Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Physical Gap - The Outcome Is Decided
"Looks like I can't keep playing around."
Roy surveyed the battlefield. Things were starting to look grim for the Whitebeard Pirates.
Vista and the others weren't a match for Katakuri.
The Sweet Commander was simply on another level. Among Whitebeard's sixteen division commanders, only two could fight at someone at that tier, Marco and Ace. The rest fell short, especially against a monster like Katakuri.
"Where do you think you're running off to?"
Charlotte Linlin had 'cornered' Roy by the shoreline.
"Are you sure I'm running away?"
"Scurrying around like a rat, if that's not running, then what is?" Charlotte Linlin snapped.
"Alright then, if you say so," Roy said, taking a stance.
"That move again—!"
Seeing Roy's preparatory stance, Charlotte Linlin's eyes sharpened. It was this strange technique that had badly injured her earlier.
This time, she had to be careful, not fall for it again.
"Come on, then."
Roy spread his hands and raised a single finger at her, beckoning.
Charlotte Linlin exploded in fury. She had never been shown such a provocative and insulting gesture before.
Roy was the first to ever humiliate her like this, and he was even Whitebeard's heir.
"AAAAAH! Why does a bastard like you exist?!"
Having dominated the seas for decades, this was the first time Linlin had been so thoroughly disrespected. Worse, he had the status and power to back it up—bombing her territory, blinding her eye, plundering her islands, looting her treasures.
She was boiling with rage. Even without Prometheus' flames, her anger seemed to erupt from her body.
"DIE!!"
She charged, Napoleon cleaving downward.
"Perfect, just as I expected. She's lost her cool.'
Roy couldn't help but smile.
Shanks would never fall for this, but with someone like Big Mom? Kaido? Their tempers were exploitable.
And though few things truly rattled an Emperor, Roy has done the impossible, humiliate an Emperor with just a single finger.
Now that she had lost composure, Roy had plenty of ways to deal with her.
"Jet Bullet!"
Roi's arm blurred, mimicking Luffy's Gear Second Jet Pistol motion.
He struck out with a palm.
Pop!
The air exploded with a crack, and a shockwave visibly rippled outward. Compressed Haki shot out from his finger.
A visible blast of white air surged toward Charlotte Linlin.
She turned her head to dodge, but the blast grazed her face, drawing blood.
Charlotte Linlin's clouded mind began to clear.
"This is… Conqueror's Haki?"
Only Conqueror's Haki could break through the defenses of monsters like Linlin and Kaido.
Roy had formed a circulating loop of Haki within his body, compressing it, and released it like a bullet with a high-speed strike.
It was similar in concept to Lucci's "Rokuogan," except his version worked at a distance.
"No… It's not just Conqueror's. You're using Armament Haki too." Linlin's gaze locked onto Roy's arm.
His arm was coated entirely in Armament Haki. It was clear Roy was using it as a barrel, while the Conqueror's Haki was loaded inside. The Armament Haki kept the Conqueror's Haki stable and compressed.
"You caught that, huh?"
Roy chuckled. After he struck Linlin, he noticed his own arm had been injured.
Firing Conqueror's Haki this way was like using a Reject Dial, hurting the enemy but injuring himself too.
Linlin could recover. He couldn't. Releasing Haki from within the body created recoil damage.
If he had a monstrous body like Whitebeard's, Linlin's, or even Luffy's rubber body, he might have been able to take it.
But his body was just… normal. He couldn't withstand that kind of damage.
The best way was to use Haki to reinforce his body—to make it tougher, reducing the blowback.
"Your body is your greatest weakness. A normal human's limits are still just that—normal. You're no different from anyone else."
Linlin had pinpointed Roy's flaw.
"Yeah." Roy didn't deny it.
This world had many races. In Totto Land, only three were missing.
Giants, Lunarians, and one unnamed race.
King's lineage made him the perfect template for the Seraphim, proof of his race's monstrous potential.
Charlotte Linlin had been a freak of nature since birth. Compared to these people, Roy's body was lacking.
"Mama mamama! Then I'll just kill you now!"
Linlin coated her blade in Haki and slashed at Roy.
Clang!
This time, Roy met her head-on, clenching his fist and blocking the attack.
Their Haki clashed, Roy's was clearly stronger, but Linlin had greater physical power.
After a brief deadlock, Roy saw an opening and fired another Conqueror's Haki bullet.
Linlin raised her arm to block. With her natural durability and Haki shield, she thought she'd be fine.
But with her Observation Haki suppressed, she couldn't foresee the consequences.
THUD!
The Haki bullet pierced her defense and shot through her arm.
"GYAAAAH!!"
Linlin screamed, clutching her arm. A bloody hole was left behind.
The wound wasn't fatal for her, but the pain was real.
Gritting her teeth, she attacked again.
They exchanged blows for several rounds. Meanwhile, more and more reinforcements arrived on Linlin's side. Totto Land was vast, and the Big Mom Pirates were rallying from other islands.
"This has to end now."
Roy knew dragging this out would only worsen the Whitebeard Pirates' casualties. The situation was already grim, and Vista and the others had been pushed to the shore.
Sensing danger, Charlotte Linlin noticed something had changed in Roy's eyes.
'What is he planning?'
She tried using her Observation Haki, but it was suppressed. She couldn't see a thing.
Whoosh!
Roy's Haki surged. Conqueror's energy erupted from his body, but instead of dispersing, it compressed.
'It's coming.'
Linlin's instincts screamed danger. She opened her mouth and unleashed a Soul Scream; her Soul-Soul Fruit had the ability to intimidate.
The soul-based shockwave disrupted Roy's Observation suppression, allowing her to glimpse a fraction of the future.
"NAPOLEON!"
Linlin screamed, reacting instantly, slashing at seemingly empty air.
BOOM!
The empty space exploded, and Roy appeared from within.
Napoleon in Linlin's hand shattered, its Homie essence heavily wounded. Linlin herself coughed up blood, her soul injured by the Conqueror's Haki.
"My interference… still failed!"
...
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