At that moment, on the pletely devastated and ruined Isnd No. 1 of the Sabaody Archipego:

  'Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!'

  Sparks flew as massive, cw-like sshes tore through the air, hurtling toward the ground. But El deftly dodged them, and the attacks crashed behind him.

  'Boom, boom...'

  In the blink of ahe fearsome figure of Iron Cw Hark, wreathed in bck fmes, snarling and full of malice, fshed forward like lightning.

  'g!' Within moments, he appeared behind El again, striking him with a high-level Armament Haki-infused cw, hitting him squarely before El could fully dodge. However, the cw felt as though it had struck a steel balloon, uo tear through El’s tough skin.

  "What?!"

  Hark’s eyes widened in disbelief. Despite knowing that El had fone defense by extinguishing the fmes on the back of his head to stay in his stro offeate, Hark was still shocked by El’s imperable defense. He had expected some resistance, but not this level of invulnerability.

  "Roar!!"

  Though El wasn’t cut or bleeding, the immense force behind the attack still caused his blood te. He was forced back, his t figure stumbling as the ground cracked beh him. His shoulder throbbed with sharp paihe attack had nded.

  'Hummm—'

  Almost simultaneously, El's cold gaze sharpened. He swung his massive halberd, bringing it down with devastating force.

  "Fsh Strike!"

  Sensing the danger, Hark’s instincts fred. Without hesitatioepped back, vanishing into a blur to avoid the ining blow. The attack missed its mark, but the air cracked uhe force of the bde.

  "You dodged quickly!"

  But in the moment, El, not yet fully turned, narrowed his eyes with cold iy. Even with the fmes on his head extinguished, El’s reflexes remained astonishing.

  'Heh, heh, heh—'

  Suddenly, his rge bck wings sshed outward at an impossible angle. "Dual Ssh: Breaking Damn!!"

  'Whoosh—whoosh—' With a sudden gust, two massive sshes, terrifying in both size and power, cut through the atmosphere, charging directly at the retreating Hark.

  Hark’s face twisted in arm. He dodged just in time, barely esg the deadly assault.

  'Boom… boom…'

  The earth split as the sshes struck, leaving deep, bottomless gashes in the ground. Even watg the aftermath was enough to make anyone break out in a cold sweat.

  "Shave!"

  Without giving Hark a ce to recover, El’s powerful figure shot forward in a blur.

  'Whoosh—' The sound of the wind screamed as the massive halberd swung again, swift and deadly.

  'g!!!'

  Hark crossed his Haki-infused cws, managing to block the crushing blow, but the sheer force sent him flying backward. His feet dug into the earth as he struggled tain bance.

  "Is that your limit?" El’s t figure loomed over Hark, hefting the halberd. Gng at the cw marks on his shoulder, darkened but not bleeding, El’s expression remained calm as he spoke.

  "Your speed is endable, and your strength is impressive…"

  "But even without my Devil Fruit abilities, and with my defense disabled, you, a Navy Admiral, ot kill me."

  With the fmes on the back of his head extinguished, El had sacrificed some of his natural defense for increased attack power and speed. While it was true that if Hark hit a vital point, El could be seriously injured, Hark simply didn’t have the strength to fully pierce his natural defenses. And El wasn’t about to stand still and take hits.

  At this point, Hark hadn’t proven himself capable of inflig any serious harm.

  "A truly unstoppable monster…"

  Hark’s face was tense, his cws still trembling from the impact. His eyes remained fixed on El, who stood before him, radiating an overwhelming sense of power. The thought running through Hark’s mind was one of disbelief: ‘Is this guy really only seventeen?’

  Such a massive body, wielding such a heavy on with such ease. No matter how fast or from what angle Hark attacked, El was always able to predid block his moves with seemingly effortless precision. And wheruck back, his attacks were both powerful aless, f Hark into stareat.

  Hark had even mao nd several solid hits on El, his razor-sharp cws slig through the air with deadly i. Yet they had merely bounced off El's hardened skin, produg nothing more than sparks.

  Steel Bone Kong had warned Hark about El's nigh-invulnerability, telling him that El could shrug off most attacks without taking damage. At first, Hark thought this was due to El’s Lunarian defensive ability when his fmes were lit. But now, even without those fmes, El’s defenses were still formidable, making it impossible for Hark to nd a signifit blow.

  ‘What kind of monster is this?’

  "Still not using your Devil Fruit abilities?" Hark spoke through gritted teeth, gring at El with a grim expression. "Hant of you. I am still a Navy Admiral, after all!"

  "If you don’t use your fruit powers, you won’t even be able to touch my shadow!"

  Despite his bold words, Hark was fully aware that El hadn’t used any of his Devil Fruit abilities or even his Lunarian power to trol fire. El was merely fighting with raw strength and swordsmanship—and still pushing Hark to his limits. The thought of how much stronger El could get was truly frightening.

  "Heh… we’ll see how much you push me," El responded coldly with a smirk. He tossed aside the halberd and ched his fists, ready to fight. "Life Return: Paper Drawing Martial Body!"

  Hark’s eyes widened in shock as El’s massive body began to shrink before his eyes, his muscles rippling as they pressed. Even the bck wings on El’s back quivered in unison.

  'Whoosh—'

  In a fsh, El’s t er frame deo just five meters tall—still rger than Hark but much more pact.

  "You’ve mastered Life Return…" Hark muttered in disbelief as he stared at the transformed El. Now closer in size, El's presence felt even more overwhelming.

  "You’re surprised?" El sneered. His mog gaze locked onto Hark. "You said I wouldn’t even touch your shadow, didn’t you?"

  "Did you sacrifice your strength for speed?" Hark tightened his staill fident in his own speed. "Even so, it’s just Life Return."

  As a fully awakened A Zoan user, Hark’s speed and power were vastly enhanced beyond what normal Devil Fruit users could achieve. He believed that even El couldn’t catch up to him just by using Life Return.

  "That’s what you think!"

  The fmes on the back of El’s head were pletely extinguished, signaling his entry into his stro offensive mode. Unafraid of injury, El abandoned defeirely, fog everything on attack. His speed and strength surged, far exceeding what he had shown earlier.

  'Crackle… crackle…'

  His right hand ignited with bright fmes, dist the air with heat as he finally began using his Lunarian fire abilities.

  'Whoosh—' In an instant, the grouh El shattered as he vanished, moving with terrifying speed.

  "What!?"

  Before Hark could react, his Observation Haki screamed a warning, and his instincts kicked in. He dodged just in time as El’s bzing figure appeared before him, his fme-wreathed arm crashing down.

  "Too fast…"

  The seari and overwhelming pressure of the ining blow forced Hark to cross his Haki-covered arms in defense.

  'Boom!!!'

  The impact was devastating. Hark’s face twisted in pain as the sheer force of the punch reverberated through his body. His arms burned from the intense heat, and he was sent flying like a onball.

  'Whoosh!' He crashed into the ground, skidding across the terrain. His expression was one of disbelief. ‘What is this monster?!’

  El’s speed had increased to such a terrifying degree that Hark couldn’t prehend it, and the strength behind the attack was equally monstrous.

  "Fallen Angel, El—"

  'Boom… boom…'

  Bleam