Rayleigh, clad in an old white coat, stood on the open ground outside the tavern, staring at Ron in front of him.
"Kid, tell me your name."
The name didn't ring any bells for Rayleigh, but after their earlier exchange of presence, he knew one thing: this young man before him, who looked around fourteen or fifteen years old, had astonishing strength beyond his years.
"You used Shave from the Marines' Six Powers, didn't you? What's your connection with the Marines? Why are you looking for me?"
Rayleigh's eyes, hidden behind his glasses, fixed on Ron.
"No real connection," Ron replied with a smile. "I just spent a few years as an intern with the Marines. As for challenging you, Rayleigh… you could say it's convenient timing, or that I just want to test my current strength."
Rayleigh chuckled at that.
"Testing your strength, huh… interesting. Alright, I'll accept your challenge. Bring it on!"
But instead of making a move, Ron looked around at the surroundings. While this tavern was a bit secluded, there were still residents not far off.
Rayleigh quickly caught on after scanning the area himself.
"Want to go somewhere else?"
"There's no extra space on the Sabaody Archipelago. If we're changing locations, we'll have to head to another island."
Rayleigh glanced up at the sky and scratched his head. "It's a bit late tonight. How about tomorrow?"
Time passed quickly, and the next day arrived.
Ron followed Rayleigh as they left the Sabaody Archipelago and headed to a deserted island, populated only by massive beasts.
As the two walked through the island, not a single beast dared to approach. Their instincts warned them of the overwhelming danger these two beings posed, more than any creature on the island. It was as if approaching them meant certain death…
Ron followed Rayleigh to the heart of the island.
In the clearing amidst towering trees, Ron and Rayleigh stood facing each other, separated by over twenty meters.
"Come on! Let me see your strength," Rayleigh said, looking at Ron.
Without hesitation, Ron sprang forward, vanishing from his spot. A deep dent formed where he'd stood just moments before.
"Oh?" A hint of surprise flashed in Rayleigh's eyes.
In the next moment, with a powerful whoosh cutting through the air, a ferocious kick sliced toward Rayleigh from the side, leaving afterimages in its wake!
With his Observation Haki active, Rayleigh leaned back, narrowly dodging the fierce attack that slashed past his nose.
He looked more serious now.
Before the next move came, Rayleigh lifted a fist and punched toward where the attack was coming from. Boom!
Their fists collided!
The clash of their aura was palpable!
In an instant, electricity crackled in the air, and wind spiraled around them like a sudden hurricane!
With the two of them at the center, the dirt on the ground was blown outward in layers, while massive trees in the surrounding area shook violently, with leaves and debris flying everywhere.
The entire forest was stirred by their battle.
And this was only the beginning.
Each subsequent clash was more intense than the last.
The two moved swiftly through the giant forest formed by the towering trees. Each collision shook the forest, causing one tree after another to fall in the wake of their blows.
The massive beasts in the forest fled in terror, desperate to get far from the center of the commotion.
Rayleigh, now without his coat, punched Ron, sending him flying a hundred meters, crashing through countless giant trees before finally embedding him into a cliffside.
"To reach this level with pure physical strength… as expected of the Dark King, Rayleigh," Ron muttered as he extricated himself from the cliff. He touched his chest, then grinned at the figure speeding toward him.
His eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit.
With a stomp, he launched himself to meet Rayleigh.
"The warm-up is over. Now it's time for the real deal!"
With the sound of Armament Haki hardening, Ron's right arm instantly turned pitch black like steel!
Now at Level 5 in Armament Haki, Ron's punch had nearly ten times the power!
"You've even mastered Armament Haki…" Rayleigh's eyes flashed with surprise.
But as Ron's Haki-imbued fist drew closer, Rayleigh didn't hesitate. He summoned a fearsome aura, his Armament Haki even more potent than Ron's Level 5, yet he didn't fully harden it.
A hardened, blackened fist clashed with one wrapped only in Armament Haki.
Crack! The ground beneath them shattered instantly, with the surrounding trees splintering and snapping within a hundred-meter radius.
A wave of pressure, ten times more powerful than before, surged out from their clashing Haki, creating a heatwave that swept outward!
One tree after another snapped in succession, while the earth beneath the trees closest to them was stripped away, exposing the roots before they, too, were blown off.
As the residual shockwaves faded, a clearing appeared within the dense forest, with a circular pit several meters deep and tens of meters wide at its center.
Rayleigh stood in the center, with Ron about ten meters away, leaving two long trails where he'd been pushed back.
Ron's right arm trembled, but he didn't care; his gaze remained fixed on Rayleigh, filled with unrestrained, fiery excitement!
With another stomp, Ron broke the ground beneath him, reappearing in front of Rayleigh in a flash.
Armament Haki surged, strengthening his sweeping kick!
Rayleigh, with Observation Haki active, prepared to counter, but suddenly felt as if he were being watched. His eyes narrowed as he dodged the attack, creating distance between them once more.
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