You are the challengers!

"Times have changed, old man!"

"Still fixated on domineering presence and physique?"

"Isn't the power of a Devil Fruit appealing?"

"I was just testing my strength and dominance against you to see if I could learn anything from you, but it's clear now that I didn't get the chance!"

"Since you can't use Conqueror's Haki, there's no need for me to continue fighting you physically!"

"Come on, let me show you how a mage fights in this new era!"

Before he finished speaking, purple lightning surged from Kyle's body once again.

"Lightningfall!"

Thick purple lightning bolts once again slammed down from the sky, aimed directly at Wang Zhi below.

! !

Wang Zhi's muscles tensed instantly, and Armament Haki immediately enveloped his fist, making his already charred fist appear even darker.

He threw a powerful punch.

Sizzle!

The moment the fist collided with the purple lightning, it exploded into countless tiny purple lightning snakes that spread outwards.

Wang Zhi's body suddenly sank, and the ground where he stood was crushed even more finely by the immense force.

After holding out for several breaths, he was suddenly struck and sent flying. The purple lightning crashed to the ground, unleashing an incredibly powerful shockwave.

Wang Zhi's feet scraped against the ground, leaving a long trail. As he stopped, he bent his knees slightly, leaped with all his might, and headed towards Kyle, his face contorted in a slightly ferocious expression.

"Don't be so arrogant, kid!!"

Wang Zhi clenched his right fist, stretched his arm to continuously gather power, and even bent his back into an arch shape, with terrifying power constantly gathering on his fist.

Even from a considerable distance, Kyle could vaguely sense the power of the punch; if he were hit, he would likely be in serious trouble.

But the problem is-

Wouldn't it be better to just avoid getting hit?

When Wang Zhi was still quite a distance away from Kyle, Kyle's figure transformed into purple lightning and vanished instantly. When he reappeared, he was already a thousand meters above the ground, quietly watching Wang Zhi below.

Wang Zhi: ? ? ?

No?! You can't take a joke??

He doesn't have the means to launch himself twice in mid-air, and he wants to jump a thousand meters into the air with a single burst of force?!

Even fleas can't jump that fast!

With this in mind, Wang Zhi immediately changed his mind and unleashed a powerful punch towards the sky.

A powerful burst of Armament Haki erupted, forming a shockwave that hurtled toward Kyle.

He may not be able to jump that high, but his attacks can reach that height.

"Thunder Dragon!!"

Kyle let out a soft voice, and violent purple lightning surged and churned around him, eventually condensing into a huge lightning dragon with a head hundreds of feet long.

It suddenly surged towards the shockwave below.

The distance between them closed in an instant, and they collided.

In an instant, a loud bang resounded in the air, and countless purple lightning bolts splashed out, turning into tiny lightning snakes that spread in all directions, just like the moment fireworks exploded.

Below, countless pirates on Beehive Island subconsciously raised their heads and looked up at the sky, at that dazzling purple.

For a moment, everyone was captivated by the sight.

But everyone knows how much danger lurks beneath this seemingly enchanting scene.

Just looking at the wispy purple lightning and feeling the dangerous and violent aura within it, they couldn't help but tremble.

This is their instinct as biological beings—fear.

While they stared blankly upwards, their opponents were not about to let the opportunity slip by.

"Rubber rubber... rocket launcher!!"

Luffy, his hands covered in Armament Haki, slammed into a stunned pirate in front of him. The immense force erupted from his palms, instantly blasting the pirate away. The pirate spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air and finally crashed heavily into a house.

The house collapsed instantly, burying him in the wreckage.

Luffy withdrew his arm, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"You dare to get distracted while fighting me? Do you really think I'm like Sabo and his gang? My ability to seize opportunities is extremely strong!!"

After defeating his opponent, Luffy turned his gaze to the ever-dissipating purple lightning above, stroking his chin and muttering:

"Is that Wang Zhi really that strong? He actually fought Kyle to this extent?!"

"You brat!!"

"You misspoke. It should be, is your partner really that strong? He actually fought Captain Wang Zhi to this extent!"

"You are the challengers!!"

Just then, a deep voice came from a certain direction, causing Luffy to narrow his eyes instantly and look in the direction of the voice.

What came into view was a dark-skinned man dressed in tight-fitting night clothes and fingerless gloves.

"Who are you?!"

Luffy asked.

"Heh~ Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? You're the ones who trespassed on our territory, shouldn't you be the ones identifying yourselves first?"

The newcomer scoffed.

Hearing this, Luffy thought for a moment with his not-so-bright little brain and found it to be very reasonable, so he earnestly and loudly replied:

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, the man destined to become the King of the Marines!!"

"Heh~"

Upon hearing Luffy's comment, Zeno couldn't help but laugh.

"Naval King? How come I've never heard of a Naval King in the Navy?!"

"That's because you're short-sighted and ignorant, that's why you don't know!"

Luffy glanced at him dismissively.

Zeno's brows furrowed immediately, and his eyes turned sinister as he said:

"Kid, you've got a good tongue!"

"Don't give me that nonsense, and who are you?!"

Luffy ignored his nonsense and asked about Zeno's identity as well.

Upon hearing this, Zeno's face immediately lit up with pride, and he confidently spoke:

"I am Zeno, the Dark Claw with a bounty of 90 million Berries!!"

"How about that?! Are your legs going weak at the mere mention of my name, kid?!"

"Hahaha……"

Zeno laughed heartily.

But Luffy's next words instantly froze the smile on his face.

"Dark Claw Zeno?! Never heard of it!!"

(⊙o⊙)...

???

Zeno immediately became anxious and yelled at Luffy, straining his neck:

"Kid, you're a fake Marine, aren't you? You don't even know my name?!"

"have no idea!!"

Luffy shook his head again, looked at Zeno with a serious expression, and said:

"I only know Wang Zhi!!"

Luffy wasn't lying to him. He only knew Wang Zhi among the pirates from Beehive Island; he knew nothing about the others.

His brain can't hold that much information about so many people!

But Zeno heard this as blatant mockery.

All they know is Wang Zhi?! Doesn't that mean they, as pirates, aren't even worthy of his attention?

Thinking of this, Zeno's face immediately showed an extremely angry expression, and his figure instantly darted out, rushing towards Luffy.

"Kid, you don't know, do you?! Today I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget, and make you remember my name!!"

……