'Clang… clang…'
'Boom… boom…'
'Whoosh… whoosh…'
On Island No. 1, now a complete wasteland, massive amounts of seawater continuously flooded in. The numerous, crisscrossing fissures had formed enormous rivers and trenches. The fierce, relentless battle had left the island—once formed from the roots of the world's largest Yarukiman Mangrove trees—riddled with scars and utterly devastated.
"Tch! So this is the power of the Fallen Angel, El?" Tsuru, known as the Navy's flower, was shocked by the terrifying clash between these powerful figures. Admiral Hark, representing the Navy's highest strength, was fully demonstrating his immense power.
As an awakened Zoan user of the ancient type, Hark's speed was terrifyingly fast. With his vast strength and rich battle experience, he had no intention of directly clashing head-on with the immensely powerful Fallen Angel, El. Instead, he fully utilized his speed advantage, constantly darting around, leaping, and shifting positions.
He moved too quickly for the naked eye to follow, and those without strong observation haki couldn't predict his movements. Hark constantly probed for El's weaknesses, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Each of his attacks was a lethal blow—fast and deadly.
'Swish!'
Suddenly, from amidst the ruins, a glint of light appeared as Hark's razor-sharp, scythe-like claws, capable of cutting through anything, violently slashed forward.
"There!" El's eyes narrowed, the hairs on his body standing on end. Without thinking, he swung his massive halberd, slashing fiercely toward his left rear. But in an instant, Hark, with his relentless speed, vanished just before the giant blade could connect, leaving El's strike to hit empty air.
'Tch!'
'Boom… boom…'
A tremendous explosion rang out as El's missed strike tore through the ground, slicing through countless trees and raising clouds of dust. The sheer force of the blow left the onlookers drenched in cold sweat.
'Swish… swish…'
However, Hark, moving like lightning and wrapped in black flame-like clouds, was entirely unaffected. His menacing figure shifted direction in an instant, speeding around behind El in a flash. His attack came faster than anyone could react.
'Tch!' Without hesitation, Hark's razor-sharp, haki-covered claws ruthlessly slashed at El, who had just finished swinging his weapon, momentarily leaving him vulnerable.
'Boom!!' The powerful strike sent El staggering back a few steps, the force of the blow causing the ground beneath him to crack. Yet, with his flaming hair blazing behind him, El remained completely unharmed.
'Swish!'
Before the battle-hardened El could retaliate, the cautious Hark vanished once again, moving at incredible speed, leaping and shifting positions like a leopard. He moved so quickly that it disrupted El's observation haki, preventing him from locking onto Hark's precise location. Hark was constantly hunting for the next opening, always striking and retreating in quick succession.
'Clang!!!'
Sparks flew as El managed to block another attack from the right. His massive, haki-covered blade clashed with Hark's scythe-like claws, both of them moving with deadly precision. But just as El prepared to counter, the experienced Admiral had already withdrawn, moving with incredible agility. Using both 'Soru' and 'Geppo', Hark continuously shifted positions, never giving El a chance to land a hit.
'Tch... tch…'
"This guy... can he really see into the future?"
"With a body so large, wielding such a cumbersome weapon, he can still barely keep up with the speed I've achieved in my awakened Zoan form," Hark thought as he moved with blinding speed across the ground and through the trees, each step accompanied by powerful gusts of wind. His sharp eyes, aided by his observation haki, remained locked onto El.
"His Armament Haki is just as formidable as mine! Combined with that monstrous strength... the only thing I have over him is speed!"
Hark had to admit, this Lunarian was already on par with him, a Navy Admiral, and much stronger than when he fought Kong. El's growth had been terrifyingly fast.
"Jumping around like a rat in a sewer!" El's eyes flashed with a red glow. His bulging muscles tightened as he lifted the halberd. His advanced observation haki, honed to near perfection through relentless training, locked onto Hark's movements.
El had no intention of using his devil fruit powers this early. He wanted to use Admiral Hark as a whetstone to sharpen his abilities, to fully test the results of his years of training.
"I've got you!" El's flames suddenly extinguished as he pretended to expose a weakness, all part of his plan to lure Hark into attacking. As soon as Hark appeared behind him, El turned with lightning speed, slashing with full force using his halberd. "Elbaf Spear!!!"
By sacrificing some of his defense, El unleashed his race's natural ability to boost his attack power. His strength and speed increased dramatically as he sent a massive, devastating strike hurtling toward Hark, who had just appeared behind him.
'Whoosh… whoosh…' The air itself seemed to collapse under the pressure as a gigantic energy blast, at least twenty to thirty meters in diameter, shot forward with unstoppable force.
'Boom!!!'
The earth groaned in protest as it was torn apart. Hark, caught mid-movement, barely managed to dodge the full brunt of the attack. Though he escaped in time, the sheer wind pressure sent him flying.
'Boom… boom…'
The shockwave from the strike tore through countless trees and continued toward Island No. 4. Nothing could stop it as it tore through anything in its path, leaving a trail of destruction all the way to Island No. 8 and even Island No. 13, before finally plunging into the ocean.
A Navy warship, just arriving near the coast of Sabaody Archipelago, found itself in the path of the devastating shockwave.
"No… that's—"
'Boom boom…'
The massive warship, nearly a hundred meters long, was obliterated, its remains scattered into the sea as the sailors' screams of terror were drowned by the crashing waves. The sea itself bore a massive scar, a trench carved into it by the force of the attack.
"This monster…"
Hark, having stabilized himself after being thrown back, felt cold sweat drip down his face as he witnessed the catastrophic power of El's attack. "So that's the Elbaf Spear? But according to what I've heard, its power shouldn't be this overwhelming…"
If he had been struck directly by that attack, even as an Admiral, Hark was certain he would have been severely injured.
"El's strength has grown immensely since his fight with Kong," Hark thought, his mind racing.
"This level of power…"
Tsuru, standing on Island No. 2, gasped as she stared at the endless trench before her. The sight made her scalp tingle. The Elbaf Spear that El had unleashed was on a completely different level from the one Linlin had used earlier. The difference in power was terrifying.
'Swish!'
El's flames did not reignite as he continued to prioritize attack power over defense. His black wings flapped powerfully, sending him soaring through the air, hammer in hand, as he pursued the now disheveled Admiral Hark. "What's the matter? Is this all the great guard dog of the World Government has to offer?"
"You said you wanted to take me down for your Celestial Dragon masters. Well, give me something to get excited about!"
'Boom!'
The air itself seemed to rip apart as El unleashed another massive strike.
"Don't get cocky, kid!" Hark snarled, shrouded in black flames as he violently kicked the air, sending out his own green 'Storm Leg' slash.
'Boom…'