One Piece: Fist of the World

Sarquiss couldn't help but kneel on the ground, his clothes unknowingly soaked with sweat.

My thoughts are completely exposed!

He genuinely wanted to use the Donquixote Family's power to rescue Bellamy. There might have been a touch of friendship involved, but it was primarily driven by self-interest.

Family members understood their standing. Sarquiss was acutely aware that he was just an ordinary individual with some strength. Even if he were to join the Donquixote Family by chance, relying solely on his own merits, he would only ever be a low-ranking member.

But Bellamy was different. He had displayed exceptional strength since childhood and was also a Devil Fruit user. Once he successfully joined the Donquixote Family, he would undoubtedly be promoted swiftly.

By then, as Bellamy's childhood friend and with the leverage of having requested his assistance, Sarquiss could rapidly advance by riding on Bellamy's coattails.

But...

Manudo's voice reached his ears, causing Sarquiss's body to tremble involuntarily.

Is this the oppressive aura of the Donquixote Family? I've heard that these are just the family's reserve cadres.

What caught Sarquiss's lowered gaze was Manudo's shadow.

A massive shadow loomed over Sarquiss, and through the shadow, it was visible that Manudo's outstretched fingers suddenly elongated.

"Die!"

As Manudo spoke coldly, Sarquiss caught a glint of cold light from the corner of his eye.

Boom—!

A sudden loud noise erupted, followed by the room's door being violently flung open, and several lower-ranking members rushed into the room with panicked expressions.

"What's going on!"

Manudo cast a cold glare over them.

Ignoring their fear of Manudo, the subordinates pointed outside with pale faces.

Something far more terrifying had occurred there.

"The family flag was destroyed!"

Bang!

A deep crater suddenly appeared in the ground beneath his feet. Manudo disregarded Sarquiss, who was lying on the floor, and dashed into the courtyard, his eyes fixed on the family flag in the manor's center.

However, all that remained was the flagpole broken in two, and the flag symbolizing the family lay fallen on the ground.

"Who did this?"

Grabbing a subordinate who was approaching, Manudo's body involuntarily began to transform into his human-beast form, his sharp canine teeth almost piercing the opponent's face.

"I don't know. It was a bullet that suddenly flew from far away."

Manudo didn't restrain his strength in the slightest, and the subordinate he had grabbed felt his shoulder was on the verge of being crushed.

"Don't know?"

A fierce glint flashed in Manudo's eyes, and he tightened his grip on his subordinate's arm, his sharp nails digging into the other's flesh, causing the subordinate's expression to contort in agony.

"Where did you come from, you bastard? Get out here!"

Manudo shook off the subordinate in his hand, took a deep breath, and suddenly unleashed a deafening roar.

Boom—

With a gunshot, a bullet appeared in front of Manudo almost instantaneously.

Both arms moved in a blur, and his long claws intercepted the incoming bullets. Manudo glared fiercely at the figures emerging from the main gate.

"You just called me a dog, didn't you?"

"Wow, it turns out to be a skinny dog."

Looking at the figure before her, Nia couldn't resist teasing him.

The Donquixote Family's reserve cadre before them seemed to have entered a hybrid human-beast form due to the destruction of the family flag, and his entire body was remarkably slender.

"I am a dog! I ate the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dachshund, and became a dachshund! You are the ones who destroyed our flag! I will tear you all to shreds!"

With a sudden burst of power from his legs, Manudo lunged forward instantly, swinging his sharp claws towards Rhodes, who stood in the center, a cold light glinting from them. Rhodes's body recoiled slightly, and Manudo's claws slammed into the ground, instantly tearing apart the stone floor.

Bang!

A long leg swung out from the side and delivered a powerful kick to Manudo's waist and abdomen. The terrifying force nearly snapped his body in half, and he was sent flying backward in an instant.

So strong!

Penguin and Shachi exchanged glances, their eyes wide with shock.

They hadn't expected Nia, who looked so alluring and graceful, to possess such formidable strength.

When that skinny dog-man had rushed at them just now, they hadn't even had time to react. If they had been in Nia's place, they might have been killed. He was indeed the one who had defeated a pirate with a bounty exceeding 40 million Berries.

Are we the weakest ones on the ship?

Thinking this, the two tacitly glanced at Gray. The other man had been following them silently, his presence almost forgotten.

"Leave this skinny dog to me."

Nia retracted her leg, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes.

This guy is surprisingly tough! That kick from before didn't inflict any real damage.

"Are you sure about that?"

"How can a mere dog-type stand a chance against a cat-type?"

As she spoke, Manudo got up from the ground and casually patted his waist and abdomen.

"You're quite capable, but attacks of that magnitude won't work at all. Attacks should be like this!"

As he uttered these words, Manudo's body shot forward, appearing before Nia almost instantaneously. His speed was even greater than before, and his claws, glinting with cold light, slashed wildly, almost becoming a blur.

"You have no concept of a cat's speed."

Nia effortlessly dodged all of the opponent's attacks.

Although she expressed disdain for Manudo, Nia clearly understood that the enemy before her was unlike any she had encountered before, so the moment the battle commenced, she had already entered her hybrid human-beast form.

On her head, two black cat ears twitched gently, and she appeared remarkably relaxed.

Swish——

Nia sidestepped another of the opponent's attacks, and with a swift movement, she appeared behind him, her cat claws stabbing downwards.

Puff—

Blood spurted as Nia's cat claws pierced the opponent's body almost unimpeded.

"Got him!"

"Got you!"

The two voices sounded almost simultaneously, and Nia's pupils constricted instantly.

Manudo wore a cruel smile, and the muscles in the pierced part of his body suddenly contracted, tightly clamping down on Nia's cat claws.

Just as Nia failed to pull her claws free due to Manudo's muscle contraction and her body paused momentarily, Manudo flipped his body, leveraging his slender build, and twisted his entire torso almost 180 degrees, facing Nia with his ferocious face and swinging his sharp claws downwards.

At the same time that Nia was engaging Manudo, the other members of the Donquixote Family also reacted and launched various attacks at Rhodes and his group.

"ROOM——" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A blue sphere of light instantly enveloped everyone, just as Law was about to activate his ability.

"Ah..."

A snow-white figure shot upwards, followed closely by two other figures, who instantly knocked the rushing underlings to the ground.

"Just leave these people to us!"

Penguin and Shachi stood on Bepo's left and right, flashing hearty smiles at Rhode and the others. Gray followed silently behind them, his weak presence almost forgotten.

(End of this Chapter)