...
Clock Tower Square.
The pungent stench of gunpowder and thick smoke permeated the square. Flames flickered in every direction, illuminating the casualties scattered haphazardly across the ground.
*Clang!!*
*Clang!!*
At the edge of the square, crisp metallic clashes echoed from an alleyway. Sparks flew fiercely as a brutal, unrelenting battle raged on.
Blood trickled from the corner of Daz Bonez's mouth. His bare upper body displayed his robust muscles, and rings of sharp blades protruded from his arms.
Opposite him, a blood-soaked Gin darkened his gaze. Holding his tonfas in a reverse grip, he stepped forward and charged at blinding speed.
*Screech—!*
Accompanied by an ear-piercing screech, the rings of blades on Daz Bonez's arms spun at high speed like a buzzsaw. There was no doubt that anyone who touched them would be shredded into a bloody pulp.
As Gin closed the distance, Daz Bonez's eyes turned icy. With a loud shout, he thrust his fist straight forward!
"Spiral Draw Slash!!"
*Clang!*
Gin swung his tonfa upward, the iron ball striking the high-speed spiraling blades from below. However, unexpectedly, after less than a second of a deadlock, it was the heavy iron ball that was deflected.
Daz Bonez's eyes flashed with ruthlessness as his arm pierced toward Gin's chest like an auger drill!
*Screech—Screech—Screech!*
Gin hastily raised his left tonfa to block. The rapidly spinning blades slashed against the iron ball, sending sparks flying and leaving deep cut marks even on the solid iron.
The violent vibrations of the handle numbed his arm, and a tearing pain shot through the webbing of his hand. Gritting his teeth, Gin exerted his strength to parry the buzzsaw-like bladed arm, simultaneously swinging his right tonfa in a wide, sweeping arc!
*Clang!!*
The iron ball smashed into Daz Bonez's shoulder, emitting a deafening ring as if striking solid steel. Daz Bonez stumbled but stomped hard to steady his stance, just as another tonfa came crashing down toward him with ferocious speed.
Looking up, Daz Bonez gritted his teeth and raised his left arm to block, while simultaneously driving his right arm—blades spinning at high speed—into Gin's abdomen!
*Bang!!*
*Bang!!*
The ground shattered into a dense web of cracks. Daz Bonez's head slammed heavily into the earth, and his blocking arm was forcefully dented by the sheer impact.
At the same time, Gin was sent flying backward by the heavy blow. His back crashed into a wall, and his entire abdomen was mangled into a bloody mess by the spinning blades!
"Gah—!"
Gin couldn't hold back as he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. His body slid down until he was half-kneeling on the ground. He propped himself up with trembling hands, his face deathly pale and cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Having fought bitterly up to this point, his body was already covered in slash marks. Blood continuously seeped from cuts of all sizes.
Let alone continuing to fight, if he didn't receive immediate medical attention, just standing there could very well lead to him bleeding to death.
On the other side.
Within the crater, Daz Bonez's hands trembled as he gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the ground. Piercing agony radiated from his arms, shoulders, and chest.
Bolstered by his Devil Fruit powers, his body was already as hard as steel, yet it still couldn't withstand the devastating bombardment of Gin's iron balls.
It was as if no matter how hard the steel was, it could only bend powerlessly before a blacksmith's heavy hammer in the forge. Nearly every bone in his body felt as though it had been shattered by those iron balls.
"Cough... cough, cough...!"
Daz Bonez coughed a mouthful of blood onto the ground. He stood up, his body swaying unsteadily. With a pale face, he looked toward the kneeling Gin and spoke in a deep, weak voice:
"It seems I underestimated you. You are strong. If not for the power of the Dice-Dice Fruit, perhaps I would have already fallen..."
"What a pity. In the end, my body of steel is still superior."
"Superior...?"
Gin clenched his jaw and picked up his twin tonfas from the ground. Planting his feet and leaning against the wall, he forced himself to stand. Panting weakly, the corners of his lips curled into a cold smirk.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that... Save your declaration of victory... for when I'm completely down..."
"...Is that so? It seems you don't plan on giving up just yet, even with your body battered to such a state."
Daz Bonez's chest heaved as he panted heavily. Enduring the pain, he raised his hand, transforming the inner edges of his curved fingers into steel blades.
The blades gleamed with a frigid light. Daz Bonez adjusted his breathing, his eyes gradually radiating a cold, murderous intent as he stepped forward into a charging stance.
"Though I can't understand it, since you don't want a quick death, I'll gladly oblige!"
"Micro Dust Slash!"
Daz Bonez roared, his figure suddenly accelerating forward. With his arms spread wide, he viciously slashed down with his ten bladed fingers in an 'X' formation!
*Clang!!*
Gin's expression shifted in alarm. He hastily crossed his twin tonfas in front of him to block. Just as he successfully parried the strike, several invisible slashes suddenly erupted from the finger blades!
*Slash! Slash! Slash!*
"Argh—!"
Gin's pupils trembled violently as his body was torn open once again, revealing horrifying, web-like lacerations as blood sprayed through the air.
The invisible slashes pierced straight through his back, slicing the entire wall behind him into countless diamond-shaped fragments before the building collapsed with a deafening crash.
Yet, to Daz Bonez's disbelief, despite taking such a terrifying slash head-on, Gin showed absolutely no signs of falling. Instead, his expression turned fierce, and he glared back with bloodshot eyes.
"Only one of us... is going to fall here!"
"Demon Tonfa: Chaotic Waves!!"
Gin let out a deep, explosive roar, swinging his twin tonfas in a continuous barrage. The two solid iron balls whistled through the air as they smashed forward with surging momentum!
Facing this terrifying combo, Daz Bonez didn't dare to be careless. He dropped into a half-squat and shouted, tensing his entire body to cover himself in a flawless steel defense!
"Blade Man!!"
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The heavy iron balls rained down like a violent storm. Daz Bonez gritted his teeth to resist, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the ground as his body was continuously forced backward.
"Raaaargh!!"
A hoarse, guttural roar tore from Gin's throat. His face was twisted in ferocious savagery as his arms swung desperately, leaving behind a blur of afterimages. Every strike carried his extreme thirst for victory!
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The muffled sounds of heavy impacts erupted in the empty street! The iron balls whistled as they tore through the air, generating blasts of wind as they smashed heavily against Daz Bonez's body. The frenzy of the combo was so overwhelming that he couldn't even find an opening to counterattack!
'Just how much strength does this guy have left?!'
Daz Bonez clenched his jaw. Bone-deep agony continuously radiated from every part of his body, and his gaze grew increasingly grave.
'Damn it! I can't hold on much longer!!'
Blood seeped through his clenched teeth. Daz Bonez's expression was as grim as it could get, yet his opponent showed absolutely no sign of stopping!
"Uraaaargh!!!"
*Bang!! Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!*
Gin's eyes were blood-red as he roared hoarsely, looking like a hideous demon. His wounds tore open faster under the violent movements, spraying blood onto his weapons as the pair of iron balls swung in countless afterimages!
There was no trace of reason left in his eyes; only the sheer will to fight sustained his actions. Yet, the twin tonfas in his hands only grew more ferocious!
Under this torrential bombardment of heavy strikes, Daz Bonez finally couldn't hold his guard!
An iron ball smashed violently into his jaw. The severe concussion to his brain plunged him into a momentary state of unconsciousness. Daz Bonez's pupils trembled violently as his eyes slowly rolled back.
In that exact moment, his tightly wound body suddenly went slack.
A vicious, crimson light gleamed in Gin's eyes. Bringing his twin tonfas together parallel to his side, he unleashed his fastest, strongest, and heaviest strike with a furious roar!
"Demon Tonfa: Double Bone Shatter!!"
*Bang!!!*
One iron ball slammed into Daz Bonez's body! His chest instantly caved in, forming a half-spherical crater, and the second iron ball followed right on its heels!
*Clang!!!*
The iron ball's force penetrated straight through! It instantly sent Daz Bonez's entire body flying backward, crashing through several buildings before smashing heavily into the square's clock tower!
Rubble flew in all directions as dust and smoke billowed outward.
Gin's hands dropped weakly to his sides. Blood slowly trickled from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the square, unmoving.
It wasn't until a long time passed with no movement from the dust cloud that Gin, now entirely covered in blood, finally released his weapons. His body slowly toppled backward.
*Thud...*
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