Capone: Fortress of Ambition

"I'm going to blast you to smithereens...!"

A furious, crazed roar erupted from behind him. Bege spun around, his pupils shrinking. Before him stood Riki, his stomach swollen to more than twice its normal size, his entire body a shocking crimson, and emitting a bizarre bloody mist.

Bege sharply noticed that blood was seeping from the surface of Riki's skin, rapidly vaporizing into the bloody mist.

High-pressure air possessed immense destructive power. Even though Riki had a Devil Fruit ability, his body had its limits. It couldn't withstand the ever-increasing pressure. His current state clearly showed he was forcing himself to generate even more powerful high-pressure air – the guy was going all out.

With a sudden, guttural shout, Riki's back and thighs convulsed. A violent blast of high-pressure air erupted, the recoil instantly propelling his body forward like a phantom. In practically an instant, he'd twisted his way in front of Bege, roaring as he swung a palm down.

"He's gotten even faster!"

Bege's eyes narrowed. He instantly coated his sword in Armament Haki, decisively slashing upwards to meet the descending pillar of high-pressure air.

BOOM!

A dull, concussive boom rang out. Bege's body shuddered slightly, the ground beneath his feet instantly collapsing. The power of Riki's high-pressure air blast was truly astonishing; the ground was rapidly shattering.

"Die!"

Riki roared, his mouth opening to unleash a thick, concentrated blast of high-pressure air. Bege instantly countered with a punch directed at the air blast.

With a resounding crash, Bege was sent flying by the sheer force of the high-pressure air, his body skidding across the ground. He flew over twenty meters, smashing into a building and causing it to partially collapse.

Riki took two leaping strides, the high-pressure air erupting from his feet pulverizing the ground, and in a blink, he charged into the crumbling building.

Just as he entered, a terrifying, massive blade energy burst from the half-collapsed structure, slicing through the surrounding buildings.

Following the blade energy, Riki's obese body came flying out. He landed, planting his feet and digging in to stop his momentum.

His right hand trembled, his gaze locked onto the ruined building with a mad intensity.

RUMBLE... CRASH... THUD...

Chunks of severed buildings rained down from the sky, smashing into pieces.

"High-pressure air... what a terrifying ability."

Bege emerged from the wreckage, his expression stoic. The Armament Haki on his left hand was cracking and fading. Beneath the Haki, the hardened skin of his castle form was also broken, his entire arm ripped with lacerations, blood staining it crimson.

Riki's attack just now had been incredibly ferocious. Neither Bege's Armament Haki nor his Castle Skin had been enough to completely block it.

This Riki was even stronger than Gecko Moria at his peak, without even using Shadow's Asgard.

"That attack just now... that was your limit, wasn't it?"

His gaze hardening, Bege's expression turned menacing. A fierce, untamed aura began to radiate from him, spreading outward in waves.

Riki, sensing the danger, opened his mouth and spewed a blast of high-pressure air directly at Bege.

Bege instantly drew his sword, a brilliant flash of blade light cleaving the high-pressure air in two.

He took a powerful step forward, a whoosh accompanying the swirling air vortex that formed beneath his foot, and his figure vanished.

Bege's form blurred, then reappeared in front of Riki.

"One Sword Style Iai – Rising Dragon Slash!"

A ferocious dragon of blade energy roared forth.

"High-Pressure Air Blast!"

Riki's face contorted in alarm. He slammed his palms together towards the dragon of blade energy, two blasts of high-pressure air colliding with it.

But he had underestimated the dragon's power.

BOOM!

The impact sent Riki soaring into the air, the savage blade energy dragon threatening to devour him.

Desperate, Riki unleashed an even stronger blast of high-pressure air, finally shattering the blade energy dragon.

Above Riki, the sound of air friction cut through the chaos. Bege suddenly appeared before him, his raised sword slashing down in another brilliant flash of light.

Riki desperately blocked with blasts of high-pressure air from both hands. He was instantly sent hurtling down like a meteor, crashing towards the ground.

The earth shattered instantly, but not from Riki's impact. At the last moment, he'd unleashed a blast of high-pressure air from his back against the ground, pulverizing it.

He used the recoil to negate the force of Bege's strike, avoiding a direct impact with the ground.

Even so, the clash of the two powerful forces had still injured him, and he coughed up blood repeatedly.

"It's not over yet."

An indifferent voice reached Riki's ears. He looked up in horror to see Bege's fierce figure standing over him.

"One Sword Style – Demon Ape Slash!"

Another massive blade of light descended. Riki frantically raised his hands, blasting high-pressure air.

BOOM!

The violent collision saw Riki continuously spewing high-pressure air to block Bege's terrifying strike. But the sheer force caused Riki's knees to buckle, the ground beneath him cracking and splintering, fissures spreading out like a spiderweb.

Riki lowered his head, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

Bege instantly followed up with a kick to Riki's abdomen, sending his massive body flying. He tumbled across the ground, leaving a long trail in his wake.

"How can there be such a huge gap...?"

Riki coughed up blood, gasping for breath. He shakily struggled to his feet.

Bege began to walk towards Riki.

"Rushing Slash – Rain!"

Suddenly, an enraged voice came from behind, and a barrage of dense slashes rained down on Bege.

Bege frowned, his figure disappearing. The slashes struck the ground, leaving a series of craters.

Bege instantly appeared behind Gilon, who looked terrified.

"Take the Captain and go!" Gilon roared, turning abruptly and throwing a punch at Bege.

Bege, acting after but arriving first, grabbed Gilon's wrist. He slammed the hilt of his sword into Gilon's chest, sending him flying back, spitting blood, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Bege tossed him aside. The crew members of the Riki Pirates rushed towards Riki in a frenzy.

Bege took a step forward, appearing before the group.

With a few flashes of movement, punches and kicks flew with lightning speed. The ground was soon littered with more pirates, trembling and utterly defeated.

"Bastard, I'll kill you!" Seeing his crewmates all downed, Riki went completely berserk, inhaling air frantically. His body began to crack, blood spraying out in torrents.

"Just lie down quietly. You can't die just yet." Bege punched Riki, who coughed up blood in agony and collapsed forward, unable to move.

With Riki incapacitated, Bege let out a sigh of relief. The wild aura around him instantly vanished, his face turning pale.

"What a terrifying guy. If he were any stronger, I would've had to use my ultimate technique."

Suddenly, a chill ran down Bege's spine, a feeling of utter dread washing over him.

"My, my, my, looks like I missed quite the show. The bounty of 270 million, 'High-Pressure Cannon' Egerd Riki, taken down just like that. How terrifying, Masked Bounty Hunter."

A calm, clear voice came from behind.

Bege turned abruptly, his pupils contracting as he saw the tall figure before him.

"Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Ancient Zoan-type Smilodon Devil Fruit user, 'Mad Tiger' Vice Admiral Simon!"

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