Chapter 12: There is a world beyond humans

  In the evening, after escaping from the Naval Scientific Research Institute, Hobodi carried his own weapons and returned to Marinduque Square again.

  "It's a good thing I managed to escape while that scientific lunatic was immersed in his own world, it was really a close call. If not, I would have definitely been caught just now. That gaze, I've seen it countless times in my past life. Thanks to the experience from my past life..."

  However, looking at the sparse crowd in Marlin Vardana Square, Peng En and others were also not there, and Hobodi was stunned for a moment.

  He didn't know where the original owner of this body lived, and if he went to ask, it would be too strange. How was he supposed to spend the night? Was he going to carry his sniper rifle back to the hospital? The beautiful nurses would probably be scared speechless.

  "Are you the little brat they call Hobodi?" a thick male voice sounded from behind Hobodi.

  Hobbit was startled for a moment, hastily turned his head and retreated several steps: "When did it appear, and yet didn't notice at all."

  Before him stood a middle-aged man wearing a red suit, who was likely a sailor. The cherry blossom pattern on the suit and the tattoo of cherry blossoms on his right shoulder were a perfect match. This middle-aged man was at least three meters tall, so that Hobodi could only look up to meet his eyes.

  What kind of eyes were those, calm, apart from being calm, there seemed to be a hint of anger in his eyes, but that anger was completely masked by the calmness, making the anger seem like an illusion. In the end, moving towards a direction that was neither calm nor angry, only he himself knew, could be described with two words: conviction.

  What conviction has made him indifferent to everything, even his anger cannot shake it?

  This look in his eyes, Hobodi had only seen it in the past life, in those brainwashed children, soldiers, mad scientists, and religious fanatics.

  "Are you the little kid they call Hobodi?" the middle-aged man asked again.

  Hoboldi put down the sniper rifle in his hand and looked at the middle-aged man, saying, "Hmm, I don't know what you want?"

  "This woman, you should know!" The middle-aged man directly pulled out a dodging woman from behind him, wearing a suspender red skirt and that dazzling blonde hair.

  "Captain..." Fionnix whispered weakly. Things had developed to this point, and she hadn't expected that due to the captain's hurtful words, she would faint, only to be found by her uncle Sakaski who had just returned from his voyage, and then wake up in a fit of tears, with Uncle Sakaski bringing him to find the captain to vent.

  "Look at her, what kind of person is she!"

  "Phoenicks."

  "Captain knows my name!" In an instant, the gray world in Fionnix's heart was completely replaced by a pink one, and what came to mind was Captain's non-stop whispering "Fionnix..."

  "No, I'm asking you whether she is a man or a woman!"

  "A woman." Instinctively, Hobodi couldn't muster up any resistant emotions towards the man in front of him, being stared at by those eyes, completely enveloped by the aura emanating from his body, without a shred of doubt. If Hobodi made even the slightest move, the other would unhesitatingly kill him in an instant.

  This feeling, in his past life, was something he had never felt before. At this moment, Hoboldy's heart not only rose with fear, but also with a thread... of excitement!

  It's amazing how someone can grow up to become such a monster! That's where that excitement comes from.

  Can I become such a monster too?

  "Since you knew it was a woman, why did you say something like that."

  "This..."

  "We'll talk about the reason later, if you're a man, come with me!" The middle-aged man turned around without looking back, Hobodi followed closely behind him, and he had no choice but to follow, surrounded by an aura of terror. If he ran now, this guy would definitely make his move at the first opportunity.

  So, it's impossible to escape anyway.

  This aura is a bit like that of the German military and Japan's Bushido! Is this going to be a showdown between men? Hobodi thought to himself, unaware that he had already followed the middle-aged man to the 1st harbor of the Navy Headquarters.

  "Leave all your petty thoughts on the road behind." The middle-aged man tore off his own Justice Cloak from behind him.

  "Are we going to have a man-to-man showdown now? I've only had this feeling during training before, but after changing careers, I've been relying on despicable tactics to kill enemies. How nostalgic!" Since they were at the Navy Headquarters and both sides were from the Navy, Hobodi didn't believe the man in front of him would do something stupid like trying to sneakily kill him, so Hobodi wasn't worried at all.

  The middle-aged man heard this and raised the corner of his mouth: "In that case, we are the same! Evil is not worth sympathizing with, what method is used has nothing to do with it! You're a lieutenant now, right? Then I'll suppress my strength to when I was a lieutenant back then and have a match with you."

  "Who is Gare to you?"

  "Sublieutenant-sama is calling me Gal again!?" Fuyuniku was struck instantly.

  "Are you talking about Fuyi? She's an old friend who entrusted me to take care of her. Although I couldn't train her into a top-notch naval officer, at the very least she grew up under my watch! So..."

  "Needless to say, I understand! I'm going to take action now."

  "Come on!"

  Hobodi immediately activated the Devil Fruit's energy within his body, transforming into a 7-8 meter long pink Eastern Dragon in an instant. This was undoubtedly his strongest form at present.

  Its hind legs grasped the ground, starting to build up explosive force, its two front paws were already in an attacking posture. In an instant, Hopody's hind legs kicked off, and its entire massive body charged at the middle-aged man opposite it.

  The middle-aged man stood still, expressionless, and stretched out one fist. Hobodi, who was charging forward, looked at him with a hint of surprise, saw the other's fist, as if wrapped in something, the entire fist turned pitch black.

  But the form didn't allow Hoboldi to think too much, his body was already in front of the middle-aged man, one claw from top to bottom fiercely scratched, the air seemed to be torn apart with a sharp sound, the dragon's claw was about to hit the middle-aged man's shoulder.

  "Is this the Beast-type Fantasista that Begabong created? Too slow!" The middle-aged man said in disappointment, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Hopody's claw was about to hit his shoulder. He simply extended the fist he had already prepared, and for a moment, space seemed to have come to a standstill. Just as Hopody's claw was about to land on the middle-aged man's shoulder, the latter's fist appeared even earlier, striking Hopody's abdomen with a single punch, sending its entire body flying out.

  "Gah~" In mid-air, Hoboldy's mouth spat out a scarlet fist. This punch made his entire body feel like its bones were shattered, and the extreme pain washed over him, almost causing Hoboldy to pass out.

  "Captain!" Fuyunix cried out from a distance.

  The middle-aged man cut off his unpleasant voice, and at this time, Hobodi also regained consciousness due to this sharp cry.

  Rumble!

  Hobodi's body was pressed against the ground, his entire body flying out until the staircase wall of the harbor, and the impact of his back on the wall, another mouthful of scarlet spit out.

  At last, Hobodi stopped and panted rapidly on the spot for a few seconds, his dragon body covered in blood with torn skin and flesh.

  "Was that supposed to be intimidating? You're actually using your lieutenant's strength to fight me?" Hobodi cursed, barely supporting his body, the wounds inside him slowly healing with the energy of the Devil Fruit.

  "Our generation was much more cruel than yours, so by the time I was 24, I had already grasped the aura of dominance. With the rank of lieutenant, I had already possessed that aura for a year. (This is purely fictional and not mentioned in the original work) What's wrong? Can't take a punch?" The middle-aged man sneered with a provocative smile.

  Hoboldi fell silent, and gradually, his body had already recovered more than half.

  "Hey, getting distracted during a fight is a big no-no. Did you think I'd just stand there and show off my fancy moves?"

  Before he knew it, the middle-aged man had suddenly appeared in front of Hobody, and that overbearing fist was this time aimed at Hobody's head.

  Bang!

  A loud noise was heard at the dock stairs, and smoke covered a large area.

  The middle-aged man rarely showed a hint of interest: "Reaction is okay."

  The smoke and dust dispersed, above the middle-aged man, a strong gust of wind suddenly came, only to see a huge pink dragon, diving down, the claws gathered by the wind seemed to make the dragon's claws even sharper.

  "Dragon's Claw!"

  "Your movements are too big! Do you think this attack will hit the enemy?" The middle-aged man stood in place and dodged to one side, Hoboldy's dragon claw swiped at empty air.

  At this moment, two clouds appeared in the sky, his hind legs hooked onto the clouds, and his entire body was suspended in mid-air, like a swing, turning the failed attack into a fierce attack, grabbing towards the middle-aged waist.

  "Hmm, clever!"

  A middle-aged man jumped up and flew towards the hind legs of the Hobardy, with a majestic fist wrapped around his dragon body's hind claws!

  "Hopody" let out a pained cry as its hind legs fell off the cloud, and its entire body crashed to the ground with a loud rumble.

  Time went by and the coastline was left with only half of its sunset glow, adding a hint of darkness to the approaching night.

  At Marlin Vardo No. 1 Port, a duel of men is being performed... It can even be said that it is a duel without any suspense at all.

  A pink long dragon and a tall middle-aged man clashed back and forth, with every attack from the dragon missing its mark, while every strike from the middle-aged man landed squarely on the dragon's body, the battle unfolding in a one-sided manner.

  Or, this can no longer be called a duel, and it would be more accurate to describe it with the two words "humiliation".

  After a long time, the Marlin Vando Square, not far away, was quiet and deserted. After the daytime bustle retreated, the urgent "hah~hah!" breathing sounds here were particularly clear in the night color.

  "That's enough, apart from your ability to withstand blows being a bit stronger, everything else about you is simply terrible. You can't even touch the hem of my clothes, and yet you're still a lieutenant in the main department? The military ranks are too loose these days." The middle-aged man put on his Justice Cloak again, adjusted his tilted Sea Gull emblem military cap, and looked to the side: "Fuyi, if I agreed to this kind of man being with you, your father probably wouldn't acknowledge me as a friend anymore. Break it off as soon as possible!" After saying that, he was about to leave.

  "Hold on......" Hobodi, who had been beaten to a pulp and lay on the ground, slowly regained his human form and struggled to sit up at the edge of the harbor stairs. His rapid breathing and body covered in blood made his current state extremely precarious.

  The middle-aged man stopped in his tracks and looked at him: "Do you have anything else to say?"

  Hobbit clenched his fist: "As for the hem of the clothes, I've already touched it!"