Mafia Victor closed his eyes, carefully sensing the new power surging through his body.
There was no sense of unfamiliarity. Instead, the ability felt as natural as breathing—like a talent he had been born with. To Mafia Victor, the power felt like another arm attached to his body.
But before he could continue studying the abilities of the Devil Fruit, an unpleasant voice interrupted him.
"Hey, Victor! That Chain-Chain Fruit of yours is supposed to be amazing, right? Why don't you give us a little show?"
The speaker was "Three-Finger Fox" Dam, a tall dark-skinned man with sharp metal finger guards fitted over the index, middle, and ring fingers of his left hand. The idea of giving the Chain-Chain Fruit as Victor's reward had originally been his suggestion.
Dam believed his own strength was second only to Boss Pippin, so he deeply resented Mafia Victor for stealing the title of the gang's strongest fighter shortly after joining the organization. This time he was determined to humiliate Victor. Ideally, Victor would lose his temper and lash out—giving Dam the perfect excuse to teach the arrogant brat a lesson.
Mafia Victor opened his eyes and glanced coldly at "Three-Finger Fox" Dam before turning his gaze toward Boss Pippin.
Pippin sat lazily on the sofa, puffing on his cigar, making absolutely no attempt to stop Dam.
Clearly, he intended to watch the show.
A mocking smile appeared on Mafia Victor's face as he turned toward Dam.
"Mr. Dam wants to see a performance? Watching from the sidelines isn't nearly as fun as stepping on stage yourself. Why don't you join me?"
Boss Pippin raised an eyebrow while blowing smoke.
That brat's words carry a hidden meaning… interesting.
Fine. Let Dam teach him a little lesson and smooth out his arrogance.
Meanwhile, Dam wasn't angry at all. In fact, he was delighted. He had been waiting for Victor to take the bait.
He strode forward, cracking his shoulders and grinning viciously.
"Little Victor, go play outside. Uncle Dam will make sure you—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a fist suddenly appeared in front of his face.
Dam barely had time to raise his arm to block before he felt as though a charging rhinoceros had slammed straight into him. An unimaginable force surged through his arm.
The next moment—
The bar's stone wall exploded apart.
Dam was blasted into the air along with chunks of stone and splintered wood.
Dizzy and disoriented mid-air, his arms completely numb, he had no time to react before a powerful pulling force yanked violently at his chest, dragging him back toward the ground.
Immediately afterward—
A second heavy punch smashed into his head.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A series of dull bone-shattering sounds echoed out.
Dam's body swayed before collapsing directly at Mafia Victor's feet. Blood rapidly spread beneath him.
Boss Pippin's expression darkened.
The other subordinates might not have noticed—but he had.
When Dam was launched into the air, a long zipper had appeared across his chest.
And the other end of that zipper was in Mafia Victor's hand.
Dam had been treated like a yo-yo in a child's hand—played with effortlessly until he died.
Hmph…
Alright, Victor. I admit I underestimated you.
But the Chain-Chain Fruit's usefulness ends there. When it comes to raw strength, I'm far stronger than you!
Boss Pippin kicked the luxurious round table in front of him.
The table flew toward Mafia Victor.
Victor lightly leapt aside to dodge it and landed smoothly on the street outside the bar.
In the distance, onlookers felt the ground trembling beneath their feet. Inside the smoke-filled bar, a massive shadow began expanding.
Heavy footsteps echoed louder and louder.
Then a gigantic beast—five meters tall—emerged through the shattered wall.
It was a monstrous creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull.
Pippin's usual black jacket and jeans had stretched to their limits. The exposed parts of his body were covered in short purple bristles like steel needles. Two sharp black horns curved toward the sky.
Most terrifying of all were his blood-red eyes.
"War Bull" Talma Pippin — Zoan-type Ox-Ox Fruit, Buffalo Model!
"Victor!" the towering minotaur roared, snorting clouds of white steam from his nostrils.
"You really think you can defeat me?"
"Out of respect for your past loyalty, I'll give you one chance."
"Kneel and repent."
"Otherwise… die!"
Facing the monstrous figure three times his size, Mafia Victor's expression turned cold.
"Then I'll answer you directly, Talma Pippin."
"Starting today… the leader of Coral will change."
"Victor!!"
Pippin roared in fury, lowering his head as his enormous horns aimed straight at Victor.
He charged forward.
"War Bull – Charge!!"
The ground shook like an earthquake as the gigantic minotaur rushed toward Mafia Victor with overwhelming momentum, ready to crush him into pulp.
"Holding a treasure without recognizing it… your understanding of Devil Fruits is far too shallow, Pippin!"
Just before the charge struck, Mafia Victor's body slid sideways several meters as though pulled by invisible puppet strings, effortlessly dodging the attack.
Watching from the crowd, Colonel Crone, dressed in civilian clothing, narrowed his eyes.
He noticed tiny sparks flashing beneath Mafia Victor's feet when he moved.
This kid… is he using Pippin as a practice dummy for his Devil Fruit abilities?
Talma Pippin had no bounty, but Marine analysts believed that if he became a pirate, his strength alone would earn him a bounty of at least 40 million Berries.
And yet Victor was treating him like a training partner.
Isn't he afraid of messing things up?
What a reckless kid…
Pippin smashed through two houses before finally stopping his momentum.
Just as he turned to locate Mafia Victor, a strong gust of wind came from his left.
He raised his arm instantly.
The heavy punch was blocked easily, only causing him to stagger slightly.
Before he could counterattack, Mafia Victor had already slid backward more than ten meters using the same strange sideways movement.
"Victor, you brat! All you do is float around like a ghost!"
"Oh?" Mafia Victor replied calmly.
"It seems Mr. Pippin doesn't like this move."
"I call it Metal Zipper – Spark Pilgrimage. Quite fitting, don't you think?"
As he spoke, Mafia Victor effortlessly dodged several more heavy punches.
Once again, tiny sparks flickered beneath his feet.
Only then did Pippin notice something.
Two golden zippers appeared—one on Victor's shoes and another on the ground beneath him.
The zipper pulls locked together, and the ground zipper automatically opened and closed.
Using the zipper's motion, Victor could propel himself sideways at incredible speed, gliding around like a ghost while evading attacks.
Pippin was a veteran of countless battles with an extremely sharp combat instinct.
In an instant, he devised a countermeasure.
He raised his massive hoof and slammed it down onto the ground.
BOOM!
The earth cracked apart.
Stone pavement shattered and flew into the air.
Mafia Victor stumbled slightly, losing his balance as the zipper beneath his feet disappeared.
Heh… just as I thought.
No matter how talented he is, he only ate the fruit three minutes ago.
How could he possibly balance the Devil Fruit's power with his body so quickly?
Seizing the opportunity, Pippin twisted his entire body and threw a devastating right punch at Mafia Victor.
"War Bull – Million-Impact Hammer!!"