Staggering to his feet, Ozz felt like his lungs were about to be coughed out of his chest.
But…
His consciousness hadn't been knocked out completely.
When he saw Little Hawk about to be surrounded by Kaido and Big Mom, he knew, he couldn't afford to stay down any longer.
With a furious roar, he managed to pull their attention back to himself.
Ozz swayed, one hand clutching his chest, but his face was eerily calm.
"Hey!!! Ozz! You took a hit like that and you're still not down?!!"
Big Mom, curvaceous and towering, glared at him like a teacher scolding a hopeless student.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed in disbelief, stunned by the sheer toughness of Ozz's body and the absurdity of his talent.
Monsters like this... yeah, they're the only ones who can give birth to the strongest children.
Still, she couldn't help but worry.
In his current state, if he kept fighting, she and Kaido might not be able to hold back enough to keep from killing him…
"Your body's in terrible shape,"
Mihawk remarked as he watched Ozz steady himself, sword in hand. His gaze drifted back to Kaido and Big Mom.
"But rest easy. I'll get you out of here."
His tone was calm and assured,
as if simply stating a fact making a promise to Ozz.
Having someone that reliable by his side, Ozz admitted, gave him a certain sense of security.
But if he let Mihawk handle things now…
Then how the hell was he supposed to reach the pinnacle of Conqueror's Haki?
"I'll take it from here. I promised Sandy I wouldn't lose."
Ozz grinned, tossing out a half-hearted excuse that didn't even try to sound convincing.
Still, the words made Crocodile's expression darken considerably.
She bit down on her cigar and shouted in exasperation, like she was dealing with a complete idiot.
"Hey!!! If you're gonna act tough, at least pick a better time! This is not the moment to chase after some half-assed promise!!!"
Her rage sent a storm of golden sand roaring into a savage tornado, forcing even the ever-steady Katakuri to retreat.
But Ozz clearly had his own plan.
And he knew exactly how bad his injuries were.
"Relax. People always say I fight dirty, cough cough… Like I'd come in here without a trump card…"
He broke off, coughing up more blood mid-sentence, causing both Mihawk and Crocodile to twitch in disbelief.
That line had zero credibility.
Yet Ozz merely kept his eyes on Kaido and Big Mom, beads of cold sweat trickling down his temple.
He stood tall. No more coughing. His breathing calmed.
And then, as if by magic, the wounds all over his body began to vanish slowly, surely.
"Nani?!?!"
Everyone who saw it froze in shock, staring in disbelief.
Say what you will.
But on the surface, aside from his torn clothes and pale face, there wasn't a single sign he'd been injured at all!
Kaido and Big Mom were the most shaken.
Others might not know, but they understood full well just how destructive that last blow had been.
They didn't expect it to kill him, but at the very least, he should have been critically injured.
Even awakened Mythical Zoan types can't recover from that in a few seconds!
Could it be… that there really was a race out there even more broken than the Lunarians?
"No… Something's off. Linlin, look at the ground."
Kaido, ever the seasoned warrior, was the first to sense something wrong. His gaze locked on the area around Ozz.
With his warning, Big Mom noticed it too.
The blood Ozz had coughed up those fragments of something had all vanished?
Not even a bloodstain remained on his body.
"Could it be a Paramecia Teleportation Fruit ability?"
Having seen her fair share of freakish powers aboard the Rocks Pirates, Big Mom didn't need long to piece things together.
And she was right.
Ozz's face was a little pale. Pulling off this level of Kenbunshoku combined with his Devil Fruit had taken a heavy toll.
His Observation Haki had reached the level of surgical precision, so refined it rivaled Law's ROOM.
What he'd done just now was to teleport every single damaged part of his body every drop of blood, every fragment he coughed up, even the torn wounds.
Back to where they belonged, piece by piece.
The teleportation was a little rough around the edges, but Ozz's monstrous physique made up for the rest.
Even if some parts, like nerves, were beyond his control, he'd managed to restore most of his injuries to a pre-battle state.
At the cost of massive physical and mental exertion.
Theoretically..
As long as he wasn't on the brink of death, Ozz could use this move indefinitely.
The only limit was his stamina and will.
Mihawk, seeing Ozz standing tall again with blade in hand, was clearly surprised.
But he nodded, then stepped aside.
"If this is your will, then I understand…
At the very least, no one will interfere with your fight now."
With that, Mihawk rejoined the other battles.
Which instantly ratcheted up the pressure on Big Mom's children!
But Big Mom didn't have the luxury to worry about her brats right now.
She had bigger problems.
"Well then… let's pick up where we left off."
Ozz was done holding back.
With a flicker of movement, he vanished.
Reappearing behind Kaido, his sword Ace glowing with a blood-red hue.
Swish!
A teleportation slash arced for the back of Kaido's skull, trailing a black-and-red crescent of light.
Like a phantom, Ozz had become a machine of death, striking with divine precision.
The moment that merciless blade came down, Kaido's hackles rose, his instincts screaming danger. Observation Haki flared but too late to swing his kanabo.
He lashed out with his fist instead, clad in Armament and Conqueror's Haki.
Boom!
Kaido staggered back, shoved dozens of meters across the battlefield. The ground cracked beneath him, a deep trench in his wake.
Even accounting for the rushed defense, he looked grimly at the blood dripping from his fist.
If that strike had gone an inch deeper, his hand would've been severed.
Big Mom reacted instantly, not wasting Kaido's knockback.
"Emperor's Sword, Crack Cleaver!!!"
Ozz spun and met the blow head-on. Their blades clashed and the ground beneath his feet gave way, forming a massive crater.
Two monsters born with brutal strength, clashing head-to-head.
Their blades ground against each other in a clash of wills, until finally, Ozz snarled and pushed forward.
Forcing Big Mom back a single step.
"In sheer grit and talent.
I, Ozz, will never be second to anyone!!!"
…
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