The sudden arrival of so many pirates from the sky was clearly the work of Golden Lion Shiki's ability.
Ochoku, having worked with Shiki for a considerable amount of time, understood his powers well. However, he couldn't fathom why Shiki would come looking for trouble.
Had that incident been exposed?
Impossible! If the Rocks Pirates were still around, he might worry about being found out, but the crew had disbanded long ago. Who would go out of their way to investigate that matter now?
"Jihahahaha!!!!"
Golden Lion flew in the sky, arms crossed. "It's been a while, Ochoku! Seems like you've been living quite comfortably! You must have pocketed a fair amount of treasure from the World Government, haven't you?"
Ochoku's expression shifted instantly!
Damn it, Shiki really did find out!
"Shiki! What do you want?" Ochoku said in a low voice. "Rocks is dead. There's no point in clinging to the past!"
"What are you talking about, you moron?" Shiki cursed. "I don't care what happened to that idiot Rocks, but you actually colluded with the World Government to harm Shakky. I can't let that slide easily!"
Sweat broke out on Ochoku's forehead. This guy's strength was extraordinary; he might not be his match.
In the early days of the Rocks Pirates, Rocks was naturally the strongest. Among the rest, the de facto second and third-in-command were Newgate and Shiki. As more powerful people joined later, the hierarchy became less distinct.
If he faced Shiki head-on, he would likely meet his end. Therefore... he had to run!
But Shiki's next words made his eyes light up.
"I won't say I didn't give you a chance." Shiki remained in the sky, arms crossed, laughing loudly. "If you can defeat my Vice Captain, I'll let you go!"
?!
Ochoku was stunned. "Since when did you have a Vice Captain?"
That damned Shiki, how dare he look down on me! he thought bitterly. He admitted he wasn't Shiki's match, but Shiki was sending a subordinate to deal with him. They used to be on the same ship, yet Shiki treated him with such contempt!
But this was also a golden opportunity!
"You said it!" Ochoku shouted up at Shiki. "If I beat your Vice Captain, you have to let me leave!"
"Jie-haha, win first before you talk!" Shiki continued to laugh.
"Are you two done yet?"
Just as Shiki finished speaking, a figure descended from the sky.
Mid-air, Beltz completed his transformation into his Hybrid Form. Azure dragon scales shimmered with a metallic luster under the sun, and a dragon tail swayed slowly behind him. He landed firmly in front of Ochoku, the stone tiles beneath his feet shattering upon impact.
"I've heard of you." Ochoku ignored Shiki and focused on Beltz. "I heard you stole all the Celestial Dragons' treasure at God Valley. Why would someone like you follow Shiki?"
"He and I are just in a partnership," Beltz said flatly. "I wasn't planning on getting involved in your mess, but Shiki is right; this is indeed a good chance to test myself."
"!" Ochoku finally realized what Beltz and Shiki meant. He flew into a rage: "You're using me as training?! You'll pay for this!"
Ochoku's body vanished instantly, appearing right in front of Beltz! His fist turned black, coated in Armament Haki. But when the blow landed, he found Beltz had already disappeared.
Beltz reappeared behind Ochoku and delivered a heavy elbow strike to the back of his head!
"Argh!"
Ochoku felt the massive force slam into his skull; his consciousness nearly flickered out. His pupils dilated. He never expected a subordinate of Shiki to possess such terrifying power!
Enduring the pain, he spun around rapidly, only to see Beltz already launching a kick. Ochoku raised his arm to block. Both exploited Armament Haki, and black lightning erupted between them!
Pshhh!
The powerful clash of Haki caused the ground beneath them to explode. Nearby pirates—both Ochoku's men and Shiki's crew—were sent flying!
Though Ochoku was powerful, Beltz was no weakling. Since he was here to test his training, he went all out. For a moment, the two were locked in a stalemate!
"Dragon's Majesty!"
Beltz growled softly, suddenly releasing a powerful aura!
Boom!
It was like a silent roar that reached the depths of the soul. Ochoku, who was blocking the kick, suddenly felt as if a mountain were collapsing or a tsunami were hitting him. It was as if a giant dragon were roaring within his very spirit!
Beltz's "Dragon's Majesty" wasn't just a dragon fruit ability; it was combined with his Schrift, The Subconscious, creating an ability that acted directly on the enemy's soul!
"Oh?"
In the sky, Shiki saw the power Beltz unleashed and clicked his tongue. "This brat... he actually has this kind of power."
While it wasn't exactly Conqueror's Haki yet, it was certainly the embryonic form of it.
"However, the brat probably doesn't even know he possesses this power himself." He was still too green.
Regardless, possessing Conqueror's Haki meant having a ticket to becoming a ruler of the sea. Those with Armament Haki could roam the seas and even rival Devil Fruit users, but Conqueror's Haki was a power that sat on a different level. It could even be stacked with Armament.
Therefore, someone with only Armament Haki could almost never defeat someone who possessed both.
He hadn't misjudged Beltz. This kid was indeed extraordinary; with Conqueror's Haki, he truly had the right to "cooperate" with him.
As for Beltz, he didn't use the Azure Dragon fruit the way Kaido did, nor did he develop the Thunder Bagua series. He wasn't Kaido, and his development direction for the fruit was different.
Most Devil Fruits have a fixed development path, but Mythical Zoans like the Azure Dragon fruit have so many abilities that they can be developed in various directions. Beltz hadn't had the fruit long, but he had already decided not to follow Kaido's "berserker" combat style.
In the Soul Society world, there are far too many bizarre abilities. A "tank" like Kaido might be able to dominate One Piece with pure force, but in the Soul Society, he could easily be taken down by some obscure, hax ability.
With the release of Dragon's Majesty, Ochoku was stunned, as if a phantom dragon were roaring in his face. Beltz followed up with a punch that generated scorching flames!
Boom!
The punch, coated in Haki and fire, landed squarely on Ochoku's head!
Puff!
Under the shock of Dragon's Majesty, Ochoku couldn't react in time. By the time he tried to block, the fist had already connected. With a loud crash, Ochoku's head snapped to the side as he spat out a large amount of blood, his body being sent flying by the impact!
"Ah! Leader!"
The nearby Hachinosu pirates were terrified. Ochoku was their boss, and seeing him sent flying by the opponent's second-in-command was a massive shock!
"...Damn it." Ochoku lay on the ground, his face covered in blood, but his "health bar" was thick. Despite the hit, he could still move.
This was one of the drawbacks of not having a weapon. If Beltz had a sword and landed a clean hit, that strike might have cut Ochoku in half or taken his head off! But he had no sword; he could only condense "fake" blades using Reishi or Haki. Condensing a blade from Haki provided a weapon but consumed Haki, so it wasn't necessarily "better."
If possible, he wanted a real sword. But he looked down on ordinary blades; he needed at least a Great Grade sword to satisfy him.
"Perfect, I'll use you to test my new move."
Seeing Ochoku wasn't dead, Beltz wasn't surprised. He knew people in One Piece weren't that easy to kill. He reached out his hand, and in the next instant, he conjured infinite wind!
The Azure Dragon can control elements: fire, lightning, wind... Currently, he was calling upon the wind!
Rumble...
A massive amount of wind condensed behind Beltz! He didn't release it as wind blades to attack; instead, he kept drawing more wind in and then... compressing it!
Boom!
The wind of the entire island of Hachinosu seemed to be mobilized at this moment, gathering frantically toward Beltz!
"?"
Ochoku, standing back up, looked at Beltz's actions with confusion. What was this guy doing? Whatever it was, he couldn't let him succeed!
"This time, I won't be careless!" Ochoku roared and charged at Beltz.
Beltz blocked Ochoku's attacks while continuing to condense wind behind him!
Boom!
Both of them landed punches on each other's faces. The massive eruption of Haki caused both their bodies to tilt! But Beltz not only had dragon scales for protection, he also had Blut Vene. To the people of One Piece, this was a completely new application of Haki.
Pirates usually coat Haki on their skin, but Beltz could inject it into his blood vessels, using the flow of blood to further enhance his defense!
Ochoku's punch landed on Beltz's face, making him look a bit disheveled, but in reality, he suffered almost no damage! It was clear that Ochoku wasn't that strong yet—he hadn't mastered Internal Destruction!
Beltz remained unmoved, while Ochoku was sent flying dozens of meters by Beltz's counter-punch, falling to the ground once again!
"How... is this possible?" Ochoku couldn't believe his eyes. He thought he was strong; even if he was inferior to Shiki, he shouldn't be losing to Shiki's Vice Captain! He heard that at God Valley, this guy was being chased around by that Kaido brat. How did he gain such strength in less than half a year?
Was the Azure Dragon fruit really this powerful? Everyone knew it was top-tier, but Ochoku didn't expect the boost to be this massive!
Cough...
Ochoku wiped the blood from his mouth, looking at the stationary Beltz with a sinister gaze. Suddenly, his pupils dilated as he froze in place!
At that moment, a brilliant light erupted behind Beltz!
"What is... that?"
Not just Ochoku, even Shiki in the sky was stunned. As the wind behind Beltz was continuously compressed—as if the wind of the entire island were packed into one point—it suddenly produced a dazzling white light, like the sun rising, or rather, brighter than a hundred suns combined!
"It actually worked!" Beltz showed an excited expression.
This was an ability he had envisioned himself. Using the Azure Dragon fruit's elemental control, he compressed all the wind on Hachinosu at an ultra-high compression rate to form "Plasma"!
Compressed air generates heat—this is the principle behind diesel engines. When the wind of an entire island is compressed, it becomes a high-heat sphere exceeding 10,000 degrees Celsius! The atoms in the surrounding air are forced to decompose into cations and electrons, forming plasma!
He could control wind, heat, and electricity. Under his control, what started as a tiny speck of light instantly sucked in the surrounding air, expanding to several dozen meters in size!
"Hey, hey, what on earth is that..." Shiki gasped in the sky. "That's no joke!"
Even without understanding the science, the raw energy contained in that sphere was terrifying. Not even Beltz himself found it easy; the white sphere seemed to be losing stability, starting to warp. Controlling such immense energy pushed him to his limit.
It seemed he couldn't perfectly control this much energy yet; the ultimate version of the move wasn't ready, but throwing it directly like this was enough. His future path for growth was still long.
Boom!
He raised his hands, much like Goku raising a Spirit Bomb, and hoisted the warping, expanding plasma sphere.
Sizzle sizzle...
The scorching energy warped the space above. The most terrified person was naturally Ochoku, who watched as Beltz hurled the plasma sphere at him!
"Are you kidding me?!" Ochoku screamed! If he got hit by that, he'd be finished!
He tried to run, but the plasma was too fast. Moreover, Beltz released his Dragon's Majesty once more, making Ochoku's legs refuse to move!
Move! Damn it, move! Ochoku screamed internally, but the shock of Dragon's Majesty kept him paralyzed. He could only watch as the white plasma slammed into him!
Boom!
The plasma hit him! He desperately released his Haki, but as soon as the black Haki touched the plasma, he felt as if his body were catching fire! The tens of thousands of degrees of heat made Ochoku's skin feel like it was boiling even through the Haki. The most terrifying part wasn't just the heat; when the sphere swallowed his body completely, it exploded!
BOOM!
The tightly bound energy finally lost its shackles. The total release of power formed a massive pillar of light! The white pillar pierced the heavens, and the surrounding ground melted instantly, leaving behind a giant crater!
The pillar reached the sky, and the sheer power radiating from it forced all the fighting pirates to stop.
"Phew..." Beltz breathed slightly as he watched the expanding pillar of light. This strike... was indeed terrifying. But the cost was high. Sucking in and compressing the air of an entire island took a toll on his stamina.
In the massive explosion, sound seemed to vanish. The white light looked holy, but it acted as an aurora that swallowed life. When the light faded, Ochoku's body—swallowed by the plasma—had completely vanished! Under this strike, not even remains were left!
The people on the island swallowed hard. The pirates on Hachinosu dropped their weapons and surrendered immediately, not daring to resist further! Beltz's power was just that terrifying!
"Jihahahaha!!!!"
Once sound returned, Shiki could be seen laughing in the sky. "I knew I didn't misjudge you! This is how it should be!" Shiki opened his arms as if announcing to the world: "We can conquer the entire world!"
Beltz quickly reverted from his Hybrid Form to his human form. He looked up at Shiki and couldn't help but smirk. Though he had only killed a "pre-peak" Ochoku, it was his first true test of strength.
"Lads! Plunder all the treasure on the island!" Shiki shouted. "Then, set out on the path to conquer the world!"
"Ohhh!!!" "Lord Shiki is invincible!" "Lord Beltz!!"
The pirates shouted their names and rushed into the depths of Hachinosu. Ochoku was a very wealthy pirate; having defeated him, they naturally wouldn't leave his collection behind. Hachinosu even had gold mines—it was an incredibly rich island! If they weren't in a hurry to get to Wano, Shiki might have considered making this his base.
Beltz didn't join the looting but walked toward Rukia. She had some blood on her face from fighting pirates after landing.
"How are you?" Beltz asked. "Not hurt, right?"
Rukia shook her head. "No, but..." She thought of the blinding white light and couldn't help saying, "I didn't expect you to be this powerful."
"Only finding that out now?" Beltz teased. "Starting to admire me a bit?"
"Narcissist." Rukia rolled her eyes, then let out a breath. "Are you Quincies... all this powerful?"
She remembered what he said before—that he was a Quincy, an enemy of the Soul Reapers. Though he said he was different from the others, the scene still made her heart sink. Beltz's next words made her feel even more dread.
"There are over twenty others like me among the Quincies," Beltz said softly.
!
Rukia was shocked. Over twenty?! This... was this a joke? She was certain that the strength Beltz just showed was at the Captain level! That meant the Quincies had over twenty Captains?!
Was that right? The Gotei 13 only had thirteen Captains! If war broke out, the Soul Reapers...
"If the Quincies start a war with the Soul Reapers, the Soul Reapers will have no way to fight back," Beltz said, reading her mind. "Not to mention, there are currently three traitors among the Soul Reapers."
Aizen, Kaname Tosen, and Gin Ichimaru couldn't be counted on the Gotei 13's side.
"That's why you need to get stronger." Beltz patted Rukia's shoulder with a smile. "If you become powerful enough, you can protect those around you in the coming war."
"...Can I really do it?"
"Of course you can, you're my..."
"Partner, right?" Rukia said exasperatedly. "Fine, fine, I get it. As your partner, I will get stronger."
"What are you two whispering about over here?" Shiki's voice came over. He shouted, "Aren't you going to grab Ochoku's treasure?"
"I'm not lacking in that department," Beltz shrugged. "So I won't compete with you for it."
"True, you did pocket at least a hundred billion berries." Shiki pouted.
As the distant pirates began their revelry and Hachinosu was being ransacked, he suddenly said: "I didn't ask before, but I'm curious now. Where are you two from?"
Rukia looked at Beltz, clearly unsure of what to say.
Beltz didn't panic and simply asked, "Does it matter?"
"Of course not." Shiki gave a sinister grin. "When you come to the sea, everyone is a child of the ocean! I'm just a bit curious. After all, both of your fighting styles are different from anyone I've seen before. And..."
"You also know about the Ancient Weapons."
"I think... being honest with each other makes for a better partnership, don't you think?"
☰