"Gahahahaha! Is that all you've got, Bellamy? Your punches feel a bit soft!" Bege's mocking laughter boomed from within the fortress.
Bellamy had been relentlessly pummeling the castle walls for what felt like ages, yet he'd only managed to create a series of large and small craters. For a fortress tens of meters high and nearly a hundred meters long, such damage was merely superficial. However, having been knocked thousands of meters into the sky by Bellamy, with nothing but the endless ocean below, Capone Bege knew his death today was certain. Even so, he refused to admit defeat solely at the hands of Bellamy's fists and feet.
"Is this really all you can do?" Bege taunted. "If we were on solid ground, I would never lose in such a pathetic manner!" Capone Bege was clearly defiant, unconvinced of Bellamy's superiority. On land, his transformed castle could anchor itself to the earth itself. Bellamy's powerful rising kicks wouldn't have been able to send him flying so easily then.
"Don't worry," Bellamy retorted coolly. "I'll make sure you accept your defeat, utterly and completely."
Bellamy now had firsthand experience of just how absurdly tough this castle form was. No wonder this thing could apparently withstand a beating from Big Mom herself. Punching it for so long without using Armament Haki... his fists were starting to feel bruised, yet he hadn't even broken through a single section of wall properly. Damn thing was hard.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use Armament Haki; rather, his current Haki reserves were still too limited. If he didn't use it sparingly, he'd deplete it after just a few Haki-infused blows. For now, he had to rely on his fists' natural toughness, even if it hurt.
To get a clearer measure of his combined techniques' destructive power, Bellamy flew around the pockmarked area, choosing a fresh, undamaged section of the castle wall. "Let's continue," he declared. His strength assessment wasn't finished yet.
"Spring Gatling!" The storm of fist shadows erupted once more. Capone Bege, practically helpless in this airborne state, could only watch as Bellamy unleashed another wave of destruction upon his castle body. As the barrage swept across the wall, countless stone fragments flew into the air. Before the Gatling attack even finished, a deep cavity had been blasted into the castle wall. A technique combining both taijutsu principles and Devil Fruit power clearly yielded destructive force far greater than the sum of its parts.
Yet, even this level of damage apparently caused Bege himself no physical pain. The true core, the vital point of the Castle-Castle Fruit user, resided deep within Bege's actual body inside the fortress. Blasting a hole in the outer castle wall was akin to merely scratching his skin.
"Give it up, Bellamy!" Bege roared defiantly. "Take your meager victory and go celebrate!" Capone Bege knew his situation was hopeless; survival was impossible. But right to the end, he showed no intention of begging for mercy. The mafia boss faced his inevitable demise with a certain stoic acceptance. But even staring death in the face, he refused to acknowledge Bellamy had truly defeated him, attributing the loss to the unfavorable battlefield.
"Don't be so quick to write the ending," Bellamy replied, sensing Bege's defiant thoughts clearly. "I told you, I'll make you accept your defeat." This was the first time someone had been so stubbornly unconvinced of his superiority even in defeat. Bellamy couldn't stand for such defiance. His movements quickened, fueled by irritation.
"Shave: Godspeed Kick!" "Finger Pistol: Heaven-Piercing Wave!" "Finger Pistol Kai: Ashigara Impact!" "Tempest Kick: Vacuum Slash!" "Tempest Kick: Vacuum Orb!" "Iron Body: Steel Kick!" "Iron Body: Steel Talon!"
A rapid-fire sequence of powerful, named techniques hammered relentlessly against the same section of the castle wall, each blow driving the massive fortress even higher, pushing it towards the stratosphere. This concentrated onslaught finally blasted a gaping hole clear through the castle wall. Looking through the breach, one could now faintly glimpse the structures within the castle dimension. Reaching this point should, logically, signify breaching the castle's defenses.
But Bellamy had clearly underestimated just how broken the Castle-Castle Fruit truly was. Right before his eyes, the massive hole he had just blasted through the wall began to rapidly regenerate, stone knitting itself back together. And the previously pockmarked sections of the wall were also quickly smoothing over, repairing themselves. Capone Bege's transformed castle could apparently repair itself by consuming his own stamina! Which meant, unless Bellamy could destroy it completely in a single, overwhelming blow, the fortress was effectively indestructible through attrition. No wonder Bege remained so defiant! Anyone facing an opponent with such regenerative capabilities would likely feel the same way.
Having reached such extreme altitude, the surrounding air temperature plummeted rapidly. Bellamy paused his assault, hovering in the thin, cold air, and began slowly gathering his power for one final, decisive strike. With the relentless upward barrage ceased, the castle's momentum finally dissipated, and it began its long plummet back towards the ocean far below.
"Huuuh..." Bellamy let out a long, steamy breath in the frigid air, repositioning himself directly above the falling castle. "Alright then. Let's see what happens when I use everything I have. Let's truly measure the gap between myself and a Yonko's power!"
Ripping open a sealed pocket sewn into his pants, Bellamy produced a small, black pill. Carefully, he placed it in his mouth and bit down, crushing half of it. Experimental Concoction #033 (Unfinished Prototype).Effect: Forcibly stimulates latent physical potential.Side Effects: Unstable efficacy; significantly increases aggression/attack desire; causes moderate to severe physical damage after effects wear off. This pill was intended strictly for emergencies. As the name suggested, it was purely experimental, highly unstable, with severe, unpredictable side effects. Bellamy didn't dare take the whole dose. He carefully chewed and swallowed just half the pill.
The moment Concoction #033 hit his system, an incredibly scorching heat erupted from within him. The experimental drug's effect was terrifyingly potent, almost violently overwhelming. It felt like a volcano had just detonated inside his very core. Instantly, muscles all over Bellamy's body seemed to swell and strain, threatening to burst. Tiny, crack-like fissures, resembling stressed ceramic, appeared across his skin from the sheer internal pressure. Simultaneously, the forcibly unlocked potential flooded his system, pushing his body into an 'overclocked' state. He clenched his fists, feeling a terrifying surge of power far exceeding anything he'd ever felt before gather within his grasp. In this moment, Bellamy felt utterly invincible, as if he could charge straight at a Yonko and blast them into oblivion.
Just then, however, a primal, beastly ferocity surged up from within him, forcefully awakened by the drug. Raw killing intent boiled in his heart. Ah. The expected side effects are kicking in. Giving in partially to the overwhelming urge for destruction, Bellamy couldn't suppress a savage, beast-like roar.
"ROOOOAAAR!"
Unbeknownst to him, his eyes had turned a solid, furious blood red.
Yet, facing this terrifying, almost demonic aura radiating from Bellamy, Capone Bege felt no panic. Instead, deep within his stone fortress, he felt a strange sense of anticipation. "Come on then!" Bege thought, almost welcomingly. "If you have the power, then strike me down head-on!" Whatever happened, it was infinitely better than simply falling helpless into the sea to drown like a rat. This mafia boss truly didn't fear death itself. What he feared was a meaningless, pathetic end. The strong take everything; the weak deserve only death. For men like Capone Bege, the law of the jungle—the strong devour the weak—was simply the natural order of the world. Now that he found himself in the position of the weak, he could accept that fate with grim resolve.
As if sensing Bege's defiant acceptance, Bellamy fiercely extended his right hand, reaching out as if to grasp the very air before him. It looked as though he truly had seized something intangible. Streams of white energy seemed to flow from the ether, converging rapidly into his palm. The Potion's volatile power, his own Haki, his honed Taijutsu, the full potential of his Spring-Spring Fruit... all of it surged into his right arm. The tendons bulged like thick cables, writhing like snakes beneath his skin. As his fist slowly clenched tight, gathering this immense power, a sharp crack echoed strangely from the empty air around it. A small, intensely white 'supercavitation' bubble seemed to flicker into existence around his fist. The very air nearby warped and trembled under the pressure. An incredibly painful tearing sensation spread through Bellamy's arm, even through his entire body. Fortunately, his Armament Haki already coated his entire fist. Without that Haki protecting him, Bellamy wouldn't have dared even attempt to unleash this strike; the backlash would have destroyed his own arm.
"One punch to convince you!" Bellamy roared. Scorching heat blasted upwards from his body as he prepared to strike. Deep within the roar of power building in his fist, another sound could be heard—the savage snarl of a tiger.
"Underworld Tiger!"
Crimson energy flared, coalescing into the phantom image of a colossal, ferocious tiger—an apparition seemingly clawed forth from the depths of hell itself. This energy-construct, Bellamy's ultimate fusion of techniques, blasted downwards, slamming into the midsection of the falling castle.
There was a deafening roar, like the crack of thunder splitting the heavens. The massive stone castle instantly shattered, exploding into two massive segments from the point of impact. Countless tons of stone debris rained down from the sky like a meteor shower.
Deep within the collapsing fortress, Capone Bege didn't even have time for last words before his consciousness was utterly extinguished. The moment the Devil Fruit user died, the castle transformation instantly reverted. Bege's lifeless body had barely begun its long fall when the thousands of pirates, thugs, mercenaries, and bounty hunters hidden within his castle dimension were violently ejected back into reality.
Here, thousands of meters above the cold, unforgiving sea... their fate was sealed the moment they were expelled.
Bellamy hovered silently in the thin, frigid air, watching the thousands of tiny figures plummeting towards the distant ocean, shrinking into black dots against the darkening sky.
"Finally," he breathed out, a plume of steam escaping his lips. "It's over."