When Yamato heard the shattering sound coming from her beloved kanabo [Takeru], her boisterous laughter paused briefly.
"Huh?"
'That's not right?'
Yamato shifted her gaze to the kanabo in her hand again. The Haki swirling around it was still as thick and despair-inducing as ever, showing no sign of being pierced.
But beneath the Haki's protection, Takeru was indeed damaged.
'Was it that special fist technique?'
Yamato quickly recalled the Hasshoken Sasuke had used earlier, then looked at the flames on his body.
'Or was it the work of these flames?'
It must be said, Yamato's combat intelligence was quite high. With just a glance, she grasped most of the principle behind Sasuke's attack.
In reality, it was quite close to her speculation.
As the two clashed, a figure wreathed in Calamity Flames gradually solidified from ethereal to real, appearing on Sasuke like a suit of genuine armor.
The destructive vibrational property of the Hasshoken and the matter-annihilating property of Calamity Flames seemed to be inherited by this armor.
When the illusory gauntlet collided with the kanabo, that peculiar energy completely ignored the Haki barrier, directly damaging the weapon beneath.
However, it offered no defensive effect against Yamato's Haki-infused attacks at all, practically allowing them all to strike Sasuke's true body directly.
One could say this armor, which Sasuke called [Hellfire Armor], was less a defensive measure and more a unique type of 'weapon'.
A special weapon that completely abandoned defense and maximized penetration.
"Godly Foot!"
Yamato suddenly kicked out, sending the somewhat unprepared Sasuke flying back.
Freezing air left a faint mark on Sasuke's abdomen, but it was soon completely covered by flames.
"Tsk… it's badly damaged. This will be hard to fix."
After creating distance, Yamato didn't take any further action. Instead, she stood still, looking sadly at her beloved kanabo.
During the clash earlier, it wasn't obvious. But now, after withdrawing her Haki, the deep cracks on the kanabo were truly shocking to Yamato.
Gently placing Takeru aside, Yamato began to move her fists and feet.
"You really have a lot of tricks."
"This shouldn't be power from a Devil Fruit, right?"
As she spoke, Yamato pointed behind Sasuke.
Now, the previously somewhat ethereal armor had completely solidified.
Besides Sasuke's own arms, the armor extended an additional pair of arms from the shoulders and sides.
And on either side of his head, two different faces appeared.
Looking closely, the left face actually resembled Itachi's Susanoo.
The right face more closely resembled the Susanoo of Sasuke's father, Fugaku.
Adding the helmet slowly covering Sasuke's face, identical to the Susanoo he himself manifested.
At this moment, Sasuke stood in place like a three-headed, six-armed deity.
"Come, the fight isn't over yet."
He didn't answer Yamato.
After being covered by the faceplate, Sasuke's voice seemed somewhat muffled.
Behind the visor, the lotus-like patterns in his Mangekyo Sharingan had fully 'bloomed', looking like a pair of suns.
No one, including Naruto, had ever tried to see what chemical reaction would occur between the Sharingan and Conqueror's Haki.
—Well, perhaps his Kokugan and the Baku Baku no Mi's combination counted as another form of fusion.
The original Susanoo was massive, practically a wall of sighs on the battlefield.
A single strike could defeat hundreds, even thousands, of Ninjas.
It just happened to meet Hashirama, another player who could hand-craft Gundams… otherwise, Madara alone might have unified the Ninja World.
But this situation wasn't applicable in the One Piece World.
The strong here, without Devil Fruits, might not be as versatile as Ninja.
But without exception, they all possessed terrifying mobility and strength.
If the opponent was a giant creature, the humanoid Susanoo still had the advantage compared to their beast form.
But if the enemy was a relatively 'petite' powerhouse like Yamato or Naruto, then summoning Susanoo would just make it a target.
Size differences became insignificant after strength reached a certain level. On the contrary, an overly large body could easily disperse power and be broken through at a single point.
What appeared on Sasuke now could be considered another form of Susanoo's transformation.
—Though before Sasuke, no Uchiha Clan's member had ever thought to develop in this direction.
"Great! Then let's have a fun fight!"
A brilliant smile spread across Yamato's face as white freezing air gradually spread around her.
The next moment, two figures collided like meteors.
Boom!
The tremendous sound once again drew the attention of those in Dressrosa who still retained their senses.
"There was one earlier… one should be Yamato-sama, but who on earth is the other guy?"
Page One looked toward the distant palace, then asked his sister.
"Who knows? But to be able to fight Yamato-sama for this long… seems this place isn't without formidable people either."
Ulti also sighed.
Not far from them, Who's-Who had no mood to care about this.
Because he discovered that guy X Drake was missing.
'I knew it!'
'That guy definitely has problems!'
'Just you wait, I'll report you to Yamato-sama later!'
...
Back to the battlefield.
The fight between Sasuke and Yamato almost instantly turned white-hot.
At first, the two used various techniques to fight, but later they simply started swinging fists on instinct.
In just a few seconds, the two had exchanged hundreds of punches.
Around them, the already dilapidated castle ruins were now even worse off.
They could still dodge each other's fists with Observation Haki, but could the castle dodge? It couldn't!
A casual punch or kick could completely shatter stone pillars that would take several people to embrace. Before the two now, these hard stones were practically no different from soft mud.
Boom!
Finally, Sasuke's movements faltered, and Yamato landed a punch.
This Conqueror's Haki-infused fist was heavy and powerful. Even though he blocked in time, the force still cracked his arm bone.
But Sasuke wasn't just taking hits.
Since he couldn't dodge, he seized the chance to counterattack.
While Yamato threw one punch, Sasuke had already thrown three.
The Susanoo transformed into Hellfire Armor was connected to his mind and spirit. The extra arms felt as if they were naturally linked to Sasuke's nerves, without any sense of unfamiliarity.
Bang bang bang!
For the first time, Yamato was forced back by Sasuke in a direct fistfight.
"Not bad."
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, Yamato felt her internal organs crying out.
Sasuke's fists almost completely ignored Haki defense, so she could only rely on pure physical toughness to defend.
And even though she was born with divine strength and extraordinary talent, unless she accidentally picked up some 'cultivation manual', her internal organs were no different from ordinary creatures.
—Just more durable, at most.
"…"
Sasuke remained silent, quietly using Calamity Flames to repair his bones.
He didn't have much stamina left for talking.
Even after eating a Devil Fruit, Sasuke's physical stamina and endurance still couldn't compare to a 'monster' like Yamato.
Not to mention she had also eaten a Devil Fruit, and the enhancement to her body was no less than Sasuke's.
Now, a faint, stinging pain also started in Sasuke's head.
A consequence of excessive mental consumption.
Sasuke looked across, and found Yamato also appeared somewhat disheveled.
But careful observation would reveal Yamato's breathing still maintained a certain rhythm.
'In such a fight, the other side could likely keep going indefinitely.'
'I can't drag this on any longer. I need to decide the outcome in one move!'