Aparg: Ancient Ruins Clearing.
Gale winds whipped gravel and dust into a frenzy. Urouge, transformed into a muscular titan, stood like a mountain of flesh, his shadow blotting out the sun.
"The deeper the pain this old monk bears, the greater the power of the backlash to deliver all living beings from suffering!"
The smile on Urouge's scarred face was twisted to the point of near-madness. His explosive muscles had shredded his monastic robes, and thick veins coiled around his arms like tree roots.
"Namo..."
With a low Buddhist chant, Urouge's massive frame shot forward like a heavy shell fired from a cannon, shattering the stone beneath his feet. He had discarded his iron pillar; facing an overlord like Ace who could catch steel barehanded, he instinctively chose the most primitive form of violence. His gigantic right fist, carrying a wind pressure that tore the air apart, smashed toward Ace's face.
"Karma!"
Facing a blow where size and strength were completely disproportionate, Ace did not retreat. He advanced.
A sound like a rushing river rumbled within his chest. His hands clenched, and Armament Haki instantly dyed his fists like obsidian. He met the meteorite-like punch head-on.
"BANG!"
Two fists—one massive, one small—collided. The resulting white shockwave acted like a circle of blades, disintegrating the surrounding ruins into powder for dozens of meters.
The ground beneath Ace sank abruptly, his feet burying into the soil as the surface cracked like a spiderweb. He felt a savage, surging force streaming from Urouge's fist; that kinetic energy was two or three times stronger than the monk's previous weapon strikes.
"The more damage you take, the more your power expands, huh?"
Ace gritted his teeth, shook off the suppression, and pivoted, launching a powerful whip-kick into Urouge's thick ribs.
"THUD!"
The dull sound of flesh striking flesh echoed. Urouge's massive body only swayed. Blood spilled from his mouth, but his manic smile grew wider. He didn't flinch; he withstood the blow and swung a heavy left hook, smashing into Ace's chest.
Ace gave a muffled grunt and slid back several steps, his trench coat billowing in the wake of the impact.
Under the Shade of the Trees.
"What a lunatic," Sabo noted, holding his own staff. He could sense that every one of Urouge's attacks came at the price of a heavy physical overdraw.
"Wouldn't it be easier to just turn him into charcoal with lightning?" Enel bit into an apple, curling his lip. "Blue Sea people and their low-level brawling..."
"A fragile glass cannon like you wouldn't understand," Jeno retorted, pushing up his goggles. He watched the titans clash with a grin. "Treating every inch of muscle as ammunition—that's true romance!"
The Battlefield.
Ace stopped his sliding retreat and looked at the demon-god monk, a spark of excitement burning in his eyes. If an ordinary pirate had taken that Haki-wrapped kick, their ribs would have been dust. Yet this monk used the pain to further increase his muscle density.
There wasn't a second punching bag in the sky that could provide this kind of high-pressure feedback.
"Big monk, your constitution is something else," Ace said, letting his hands hang naturally.
The Armament Haki on his fists began to change. The black luster that had been wrapped tightly around his skin began to flow and converge at his knuckles, swirling like a living thing. To deal with a target wrapped in this much "cushioning" flesh, physical impact was counterproductive.
He had to ignore the surface and attack the interior.
"I just thought of a new move. Let's use you for practice."
Ace exhaled a puff of heat and vanished, rushing toward Urouge's lower half like an arrow.
"The fight isn't over, benefactor! Can't you take it anymore?" Urouge laughed wildly, clasping his massive fists together like a mountain-splitting hammer and smashing down!
At the moment of impact, Ace paused with eerie precision. His body slid past Urouge's fists like a swimming dragon, cutting into the blind spot directly beneath the giant's chest.
"Oh no!" Urouge caught the blur in his periphery. His massive size was now a fatal disadvantage.
Ace stood in the shadow of Urouge's abdomen. His right fist moved in a plain, unremarkable upward punch, imprinting itself against the monk's gut. At the final millisecond of contact, the compressed Haki erupted.
"Ryuo: Collapse."
"Puff."
The sound was light, but it was a death knell. The expected physical impact didn't come. Instead, a black shockwave pierced through the armor-like muscle and drilled straight into Urouge's organs.
Haki exploded internally.
"Urgh!"
Urouge's face twisted. His eyes bulged, and a torrent of blood mixed with internal fragments sprayed from his mouth. Even the wings on his back curled in agony. Faced with internal destruction, the "Karma" mechanism couldn't convert the force fast enough to protect him.
His muscles shrank rapidly like a deflating balloon. Urouge returned to his four-meter human form and collapsed into the mud with a heavy thump.
The smoke cleared. Ace stood beside the fallen monk, retracting a steaming fist. The sensation of the Haki vibration—the power of penetration—was now etched into his muscle memory.
Ace squatted down. Urouge lay there, his chest heaving like a broken bellows. Despite being near death, the monk managed a bloody, ugly smile.
"What unreasonable power... you didn't even leave me room to absorb it." Urouge coughed, looking at the gloomy sky. "To be defeated by a monster like you... it's no grievance. Do it."
He knew the laws of the Sky; he had challenged the strong and lost. Execution was the natural conclusion.
Ace looked at the smiling, broken monk. A touch of appreciation ignited in his eyes. A battle maniac who worshipped power and feared nothing was perfect material for the New World.
A cluster of warm, gold flames ignited in Ace's palm. He patted the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire onto Urouge's chest. The power of creation seeped into the damaged organs, stopping the internal bleeding. It didn't heal him instantly, but it pulled him back from the gates of hell.
Feeling the pain recede, Urouge's composure finally broke. He looked at Ace in astonishment. "Immortal flames...? Why spare this old monk's life?"
"Wandering around these tiny mud islands is a waste of your potential," Ace said, straightening up. His back was to the light, leaving his face in shadow, save for his burning eyes.
"Follow me to the Blue Sea."
Ace's voice was bold and certain. "On my ship, you will fight Marine Admirals and the Emperors who rule the sea. As long as you have the guts, you can fight to your heart's content every single day."
Ace extended his hand. "Go to hell and fight some satisfying battles. Since you're a fallen monk, are you willing to help me subvert this world and smash the rules to pieces?"
Urouge stared at the hand. A signature, unbridled smile spread across his face, more aggressive than ever.
"If I refused, it would be a disservice to the Buddha's arrangement," Urouge laughed loudly, grasping Ace's hand.
"I'll be in your care, Captain."
Half an hour later, the campfire was roaring. Urouge, his stamina depleted, had turned into a food-processing machine, sweeping through the steaks. Leona, looking dark-faced and holding her twin blades, was forced to head back into the forest to hunt more prey.
"So this is the team?" Urouge asked, eyeing the crew.
"That monk's smile is an eyesore," Buggy muttered to Sabo, clutching his meat soup. He felt an instinctive insecurity toward the new muscle-bound monster.
Sabo adjusted his hat and smiled. "The Captain always finds the most surprising companions."
With a "human whetstone" like Urouge on board, the Eclipse Pirates' training shifted into an even higher gear. The sky was no longer the limit.
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