Both Suffer Injuries, and the Dragon Appears

Sensing the shifting at his waist, Xuan Ye, his hair disheveled, condensed flames beneath his right foot and kicked backward with a hooked motion.

"Boom!" The magma surged, a terrifying blast wave erupted, and, with a roar, Xuan Ye drove his elbow hard into the bear's chest, heedless of anything else.

"Crack..." The sound of bones breaking echoed. The bear opened his mouth wide, and a jet of blood-red liquid sprayed forth.

"Die!"

Having taken Xuan Ye's blow head-on, the bear exploded with equal ferocity. The terrifying shockwave swelled again, clashing against Xuan Ye's right foot.

"Ugh..." With a muffled groan, feeling the sharp burn on his right foot, Xuan Ye braced himself with both hands on the ground. Flames coiled around him, and then a powerful burst shot skyward.

"Fire Impact!"

A mournful howl tore through the air as Xuan Ye was flung backward, blood gushing from his right foot.

Likewise, amid the cacophony, the bear crashed to the ground, his breathing rapid, his face taking on an unnatural pallor.

He was suffering from a lack of oxygen—a torment wrought by being baked in high temperatures for too long.

"Cough... cough..." Shakily rising, blood streamed from Xuan Ye's right foot, revealing a ghastly wound, the torn flesh and muscle starkly visible.

A dull pressure weighed on his chest, nausea rising. Xuan Ye bent over, unable to stop coughing up blood, his face ghastly pale.

The intensity of his earlier burst, the maintenance of his full beast form in its second stage, and the fire domain—all these had rapidly drained Xuan Ye's stamina and spirit.

The bear was too fast. Even if he couldn't quite teleport, he had definitely broken the sound barrier.

The fire domain was Xuan Ye's method to suppress the bear, while deification doubled all aspects of his full beast form—speed, strength, and recovery.

Deification compressed all the power of the beast form, then unleashed it fully for a brief moment. But it could only be sustained for a short while; past that, Xuan Ye would be left completely drained.

"No, I have to get out of here quickly," Xuan Ye thought as he watched the bear clutching his chest, where a tearing pain tormented him.

Moreover, the fire domain was constantly wearing him down. It could be said that just resisting the searing heat and suffocating air had already sapped two-thirds of the bear's strength.

More crucially, he couldn't hold out much longer. If Xuan Ye wished, he could simply outlast the bear—the only question was whether Xuan Ye could keep the fire domain going.

"This can't go on," the bear thought, his face dark and twisted. Suddenly, he vanished, reappearing at the edge of the fire domain, intent on breaking through.

"Do you really think so little of me?"

With a voice filled with deep hatred, Xuan Ye appeared above the bear, his hands raised high, crashing down like a meteor.

"Damn it." The bear's face twisted in rage as he struck out in desperation.

"Whoosh... whoosh..." The air screamed as a meteor streaked downward, scattering magma and exposing a vacuum on the earth below.

"Swish..." Xuan Ye's hands trembled, his eyes icy cold. He shot down like a beam of light.

"Endless Arrows."

A ceaseless barrage blotted out the sky, exploding through the air, tearing the ground asunder.

"Splurt..." Blood sprayed as Xuan Ye crashed to the ground; a figure, blazing red, flashed past him.

Leaping up, Xuan Ye, wreathed in fire, appeared beside the crimson figure. His knee, black as ink, lashed out without hesitation.

"Bang... bang... rumble..." The blows came thick and fast, thunderous booms echoing as the two figures blurred in rapid succession.

"Pressure Cannon."

"Penetrating Ray."

"Swish..." The combatants moved too fast to see, shaking the earth and sea, their battle reaching a fever pitch.

"Clang..." The air trembled as both figures, drenched in blood, fell like rootless duckweed.

Blood streamed down as the bear, his face wild with pain, pressed his hands together. Before him, a terrifying bubble of compressed air crushed forward.

He couldn't go on like this; he had to break out, for he knew he was at his limit.

"Unsolvable Air Bullet."

The sky filled with swirling air as if the bear embraced the entire world. With a single step forward, a formless vortex shot out.

"This is your final counterattack, then. I'll oblige," Xuan Ye said with a wicked smile, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. Raising both hands, the fire domain erupted, countless flames surging and coalescing into a massive golden-white sphere.

"Armament: Divine Sun."

Waves of heat rolled, one red and one white, crashing together like two nuclear warheads.

"Bang..." Deafened, Xuan Ye saw a pitch-black mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

Heaven and earth lost their color as a massive crater tore the island asunder, transforming it into a yawning abyss.

In that instant, the entire island collapsed. The sea surged and rolled, calamity descending as darkness swept the world.

"Thud..." Xuan Ye crashed to the ground, his whole body battered and trembling uncontrollably.

Hair disheveled, eyes dull, he gripped a nearby stone fragment, steadying himself for a long while before finally, shakily, getting to his feet.

With a savage grin, Xuan Ye staggered forward, leaving a long trail of blood, and stood upright before the bear, who was now barely breathing.

"Bartholomew Kuma, it seems I've won."

"Do as you will... kill me or whatever..." Lying in a pool of blood, Kuma's voice was weak. His injuries were too severe.

A wound across his chest nearly split him in two; the white of torn flesh curled outward, clinging by sinews to exposed bone. Even his organs were clearly visible.

One had to admit, the life force of those in the world of pirates was extraordinary, especially Devil Fruit users. Even in such a grievous state, Kuma could still speak.

"Kill you? Or something worse?" As the victor, Xuan Ye looked down at Kuma with disdain.

"Relax. I only need a few more heads to be promoted to Vice Admiral, but I don't care to carry others' heads with me. So, your life is spared."

"I'll send you to Impel Down. If you've got the skill, break out of there," Xuan Ye said, his gaze meaningful, eyes glinting strangely as he looked at Kuma.

"Impel Down? You think highly of me. The world's greatest prison... I wouldn't mind seeing it for myself..." Kuma replied, weak yet still defiant.

"Is that so? As you wish." Xuan Ye's tone was calm. He looked up at the sky and said flatly, "Come down. Take him. We're going back to Marineford."

"Whoosh..." A golden figure streaked down from the sky.

"Squeak, squeak... Why do I always get stuck with the grunt work? I object!" A furry paw and a pouting face—Monkey was clearly displeased.

"Objection overruled. Unless you want me to do it? I'm seriously injured," Xuan Ye replied, his face pale as he coughed up blood, his breath ragged.

"Squeak, squeak... I want compensation."

Monkey snorted, glaring sideways. He was determined to put an end to this drudgery; otherwise, how could he ever live the good life? He was determined to become the greatest, most carefree monkey of all.

In short—he was lazy, gluttonous, and wanted to live like a pampered pig, doing nothing but eating and sleeping.

"You're really pushing your luck," Xuan Ye said, his face darkening.

"Hmph..." With a haughty tilt of his head, Monkey felt he'd been deceived. When Xuan Ye first lured him away, he'd promised the world—anything he wanted, a harem of monkey wives. But now, not only did he have to run around all day, all the hard labor was left to him.

So, Monkey was thoroughly disgruntled, and the consequences would be severe.

"Do whatever you want from now on. I won't stop you," Xuan Ye said, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

"Squeak, squeak... You think I believe that?" Monkey pouted.

"Don't try my patience," Xuan Ye replied coolly, his face expressionless as he stared at the monkey.

With that, Xuan Ye turned and headed for the coast.

But he'd barely taken a step when he froze. Ahead, a figure stood squarely in his path.

"Monkey D. Dragon!"

Xuan Ye narrowed his eyes, instantly on guard.

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