The world spun!
Just a second ago, Hanks was standing on solid ground, but the next moment, he found himself flipped upside down, suspended in mid-air.
The street he was just standing on had turned into a massive rock pressing down on him from above.
The sudden shift made Hanks' heart tighten. Without a second thought, he immediately activated his Armament Haki, covering his vital areas for protection.
At the same time, out of pure instinct, his entire body began emitting a dazzling light, making him resemble a blinding sun.
"Beppo! Pamela! Captain Penn! Close your eyes! Be careful not to get your retinas burned by the light!"
Ror spun sharply, his body already lunging toward Hanks, who was now buried under the crushed ground.
But someone was even faster!
"Soru!"
Hibari's small figure exploded forward with incredible speed, leaping like a panther. In an instant, she was above the shattered crater, her right leg swinging out in an arc.
"Rankyaku!"
Whoosh!
The crescent-shaped slash cut through the ground and struck Hanks directly—but it failed to cause any damage.
"Damn brat! Do you really think you're a powerhouse?"
Covered in dust from Rorschach's attack, Hanks roared in fury.
With a flex of his arms, the massive boulders pinning him down shattered into countless fragments, sending debris flying in all directions.
"Boom!"
The crater exploded again as Hanks' towering figure burst from the ground, his fist cloaked in black Armament Haki.
He launched a punch straight at Hibari, who was too close to dodge.
"Solar Punch!"
Hanks bellowed, and his right fist erupted with brilliant light, like a rising sun.
The intense glow radiated scorching heat, causing flames to flicker along his fist.
The temperature of the street spiked instantly, and even the air seemed to warp under the heat.
Still keeping her eyes closed, Hibari danced lightly backward, retreating with precision.
Her face remained calm and composed—she had complete faith in her comrades.
"ROOM!"
In the blink of an eye, the surgical sphere flashed.
Just before Hanks' fist could land, the retreating Hibari suddenly vanished!
"AGHHH! That damn brat again! I'm going to kill you!"
Hanks' flaming fist struck nothing but air, causing a deafening explosion.
Enraged, he whirled around, planted his foot, and charged straight at Rorschach.
He decided to eliminate Rorschach first.
If he could take down this strange ability user, dealing with the remaining four would be a piece of cake.
"ROOM! Slaughterhouse!"
"Penn!"
Rorschach spread his fingers wide, his rotating vortex expanding outward.
In an instant, Captain Penn, who had been standing behind him, was teleported right in front of him.
Penn drew his sword, his muscles tensing.
"Right-Angled Bird!"
A right-angled slash shot out from his blade, whizzing toward the onrushing Hanks.
Faced with the razor-sharp attack, Hanks didn't dodge.
Instead, he clasped his hands together, conjuring a glowing fireball that pulsed with blazing light.
He hurled it forward.
"Flaming Light Orb!"
The glowing orb clashed against Penn's angled slash, triggering a massive explosion.
The blast sent dust and debris flying as Hanks' enormous figure emerged from the chaos.
His face twisted into a savage grin as he lunged at Penn with a deadly punch.
"Pamela!"
Rorschach shouted, curling his fingers.
In an instant, Penn vanished, swapped out for Pamela, who had been preparing to strike.
"ROAR!"
The ten-meter-tall giant, Pamela, flexed her bulging muscles and swung her massive wooden club straight down at Hanks.
The sheer force of the attack created a powerful gust of wind.
Hanks clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with frustration and rage.
"Damn it… Damn it! They're just a bunch of nobodies!"
His fury burned brighter as he clenched his fists, refusing to retreat.
He leaped off the ground, his flaming Armament Haki-coated fist meeting Pamela's club head-on.
"Solar Punch!"
"BOOM!"
Pamela's colossal wooden club shattered into countless splinters from the impact of Hanks' flaming punch.
As shards of wood rained down, Hanks kicked off the air, soaring upwards toward Pamela, his expression twisted with murderous intent.
"Die!"
"ROOM! Baton!"
Rorschach remained calm, crossing his hands and suddenly pulling them apart.
The residential building to his right was severed in half. The upper portion was instantly relocated—swapped with Pamela's towering body.
"Boom!"
Hanks' furious punch landed, obliterating the entire building into dust and rubble.
"Baton!"
Rorschach's hands didn't stop moving. With each flick of his fingers, the ground beneath them was sliced apart, transforming into thick stone pillars with sharp tips that shot toward Hanks in midair.
"Iron-Slicing Right-Angled Bird!"
Penn also drew his sword, swinging repeatedly toward the roaring target.
At the same time, Hibari dashed forward, launching a Rankyaku slash at Hanks.
"Roar! Try this!"
Pamela let out a furious bellow, grabbing a nearby residential building with both hands. His muscles bulged as he lifted the entire ten-meter-tall structure, sending bricks flying.
With a mighty swing, he smashed it toward Hanks.
On the ground, all four of them attacked in unison—except for Beppo, who scratched his head, unable to contribute.
He couldn't unleash long-range slashes like the others, nor did he have Pamela's raw strength.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Hanks swung his arms furiously, shattering each attack that came his way.
His sheer power left Rorschach, who was observing from the rooftop, slightly stunned.
"This guy's combat experience is insane. Compared to him, Hibari and the others are still way too inexperienced."
Without Rorschach's surgical abilities assisting them, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous explosion, Hanks smashed through dozens of incoming stone pillars—only to be struck squarely by the entire building Pamela had thrown at him.
His massive body plummeted from the sky, slamming into the ground with a deafening crash.
"Now's my chance!"
Beppo's white bear ears twitched. He sprang forward, dashing up to the dazed and dust-covered Hanks, and threw a punch directly at his groin.
"Aiya! Tekkai Gun Fist! Scooping the Moon from the Sea!"
"Get the hell away from me, you beast!"
Hanks' eyes widened in rage as he kicked at the charging Beppo.
"ROOM! Baton!"
Sweat beaded on Rorschach's forehead as he flicked his fingers.
Beppo vanished, and in his place, the entire section of the ground where Hanks stood suddenly tilted upright, rising vertically from the street.
Sensing the shift with her Observation Haki, Hibari leaped forward, clenching her fist.
She shattered the ground behind Hanks with a punch and followed up with Dog Fang Red Lotus, smashing him squarely in the back of the head.
"Thud!"
With a muffled boom, Hanks' massive body lurched forward, his vision spinning as he crashed face-first into the ground.
At that precise moment, a sharp glint flashed in Rorschach's eyes.
He gripped his sword, Kikoku, and vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, he was already above the falling Hanks, his blackened Armament Haki struggling to coat the length of his blade.
"Armament Haki! High-Frequency Scalpel!"
The humming, vibrating blade sliced through the air.
Hanks, just regaining consciousness, stared in shock and rage as the sword plunged into his shoulder, piercing through his body and pinning him to the ground.
The searing pain made Hanks' eyes burn red.
This brat… he knows Armament Haki?!
And he had been holding back, waiting until Hanks showed a slight opening before unleashing it—breaking through Hanks' defenses in a single strike.
Such cold, calculated composure!
"But if you think this alone can defeat me, William Hanks—you're dreaming!"
"Solar Punch!"
Hanks reached out with his left hand, gripping the blade of Kikoku. His right fist, burning with blinding light, swung fiercely toward Rorschach's chest.
"ROOM! Slaughterhouse!"
Rorschach let go of his sword, instantly teleporting away to avoid Hanks' Haki-coated punch.
A spark of electricity crackled in his right hand as he swung it down.
"Cardiac Shock!"
"Crack!"
The chop, infused with both Armament Haki and a burst of electricity, struck Hanks square in the chest.
The current, amplified by the Haki, tore through Hanks' defenses, jolting his heart into sudden cardiac arrest.
Hanks, who had been brimming with explosive energy, suddenly rolled his eyes back.
His body arched in a violent spasm, twitching uncontrollably for several seconds before he collapsed limply onto the ground.
The blinding light radiating from his body flickered and faded.
As the dust settled, the shattered street slowly came back into view.
(End of Chapter)
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