One Piece: Fist of the World

"I see. Compared to swordsmanship, his physical prowess is even stronger." Onigumo looked at the red-haired boy before him, a hint of caution finally appearing in his eyes. This young pirate was far stronger than he had anticipated. That last punch, in particular, was incredibly powerful!

After their defeat by Rhodes, Bastille and his group had submitted all intelligence about them to Marine Headquarters, especially concerning Rhodes himself. After all, Bastille made the same mistake in his battle with Rhodes, believing that Rhodes was merely a swordsman and that disarming him would neutralize most of his combat power.

Unexpectedly, Rhodes's fighting prowess was even greater after losing his weapon than when he wielded his blade. However, Onigumo had only responded to the Ernest family's request to capture Rhodes and his crew. Most importantly, he didn't believe there was anyone in the North Blue pirate groups worthy of his attention.

"However, whether it's swordsmanship or physical skills, they are just means of fighting." Onigumo held his sword in both hands and walked towards Rhodes step by step. As he drew closer, his aura grew stronger and stronger. "Only Haki is the decisive factor for victory, and my Haki is far superior to yours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the long sword in Onigumo's hand suddenly slashed down, and at the same moment, Armament Haki instantly wrapped around it, dyeing the weapon in his hand black.

Let the Haki flow.

Looking at the weapon swung by Onigumo, thoughts flashed through Rhodes's mind. There was no doubt that Onigumo had mastered the technique of releasing Armament Haki. However, in terms of the sheer amount of Haki, Rhodes's nascent mastery was no match for an opponent who had been renowned for years. So, if he wanted to win this battle, he had to master the technique of releasing his Haki.

The surging Haki wrapped around Rhodes's fist and collided with the long sword slashed by Onigumo.

Boom!

After abandoning his weapon, Rhodes's attacks became far more threatening. After knocking off Onigumo's attack with one punch, Rhodes quickly retracted his fist, then lowered his body and slid closer to Onigumo. The Haki on his fist dissipated instantly and then gathered again at the soles of his feet.

Bang!

Rhodes stomped his feet hard, and under the influence of his Haki, he instantly unleashed an even stronger driving force, propelling his body upward from the ground. The Haki quickly flowed through his body and gathered at his fist, dyeing Rhodes's clenched fist completely black.

Boom!

The powerful blow struck Onigumo's chin, producing a heavy, muffled sound. A layer of dark Armament Haki had, at some point, covered Onigumo's chin.

Rhodes's eyes flashed red, and his body quickly retreated to avoid Onigumo's slash. Then his body bounced out again, and the flowing Haki was like a layer of black fireworks, swaying on his body.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Rhodes's eyes flashed red, and his fists kept weaving, colliding wildly with Onigumo's double swords, creating bursts of crisp sounds. Every time he attacked, Rhodes would wrap all the Haki in his body around his fist to increase his attack power. When he was too late to dodge Onigumo's attack, he would use his Observation Haki to predict the landing point of the opponent's strike in advance and gather all the Haki on his body for defense.

When using Haki in battle, if the total amount of Haki is insufficient, most people will choose to prioritize Haki for attacking and neglect defense. As for the true Haki masters, their Haki is enough to cover their entire body, forming a 360-degree hardened Armament Haki with no blind spots, making them invulnerable in both offense and defense. However, there's a disadvantage to this: the total amount of Haki is limited. If it's evenly distributed throughout the body, it will inevitably dilute the strength of the Haki. This is fine against ordinary enemies, but when facing a master, covering the entire body with Haki is courting disaster.

A true master can adapt to circumstances during battle and adjust the distribution of their Haki according to different situations. This is no easy feat, requiring extremely strong skills in using Haki. Even such a master wouldn't choose such an extreme method as Rhodes's in battle. Concentrating all his Haki in one area like him requires absolute control over the battle situation. If he is careless for a moment, he will be defeated.

And Rhodes's ability to pull off such a bold move was entirely due to his powerful Observation Haki. Although his Observation Haki, which he had awakened and trained since childhood, had not yet reached the level of "foreseeing the future," he had cultivated it to an extremely deep level, allowing him to accurately predict the opponent's actions in battle and achieve such a bold fighting style.

That's it!

Feeling the Haki flowing freely throughout his body, the smile on Rhodes's face grew wider. The continuous use of Observation Haki kept him on edge, daring not to relax, while the improvement of his Armament Haki skills kept Rhodes's spirit electrified.

Let the Haki flow freely according to your own will, and change the amount of Haki in different parts of your body according to the rhythm of the battle; with the help of the power of Observation Haki, change instantly when switching between offense and defense, and make the most of every bit of Haki.

This characteristic is very similar to Nen from Hunter x Hunter!

Although many chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind, Rhodes's attack rhythm remained unchaotic. His Observation Haki still accurately predicted Onigumo's attack rhythm, and the flow of his Armament Haki was even smoother.

There's no reason why you can't express yourself in a domineering way!

Bang!

Rhodes's pitch-black fist violently collided with Onigumo's slash again. The Haki flowed rapidly through his body, and under Rhodes's frenzied attack, it looked like flowing flames, contrasting sharply with Onigumo's fierce face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.

As the battle progressed, Onigumo's murderous intent grew stronger. The red-haired kid in front of him was getting stronger rapidly during the battle! If at the beginning of the battle, the opponent was just a young boy with a strong physique but unable to exert corresponding combat power, now he was already qualified to be called a strong man. Even if he were thrown into the second half of the Grand Line, he could still thrive.

Why do pirates like this always appear endlessly? Why are there always people who hinder the practice of justice?

The knife flashed and reflected the light onto Rhodes's head. Looking at the other person's red hair, another person's face suddenly flashed through Onigumo's mind. The same red hair, the same powerful strength at a young age—could this kid in front of him grow up to be the next "Red-Haired Shanks"?

"There's a flaw!"

A gleam of light flashed in Rhodes's eyes, and the Haki in his body surged wildly and gathered on his arms.

I can do the Haki outward expression!

A move that is released outward and tears the enemy apart through the air.

This move is called—

"Sky Splitter!"

As Rhodes swung his fist, the Haki accumulated in it was like a shock wave, released at Onigumo with all his strength. The invisible force struck his chest before he could react.

The next second, Rhodes's fist slammed heavily into Onigumo's chest.

Bang!

Onigumo's body instantly flew backward, blood splattering.