The audience stands exploded with noise.
"That's a divine weapon! A true divine weapon!"
"It's forged from Seastone!"
"That dagger—wasn't that the Three-A Nation diplomat's personal weapon? How did it end up in that kid's hand?"
"..."
With those words, everyone's expressions sank.
One after another, countless eyes snapped toward the section where overseas ability-users sat. There, the Three-A Nation diplomat—Chamar—was watching the arena below with an icy face and a cruel grin curling at his lips.
"Despicable!"
"Shameless!"
"..."
No one present was a fool.
A single glance was enough for them to understand exactly what had happened.
A divine weapon forged from Seastone and rare spirit-iron was naturally the mortal enemy of Devil Fruit–type ability users.
Once struck, a Devil Fruit user's powers would be suppressed, their abilities disrupted, and their overall strength drastically reduced.
To those who did not rely heavily on their fruit abilities, a divine weapon was simply a sharper, tougher blade.
But—
To those who depended on their fruit powers…
A divine weapon was a nightmare.
On the arena—
"Kid from Kyushu, to die under a divine weapon is an honor you should be grateful for."
The lightning-fruit user sneered, eyes full of malice as he watched blood flow down Zhao Xuan's fist.
Swish!
Before his words even faded, he lunged again—divine dagger flashing, lightning crackling across his entire body.
In a flash, he was already in front of Zhao Xuan.
The dagger thrust forward like a viper—
"Shhhhk!"
A cold, murderous whistle cut through the air.
Zhao Xuan's expression showed no fear.
No panic.
No anxiety.
No confusion.
Only:
Battle intent.
And regret.
Regret—because only now did Zhao Xuan suddenly awaken to a truth:
He had relied on his Azure Dragon Fruit far too much.
No matter the opponent, his first instinct was always:
Use the fruit ability.
But over-relying on fruit powers was a fatal flaw.
This world had dozens—hundreds—of nations.
And countless experts beyond the seventh rank.
Yet almost none of the true powerhouses depended entirely on their fruit abilities.
Only a few odd, extreme cases walked that dangerous path.
Decades ago, before Seastone was discovered across the Endless Sea, fruit-users did rely heavily on their abilities. The stronger the fruit, the more overconfident the user.
But everything changed after Seastone was unearthed.
As more and more over-reliant fruit users fell—
As more and more powerful abilities were neutralized—
As the doomsday cult World-End Sect, armed with Seastone weapons, assassinated three ninth-rank emperors of the Ao Nation in a single night, reducing a once first-class empire to a third-rate state—
The entire world woke up.
Those three assassinated emperors…
Every one of them was a fruit user overly dependent on their abilities.
Since then—
Fruit users across the world had all grown cautious.
Had all strengthened their physical combat.
Had all learned not to rely on their fruit alone.
Seastone was too rare.
Too dangerous.
Too universally banned.
And only high-ranked elites were qualified to wield Seastone weapons at all.
Not even most seventh-rank experts could obtain one.
Only the peak among them could.
Back to the arena—
As the lightning-fruit user lunged at him, Zhao Xuan suddenly laughed.
A bright, wild, strangely relieved laugh.
Then—
He willingly exited his Dragon-Man Form.
With a flicker, he rushed toward the lightning-user head-on.
Even without the Azure Dragon Fruit, Zhao Xuan's physical constitution was 2400 points—
A level on par with weaker sixth-rank Grandmasters.
Even without his fruit, he could still fight them.
But until now… his first reaction was always to transform.
Always to crush with overwhelming advantage.
And because he always won too quickly, too violently, too one-sidedly—
He rarely gained any technique.
Rarely gained any experience.
Rarely gained any mastery.
"Good thing…"
Zhao Xuan grinned wildly, eyes blazing.
"I realized it now."
"If not for you, I might not have awakened unless I was already facing death."
The two collided instantly.
Without the fruit's boost, Zhao Xuan no longer dared to clash head-on with the divine dagger.
When the blade slashed down—
Paper Drawing!
Zhao Xuan loosened every muscle in his body in an instant.
His whole figure thinned like a sheet of paper—
Gliding around the attack, guided by the airflow changes and his Observation Haki.
But just as he dodged—
Bang!
A vicious kick smashed into his midsection and sent him flying.
The timing was perfect.
If Zhao Xuan's combat experience were deeper, he could have avoided it—
But his experience was still too raw.
He fought like a brute.
Overwhelming power.
Overwhelming fruit.
Overwhelming force.
Not finesse.
Not technique.
Because of that—
He was kicked away immediately.
But the moment he hit the ground—
Zhao Xuan sprang up.
"AGAIN!!! AGAIN!!! AGAIN!!!"
Bloodied.
Torn.
Covered in dozens of wounds—
Yet his face was full of fire, excitement, madness.
Anyone watching would think he had a death-wish fetish.
He roared and charged again—
"Humph."
The lightning-user smirked in disdain.
"Without your fruit ability, what are you going to fight me with?"
He raised a hand—
CRACK—BOOOOM!!
A massive pillar of violet lightning fell like divine judgment.
Zhao Xuan dodged—
But the lightning bent mid-air like it had a will.
It chased him.
He gritted his teeth—
Armament Haki + Iron Body!
His whole body hardened—
But just as the lightning neared—
Observation Haki screamed a warning!
A deadly chill ran down his spine.
Zhao Xuan instantly canceled Iron Body and used Paper Drawing again—
Throwing himself sideways just in time—
A blurred shadow burst out from within the lightning pillar.
The divine dagger sliced past Zhao Xuan's face—
so close he felt the cold edge brush the skin—
And the trailing lightning struck his chest, leaving a finger-thick charred wound.
He stumbled—
But before he could regain his footing—
The lightning-user attacked again.
The battle devolved into a brutal melee.
Zhao Xuan was forced backward repeatedly.
Wounds opened across his body—
Cuts from the dagger, burns from lightning—
A hundred wounds, if not more.
Kyushu's audience grew pale.
"This is bad!"
"That kid's experience is too shallow!"
"Without fruit ability, he should still overpower him—
but he doesn't know how to fight without it!"
"He's been relying on his fruit far too much!"
Across the arena, overseas delegates smiled—
Especially Chamar, whose grin stretched ear to ear.
He could already see Zhao Xuan's death.
Time passed.
50 exchanges.
100.
150.
200…
10 minutes…
20 minutes…
30 minutes…
An hour passed.
The two fought like wild beasts locked in a cage.
Zhao Xuan's body was a bloody ruin, covered in scars—
But his breathing only began to quicken slightly.
His physique regenerated energy insanely fast.
Meanwhile—
The lightning-user's breath grew ragged.
His movements slowed.
Sweat drenched his body.
Even though he barely had a scratch—
He was clearly near his limit.
Zhao Xuan, covered in wounds, still charged with blazing eyes:
"Hahahahahahahaha!!! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!!"
"What the hell—what is he!?"
the lightning-user trembled.
"What kind of monster fights like this?!"
Before he could react—
Zhao Xuan was on him again.
The battle reignited.
Hours passed.
And something changed.
At first, Zhao Xuan was purely defensive.
But gradually—
He started landing blows.
Then more.
Then more.
The lightning-user's body accumulated wounds.
He started being knocked back again and again.
Zhao Xuan's movements sharpened—
His techniques smoother—
His instincts honed—
He was learning.
Growing.
Awakening in real-time.
Finally—
"AAHHH!!"
As the lightning-user's dagger thrust down—
Zhao Xuan ducked beneath it—
Slipped beneath the incoming Rankyaku sweep—
Then struck.
He grabbed the lightning-user's dagger-hand.
Then:
One punch.
Two punches.
Three punches.
Four punches.
Five punches—
All to the same spot on the forearm—
"CRACKKK!!!"
The bone snapped loudly.
"ARRRGHHH!!"
The lightning-user screamed as the divine dagger flew from his grasp.
Zhao Xuan caught it effortlessly—
And tossed it into his relic space.
Before the crowd could even process it—
"ROOOOAAAR!!!"
Zhao Xuan unleashed his Dragon-Man Form—
And—
BOOM!!!
A thunderous punch smashed into the lightning-user's chest.
"PUHH!!"
Blood sprayed into the air—
Bones shattered—
And the lightning-user was sent flying, crashing dozens of meters away.
He twitched—
His breath weakened rapidly—
And finally—
It stopped.
The lightning-user was dead.
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