Ares was overjoyed.
He had always feared that seawater would be his greatest weakness. After all, it was a widely accepted truth across the Grand Line that the sea suppressed all Devil Fruit users.
But now…
Even submerged in seawater, Ares could still maintain his Devil Fruit powers and physical traits!
In his Azure Dragon form, Ares moved through the ocean with absolute ease like a fish in water.
"Even if I can't use my flame powers in seawater, with my hardened physique and the ability to breathe underwater…"
"No one can defeat me in the sea!"
He was completely confident.
His enormous dragon tail whipped through the current, and Ares, in full dragon form, glided smoothly beneath the waves. His speed was no less than that of the naturally gifted Fishmen.
He moved like a true creature of the deep, free and wild.
He remembered the swimming techniques and unique underwater combat styles he had learned from the Fishman, Sebastian.
Excitement lit up his massive dragon eyes.
With his monstrous body and mastery of Fishman combat arts…
He could dominate the sea and become its absolute ruler!
In the ocean, I am invincible!
With a surge of motion, the azure dragon shot toward the surface. Though most of his strength was still being sapped by the seawater's suppression, just a sliver of his power was enough for him to roam freely in the depths.
BOOM!
Ares's massive, ferocious dragon head broke through the surface, sending a towering wall of seawater into the air.
"ROOOAR!!"
"Zeff, our fight isn't over yet!!"
His voice was booming and ecstatic, filled with both joy and war spirit. His colossal, hundreds-meter-long dragon form burst out of the sea like a god descending.
The moment his head emerged above water, Ares felt his surging power flood back into his body.
A terrifying aura erupted from his massive frame, blasting fierce winds across the sky. The air trembled violently under the force.
It was suffocating.
An overwhelming pressure crashed down like a natural disaster, making it hard to even breathe.
The stormy wind swept past Zeff, and Ares's voice burning with fighting spirit made the former admiral's expression change in an instant. He stared in disbelief at the majestic dragon floating in the sky.
"What?! He's still alive?!"
"He's a Devil Fruit user! Falling into the sea should've meant certain death!!"
Zeff's worldview was shaken to its core.
This was something he simply could not accept.
It was so ridiculous, it was like absurdity itself had opened the door for him and invited him inside.
Ares's return had stunned Zeff so much, he lost focus mid-battle.
SLASH!
A sharp sword strike tore into Zeff's shoulder, sending blood spraying into the air.
"Argh!!"
Zeff's face turned pale as he let out a cry of pain, clutching his shoulder tightly.
He glared coldly at the attacker, Wang Zhi.
"I knew it… Ares would never die so easily." Wang Zhi finally let out a sigh of relief, a grin forming on his face. "He's the man who seeks to surpass the Supreme Grade Great Blades!"
"This ocean was never meant to cage a beast like him!!"
He turned his eyes toward the magnificent dragon in the sky, filled with burning anticipation.
"Ares, you will achieve your dream."
At the same time…
A question gnawed at his heart.
"How did he save himself?"
When Kaido surfaced alone, without Ares, his heart had nearly sunk into despair.
"Worororo… Thank goodness! Boss Ares is safe!!" Kaido let out a booming laugh. "The man I recognize will never fall so easily!"
"Ares is destined to become the strongest creature in the world!"
He would personally witness Ares rise to the peak of the sea, to become the most terrifying existence alive.
With Ares's reappearance, his sheer size alone made both Shiki the Golden Lion and Garp immediately pause their fight.
Garp's eyes grew serious. "So this is Ares's true power… A Mythical Zoan ability really is terrifying."
He had never seen a mythical beast user with a form this massive.
That colossal, mountain-like body was enough to make countless foes tremble in fear.
Yet a flash of excitement also sparked in his eyes.
"A monster like this… fighting him might actually be fun!"
"I'm sick of punching mountains all day."
Garp was certain.
Ares would give him a battle far more exhilarating and satisfying than Shiki ever could!
Ares's fierce gaze locked onto Zeff, and a human-like grin stretched across his terrifying dragon face, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs.
"Zeff, let's pick up where we left off!"
This time, he didn't even bother transforming back into his human-dragon form.
He would battle as a full dragon!
"Dragon's Breath!"
"Divine Dragon, Tail Slash!!"
With a roar, Ares unleashed a stream of searing flames from his maw, while his massive tail whipped through the air, creating a dazzling arc of blue sword-light dozens of meters wide.
Fire scorched the sky.
The blade-light tore through the air with terrifying sharpness.
"Armament, Black Arm: Secret Technique!"
In an instant, Zeff's entire body along with his purple suit and white "Justice" cape turned pitch-black.
He looked like a demonic god encased in gleaming black iron.
His powerful fist struck out with full force.
Ripples tore through the air. It wasn't just a punch he launched a shockwave.
A transparent, pillar-like blast shot out, compressing the air into a devastating attack.
BOOM!
The blazing flame collided with the energy wave, coming to a screeching halt.
BOOM!
Another punch crashed into Ares's tail slash strong enough to rival even the greatest swordmasters.
The devastating attack shattered in midair.
Zeff didn't stop.
He had activated full-body Armament Haki, but the energy drain was immense.
Each shockwave strike consumed a massive amount of stamina.
It was the fusion of the Six Powers and his exceptional Armament Haki that allowed Zeff to perform these devastating attacks.
The Six Powers weren't just about pushing the body's limits.
Each user's mastery created different results. And when wielded by a man like Zeff a former admiral-candidate the result was monstrous.
Every punch…
Screamed through the air like the sound of lasers, just like those fired by the future admiral, "Kizaru the Shining Pervert."
The speed had surpassed sound.
WHAM!
When one of those energy waves struck Ares's body, it compressed his flesh like a sponge under a hammer.
A crater-like dent formed in his yellow-scaled underbelly.
The moment the force struck him, pain surged through Ares's entire being.
Before he could react.
Punch after punch rained down.
His massive body twisted and buckled under the relentless barrage, preventing him from fighting back.
All he could feel was pain.
His tightly clenched jaws began to bleed. Blood welled up from his throat and gushed past his dragon fangs.
As his blood spilled…
And the pain sharpened…
Ares's golden, slit-pupil eyes lit up with a terrifying red gleam like two blood-red lanterns in the sky.
The beast inside awakened.
"ROOOAR!!"
The dragon's roar shattered the heavens.
It thundered across the sky, shaking hearts and ears alike.
In that moment, black-red lightning cracked through the air above forming a monstrous net that blanketed the heavens.
The terrifying lightning roared and sizzled, blotting out the sun and plunging the world into shadow.
And in the center of it all…
Ares, the Azure Dragon, once again seized the attention of the entire battlefield.
Majestic.
Terrifying.
Unstoppable.
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