Chapter 83: The Clash of Wind and Forest

**

Dragon slowly raised his hand, and a mini tornado emerged from his palm. Aramaki sneered as all ten of his fingers transformed into tentacle-like vines.

Seeing this, the newcomers on the field instinctively moved closer to Carl. As they got closer, they realized their seniors were already standing there.

There was something about Carl, Borsalino, Akainu, and the others that gave off an overwhelming sense of security.

With these powerhouses around, the students could relax and simply enjoy the show. After all, battles between Logia users were always a spectacle to behold.

Feeling at ease, the students began chatting among themselves.

"Hey, isn't that Dragon? I haven't seen him since school started."

"Yeah, he's been recovering from his injuries. Didn't you see how badly Carl beat him up that day?"

"It's his own fault for having such a big mouth. I was there when he joined the Navy. He came in acting like a know-it-all and started giving Carl orders like an idiot."

"Well, he is a Logia user and Vice Admiral Garp's son. That makes him different from us."

"Tch! What's so special about that? Carl is also a Logia-type! And he defeated three Logia users at once! He's worthy of being my idol!"

"Yeah! Just look at how calm Carl is. My god, I admire him so much!"

"Alright, wipe the drool off your face. Why are you, a grown man, fangirling like this?"

"...Shut up."

As the user of the Wind-Wind Fruit, Dragon's hearing was extremely sharp. The students' conversations carried through the air and reached his ears, making his expression darken.

Meanwhile, Aramaki had been carefully observing Carl's movements. After confirming that Carl had no intention of interfering, he casually picked his nose and flicked a black booger at Dragon. The booger passed through Dragon's body, landing on the ground at his feet.

Though it hadn't touched him, Dragon still recoiled in disgust.

"You're disgusting!" he snapped.

Without hesitation, he hurled the tornado in his hand toward Aramaki. However, Aramaki simply sprouted a dandelion behind him and let the wind carry him away.

Dragon was about to chase him when the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked open. A massive man-eating plant emerged, its gaping mouth lined with rows of blackened teeth.

Dragon's face twisted in shock.

"What?! Since when—"

**POOF!**

The Piranha Plant snapped shut, swallowing Dragon whole.

Aramaki, now floating in the air, burst into laughter.

"How's it taste, huh? You like eating boogers?"

As a Woods-Woods Fruit user, his so-called 'booger' had actually been a seed infused with Armament Haki.

"You bastard!!"

Dragon's furious voice echoed from inside the plant before a violent explosion sent leaves and vines flying in all directions. A hurricane erupted from the debris, and countless wind blades slashed through the air, instantly slicing Aramaki's body into several pieces.

But before the severed parts could even hit the ground, dense branches sprouted from them, quickly stitching Aramaki back together. Crossing his arms, he sneered.

"That trick won't work on me. Wind has no solid form, and with your level of Armament Haki, you can't coat something intangible like air."

Dragon's expression remained ice-cold.

"So what?"

Aramaki grinned. "Try this—**Forest Snake Strangling!**"

He spread his arms wide, transforming them into two massive tree trunks. A swarm of wooden thorns erupted from the branches, each tip gleaming with a hardened black luster.

The thorns shot toward Dragon from all directions, leaving him nowhere to run.

Dragon's eyes narrowed as the air around him condensed into a swirling, protective sphere.

**"Wind Barrier!"**

The moment the wooden thorns made contact, they were shredded into splinters. However, there were too many of them, and soon the barrier began flickering. With a sharp pop, it finally collapsed.

Fortunately, Aramaki's attack had also lost momentum. Seizing the opportunity, Dragon unleashed a spiraling hurricane, shredding the remaining thorns before charging straight at Aramaki.

Aramaki raised an eyebrow. Entering his tree-man form, he engaged Dragon in close combat.

Despite being a former CP agent with strong hand-to-hand skills, Aramaki found himself struggling. Dragon had trained directly under Garp, and as the battle dragged on, Aramaki's disadvantage became apparent.

At close range, Dragon could combine his Haki-enhanced physical strikes with wind-based cutting techniques.

In contrast, Aramaki's plant-based attacks were easily shredded by Dragon's wind unless infused with Armament Haki—which he couldn't maintain indefinitely.

Dragon soon found an opening, slamming a Haki-infused claw into Aramaki's chest and sending him crashing to the ground.

**BOOM!**

A massive crater formed upon impact. Dragon wasted no time, condensing a swirling sphere of air between his hands before hurling it into the pit.

**KABOOM!**

A devastating windstorm exploded underground, crushing everything in its path.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a tiny seed floated up from the rubble. As soon as it touched the ground, it sprouted into an enormous tangle of vines, rapidly reassembling into Aramaki's body.

He lay on the ground, panting heavily.

From a distance, Aokiji frowned. "Aramaki, stop! You'll get seriously hurt if you keep going!"

Aramaki scowled, ready to snap back, but when he turned and saw the genuine concern on Aokiji's face, he hesitated.

"Tch! Who asked for your help, idiot?" he muttered.

Still, as he looked up at Dragon, who was slowly descending from the sky, his expression hardened.

"I can't let an idiot like you look down on me!"

With a roar, he activated his **Giant Tree-Man Form**, summoning an entire forest as he charged toward Dragon.

Dragon, surrounded by a raging storm, met him head-on.

Their battle raged on. On the ground, Aramaki held the advantage, making it difficult for Dragon to maintain dominance.

Despite his worsening condition, Aramaki never stopped taunting Dragon. But Dragon simply ignored him. He was confident he would win, and the more Aramaki talked, the more humiliating his defeat would be.

After an exhausting exchange of blows, Aramaki finally reached his limit. His massive tree-man body collapsed.

Seeing this, Dragon smirked triumphantly and prepared his final move—a devastating **Dragon Claw Hook** to finish Aramaki off.

But just before he could land the strike, a dark vortex appeared beside him.

Before he could react, his wrist was tightly seized.

A calm, almost lazy voice spoke beside his ear.

"Alright, that's enough."

Dragon's eyes widened. **Carl had finally made his move.**

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**+70 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg**

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