Chapter 695: Beidou's Lamenting Fist of Regret
Chapter 695: Beidou's Lamenting Fist of Regret
"Ha ha ha!"
A massive, chaos-covered hand clenched into a fist and slammed viciously into Sagel's face.
Bang!!
The intense shockwave mixed with darkness, distorting the air around Sagel. The ground beneath him shattered into fragments, scattering in all directions. The entire Obsidian Bastion split in two from the center, a massive crack running through the devastated pit. The fort itself tilted along with the sea, sending large chunks of the shattered Obsidian Bastion into the water.
Nearby, the giant Power Holders stumbled and one of them shouted, "Captain, you're going too far! This is our territory, Obsidian Bastion!"
"Call me King!"
Another giant sneered, "Once Worldslider is dead, our territory will be Ohara! I read about Ohara's prosperity in the newspapers at Impel Down. Living there would be fantastic!"
"Exactly! Let's invade Ohara! We'll rule its prosperity just like Worldslider!"
The giants all wore looks of anticipation and excitement.
In their minds, with so many carefully selected abilities and Tee's powers, they were more than capable of taking down Worldslider, one of the Four Emperors. They had gathered the entire Impel Down, as well as the new generation of fierce stars from Paradise to the New World, and selected the most suitable abilities for the task.
Even the newly created Power Holders, who had been forced to consume the abilities by Tee, had a high degree of compatibility. This was the result of countless experiments and sacrifices.
The Dark-Dark Fruit didn't require ability compatibility, but the combination of the Power Holder and the fruit often led to underdeveloped abilities. However, Tee had a solution. His previous giant captains had chosen their abilities themselves, and they had a natural affinity for them. Based on this, Tee recruited all those willing to consume the fruits.
He conducted experiments, and if the development was low, he would kill them and select new candidates. This process continued until he found the best candidates, and then he would kill the previous best and give their abilities to the new ones. This ensured that the abilities would be highly developed.
After all these preparations, they decided to invade G1 Obsidian Bastion and engage Sagel in battle.
So many sacrifices couldn't be in vain.
Worldslider, no matter how strong, was still human. Before they were imprisoned, they were renowned warriors who feared no one. Losing was just a matter of life, but winning meant everything!
They had strong confidence in victory.
"Hey, Captain! Cheer up, it's working, we're definitely going to win! We just need to wear down Worldslider!"
Some of the giants, noticing Tee's grim expression as he punched through the chaos, quickly added, "We have the upper hand now!"
Despite their words, Tee couldn't bring himself to smile. His mouth hung open, his initial grin frozen in place as the situation spiraled out of control. Sweat trickled down his forehead, making him look more distressed than ever.
His subordinates were right; this was exactly what he had expected. No matter how strong someone was, there had to be limits. Sagel wasn't invincible. From the information he had, Sagel had struggled against Akainu. Tee knew Sagel's special abilities, and while his Haki was impressive, he never crossed a certain boundary.
In close combat, no one could match Sagel. Tee acknowledged this, but in terms of abilities, Sagel wasn't invincible. The diverse and unpredictable abilities of the sea were a wonder. No matter how special his constitution, the total amount of Haki remained constant. Against so many abilities, even Sagel would be hit.
And indeed, Sagel was hit, weakened. But when Tee's punch landed—
The target didn't move!
Sagel didn't fly into the ground or get blasted away. In the chaos, Tee's fist connected with his face, but Sagel's body was as solid as the hardest iron, immovable.
As the chaos dissipated, Sagel's form became visible. Tee's fist was still imprinted on Sagel's face, his head tilted slightly to the side, his eyes staring at Tee. His body, however, remained motionless.
It was as if the powerful punch, filled with Haki and ability, had no effect at all, just a simple, ordinary punch.
The chaos cleared, and the giants' laughter stopped. Their faces turned serious, and a silence fell over the chaotic battlefield.
"Hey! I used all my strength!"
Tee forced a smile, "Even if you're holding out, there are limits, right?"
"Is this your full strength?"
Sagel spoke, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He extended a finger and, with just that finger, moved Tee's rigid fist away from his face. The half of his face that showed damage quickly healed, the white mist dissipating the wounds.
"Tee, do you know? Martial arts aren't just about brute force. They involve the mind, the body, and the technique. On the sea, they can be Haki, martial arts, swordsmanship, and abilities. But in pure martial arts, it's about the mind controlling the body and the body utilizing the technique."
As he moved the fist away, Sagel's head slowly turned back to face Tee, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
"No matter how weakened I am, my strength is still formidable. The power in your punch has already diminished. I must commend you on those abilities; they truly affected my body and abilities. In the past, I might have suffered. But while they can influence my body and abilities, they can't touch my Haki!"
Sagel's grin widened, "You haven't heard? Haki is the ultimate force!"
Abilities are miraculous, but they have limits.
Sagel had developed the Momo Momo no Mi to a high degree, but he could see the ceiling. Even surpassing the previous Power Holders, he had pushed his body and strength to their limits, except for speed. The limit was clear: one hundred times.
The fruit could only amplify to one hundred times.
While it meant "more", there was still a limit.
Like how Power Holders could awaken, awakening meant reaching the fruit's limits. No matter how creative, the strength wouldn't increase much.
For Paramecia, awakening meant altering the environment.
For Zoan, it meant significantly enhancing the body and recovery.
For Logia, it was still unknown.
After all, he had few powerful Logia users around.
Even changing the weather, as some strong fighters could do, had limits. But with Haki, there were no limits.
Haki had no upper bound!
Its power was immense. In the realm of the mind, anything was possible!
Abilities could be applied to a person?
Haki could resist!
Natural forces couldn't be defended against?
Haki could turn defense into offense!
Whether it was intimidation, killing, or making someone charismatic, it all came down to the aura; a man with enough aura would surely possess Haki.
With enough Haki, anything was possible!
Was Sagel's Haki not enough?
Against so many, his Haki was still lacking. Even after defeating Red Hair, his aura and confidence had grown, surpassing Tee by a margin, but he still fell short of Red Hair's level.
But even this slight edge was enough for Sagel to do something.
Like his full form, which increased his strength by a factor, all powered by Haki. If Haki didn't keep up, the increase would be superficial, a hollow shell. Each level of growth required a solid foundation of Haki.
And the growth of his body would cause a new quantitative change.
No matter how powerful Tee's punch, most of the martial arts and Haki had been neutralized, and then—
"Seventy times."
Sagel fully moved Tee's fist away, his body becoming even more solid before their eyes.
Bang!!
In the next instant, a fist slammed into Tee's abdomen. The compressed Haki tore through his body, the powerful Haki probing inside, expanding the hole in his abdomen until it engulfed his entire torso.
The massive body was left with only the edges, the center now a gaping hole.
Tee swore he didn't blink, but Sagel's movements were already too fast to see.
"Your abilities have no effect on me at all?"
Tee, gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, asked, "Why does it seem like nothing is working?"
Sagel's grin widened, "It's so simple. Look around."
Tee's gaze swept the area, and his face turned even more grim.
The Power Holders who had used their abilities were standing there, their eyes unfocused, unconscious.
In that instant, they had been overwhelmed by Sagel's Haki, losing their ability to resist.
"They were just decent in terms of quality. If I had used Ougon to cover them all, they might have noticed. But focusing Ougon on a single point, they couldn't escape, just like you, Tee!"
Sagel's eyes flashed red, and Tee's hand, which had been gathering darkness, began to waver.
The primary effect of Ougon wasn't increasing Haki's power; that was an advanced technique. The main effect was the overwhelming aura, which made it nearly impossible for others to use their abilities.
"I'm thankful to you, Tee."
Before Tee could fully recover, Sagel said, "Your immortality is very satisfying. I was worried that if I accidentally killed you, I'd only have the fruit to study, but now I can study you while you're alive. I want to understand your body, why it can accommodate two Devil Fruits without issue."
"Rumors say you have two hearts, but I haven't felt them. Your constitution, which remains energetic despite constant wakefulness, intrigues me. Even if not, I can still consume two fruits, but if I understand it, I can consume many more and complete my path to divinity!"
With that, he moved his hands, his thumbs extending and piercing Tee's temples.
"Since I can't kill you, let's stop the fight for now. Try this, the enhanced version of Beidou's Friendship Break Face Fist: Beidou's Lamenting Fist of Regret!"
With just a single thrust, Tee's eyes lost their focus, his body deflating like a punctured balloon, his vitality visibly draining. He stood there, a lifeless puppet, his eyes completely vacant.
Immortality?
It was a tough opponent, but Sagel wasn't one to give up.
He had faced such challenges before. After his first encounter with Satan II, he had developed new techniques to counter these immortal beings.
The Beidou Residual Regret Fist was designed to make the target explode, but not everyone would regret their life before death.
But it wasn't useless. The sense of imminent death, which Sagel incorporated, could be used to create a crisis.
The Beidou Friendship Break Face Fist, on the other hand, caused a painless death, creating an illusion of heaven before death, which Sagel also incorporated.
Combined, the technique created a sense of impending death and illusion, making the target like a puppet, trapped in a hallucination.
He had created this technique long ago against Satan II, but his Haki was insufficient at the time, and using it against such a powerful enemy would only raise their alertness.
In Aghored, his strength wasn't enough to make such a level of opponent fall into an illusion.
But now, he could finally use the complete version.
His Haki far exceeded Tee's, and with the seventy-fold increase in strength, the brute-force thrust finally succeeded.
He had control over the immortality!
"You're mine, Tee!" Sagel's eyes glinted with malice.
(End of Chapter)
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