https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-522-Hand-to-Hand-Combat-with-the-Gundam/12936941/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-524-The-World-s-Top-Martial-Arts-Tournament-/12936945/
Chapter 523: The Great Battle
Chapter 523: The Great Battle
The robot's rupture didn't free Barrett from within; instead, it directly knocked him out of his fusion form!
"Impossible!"
Barrett was thrown a distance onto the ground, and with a single hand, he braced himself and jumped back to his feet.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and said in a low voice, "Absolutely impossible! That's the strongest metal I've ever fused with!"
It even included the latest metal, Walpo alloy, which is exceptionally strong. Combined with his own tenacity, no strike could break through it.
But Sage's fist shattered his fused metal! This alone was enough to injure his original body, and the guy's fist possessed a special power, even more potent than internal destruction, making it impossible to defend against.
Sage raised his fist and sneered, "How can an inanimate object claim to be the strongest? Only willpower holds the potential for true strength, but you're not even close!"
"Willpower?"
Barrett adjusted quickly, clenching his fists and shaking his body, "It's not just you who can do this level of entanglement!"
A deep blue Overlord Aura enveloped him, intertwining with his momentum, resembling a blue evil spirit. He roared at Sage, taking advantage of the momentum.
Bang!
In the next instant, a fist slammed into his abdomen, embedding itself deeply. The punch caused Barrett's robust body to curl up.
But the curled-up body instantly tensed, and Barrett lifted his head with a fierce expression, forcefully enduring the heavy punch. He clenched his massive fist and charged at Sage, who appeared significantly smaller in comparison.
"Not bad."
Sage chuckled lightly, suddenly sidestepping and allowing the fist to graze his body. The Overlords clashed, and the force carried by the impact was rapidly dissipated as Sage rubbed against Barrett's body. The momentum of the punch was completely nullified by the time it was fully executed.
As the thrown punch momentarily stalled due to the loss of power, Sage's side kick, like a sword, struck Barrett's throat. Barrett's pupils constricted, and he instinctively took a step back, narrowly avoiding the kick. The lightning-fast leg then tapped his chin, sending him flying into the air with a powerful kick.
Bang!
As he left the ground, Sage's leg instantly retracted, and he stomped hard on the ground, closing in on Barrett. His arms became countless shadows, striking Barrett's head with rapid punches, palms, and fingers.
The fierce attack caused Barrett's head to shake violently, and his body trembled. Despite being so close to the ground, he couldn't seem to land.
Barrett clenched his teeth and tensed his body, just as he was about to force himself down, Sage leaped up and delivered a flying knee strike to Barrett's face, sending him flying.
"Huff!"
Sage landed lightly on his feet, drawing a circle with his hands in front of his chest. He whispered, "Northern Dipper Evil Shears."
The original version of this move involves piercing an opponent's head with a secret pressure point and then striking them with a flying knee. But in Sage's hands, it had evolved into a frenzy of head strikes followed by a flying knee impact.
The Northern Dipper Fist is merely a technique that strikes pressure points. It may seem like there are many moves, but they can be categorized into a few main types. This move can also be considered a Hundred-Cracked Cyclone targeting the head.
As long as it's effective!
"Damn you!"
Barrett fell to the ground, plowing a deep furrow, then bounced back up. His feet slammed into the ground, creating a dent, and he charged forward like a cannonball.
Despite using tenacity to defend against the consecutive attacks, the heavy force and occasional bursts of power that broke through his tenacity left him dazed. The final flying knee strike caused blood to flow from his nose and mouth.
"Your tenacity is good, and your physique is impressive. You know some decent body techniques, but..."
Facing the charging Barrett, Sage stood firm, spreading his arms wide. "I've already told you, Barrett. Your pirate level is not on the same level as mine!"
He slightly leaned back, dodging Barrett's swinging punch. The unleashed tenacity struck forward, carving a deep furrow in the ground behind Sage.
As Barrett's punch was about to descend, Sage was quicker, hooking Barrett's side with a kick. Using this force, he threw Barrett down but didn't let him fall to the ground. Instead, he spun continuously along Sage's leg, forming a horizontal whirlwind with black and red lightning.
The horizontal whirlwind quickly rose vertically, and within it, Barrett's muscular body was twisted and constantly kicked by Sage, transforming the whirlwind into a massive tornado.
"Hundred-Cracked Cyclone!"
Bang!!
As the tornado suddenly exploded, Sage kicked Barrett's face, his toes sinking into his cheek. With overwhelming force, he hurled Barrett away like a shooting star.
"Heaven-Cracking Live Kill - Meteor Shatter!"
After kicking him away, Sage unleashed a barrage of aura bombs with his hands, sending a torrent of overwhelming force towards the rapidly retreating figure.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The aura-induced explosions filled the air, and the materialized Overlord Aura in the form of lightning crackled and danced, swirling upwards and tearing through the sky. The once-divided sky seemed to fold inwards, creating a spinning vortex.
Amidst the smoke and debris from the bombardment, Barrett plummeted like a ragdoll, creating a deep crater upon impact with the ground, gasping for breath.
His entire body was now covered in blood.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm. My dominance is overwhelming."
Sage spread his arms, standing with his front and back legs in a straight line, and chuckled softly, "You're not even worthy of being my opponent."
The intensity was indeed sufficient.
Whether it was the aura's intensity or the physique's strength, not to mention the incredibly foolish fusion transformation, in terms of individual capabilities, he was relatively strong. He had indeed earned the right to be taken seriously by Sage.
But that was as far as it went.
In terms of aura, Sage's depth didn't quite match Barrett's, but he excelled in maximizing the impact of each strike, something the latter couldn't achieve. To defend against his attacks, one's Perception Color had to be exceptionally advanced, allowing for balanced protection. However, facing Sage's pinpoint strike strategy, they wouldn't last long.
And most importantly, there was the disparity in body techniques.
"Pitiful, what can you even do?"
Sage looked down at Barrett, gasping in the crater, and laughed, "Merely strength, speed, and reaction abilities? How can you compare to someone like me, who has reached the pinnacle?"
"Aura, physique, body techniques, and Heart-Body-Skills. You might surpass me in aura, but since it can be broken, the gap isn't that significant. It's only natural that I'd crush you."
Physically, Sage was indeed stronger than Barrett, and in terms of body techniques, he was on a whole different level.
While aura could be broken, the disparity in body techniques was insurmountable, no matter how hard Barrett tried. Sage easily found his weaknesses.
It wasn't that Barrett's foundation of strength, speed, and reflexes was inadequate; it was that he hadn't yet found his unique path to greatness.
At this level, he was far inferior to Kaido.
Kaido was the true master, wielding his weapon with such force that he left seven scars on Sage.
For Sage, balance itself was a form of transcendence, let alone someone who was inherently weaker.
The continuous kicks had already broken through Barrett's aura, and if his pure physical attacks landed, even Big Mom wouldn't be able to withstand them, let alone a pirate who had never reached the Four Emperors' level.
On par with Rayleigh?
Why not say on par with Old Sha?
"The World's Strongest?"
Sage strode towards Barrett, "Bullying some newcomers is like kicking kindergarteners. Hmm, I recall someone who punched a nursing home, a marine at that. Never mind, it's not important."
Sizzle.
Black-red lightning crackled more intensely on his fist, "Don't delay my martial arts tournament!"
Whoosh!
Just as his fist was about to land, a sharp sound of piercing the air rang out beside him. Sage didn't even look; his body instinctively reacted, punching to the side.
Bang! Bang!
A crisp sound echoed from his fist, and a staff-sword appeared before it.
Standing before him was a blind man wearing a purple cheongsam and a navy cloak.
Admiral Tig Hu! Sage turned to look behind Tig Hu, his gaze reaching the waters beyond the island. At least thirty warships could be seen forming a massive fleet, approaching the island.
"It's the Navy!"
The navy's arrival sent the already chaotic pirates, who were panicking due to the fight between Sage and Barrett, into further disarray. They scrambled to flee to their ships.
Clang!
On one side of the island, a bolt of lightning flashed unexpectedly, carving a path through the fleeing pirates. Those at the front who came into contact with the lightning spurted blood and collapsed.
Lily appeared at the forefront, pointing at the ground where a deep trench had formed, and said, "Beyond here, everyone will die."
On the other side, a massive shadow suddenly emerged above the heads of the pirates gathered together. The shadow leaped over their heads and landed with a boom in front of them, sending up a cloud of dust. The impact caused some pirates to stumble and fall.
It was a mountain-like boulder!
The corner of the island that had fallen earlier was now being hurled back by someone!
"Oh dear, that's not allowed."
Marika stepped out from the boulder, smiling down at the pirates below, "We still need you to stick around for a while."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the third side, a barrage of stray beams bombarded the pirates approaching the shore, taking out a third of them. Only then did the pirates collectively halt.
"Hahaha! No one is allowed to leave!"
Renetia's body was covered in floating objects like an exoskeleton, pointing at the group of pirates with her small fangs bared, "Sage didn't give you permission to leave, so you have to stay!"
"Hey? Does that include me too!"
Among the pirates was Bakki, who had just been rescued by Mr. 3.
"You can't go either, Red Nose!"
Renetia rolled her eyes, "No one is allowed to leave now!"
Without any orders, the three of them sprang into action as soon as the pirates attempted to escape, knowing it was part of Sage's plan. Although they were only blocking a small group, there were many more pirates fleeing.
Boom!
A cannonball exploded from the other side of the island, blasting a group of pirates away.
On the other side of the island where the Navy fleet appeared, a fleet led by a black ship also arrived at Delta Island.
Boom!
As the cannonball exploded, a figure followed its descent, crashing down and creating a wave of air.
"No one is allowed to leave!"
Wilbur held the Cloudsplitter in both hands, raised it, and unleashed an incredibly powerful impact, pushing away the surrounding pirates.
"The boss said you have to stay and participate in the Martial Arts Tournament!"
The Calamity fleet had arrived.
In the center of the battlefield, Sage glanced sideways and laughed, "When did the Navy start working with pirates? No, I think there was a precedent for this. My predecessor with this ability also experienced something similar."
"I know nothing about it."
Tig Hu held his blade with one hand, the edge of his sword clanging against Sage's fist, "I only received orders to stop you from carrying out your scheme here. Hmm... Your aura is extraordinary, like a beast that devours men. I assume you are Lord Catastrophe."
"No need for formalities, Sage."
Sage let out a sinister laugh, exerting force with his fist to shake Tig Hu off. As Tig Hu spun in the air and landed, Sage had already appeared in front of him, saying, "I heard about you from Lily. How was your visit to my Ohara? Would you like to give up your Navy identity and join me? If not, you can always be a sheriff in my territory. After all, we are from the same place."
Sage also had intelligence on the Navy Admiral.
Green Bull, who had been beaten by Sage, was originally from the South Blue but later became a sheriff in the South Blue.
Tig Hu, like Sage, was from the West Blue. He had served as a captain in a kingdom on the Grand Line, but after the country's destruction, he inexplicably became a war criminal and returned to the West Blue. Eventually, he incurred a massive gambling debt and became a bodyguard at a casino, only to be bought by the World Government along with the casino.
Neither Green Bull nor Tig Hu had a pure Navy background, so their sense of belonging to the Navy was not as strong.
There were too many inexplicably powerful individuals on the Grand Line. Who would have thought that the new Navy Admiral, stronger than even the Neo Navy Vice Admiral, was once a sheriff in the South Blue and a bodyguard?
Sage thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, just in case. "Ohara? During the World Conference, I don't have much time. As for your suggestion, it's not feasible, Lord Catastrophe."
Tig Hu opened his white eyes, "I have a vow that I must fulfill, and I can only do it as a Navy man!"
"Abolish the Seven Seas Fleet Admiral? Hmph, how boring."
Sage laughed, "What do you think the World Government is? I know more about it than you. Do you think those participating nations made the rules of this world?"
"Was the Seven Seas Fleet Admiral system proposed by the participating nations? If it can be abolished, it can be re-established. As long as pirates exist, it will eventually return."
"Why not join me? My territory doesn't have so much chaos."
"I must decline."
Tig Hu tightened his grip on Gambler's Line and said in a low voice, "Lord Catastrophe is so reasonable. Perhaps it's better to leave."
"Is that so?"
Sage shrugged and laughed sinisterly, "What a pity!"
Whoosh!
In that instant, a gust of wind blew, ruffling Tig Hu's hair.
Despite his lack of eyes, his powerful Perception Color instantly detected Sage's movement, and he blocked the sword staff to the side.
Clang!
"Too light!"
Boom!!
Sage kicked, pressing the back of the sword staff against Tig Hu's cheek and kicking him away. As he was about to charge out, his gaze suddenly focused, and he dodged a dark green slash.
He twisted his neck and looked to the side, laughing, "Perfect timing! I thought it wasn't enough, so I'll use you two to warm up!"
Under the arriving warship, two figures approached slowly. One wore a hat and held a great black blade, while the other, a beautiful lady in a cheongsam, revealed her stunning figure.
Eyes of the Eagle!
Empress!
(End of Chapter)
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