Iron Body’s Defense

"Ugh! Captain Shiki!"

"Help! Help me!"

"Am I going to die? Damn it…"

Chaos erupted on the floating pirate ship.

Being too close to the battlefield of the two powerhouses, this pirate ship bore the brunt of the battle's aftershocks, its hull almost shattering.

The pirates on board ran around in panic, shouting, but couldn't hear each other, as if they had entered a silent space.

If Kenji hadn't deliberately chosen a more distant impact point for his Titan Impact, the pirate ship beneath his feet would have long since been torn to shreds and swept into the storm.

Even with his 'economical' use of the pirate ship, the hull was barely holding up. It was, after all, just an ordinary pirate ship, incomparable to his warship.

"Are there any other suitable pirate ships?" Kenji scanned his surroundings, intending to switch to another floating pirate ship as a foothold.

However, just then, from the distant energy blast, a figure broke through the light curtain and attacked at high speed.

Kenji was not surprised, only frowning slightly before raising both hands to meet the attack.

At this moment, both his arms were covered in the strongest Armament Haki, gleaming with a dark, lustrous sheen, appearing full of power.

In the air opposite, Shiki held his swords, their blades shimmering with Conqueror's Haki.

In the blink of an eye, the twin swords arrived, their blades, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, crossed and slashed down.

There was no specific technique, just seemingly ordinary twin sword slashes, but with Conqueror's Haki Enhancement.

Kenji showed no contempt, launching both fists to meet the Conqueror's Haki slash.

Buzz~ Boom!!

The next moment, his fists collided with the twin swords, yet there was no actual contact.

Two sword edges, shimmering with Conqueror's Haki, unleashed an invisible Haki that fiercely countered his powerful fists.

"Gurararara!" Shiki stared intently at Kenji, his smile growing more unrestrained.

"This level of strength can't stop my attack!"

Before he finished speaking, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

Shiki's twin swords continued to press forward, and a few seconds later, the sword edges, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, directly struck Kenji's fists.

Clang!!

The enormous clang of metal echoed far and wide.

Kenji's Armament Haki-enhanced fists actually withstood the sword edges enhanced with Conqueror's Haki.

However, Shiki showed no surprise or annoyance. Instead, he revealed a triumphant smile, as if his scheme had succeeded.

"To dare to face me head-on, I don't know whether to call you bold… or foolish?!" Amidst his sneering, a bloodthirsty glint suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Do you think this can stop the power of 'Conqueror's Haki Enhancement'?"

Shiki exerted force with both hands, swinging his swords, and the crossed blades slashed down, leaving a cross-shaped slash mark.

Kenji's fists remained at the forefront, but an invisible force bypassed his fists, reaching his chest and even his internal organs.

Conqueror's Haki Enhancement! The power of long-range damage!

At this moment, Kenji recalled the scene of Kozuki Oden's first encounter with Divine Departure.

Even a master of Armament Haki, defending with all his might, couldn't withstand it. He would be broken through from a distance, rendering the Armament Haki-enhanced weapon defense ineffective.

"Gurararara! This is the end, old man!"

Opposite him, after launching his Conqueror's Haki slash, Shiki stopped 'finishing him off,' seemingly very confident in his recent move.

With a triumphant and expectant expression, he closely watched Kenji's changes, wanting to witness his successful revenge, more than two decades in the making, with his own eyes.

Then, he realized that the scene he had envisioned did not occur.

The slash released from a distance did not cut through Kenji's skin, and as for being cut in half by the slash from a distance, that naturally did not happen either.

In fact, Kenji didn't even cough up a drop of blood. He seemed to have no internal injuries.

"Phew! Impressive power, truly worthy of 'Conqueror's Haki Enhancement'!" Kenji exhaled lightly.

The slash enhanced with Conqueror's Haki completely stopped.

He had, of course, been struck by Shiki's long-range slash. But under the effect of his [Iron Body], even the penetrating attack wave that bypassed his defense and entered his body was still resisted by his body's powerful defense.

At this moment, Kenji finally confirmed that the defense of [Iron Body] far exceeded expectations, with even the internal parts of his body being similarly enhanced.

Previously, Kenji had only roughly tested his surface defense and hadn't found its limit. After all, he wasn't crazy enough to risk severe injury to test the limits of his defense.

"Indeed, combat is the best training." Kenji clenched his fists, feeling himself in the best state he had ever been in.

"Only through full-force combat can one unleash the body's ultimate state."

Through previous battles, Kenji became increasingly proficient in using the various traits he possessed, or rather, his proficiency increased.

At this moment, looking at Shiki's incredulous expression, Kenji raised his hand and patted his chest, then straightened up and said, "See? Iron Body, kid!"

"…Hmph!" Shiki bit down on his cigar, narrowed his eyes, and charged forward with his swords again.

However, this time, Kenji moved first, stomping his feet with force, shattering the deck beneath him.

Using the immense recoil, he launched himself forward at high speed, unleashing his strongest Armament Haki-enhanced right fist, causing a sonic boom as it tore through the air.

"Titan Impact!"

A terrifying energy wave erupted from Kenji's fist, and a beam of destructive energy shot towards Shiki like a laser.

Opposite him, Shiki had already unleashed his Float-Float Fruit ability, creating a tornado connecting the sky and the sea.

A colossal tornado rapidly formed. At this moment, Shiki swung his swords again, unleashing continuous slashes.

Waves of slashes surged into the tornado, merging with the hurricane, enhancing it into a spinning, slash-infused tornado disaster.

The next moment, the energy beam of 'Titan Impact' plunged directly into the slash tornado.

Buzz~ Boom!!

The punch's energy wave violently erupted within the tornado, and a terrifying pressure wave instantly expanded, engulfing the entire battlefield.

The almost shattered pirate ship where Kenji had stood instantly disintegrated, its hull turning into dust and scattering.

As for the pirates on board, under the collision of Kenji's and Shiki's techniques, they had long been knocked unconscious by the Haki intimidation overflowing from the Conqueror's Haki.

One by one, they fell straight into the sea in their unconscious state.

Kenji's situation wasn't much better, the impact of the clash also affected him.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this before attacking, and at this moment, he simply used the force of the impact to propel himself backward.

His retreat path had been precisely predicted, allowing him to avoid all obstacles along the way.

Finally, when he stopped, his feet had already landed on a new floating pirate ship.

"That kid Shiki, he's quite normal when he's not acting crazy." Kenji had already used Observation Haki to perceive Shiki's current state.