Chapter 160: Elephant Elephant Fruit User 

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"You're courting death!" (TN: Classic phrase)

Crash!

As Abel rose to her feet, the debris of wooden crates that had been pressing on her was instantly flung away, smashing against the surrounding walls and shattering completely.

Then, she charged forth like a heavy rhinoceros, stomping the ground thunderously.

Clearly annoyed by being sent flying earlier, she was looking to reclaim her lost face without any hesitation.

There was no change in her approach—just a simple and unadorned punch that landed heavily!

But with this punch, she used all her strength, leaving no doubt that anyone hit by it would be knocked out on the spot.

Yet Abel's face showed no fear, and even a hint of excitement could be seen.

"Bring it on!"

He promptly mobilized all of his strength, reinforced by his Armament Haki, and threw a punch with equal force!

When the large and small fists collided fiercely, the resulting force sent out a shockwave that sent everyone nearby flying.

Some unfortunate ones hit the walls; some ended up bloody from head wounds, and others with broken bones—a truly pitiful sight.

This just shows that being a spectator can be risky, especially when your own strength is insufficient.

During the clash of fists, the size difference between Abel and Elephante was clear.

Elephante was about twice Abel's height and five times his bulk, if not more.

The two were simply not in the same weight class.

But the outcome was the opposite of what one might expect.

Elephante was sent flying once again!

If the first time could be explained away as carelessness or not using full strength, this time there was no excuse to be found.

The other crew members who could still stand scattered in panic after witnessing this.

At that moment, they had given up hope for their new captain.

The Donquixote Family had only sent their youngest executive, and yet he had easily overpowered Elephante, the 'Elephant Sister' who had sailed the Grand Line three years ago. What did that say about their respective powers?

They were simply not on the same level!

However, only Abel himself knew that even though he had sent his opponent flying twice, he hadn't actually inflicted any real damage.

Not only was Elephante's body filled with tremendous power, but it also possessed an incredibly tough physique and defense.

"Kid, you've truly angered me now."

"I've changed my mind. I'm going to personally crush your bones and hang them on my new ship as decorations for when I set sail."

It seems that most pirates are short-tempered and Elephante was no exception.

After realizing the crew she had struggled to recruit over the last few days had abandoned and fled from her, memories that harshly stirred her emotions seemed to come flooding back.

In a fit of rage, Elephante underwent a tremendous transformation!

Her height increased from three meters to over five in an instant.

Her already stout body expanded even more, turning her limbs into those of a giant wild beast.

But the most significant change was in her head—a long trunk, large ears, and two half-meter long tusks protruded from the sides of her mouth. She looked exactly like the head of a white elephant!

It seemed that this was the true origin of Elephante's moniker "Elephant Sister".

"So, she is a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. No wonder she has such bizarre strength and defense."

Abel was not surprised by the adversary's transformation.

Compared to the formidable Logia-type Devil Fruit users and the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit users, whose abilities were so varied and tricky that it was easy to get caught off guard, the regular Zoan-type Devil Fruit users were the easiest to deal with among ability users. 

Of course, the exceptions were the Ancient Zoan and the Mythical Zoan types.

But he couldn't see his opponent fitting into those categories; otherwise, they wouldn't have been in such a miserable state.

"Indeed, I am an elephant woman who has consumed the Elephant-Elephant Fruit."

Baby-5 knew they couldn't hide their current state, so they admitted it candidly.

"Looking at you with that ghastly face, you must also be an ability user."

Abel touched his nose a couple of times and didn't elaborate, "Yeah, you could say that."

Elephante immediately displayed an 'I knew it' expression, finding some psychological comfort for being blown away moments earlier.

"Well, there's nothing much to say then, let me show you my real power!"

Elephante raised their strong arms high and slammed them down with force.

"Mighty Elephant Trample!"

It was as though, for a brief moment, Abel actually saw a massive white elephant rise on its hind legs and then crash down like a mountain.

An overwhelming sense of pressure filled the air!

However, with Abel's current speed, he could easily dodge it.

Instead, he wanted to gauge just how strong his opponent's 'half-beast form' was.

So he decisively positioned his sword, Onimaru, horizontally above him, pressed the flat of the blade with his left hand, and met the attack head-on.

Bang!

Although Abel blocked the brutal force, the ground beneath his feet couldn't withstand it and cracked in all directions.

Abel felt as though he was a nail being hammered down fiercely with a mallet.

The mighty force made his hands go numb, almost causing him to drop his sword.

It was clear that the opponent's strength had significantly increased in their 'half-beast form.'

It made Abel wonder just how powerful a pure beast form could be.

In terms of physical prowess, Zoan-type Devil Fruit users indeed had an enormous advantage.

"Oh? You can block my trample attack? How about this!"

Elephante, surprised, lifted her palms again and, like a frightened elephant running amok, started a rapid succession of slams!

The attack earlier was just a simple strike!

And now it was a series of relentless blows!

The ground seemed to tremble, with rocks flying everywhere.

The place where Abel stood was now a deep pit.

"Tch, you dodged it."

As soon as Elephante had this thought, she got hit heavily in the back of the head!

Her huge head slammed into the ground, and her entire large body toppled over.

"Your strength is decent, but you're much too slow. However, you sure are tough."

Abel shook his right hand and assessed that his own strength in his half-ghoul form was indeed stronger than his opponent's human form, and almost on par with her 'half-beast form.'

Moreover, her defense was stronger than he had anticipated.

With this new information, he knew how to proceed with the battle.