"Your attacks are all flash and no substance!" Sengoku burst through the golden powder. A gigantic Buddha palm, like a skyfalling canopy, slammed straight down at the golden giant's head. "This ends now!"
"Golden Ultimate: Grand Feast!!"
Tesoro felt lethal danger. He pushed his power to the absolute limit—his entire golden giant looked like it was about to ignite. All the gold surged into his right fist, condensing into a blazing golden energy sphere that shot up to meet the descending Buddha palm!
This was a strike that gathered everything he had!
"RRRRRRUMBLE—!!!!!"
A terrifying explosion erupted. Dazzling gold light and the Buddha's white radiance swallowed everything nearby as a violent shockwave blasted outward in all directions—so much so that even fights in the distance froze for several beats.
When the light finally faded, the golden giant was down on one knee. Cracks spiderwebbed across its massive body, and red blood kept dripping—he'd clearly taken a grievous hit. Sengoku still stood tall. His breathing was a little heavier, but his aura hadn't changed in the slightest.
Even with the Gold-Gold Fruit's power backing him, Tesoro had fought Sengoku to this point… but the gap between him and this old-guard pinnacle of the Navy was still obvious. In just a few exchanges, he was forced into defeat.
"To push me this far, you've earned the right to be proud, Tesoro," Sengoku said in a low voice, looking down at the kneeling golden giant. "But it ends here."
He raised his Buddha palm again, preparing the finishing blow.
Yet Tesoro lifted his head. Even though his body was already in no state to resist, he wore a savage grin instead.
"Sengoku, you won the fight—but you lost the people's hearts! Look at those dead civilians! The Navy's 'justice' is just letting the Celestial Dragons butcher commoners! You're nothing but watchdogs the World Government keeps on a leash! Your blood's been stained black by those Celestial Dragons a long time ago! Hahahahaha!!"
"Insolence!" Sengoku roared. Being condemned like that by a criminal set his fury blazing. "Maintaining order on the seas is justice! You lot attacked the World Government without regard for consequences—that is the true evil! Today, this old man will suppress all of you!"
Just as Sengoku's enormous palm pressed down toward Tesoro—
A small figure appeared between them at a speed beyond the naked eye!
It was Neferpitou!
The moment she flashed in, her right hand—coated in pitch-black Armament Haki—shot up to meet Sengoku's colossal Buddha palm!
"BANG!!"
A visible ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward from the two of them, hurling broken walls and rubble into the air and smashing them apart all over again!
Sengoku's massive golden Buddha body was actually jolted backward half a step by that seemingly tiny strike. A clear rebound force surged into his huge palm, and shock rippled through his mind.
He stared at Neferpitou's small frame, completely unable to believe something that size could unleash such monstrous strength.
Neferpitou swayed slightly too. The hard ground under her feet cracked open. She flicked her tingling wrist, red pupils locked onto Sengoku, her mouth splitting into a grin full of excitement and cruelty.
"You shiny, sparkly big guy— you interrupted Pitou's fight with that horned monster!"
Her tone made it sound like she was complaining about something trivial.
Only then did Sengoku's gaze snap toward the distance. There, the one who should've been fighting Neferpitou—Saturn-sei—was sprawled in a heap amid the ruins in an unbelievably wretched state!
"Saturn-sei!!" Sengoku's pupils shrank hard, a storm surging through his chest.
How was that possible?!
Saturn-sei was one of the Gorosei. Even if his strength didn't match an Admiral's, in Sengoku's eyes there was no way he should've been defeated so quickly by this cat-eared girl!
What was this girl?!
In Sengoku's memory, he'd only ever seen intelligence about her fighting three Navy Vice Admirals—and now she'd beaten a Gorosei. Even if she hadn't reached Admiral level yet… she couldn't be far off.
And at Ronan's side… Beth, Teresa… and now this catgirl too. Just how many top-tier monsters had gathered under him?
"You… who are you, exactly?" Sengoku asked, his voice rough with dryness. His huge Buddha form subtly shifted, fully alert and locked onto Neferpitou. Tesoro was no longer the main concern—this suddenly appearing catgirl was the greatest threat in front of him.
"Pitou is Denka's bodyguard!" Neferpitou puffed out her chest, proud as could be. "Denka told Pitou to come play with you guys! But you seem a little stronger than that horned monster!" Her red eyes reignited with battle lust. "Keep playing, sparkly shiny big guy! This time Pitou's gonna get a lot more serious!"
Before the last word finished—
Pitou vanished from where she stood.
Sengoku's warning bells screamed. He pushed Observation Haki to the limit and caught an afterimage whipping around to his flank at high speed. He swung his gigantic Buddha palm, blasting a violent shockwave as he slapped at the afterimage!
"BOOM!"
The afterimage scattered—
But Pitou's real body had already appeared at his other side, Armament-coated claws slashing toward his ribs!
"Tekkai!!" Sengoku growled. Armament surged over him in an instant.
"SKRRT—!"
A teeth-grinding scrape rang out. Pitou's claws carved several clear white marks into Sengoku's golden Buddha body even through that top-tier defense! She didn't break through, but the terrifying penetration behind the strike still sent a sharp ache through him.
"So hard!" Pitou clicked her tongue. One hit failed—she didn't slow at all. Her body twisted and attacked again from another angle!
She was insanely fast, like she was everywhere at once.
Sengoku could only rely on overwhelming Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and the super defense granted by the giant Buddha form. Even so, Pitou's stormlike assault forced him into a messy, passive defense—his movements growing increasingly hectic.
Neither side could land decisive damage. Sengoku couldn't threaten Pitou, and Pitou couldn't crack Sengoku's defense. The fight locked into a stalemate…
Meanwhile, Kuina had already dragged the collapsed Tesoro over to Ronan's side. Looking at Ronan, Tesoro's face filled with shame.
"Denka… I failed your expectations."
"What are you talking about?" Ronan said, flatly rejecting it. "That was Fleet Admiral Sengoku. He used to be an Admiral too. Strength-wise, he's in the very top tier of this world. The fact you held out against him for that long already proves how strong you are."
Ronan wasn't just saying it to comfort him.
He'd watched the entire fight. Tesoro's performance was more than bright enough—he simply couldn't be compared to Teresa and Beth. For someone born and raised in this world, Tesoro's talent already surpassed the vast majority of people.
(End of Chapter)
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