"Thunderous Eight Trigrams!"
Yamato, enveloped in white mist and Conqueror's Haki, suddenly smashed an iron rod onto a long sword.
The sword's owner, A·O, with a long face reminiscent of a hippo, staggered backward.
He was seriously injured; even after being treated by Marco's healing flames, his wounds still lingered.
But the girl facing him was not to be underestimated either.
However, the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates would never concede so easily!
A·O roared, swinging his sword toward Yamato.
In response to his charge, Yamato simply opened her mouth and shouted, "Namuji Hyoga!!"
A white streak of energy instantly slammed into A·O.
The terrifying low temperature transformed A·O into an ice sculpture.
He struggled to channel his Haki to resist the ice creeping inward.
But at that moment, Yamato had already propelled herself forward.
The iron rod, now imbued with even greater freezing power, struck the top of A·O's head, shattering the thick ice that encased his body. He spun violently, his head crashing heavily to the ground.
"It's over! Hallowed Glacier Slash"
Yamato leaped into the air, the iron rod spinning rapidly before crashing down.
The ground shattered, ice spreading out as A·O was buried deep underground.
Yamato cheered, turning her head. "Now for the other one—"
The octopus fish-man named Karma was in a much worse situation than A·O.
A·O's opponent was just Yamato alone.
But Karma was up against Jack, Black Maria, Babanuki, and other Beast Pirates.
Having already been severely injured, Karma was ensnared by Black Maria's threads, then trampled by Jack's massive elephant form, and bombarded by Babanuki and the other pirates. Now, he was beyond saving.
"Eh—what's going on?"
Yamato expressed her disappointment.
"Anyway, Miss Yamato,"
Babanuki quickly interjected, "Let's get on board!"
He looked up at the sky, where Ian was entangled in battle with Marco.
It felt like a dream!
Lord Ian had actually managed to intercept Marco the Phoenix!
Does this mean Lord Ian possesses enough strength to battle Lord King as well?
"That's right, hurry up."
Black Maria added, "Ian, it doesn't look good right now."
Ian indeed was not in a good situation.
He swung his sword with all his might.
However, Marco swiftly dodged downwards and kicked him away.
The idea of exchanging injuries for stamina seemed feasible.
But unfortunately, Marco had already changed his strategy.
He realized that even with Armament Haki, he couldn't completely block Ian's sword. When hit, not only would the wound disappear, but the surrounding area of his body would vanish as well, and even the healing blue flames would be extinguished, requiring much more stamina to recover from the injuries.
What a terrifying sword.
So, he began to avoid being hit.
His Observation Haki finally began to operate at full capacity.
Ian's shortcomings in Haki were magnified once again.
It was exactly like the scenario Ian had predicted when the two engaged in close combat.
His sword found it difficult to strike Marco, while Marco's claws easily landed blows on him.
The more troublesome issue was that even when trying to create distance, he couldn't; Marco's speed was no slower than Ian's.
This was bad. At this rate, he would be exhausted.
Thus, Ian had no choice but to disregard Marco's attacks, bracing himself with his body and waiting for the opportunity to strike back.
He compensated for the flaws in his Armament Haki with his destruction sword, and the shortcomings in his Observation Haki with his sturdy body.
Although Marco didn't excel in strength, being a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, combined with his formidable Armament Haki, he relentlessly attacked Ian, leaving him bruised and battered.
Pain shot through his entire body.
As a compensation for the blows he received, Marco inevitably bore numerous wounds from Ian's strikes; Ian, despite lacking in Observation Haki, had quick reflexes and good timing.
While Ian was getting beaten up pretty badly, every time he landed a hit, he left Marco with a massive gash.
Even if he could heal, Marco's stamina was continuously depleting.
Not to mention, he was still maintaining the healing for the remaining pirates trapped in the pit created by Ian's attack.
So, for now, he could still hold on.
Amidst the chaos, Ian glanced down and saw Yamato and the others were already boarding the ship.
Now, let's lure Marco a little further away.
Ian flapped his wings forward.
"Don't think you can escape!!"
Marco gasped slightly; at this moment, he didn't bother with Yamato and the others. This little brat was the most dangerous and had to be dealt with!
He flapped his wings to pursue, landing a kick right on Ian's chest, sending him plummeting down, but at the same time, a sword cut a gash in his own chest.
On the deck of the Winged Dragon, Ulti watched anxiously and hurriedly said, "Let's go back and help Big Brother Ian!"
"What are you talking about?"
Yamato looked at her in confusion. "That's Ian, you know."
Ulti looked somewhat confused.
"Ian's word is absolutely reliable."
Yamato stated confidently, "Babanuki! Set sail!"
The large ship set sail.
Ian fell like a cannonball outside the harbor, crashing through a building and creating a hole several dozen meters wide.
He gasped as he sat up.
That was quite a kick; he nearly broke his own bones.
Facing the opponent head-on still had its challenges.
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