After fully activating his Buccaneer Tribe bloodline, Gin's size reached nearly six meters tall. His burly physique and knotted muscles brimmed with wild power.
"Demon Tonfa: Chaotic Waves!!"
Gin stepped forward and charged. With a loud shout, he swung with both arms, his twin tonfas howling through the air as they unleashed a continuous barrage of strikes.
Pekoms's expression darkened. Seeing the immense power contained in his opponent's attack, he knew he couldn't resist it and immediately retracted his head and limbs into his turtle shell.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The solid black iron balls at the ends of the tonfas smashed down frantically, violently striking the hard turtle shell over and over again. The shell continuously bounced off the ground only to be smashed back down.
Inside the shell, Pekoms clenched his teeth. The vibrations generated by the collision between the hard turtle shell and the iron hammers almost made him pass out.
'This kid, how is his strength so exaggerated?'
While size was certainly linked to strength, the magnitude of his opponent's power increase seemed to have surpassed the effects brought about by merely growing larger.
'This strength is practically like a giant's.'
"Haaah!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gin's face twisted into a ferocious expression as he swung his tonfas so fast they left afterimages, the heavy hammers smashing down frantically.
In an instant, gusts of fierce wind surged outward with Gin at the center. As the ground trembled, a massive amount of crushed stone continuously splattered in all directions.
Inside the shell, Pekoms gritted his teeth, traces of blood seeping from his gums.
'If this keeps up, even though he can't break through the shell, the sheer vibrations will shake me to death.'
A sharp glint flashed in Pekoms's eyes. Spreading his Observation Haki, he captured the entire trajectory of Gin's upcoming attacks in his mind.
Having predicted his movements, Pekoms quickly extended his head and limbs from the shell. Pressing his lion paws firmly against the ground, he launched his body upward in a handstand.
Gin's eyes darkened as he swiftly changed his technique. Spreading his arms, he gripped the two iron tonfas and swung them inward in a pincer attack!
Pekoms flipped in mid-air, rapidly coating his lion paws in Armament Haki. He slapped the iron balls, using the momentum to propel himself backward.
Clang!!
The two iron balls crashed together, emitting a crisp, deafening metallic ring.
Pekoms landed back on the ground, nimbly executing a few backflips to completely disperse the force. Then, bending his legs into a half-crouch, he pushed off with a powerful leap and charged forward!
"Hah!!"
Arriving at Gin's feet, Pekoms quickly jumped up, delivering a powerful, Armament Haki-infused palm strike from below straight into Gin's chin!
As a lion Mink, Pekoms's palm strikes were already packed with force, and with the enhancement of Armament Haki, the power was even more formidable.
Bang!!
"Pfft-gah!!"
Gin's head snapped back from the palm strike, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a pained expression.
However, with the enhancement of the Buccaneer Tribe bloodline, his current physical constitution was incredibly exaggerated. Gritting his teeth, he forcefully stopped his body from falling backward.
Gin glared furiously at Pekoms in the air, his long tonfa whistling through the wind as he seized the opportunity to sweep it horizontally!
Bang!!
Pekoms hastily crossed his arms in front of him to block, and the solid iron ball slammed heavily against his hands.
Even with Armament Haki reinforcing his defense, his arms still twisted under the terrifying force, his bones emitting a sharp cracking sound as they fractured.
"Haaah!!"
Gin's eyes turned savage. The muscles in his arms bulged as he let out a loud shout, suddenly exerting his strength to fling Pekoms away!
Whoosh—Boom!!
Pekoms streaked across the grand hall like a meteor, snapping a thick stone pillar before crashing violently into the corner of the wall!
Crushed stone splattered, and dust billowed into the air.
Pekoms's body was embedded upside down in the wall. Dazed and disoriented, his eyes spun with dizzying spirals, on the verge of passing out.
A dark shadow loomed over him.
"Sure enough, with my current strength, shattering diamond is still a bit too much of a stretch,"
Gin sighed. Twirling the twin tonfas in his hands, he stared at Pekoms wedged in the wall, a cold grin spreading across his bloodstained lips.
"But it's more than enough to beat a cowardly turtle."
Bang!!
Gin delivered one final strike to Pekoms, the iron ball smashing ruthlessly into his face. The force penetrated through, shattering the wall completely.
Pekoms flew out of Ryugu Palace, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a halt, his eyes rolled back as he completely lost consciousness.
"Beautifully done, Gin!"
"You've gotten so strong now, hahaha!"
With the battle concluded, the Nyaban Brothers jumped out, cheering excitedly.
Gin's body gradually shrank until it returned to its original size.
Looking down at his palms, he clenched his fists and chuckled softly.
"I'm still a bit unaccustomed to it. If I can fully master this power, I should be able to become even stronger."
The power of the Buccaneer Tribe truly suited him perfectly.
Compared to the Lunarian Tribe, although it lacked the ability to fly and generate flames, the enhancement to physical constitution was far more comprehensive.
Especially that terrifying strength, which rivaled that of a giant.
In his transformed state, his attack power and defense multiplied several times over, an exaggeration that surpassed the boosts provided by the vast majority of Zoan Devil Fruits.
According to Allen's deduction, the physical enhancement brought to Gin by the Lineage Factor modification was likely on par with a powerful Ancient Zoan Dragon-Dragon Fruit.
Following Killer eating the Prehistoric Mantis Fruit, Gin had now also received the Buccaneer Tribe's Lineage Factor modification.
Ironically, Sanji, who had the highest potential on the ship, might have now become the weakest among the officers—after all, he could absolutely never defeat a single woman.
Of course, this excluded the two fierce generals under Allen's command—the Nyaban Brothers.
Ever since entering the New World, Allen had essentially been raising the two of them as mascots.
The Nyaban Brothers didn't mind, however. They knew their potential was limited, a fact that had become evident during their training with Sanji and Gin.
They didn't have much ambition anyway; following Allen and eating and drinking well was better than anything else.
With things wrapped up on this side, everyone turned their attention to watch the battle between Sanji and Baron Tamago.
The fight between the two was incredibly intense. Gorgeous kicks of offense and defense continuously clashed together, and every collision erupted with a gust of astral wind mixed with flames.
Gradually, Baron Tamago's expression grew increasingly grim. Even though he didn't lose ground in any of their exchanges, he couldn't avoid the accumulating burn injuries.
The flames on his opponent's feet possessed incredibly powerful penetrating force, to the point where even Armament Haki couldn't completely defend against them. If this continued, his defeat was inevitable.
Bang!!
After yet another clash of kicks, the two separated and retreated backward. Baron Tamago fixed his gaze on Sanji and said with a solemn expression,
"You are neither an ability user, nor do you look like a cyborg. Just how are you withstanding these flames? Are you some kind of monster?"
"It's merely fire. My heart burns far brighter than this!"
Sanji shouted lowly with a smirk. Tapping his toes rapidly against the ground, he used "Shave" to move at high speed, vanishing from his spot.
Baron Tamago's gaze sharpened. Activating his Observation Haki, his pupils darted rapidly to capture Sanji's position.
The next second.
Sanji instantly flashed in front of Baron Tamago. He raised a long leg, every bone seemingly transforming into a flexible joint, making it act like a long whip.
"Diable Jambe: Sonic Skewer!!"
Sanji roared, unleashing his fully charged strike. His long leg, carrying explosive crimson flames, lashed out violently toward Baron Tamago's head!
Baron Tamago's eyes widened in shock. Although his Observation Haki had already captured the opponent's attack, the sheer speed and ferocity of this strike exceeded his expectations.
Seeing that it was too late to dodge, he hastily raised his wings to parry.
Bang!!
The heavy, powerful kick whipped down, and fierce flames erupted!
A wave of heat rushed over his face, and Baron Tamago's expression drastically changed. His wings fractured and twisted under the forceful blow, and in the next second, the surging high-temperature flames engulfed him!
Sanji gritted his teeth and exerted even more force, biting completely through the cigarette in his mouth and letting it drop as he kicked Baron Tamago flying!
Whoosh—Boom!!
Baron Tamago's body shot out like a cannonball, streaking across the hall before crashing violently above the throne.
He carried the heavy throne with him as he flew, piercing through the wall and smashing deep into the inner chambers of the grand hall.
...
Billowing dust and smoke permeated the air. Everyone kept their eyes fixed on the depths of the grand hall, from which no movement emerged for a long time.
Just as everyone thought the battle was over and prepared to cheer.
Sanji lowered his head, lit a cigarette, took a drag, and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke before saying,
"The fight isn't over yet. Don't celebrate too early, idiots. That isn't even that guy's final form."
...