"Zoan... type..."
Mr. 4 spoke slowly, his sluggish tone completely at odds with the shock in his eyes.
Behind him, Chaka couldn't help but look astonished.
"...What an astonishing aura... A tiger model?"
"That's right! I ate the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Tiger and became a tiger-man. If it's a contest of strength, I won't lose to you!"
Buchi curled his lips into a smirk and clenched his fists tightly, feeling the explosive power continuously surging through his body.
Then, his gaze sharpened. Bending his knees slightly, he pushed off with tremendous force and dashed diagonally forward!
*Bang!*
Planting his feet on the wall of a house, Buchi crouched horizontally in midair. Opposite him, the cannon dog opened its mouth and fired a baseball missile, prompting Buchi to leap away forcefully to dodge.
*Boom!!*
The baseball missile exploded violently against the house behind him, sending flames and gunpowder smoke billowing outward. But Buchi had already closed the distance to Mr. 4, delivering an angry kick that sent the dachshund flying!
"Screw you!"
"Awooo—!"
*Crash!*
The dachshund let out a wail as its heavy body smashed through a wall and crashed into the house.
"Lasso...! You bastard..."
Mr. 4's eyes burned with anger. Although he spoke slowly, his fighting movements were anything but. He raised his one-ton metal baseball bat and swung it horizontally with a howling gust of wind!
Buchi hastily raised his arms to block his side.
*Clang!!*
Even with the enhanced strength of a fierce tiger, the heavy, momentum-filled strike sent his body sliding sideways, his feet plowing through the ground for two meters.
"Hiss—! That hurts!"
Buchi's arms throbbed so badly that tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes, his expression a mix of grievance and fury.
Though he had been knocked back by the bat, that was the extent of it. He backhanded the end of the baseball bat, refusing to let go no matter how hard Mr. 4 tried to yank it back.
"Now it's my turn!"
Buchi raised his right paw high, baring his sharp claws. Gritting his teeth, he viciously swatted his tiger paw across Mr. 4's face!
*Smack!!*
"Pfft—!!"
Blood and broken teeth spewed from his mouth as Mr. 4's head was violently knocked aside. His brain rattled with a severe concussion and ringing ears, nearly causing his eyes to roll back into his head from the sheer force of the slap.
From childhood to adulthood, this was the first time he had ever encountered someone with greater physical strength than his own.
"Damn... it!"
Mr. 4 planted his back foot, gritting his teeth to steady his stance. Gripping the metal bat tightly with both arms, he swung it in a massive half-circle and smashed it forward!
The bat whistled through the air, trailing a slipstream behind it. This time, however, Buchi chose not to take the hit head-on, leaping lightly to evade the attack.
"I'm not like you! We might both be fat, but I'm smart and agile!"
Buchi grinned triumphantly, raising his right foot to deliver a violent stomp from midair.
"Tiger Kill...!"
*Boom!!*
Suddenly, a baseball bomb flew in from a distance, catching Buchi off guard as it struck his back and instantly detonated!
Black smoke and flames swallowed his body. In the distance, the dachshund-gun dog stood atop the ruins, a trail of snot hanging from its nose as it looked over.
"Good job... Lasso!"
Seeing this, Mr. 4's eyes filled with smug satisfaction. He swung his bat with both hands, smashing it directly into the cloud of smoke above him.
*Thud!*
A solid sensation of impact traveled up the bat, yet not a hint of joy appeared on Mr. 4's face. Instead, his eyes widened in stun.
The black smoke slowly dissipated, revealing Buchi inside, covered in scorch marks and burns. He was gripping the baseball bat tightly with both hands, his entire body hanging directly from it.
The next second.
*Smack!*
"It hurts...!"
A black-and-orange striped tail violently whipped across Mr. 4's face. Wincing in pain, he raised a hand to cover his face and stumbled backward.
A sharp glint flashed in Buchi's eyes. He let go and dropped back to the ground, seizing the opportunity to dash forward. With a light tap of his toes, he sprang into the air.
"Tiger Kill: Double Leg Kick!!"
*Bang!!*
Buchi curled his legs together and unleashed a furious, explosive dropkick squarely into Mr. 4's face. The sheer burst of power was terrifying!
—*Boom!* —*Boom!* —*Boom!!*
The kick sent Mr. 4's massive body flying backward at breakneck speed. Like a cannonball, he crashed through several walls in succession before slamming heavily into the ruins of a house.
"And you...!"
Buchi turned his head, glaring fiercely at the dachshund that was opening its mouth to fire another baseball bomb.
Noticing his gaze, a drop of cold sweat rolled down the dachshund Lasso's forehead. It slowly closed its mouth, sniffled its snot, and began to wag its tail.
"Woof!"
...
A moment later.
"Hahaha, come here and sit."
Buchi chuckled and extended his palm. The dachshund-gun Lasso obediently sat down in front of him, putting on a well-behaved expression as it wagged its tail vigorously.
Buchi nodded in satisfaction and pointed at a distant house.
"Good boy. Now, fire a cannonball over there."
"Woof!"
The dachshund-gun Lasso barked, then turned to face the spot Buchi had pointed out. It opened its mouth and sneezed.
"Achoo!"
*Boom!!*
A baseball cannonball shot out in response, flying toward the building and detonating violently. Flames and smoke rocketed into the sky.
Buchi rejoiced like a two-hundred-pound child. He crouched down, patted its head, and pulled out some beef jerky from behind his back to feed it.
"Hahaha, good dog! Here's a treat. Let's hurry up and go help Sham."
"Woof!"
The dachshund-gun Lasso barked and excitedly licked up the snack Buchi offered.
...
In the cold, deserted food street, a figure scaled the walls and leaped between several houses at blinding speed.
Miss Doublefinger grew long spikes from her arms and crossed them defensively in front of her, her eyes fixed solemnly on Sham, who was moving at high speed all around her.
She had never seen such a fast opponent. Especially after he transformed into his human-beast form, his speed had skyrocketed to the point where it was difficult to even track his silhouette.
*Swish!*
Suddenly, the dark shadow flickered behind her, causing Miss Doublefinger's expression to shift in alarm.
*Slash!*
Wearing a sinister grin, Sham swiped his cat claws upward, tearing through her black leather outfit and drawing blood.
"Ugh—!"
Wincing in pain, Miss Doublefinger furrowed her brows. She gritted her teeth, spun around, and violently swung her arm, which had swelled up like a spiked morning star.
*Crash!!*
The spikes easily punched a round hole into the wall before the sheer force of the blow smashed a massive crater into it.
However, Sham's figure had long since vanished, moving at high speed to reappear behind her once more.
As if sensing his presence, Miss Doublefinger hastily activated her ability on her hair.
"Sea Urchin Stinger!!"
*Schwing! Schwing!*
Sham, who was just about to strike, widened his eyes in shock. The fluffy blue hair on the back of her head instantly expanded, rapidly shooting out over a dozen sharp, elongated spikes!
*Whoosh!*
Sham hurriedly leaped into the air, tucking his knees to perform several midair rolls before landing in a crouch on a rooftop. He looked down with a teasing gaze.
"To think you can even turn your hair into a weapon. Too bad your speed isn't nearly enough to hit me."
As everyone knows, a cat's reaction time is seven times that of a human.
As the user of the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Caracal, Sham's reaction speed, jumping ability, and short-distance explosive power had all reached superhuman levels.
Even a close-quarters combat expert like Gin would find his explosive speed troublesome to deal with.
Although Miss Doublefinger's offensive capabilities were strong, her speed and reaction time were completely suppressed by him. For Sham, defeating her was only a matter of time.
"No matter how powerful an attack is, it's useless if it can't hit. You're destined to lose against me."
Sham wore a playful expression. Spreading his hands to reveal his claw blades, he leaped from the rooftop, continuously bounding through the streets at breakneck speed.
"Don't speak too soon."
Miss Doublefinger's lips curled into a smirk. She pulled her arms in close to her chest, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
"If my speed can't keep up, then how about this...!"
"Stinger Hedgehog!!"
*Schwing! Schwing! Schwing!*
Suddenly, a massive number of spikes sprouted from Miss Doublefinger's body, covering her entirely without a single blind spot and turning her into a human hedgehog.
"That's way too cheap, you damn woman."
Sham halted his high-speed movements. Staring at the dense cluster of spikes that left him no opening to attack, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse under his breath.
Miss Doublefinger chuckled smugly. "No matter how fast you are, the moment you try to strike, I can easily pierce your palms. Furthermore..."
"Don't think I can't attack just because I look like this."
With that, Miss Doublefinger curled her body up like a hedgehog, transforming into a spike-covered sphere that rapidly rolled toward Sham.
"You can do that?!"
Sham's eyes widened in shock, and he hastily leaped away to dodge.
*Crash!*
The spikes slammed heavily into the wall, instantly punching countless round holes into it before changing direction to chase after Sham once again.
*Crash! Crash! Crash!*
For a time, continuous crashing sounds echoed through the street. Even jumping onto the rooftops wasn't enough to escape her pursuit.
Faced with the rampaging spiked ball, Sham had no way to attack and was forced to scurry around frantically, his mind racing to find a way to break the stalemate.
But after thinking for a long time, only one word came to mind.
Stall!
"I refuse to believe this woman won't get tired. Once your stamina runs out, I'm going to hack you to pieces!"
Sham cursed angrily, his feet never stopping for a single moment.
...
That was, until Buchi rushed over.
"Come over here, Sham!"
"Buchi?"
Hearing the voice, Sham paused. He looked up and saw Buchi standing in the middle of the street waving at him, with a dog standing by his feet.
'Isn't that the dog that shoots cannonballs from earlier?'
Sham felt confused, but he quickly leaped over anyway, leading the rapidly rolling Miss Doublefinger right behind him.
"It's your turn! Get ready to fire!"
"Woof!"
Buchi waved his hand and shouted excitedly. The dachshund-gun Lasso stepped forward in response and opened its mouth.
Sham hurriedly leaped upward to get out of the way.
"Lasso? Why are you with them... Wait, wait a minute!!"
Seeing the dachshund-gun open its mouth to fire a cannonball, Miss Doublefinger's expression shifted to utter panic from behind.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Lasso sneezed out a baseball, launching it explosively toward Miss Doublefinger!
*Boom!!*
Accompanied by a violent explosion, terrifying flames instantly swallowed Miss Doublefinger's body.
"Beautifully done, Buchi!"
"Don't mention it, Sham!"
The Nyaban Brothers high-fived in celebration, and Lasso panted with its tongue out, barking excitedly.
"Woof!"
"Uh, by the way, what exactly is this thing?"
Sham bent down curiously, stroking his chin as he sized up the obediently sitting Lasso.
"Hehehe, this is my new pet."
Buchi introduced it with a happy face. "His name is Lasso. He's a gun that ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dachshund."
Sham: "???"
A gun... that ate the Dog-Dog Fruit? Do you even hear what you're saying?
"You mean a dachshund that ate the Gun-Gun Fruit, right?"
Sham asked again, looking completely bewildered.
Buchi looked slightly annoyed. "No, Lasso is a gun that ate the Dog-Dog Fruit!"
...
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