After bursting out of the flames, Drake first took a deep breath. Looking at the fire that was gradually weakening due to the lack of fuel, a trace of lingering fear appeared on his face.
Fortunately, it was him.
If it had been an ordinary person swept up by those flames, the only possible outcome would have been being burned alive.
Even so, Drake had still suffered several burns across his body.
Glancing at the scorch marks on his clothes and the few tongues of flame that seemed ready to spread further, Drake did not bother patting them out. Instead, he tore off his clothes directly and threw them to the ground.
When he looked back at Roya, there was no longer the slightest hint of ease or calm on Drake's face—only shock and gravity.
A sword technique capable of releasing flames…
He never imagined that Roya possessed such power.
Roya stood quietly in the arena, gripping the hilt lightly in his right hand, once again wielding the sword one-handed. Flames enveloped the blade of Engetsu, and with a casual swing, scorching fire erupted once more.
Boom!!
Another terrifying wave of flames burst forth, like a crimson fire dragon carrying heart-stopping heat as it charged toward Drake again.
A torrential heat wave swept outward in all directions, forcing the recruits—who had already retreated once—to retreat yet again in a burst of panic, clearing out an even wider open space.
Whoosh!
Drake knew clearly that he could not break Roya's flames head-on. Even if he managed to slash through them, it would be meaningless. Flames were formless—split apart one moment, they could rejoin the next and instantly engulf him.
Thus, when faced with Roya's flames, Drake chose evasion.
However, after dodging the first wave of fire, a second burst followed immediately with another swing of Roya's sword. After avoiding the second, a third wave came rushing in!
"Can he really release it without limit?!"
Watching Roya casually swing his sword and unleash wave after wave of flames, true alarm finally surfaced in Drake's eyes.
Boom!!
In the next instant, the third wave of fire swept through and swallowed Drake whole once again.
The raging inferno surged layer upon layer, like countless crimson claws reaching for the sky, threatening to devour everything. Even the Marine rear admirals watching from afar could not help but feel shaken.
"Can sword aura really reach this level?!"
"Flames of this magnitude are practically indistinguishable from a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability!"
At this point, even Zephyr wore an expression of astonishment. If Garp had not personally told him that Roya was not a Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit user, he would have found it impossible not to doubt it himself.
On the other side—
The recruits watched as the overwhelming flames swept across the arena, completely engulfing Drake's figure, like a tidal wave of fire swallowing a tiny sailboat and erasing it without a trace. They were utterly stunned into silence.
The heat washed over the entire venue, making the air unbearably hot. Yet those recruits who had previously challenged Roya felt a chill run down their spines, as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.
Who could have imagined that Roya possessed such power?!
If he had used it from the very beginning, not a single one of them would have escaped being engulfed by the flames.
"Dr… Drake was swallowed by the fire…"
"What terrifying power…"
The stunned recruits murmured unconsciously.
Is it over?
As they stared at the raging flames in the arena—no sign of Drake remaining, seemingly completely consumed—this thought surfaced in their minds.
But in the very next instant—
ROAR!!!
A thunderous, earth-shaking roar suddenly erupted from within the flames. A terrifying aura burst forth, shaking all directions and blasting the fire violently outward.
Within the flames, an enormous monster appeared.
Drake—transformed into a gigantic creature—burst out of the inferno by brute force. At this moment, everyone finally saw the creature's true form.
It was a dinosaur.
Ancient Zoan: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Allosaurus Model
"I originally had no intention of using this. I truly didn't expect to be pushed to this extent."
Drake, having charged out of the flames, rapidly shrank from his massive form and returned to a humanoid shape—yet his body now retained dinosaur-like skin and features. He had entered a half-beast transformation.
In this half-beast state, Drake still held his weapons, but an extremely ferocious aura surged from his entire body. He looked at Roya and spoke coldly:
"Since you've forced me to use my Devil Fruit ability, this battle… should come to an end!"
Whoosh!!
The moment his words fell, Drake's figure shot forward, leaving behind an afterimage as he charged toward Roya. His speed was more than twice what it had been before.
"So he obtained that Devil Fruit even before joining the Marines…"
Watching Drake rush toward him, Roya showed no panic. Instead, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he swung his sword once more.
Boom!!
Scorching flames swept forward again, forming a towering curtain of fire.
"Hmph!"
Seeing the flames ahead, Drake did not dodge. After a cold snort, he swung both weapons violently, generating a powerful burst of wind pressure that tore the wall of fire apart by sheer force!
Immediately after, Drake charged straight through the split flames. The residual fire licking his body only left faint burn marks on his hardened half-beast skin.
Drake closed in on Roya in an instant. He then swung the four-bladed axe down fiercely, the tremendous force producing a violent tearing sound through the air as it crashed toward Roya.
Roya raised his sword to meet it. Scorching flames and silver-white sword energy erupted simultaneously.
Clang!!
Sword and axe collided. The immense power amplified by Drake's half-beast transformation allowed him to forcibly withstand Roya's sword energy while simultaneously enduring the flames. He blasted Roya backward with sheer brute force.
"It's useless. In this form, my strength and speed far surpass what they were before. Even your flames are ineffective against me now!"
Still wreathed in fire—yet bearing only faint scorch marks on his skin—Drake spoke coldly to Roya, whom he had just sent flying.
From the moment Drake used his Ancient Zoan: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Allosaurus Model—to burst out of the flames, to forcibly tanking Roya's sword energy and fire and blasting him away with the amplified strength of his half-beast form, everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Only when Roya twisted in midair and landed lightly in the distance did the recruits outside the arena finally react. One by one, they revealed expressions of shock and disbelief, unable to stop themselves from crying out.
"De… Devil Fruit user!"