"Impossible!!!"
Sai's eyes bulged in disbelief as he stared at Kaito Arisawa, who had taken his strongest attack head-on without the slightest visible reaction. Shock and horror twisted across his face.
After Boo's death, Sai had already realized that Kaito was no mere rural gangster putting on airs.
He was a lurking predator of West Blue.
But even then, Sai had never imagined that Kaito would be so monstrously strong that he could withstand his ultimate technique without injury.
In Sai's memory, not even his grandfather—Don Chinjao—had displayed such terrifying durability.
Shing!
A blade flashed.
Although Kaito had been unable to evade Sai's kick, his counterattack was instantaneous and decisive.
The golden saber in his right hand gleamed like lightning, slicing toward the leg that still extended before his chest.
To unleash maximum power, Sai had concentrated his Armament Haki entirely in his right foot.
Combined with the shock of seeing his attack fail to injure Kaito, he had no time to reinforce his defense elsewhere.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Under the golden arc of the blade, Sai's right leg was severed cleanly from his body.
"Ahhh—!!"
The searing pain snapped him out of his stunned disbelief. He screamed as he collapsed to the ground.
Shing!
Another flash.
Kaito did not pause. The golden saber in his left hand swept down, cutting off Sai's remaining leg without hesitation.
"I have to admit," Kaito said calmly, glancing at him, "you startled me for a moment there."
His gaze drifted briefly to his own chest.
The clothing where Sai's kick had landed was gone, torn away in a circular blast pattern. But the skin beneath was flawless.
Not even a bruise.
When the strike had connected, Kaito had felt tense.
But after the impact, he realized something almost absurd—
Sai's full-powered blow had felt no stronger than a baby's kick.
It wasn't that it had zero effect.
It was simply… negligible.
With a Constitution talent value of 7.9, his body's defensive capability had reached an outrageous level.
His eyes returned to Sai.
The loss of both legs had inflicted unimaginable pain. Escape was impossible. Counterattack was out of the question.
Kaito's gaze flickered.
He swung his right-hand saber twice in swift succession.
Two sharp arcs of golden light flashed.
Sai's arms were severed as well.
Blood soaked the ground as Sai's screams echoed through the ruined street.
"Good. That should do it."
Kaito looked down at the now-limbless figure with satisfaction.
He had deliberately spared Sai's life.
The reason was simple—Haki cultivation methods.
Later, Sai would serve as a source of information. Removing his limbs was merely insurance.
Wiping the blood from his blades with what remained of Sai's clothing, Kaito sheathed both golden sabers.
Sai's blood continued to flow from the stumps of his severed limbs. His screams weakened gradually until they ceased entirely.
But he was not dead.
His breathing, though faint, confirmed it.
Given Sai's physical resilience, he would survive this for some time.
Still, Kaito had no intention of letting him bleed out before extracting what he needed.
Grabbing Sai by the collar, Kaito turned and sped back toward the bar.
…
Kaito's battle with Sai had ended quickly.
But by the time he returned, the fighting near the bar had escalated dramatically.
The battle had spilled from the interior of the bar into the open streets.
The cramped space inside had made close-quarters combat manageable—but once firearms were involved, stray bullets became a serious risk.
By unspoken agreement, both sides had shifted the battlefield outside.
Now, the streets of Rumtown had become a war zone.
Sword Gang members and Eight Treasures Navy fighters clashed everywhere.
Among them, Mangu and Robin each faced formidable opponents.
Although Sai and Boo had led this group, they were far from the only skilled fighters present.
The strength displayed by Mangu and Robin had drawn out other masters from the Eight Treasures Navy ranks.
Mangu was currently engaged with a middle-aged man wielding a guandao.
Armament Haki coated the man's blade, giving it formidable cutting power.
Yet even so, Mangu did not fall behind.
In fact, he held the advantage.
Each collision between mace and guandao ended the same way—the middle-aged man was forced backward.
A closer look revealed that the man's hands were split open, blood flowing from his cracked palms. The impact of Mangu's blows was simply too overwhelming.
Now consider Robin's battlefield.
Her opponent was a man attacking relentlessly with fists and kicks.
He wielded the Eight-Impact Fist, his limbs hardened with Armament Haki.
Each time his strikes missed and landed against the ground or nearby walls, craters and large holes were blasted into existence. The ferocity of his power was undeniable.
In direct close combat, even with Kaito's training, Robin would struggle to compete with such raw force.
But battle is not limited to close quarters.
Robin was intelligent.
She would never foolishly confront her opponent's strengths with her own weaknesses.
Instead, she maintained distance.
Crossing her arms, she repeatedly activated her Flower-Flower Fruit ability.
The Flower-Flower Fruit was an ability exceptionally suited for combat.
Multiple arms could be layered together to create immense striking power.
And arms could bloom directly from an opponent's body—nearly impossible to guard against.
That was precisely the dynamic unfolding in her battle.
Her opponent appeared fierce and aggressive, but in truth, he was completely suppressed.
From time to time, arms sprouted from beneath his feet, restraining his movements and preventing him from closing the distance.
Meanwhile, Robin continuously formed massive overlapping arms, slamming powerful palm strikes into him.
Even when he hardened himself with Armament Haki, the repeated impacts left him battered and bloodied.
The battle was fierce.
And on every front—
The Sword Gang stood unshaken.
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