animalistic designs.
Others pulled Goff back—bare-chested men, each bearing a vivid bird tattoo across their chests.
"Captain, stop! This place is crawling with World Government dogs!"
"Captain, be careful! A Warlord is here!"
Both crews gripped their leaders tightly, the tone of their warnings urgent as they turned wary eyes toward Aeridar's group.
"A Warlord...!"
Otto and Goff froze the moment they heard the words from their subordinates. Their gazes snapped to each other, an unspoken alarm passing between them, before they simultaneously lowered their weapons and turned to look in the direction indicated.
"Ah~ So we've been spotted," Aeridar remarked with a lift of his brow, amused as the two combatants paused mid-battle and turned their eyes on him.
"We weren't exactly hiding," Arlan muttered dryly beside him, clearly unimpressed.
"Tch. Boring," Oliver scoffed, clicking his tongue and turning his head away in disinterest.
As Aeridar and his cadre emerged from the crowd, Otto and Goff's faces went rigid, expression caught somewhere between disbelief and dread.
"No way… that man is..."
"What the hell is he doing here?"
"The newly appointed Warlord of the Sea…"
"The strongest rookie, Golden Ring Aeridar."
For a heartbeat, the entire battlefield fell into a stunned silence. And then, an eruption of murmurs, panic, and confusion broke out like wildfire.
Tap… Tap… Tap Tap Tap…
Aeridar stepped forward, boots crunching rhythmically against the ground. No longer bothering to conceal his presence, he emerged from the gathered crowd.
"What a pain," he muttered, scratching the back of his head in mock exasperation as he fixed Otto with an intense gaze. "I was planning to wait until you finished fighting before I came looking for you."
"And what the hell do you want with me?" Otto growled low, his voice tense. His muscles bunched beneath his skin like a coiled beast ready to strike, his instincts screaming one thing loud and clear:
This man is dangerous. If it comes to a fight... I might not survive.
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