Chapter 265: Victory!

Twirling Naga-sa incredibly fast, I blocked Hancock's rain of heart-shaped arrows from hitting my body, which had partially already turned to stone, before taking advantage of the short time it took to fire her volley of arrows and launched several lightning bolts at her, forcing her to dodge and deflect them while I closed the distance.

Rapidly spriting towards Hancock, I raised Naga-sa into the air, and utilizing one of the six rokushiki techniques, I powerfully swung it downwards, launching a large, razor-sharp blade of wind that cleanly cut everything in its path as it wildly charged towards Hancock.

The might behind my attack was by no means weak, and even though she managed to block it, I had still left a blood gash on her leg, and that was even with it being coated in haki.

'Heh, If I were wielding a sword, I would've cut her leg off.' Mused Diddy with a faint smirk while his feet danced with lightning as he kicked towards Hancock.

Launching two more, not nearly as powerful, blades of wind at her that danced with lightning, causing them to speedily fly through the air and hit her before she could react. I quickly followed up and approached her while she skidded across the ground, smashing through several trees as I attempted to hit her with a swing of my bo-staff, yet she regained her bearings just in time to dodge my attack. Hancock then swiftly counterattacked after I missed, kneeing me in the chin before wrapping her legs around my neck and spreading the stone further across my body.

Raising my leg, I grabbed the back of her head and practically ripped her off me, though while doing so, she landed several kicks on my chest, causing me to grunt in pain while I slammed Naga-sa into her stomach, smashing her into the ground and creating the umpteenth crater.

"Hehe, even without your devil fruit, you pack quite a kick. I'm surprised Freyja survived fighting against you." Remarked Diddy lightly as he landed on the ground just outside the crater while patting his stone stomach before whipping the blood leaking from his mouth.

"I'll put your stone body on display when I defeat you." Said Hancock viciously as she exited from the crater with a wounded appearance while eyeing Diddy, who chuckled with a grin.

"Then turn me into a statue, you slave!" Declared Diddy with a grin as he swung his bo-staff before lunging at the enraged Hancock, who followed suit.

It seems having reminded her of her slave status angered her as she fought with much more ferocity than before, constantly attacking me without giving me a second to breathe, though this was just how I liked it; fighting a formidable opponent was the only way I would ever wish to fight.

'Woah, this crazy bitch! Doesn't she know that's off limits!?' Thought Diddy as he raised his leg, blocking a kick aimed at his crotch, causing him to snarl at her while grabbing her leg and tossing her into the air, only to slam his bo-staff atop her head.

Leaping above her kick, I grabbed her shoulders and transmitted a bunch of lightning into her, causing her to glow brightly like a lighthouse as arcs of lightning danced around her body, but she eventually managed to get a hold of herself and started to turn my feet into stone, forcing me off her body as I wasn't about to have our battle end in such an anticlimactic way.

While upside-down, I swung Naga-sa at her, yet she blocked it before shooting a volley of arrows at me, which I dodged by kicking the air to my left, though Hancock promptly formed a heart with her hands and aimed it at me.

'Woah, has Hancock always been so beautiful?' Thought Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Hancock, who was lunging at him with heart-shaped eyes.

Unfortunately, by the time I managed to snap myself out of my daze, I had already been sent flying through the forest by a powerful kick to the chest, which had broken a few of my ribs.

"Heh, she kicks like a fucking tank." Muttered Diddy with a smirk as he dug his feet into the ground, bringing him to a halt while patting his chest.

Spitting some blood onto the ground, I raised Naga-sa, blocking a powerful kick from Hancock while the impact uprooted every tree around us, turning the area into a wasteland. Flexing my arm, I pushed Hancock back while kicking her, which she blocked the instant she landed on the ground before following up with another kick that I blocked, though with how close we were, I opened my mouth before bitting down, firing a mouth shaped shigan at her, and she wasn't able to dodge it fully, leaving a slight gash on her side, though other than a twitch, she hardly reacted.

'At this rate, Hancock's going to be naked. Hmm, well, on second thought, I wouldn't mind that.' Mused Diddy lightly as he glanced at Hancock's ripped outfit, taking peaks at her gorgeous figure, only to smirk as the two pushed each other away.

Looking down at my leg, I clicked my tongue; part of my shin was turned to stone, with a good chunk of my torso being the same. Thanks to my haki, I'm able to stop it from spreading further, but not when she's touching me; I can only slow it down at most, and while right now, it's not affecting me too much, it's taken away some of my flexibility, making it slightly harder to dodge.

However, I wasn't the least bit deterred by my situation; after all, it only made it more fun. Wiping the blood off my cheek, I coated Naga-sa in lightning while lunging toward Hancock while she did the same.

'Hehe, so fun.' Thought Diddy with a feral grin as the two pirates clashed, causing destruction from their power while they fought throughout the island.

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Smashing through several trees and a few boulders, I finally stopped when I hit an exceptionally large tree, leaving behind a deep imprint as I stared down the path of destruction while eyeing Hancock, who had just brutally kicked me.

"Urgh, that one really hurt." Muttered Diddy with a grunt as he freed himself from the tree and landed on the ground, nearly falling onto one knee.

Looking up at the sky, I couldn't help but chuckle as I stared at the crescent-shaped moon; a full moon had happened two days ago, so it would be a while before it appeared in the sky. It's not like I really needed it in the first place.

'Heh, we've been fighting for quite some time, eight hours at least since we arrived at Amazon Lily around noon.' Mused Diddy with a feral grin as he glanced back at Hancock, who was littered with bloody wounds and several gashes, yet even so, she still looked beautiful.

Despite Hancock's wounds, I wasn't in a much better condition; a good chunk of my body was stone, with some of them being covered in cracks, only a few attacks away from crumbling, which would be terrible, as I'd die without a doubt, and the part of me that wasn't covered in stone was riddled with bruises, and although they probably didn't look too bad, they were much worse than what they seemed.

However, the only difference between the two of our situations was that I wasn't exhausted, unlike Hancock, who was looking to be running on fumes now, which is understandable. After all, it doesn't matter how strong you will become; fighting a deadly battle for several hours on end without any respite will exhaust anyone. Of course, there are some exceptions like myself, but they're a rarity given that I've yet to come across anyone else who's the same.

'Marco would be the closest, but even still, towards the end of the war, he could hardly regenerate any of his wounds.' Thought Diddy as he clutched Naga-sa while lunging after Hancock, who took a few more seconds before doing the same.

Dashing through the destroyed forest, I swung my bo-staff at Hancock, who leaped right over it and launched several volleys of arrows at me, which I was forced to block given my lack of agility thanks to sixty percent of my body being stone, though she used that as a distraction to quickly lunge at me from behind. Eyeing her, I waited until the last second, blocking every one of her heart-shaped arrows before slamming Naga-sa into her head while she violently kicked my torso. I had managed to crack her skull with my attack, but she caused the cracks on my stone body to deepen as we were both flung into the distance while crashing across the ground.

"I-I can't take another hit; I'm pushing my luck right now." Muttered Diddy with a frown as he grabbed his torso, which was on the verge of crumbling, before glancing at Hancock, who was having difficulty standing up while holding her head.

With a grunt, I stood up and tightly clenched Naga-sa as I coated it in a thick layer of lightning as I flexed my muscles, preparing to finish this battle with one final attack and excessive use of lightning stirred Hancock as he looked at me while forcing herself to stand before stomping onto the ground, causing the earth to subtly tremble.

'Beastly incursion!' Thought Diddy as he narrowed his eyes at Hancock.

Smirking, I speedily lunged towards her, kicking off the ground as I dashed across the destroyed forest before powerfully swinging Naga-sa down atop her head; on the other hand, Hancock kicked at the incoming bo-staff. When we collided, we blasted our conqueror's haki at full force as we fought for supremacy, causing the cracks on my body to grow while Hancock's constantly winced in pain.

In the end, one of us had to emerge victorious, and with one final push, utilizing every ounce of my might, I broke through Hancock's haki-coated leg, powerfully slamming my lightning-charged bo-staff onto her face before crushing her into the ground, destroying everything in our vicinity along with the very ground as lightning danced about everywhere.

Falling onto one knee, I raised Naga-sa off her and glanced at the bloody Hancock, who was lying unconscious at the center of a massive crater, causing me to smirk as I plopped onto the ground right beside her.

"Hahaha, what a wonderful battle." Muttered Diddy with a chaotic chuckle as he gazed up at the night.