Inside the warehouse.
The atmosphere was tense, suffocating, enveloped in shadows and dust.
Thump! Thump!
Sephiroth immediately drew the revolver from his waist and fired two shots at Hunter, who was clad in golden armor. However, his opponent seemed to have anticipated it. With a light, blink-of-an-eye evasive maneuver, he dodged the two bullets wrapped in Busoshoku Haki.
Whoosh!
A flash of golden sword light cleaved the air, and the large golden sword immediately slashed at Sephiroth. But, the boy's body suddenly dispersed, transforming into a large swarm of bats that scattered in all directions.
Screech, screech, screech...!
Black mist spread rapidly, covering the entire warehouse, obstructing the opponent's view. Behind Hunter, while Sephiroth controlled the black bats to reform his upper body, he continuously pulled the trigger of his revolver.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four consecutive shots, fired with incredibly precise timing, directly closed off all of the opponent's retreat routes. No matter how the opponent dodged, he could hit him with at least one bullet.
To Sephiroth's slight surprise, the gold-armored man no longer dodged. Dark Busoshoku Haki rapidly covered his back, reinforcing his defense to the maximum limit.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The four bullets struck his golden armor, creating four dented holes covered in cracks, yet failing to penetrate the armor. In just a blink of an eye, the cracks and dents returned to their original state, as if they had never existed.
"It seems you have a bit of skill, but compared to me, you're still far behind..." Hunter's slightly cheerful voice came from inside his helmet, filled with a condescending tone. Since the opponent's bullets couldn't penetrate his defense, he felt there was no need to dodge. He even felt silly for having been worried and successfully dodging the first two bullets earlier.
Through his Kenbunshoku Haki perception, he immediately locked onto Sephiroth, who had just reformed his body. He turned, swung his large golden sword, and attacked his opponent. The black mist obstructing his vision caused no delay in his movements, he moved with deadly precision.
Clang!
The black-robed boy drew the Autumn Leaf Sword from his waist and parried the opponent's attack, but his body slid back half a step. In terms of pure strength, Sephiroth was slightly weaker than the blue-haired man.
However, battle wasn't about who was stronger, whoever had more strength wasn't necessarily the victor!
After exchanging several moves, Sephiroth realized that his opponent was a self-taught fighter who hadn't undergone systematic training. His moves were simple and crude, direct and straightforward, with almost no variation in technique. He relied entirely on rich combat experience to determine how to attack.
Whoosh!
Hunter raised his large sword again and swung it, but Sephiroth spotted a weak point in the opponent's attack power. He easily raised his Autumn Leaf Sword and, with a very cunning angle, parried the opponent's attack with a backhand strike, then followed the momentum to slash at the opponent's neck.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out. The sword wrapped in Busoshoku Haki only cut about one centimeter into the golden armor that had been quickly covered by Busoshoku Haki by the opponent, and then could not move any further.
When the boy's attack landed, there was a momentary pause, a fatal pause, which gave Hunter an opportunity to counterattack. He immediately swung his left fist, covered it with Busoshoku Haki, and slammed it hard into the boy's chest.
Boom!
The powerful and devastating blow immediately sent Sephiroth flying backward, his body slamming into the warehouse wall and creating a human-shaped indentation. Blood gushed from the boy's mouth. He reached out and removed the debris from his body, then stood up again. He couldn't help but force a wry smile: "Ahem!... You wear thick armor, but you're still incredibly flexible... How annoying!"
"Hahaha! Of course! The golden battle suit I melt with my ability not only doesn't hinder my speed, but it can also significantly increase my strength and defense. Boy, prepare to die!" Hunter finished speaking with a laugh, then stomped his foot hard on the ground, and his body shot towards the boy with incredible speed.
Sephiroth parried the golden greatsword's slash with his blade while initiating his vampire transformation. In the blink of an eye, the boy's height grew from 1.8 meters to 2.3 meters, a head taller than the gold-armored man. At the same time, his strength also increased rapidly. When their swords clashed again, he even subtly suppressed his opponent, and in terms of speed, he was a step ahead, moving like a shadow.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The blazing red sword continuously slashed at the golden armor, leaving scratches on it, yet still failing to wound the opponent to the skin. After Sephiroth used his vampire form, Hunter could no longer gain an advantage in terms of power impact. If it weren't for the opponent's armor protection, he would have been cut down long ago.
As the two fought, black mist enveloped a large area. Pedestrians on the street didn't know what was happening, but their instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm made them hastily leave the range of the black mist, moving away from the center of the chaos.
"One Sword Style: Instant Slash!"
After creating distance, Sephiroth immediately used Soru, putting himself in a state of high-speed movement. While Hunter had no time to parry or dodge, he drew his sword and slashed at the opponent's neck.
Clang!
After cutting through the golden armor, the sharp blade of the Dark Sword directly sliced into the neck. However, because the opponent had also covered his skin with Busoshoku Haki, the Autumn Leaf Sword could not completely sever the opponent's neck.
However, Sephiroth had anticipated this. He didn't stay still in the fight, drawing his sword and leaving, creating distance from the gold-armored man again, preparing for his next move.
"Damn brat!" Feeling blood gushing from the major artery in his neck, Hunter immediately cursed in a low voice. He immediately released the golden armor from his neck and left hand, wanting to press the wound to stop the bleeding.
The two fought to the death, and Sephiroth had no intention of letting his opponent catch his breath. Instantly, the boy swung his Autumn Leaf Sword and launched a fierce assault. Hunter's critical injury caused his condition to decline sharply, preventing him from fully exerting his Busoshoku Haki. Before long, Sephiroth had made several more wounds in his armor, slowly eroding Hunter's defenses.
"You forced me to do this!" Seeing the boy swing his sword at him again, Hunter's heart hardened. He gathered all the golden armor, weighing over a hundred kilograms, on his right arm, forming a massive golden right arm. He poured Busoshoku Haki into it as if it were free, injecting it desperately.
Golden Explosion!
In an instant, the golden armor on Hunter's arm collided with Sephiroth's sword and a powerful explosion occurred!
Boom!
Golden fragments filled the sky, suddenly shattering. The immense impact sent Sephiroth flying backward, his body rebounding. His body was covered in golden fragments of various sizes, making his wounds appear terribly gruesome and horrifying. Some fragments even pierced through his body, leaving a stabbing pain.
On the other hand, conversely, only a thin layer of golden armor remained on Hunter's right arm, now full of cracks.
"Cough!... Cough!" Sephiroth coughed violently twice. The blood he coughed up contained a few organ fragments. If an ordinary person had taken this blow directly, they would have certainly been lying on the ground waiting for death!
However, relying on the powerful recovery ability of the Vampire Fruit, he immediately forced himself to stand. Ignoring the severe wounds and pain all over his body, he used Soru again, disappearing from sight.
One Sword Style: Instant Slash!
Whoosh!
Sephiroth appeared behind Hunter in an instant, and the triumphant smile that had just bloomed on the opponent's face froze. The large head rolled to the ground with a "gulu gulu" sound, bouncing a few times before finally coming to rest.
Under the boy's control, a black cloth bag filled with various fruits was carried by a group of bats and placed beside Hunter's corpse.
To quickly heal his wounds, Sephiroth split his body into a swarm of bats after sheathing his sword.
Clink~!
A small pile of golden fragments fell to the ground, and the bats reformed his wounded body. After waiting for over a minute, all the wounds on his body had fully recovered, as if nothing had ever happened.
He was truly lucky to win this battle. If his opponent hadn't been careless and injured his major artery, causing his mind to be in disarray and often making foolish moves, the two would likely have been engaged in a war of attrition. By the time the Marines arrived, they might not have been able to determine the winner.
After waiting for a while, Sephiroth poured out all the fruits from the black cloth bag. Red, green, pink, purple, a dazzling array of various fruits, spread across the floor. To increase the probability of obtaining a Devil Fruit, he even asked Tesoro to add a fruit shop to the Umbrella Corporation's properties. No matter what kind of fruit it was, no matter if it tasted good or not, no matter how it sold, the quantity didn't need to be too much, the important thing was that the variety was complete enough.
Soon after, Sephiroth saw a fruit on the ground that resembled a pumpkin, with golden spiral patterns all over its surface, the Goru Goru no Mi Paramecia type! A triumphant smile blossomed on his face.