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"Beep—Beep—"
"What!?"
"What is that monster?"
"Enemy attack! All units, go to full alert!"
The sharp sound of alarms echoed across the sea as numerous heavily armed Navy personnel stood ready aboard their ships. But as they watched the rapid, slicing wind blades approaching, they turned pale with fear.
"Damn it, that brat...!"
With a stomp, Steelbone Kong's body began to expand, his muscles swelling visibly. In mere moments, he transformed into a five-to-six-meter-tall human-beast hybrid, covered in thick silver fur, his face now resembling a gorilla. The transformation made him even more menacing. Using *Moonwalk*, he shot into the air, launching himself toward the oncoming attack. "Trying to intimidate me, huh?"
"Tempest Kick: Wild Slash!"
His body crackled with lightning as his thick legs became a blur, repeatedly kicking out at high speed.
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
In an instant, dozens of pale green slashes flew through the air, colliding with the incoming wind blades.
"Boom, boom..."
Explosions rocked the air as a violent storm of wind erupted, but Kong managed to block all of El's wind blades.
"You're getting a bit too cocky, kid!" Steelbone Kong's powerful figure landed back on the deck of the battleship, his presence overwhelming as the ship groaned under his weight. His eyes locked onto the massive winged serpent hovering in the distant sky. "You think staying far away means I can't get to you?"
Before he finished speaking, Kong opened his mouth wide, revealing sharp fangs, and roared: "Thunder Roar Cannon—"
"Crackle... crackle..."
An enormous bolt of lightning gathered in his mouth, flashing with terrifying intensity. The thunderous beam shot out with overwhelming force.
"Heat Breath!"
At the same moment, the massive Quetzalcoatl in the sky opened its jaws, not backing down. "Fwoosh..." A ball of scorching fire rapidly gathered in its mouth, the extreme heat distorting the air around it. The fiery beam surged forward to meet the lightning head-on.
"Boom, boom..."
Lightning and fire collided in a brilliant explosion of light, nearly blinding in its intensity. The sheer force created waves of wind and water that buffeted the Navy ships, causing them to rock violently.
"That monster... it's so powerful..."
"Is he really just a kid under ten?"
"Gulp! Even Vice Admiral Kong's attack was blocked!"
The Navy sailors were shocked, unable to believe what they were witnessing. They had seen Steelbone Kong's overwhelming strength firsthand—how a single *Thunder Roar Cannon* could obliterate pirate ships from afar. But now, this young Lunarian survivor had effortlessly countered it.
"El's attack was stopped!"
"Is Steelbone Kong an ability user too?"
Aboard the *Demon King Lucifer*, which was speeding away from the battle under the push of Umibozu, Linlin, Gerd, Hajrudin, and Streusen were in awe, watching the brief but intense exchange between El and Kong. The sight made their skin crawl.
"Yes, according to rumors, Steelbone Kong is a user of the Mythical Zoan: King Kong Ape form," Streusen explained, using a large telescope to observe the situation. "They say he's incredibly strong, with an unbreakable body and extraordinary defense. It looks like the rumors are true—he's definitely a Mythical Zoan user!"
"King Kong Ape?"
"Eh? A Mythical Zoan?"
"Just like El and Linlin?"
The three of them were dumbfounded. Wasn't the Mythical Zoan fruit supposed to be rarer than the Logia type? How had they encountered yet another Zoan user so soon after leaving Elbaf? After all, they hadn't even met a Logia user yet!
"Flames, storms, lightning... that's quite a versatile set of abilities," Steelbone Kong muttered as he stood on the deck of his battleship, his face stern. He glared at the giant serpent in the sky, knowing full well that this was no ordinary opponent. His King Kong Ape form granted him incredible physical power and the ability to control lightning, but it seemed this Lunarian could control even more elements.
"Whoosh... boom..."
Unbeknownst to the sailors, the sky had darkened with thick, black clouds, and soon, rain began to pour heavily. The once-clear skies had turned into a raging storm.
"Another Mythical Zoan user, huh?" The massive Quetzalcoatl flapped its wings and shot up into the storm clouds. "It looks like you can control lightning too... then how about you block this?"
"Heavenly Thunder!!"
El's voice echoed across the sky. The dark clouds above crackled with blinding lightning. "Crackle—crackle—" One after another, terrifying bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, striking the Navy fleet below with blinding speed.
Steelbone Kong, along with the rest of the Navy, was horrified by the storm of lightning raining down upon them.
"You brat, how dare you!!" Kong roared in fury, his entire body now wrapped in electric energy as he launched himself into the sky, attempting to intercept the lightning strikes.
"Crackle... crackle..."
All around him, bolts of lightning converged, attracted by his body like a lightning rod. The flashing electricity engulfed him, but Kong, with his formidable control over lightning and his King Kong Ape's unbreakable body, withstood the strikes with ease.
For Kong, the bolts were little more than a minor irritation.
"Boom... boom..."
However, the Navy fleet was spread over a vast area, and even though Kong could redirect some of the lightning, he couldn't stop it all. He could only watch helplessly as bolt after bolt struck the ships.
"Ahhh!!!"
Sailors screamed in agony as they were electrocuted. Even those who weren't hit directly were paralyzed as the lightning spread through the rain-soaked decks. Some ships had their masts blown apart, while others were hit in their ammunition stores, causing massive explosions and setting the ships ablaze.
Meanwhile, lightning continued to rain down from the heavens, turning the battle into an unrelenting nightmare for the Navy.