Chapter 42

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East Blue – Conomi Islands 

Arlong Park 

A few minutes before the building collapsed, specifically at the same time Zoro's fight began, Sanji exhaled smoke from a previous puff and, using Soru, darted at full speed toward Kuroobi. 

As he got close, he leaped and, without holding on to anything, unleashed a flying knee strike coated with Armament Haki, aiming for Kuroobi's head. 

With his Observation Haki, Kuroobi easily dodged to the side, causing Sanji to miss and fly past him. Sanji twisted his body in mid-air, flipping and landing on his hands. 

Spreading his legs in that position, he twisted his torso, spinning his legs rapidly and landing a powerful kick coated with Armament Haki squarely on Kuroobi's torso. Kuroobi held firm, only grunting in response. 

Kuroobi then grabbed Sanji's leg and slammed him hard into the ground. Without time to writhe in pain from hitting his back on the ground, Sanji began dodging Kuroobi's constant stomps, aiming to crush him, using his Observation Haki. 

Needing space to get up, Sanji kicked the air with both legs, using Geppo, and effectively slid away from Kuroobi. 

Once he gained distance, Sanji planted his hands on the ground and flipped backward. As he got to his feet, he found Kuroobi already right up on him, delivering a punch. 

Sanji leaned his torso backward, dodging the punch just like Neo dodged bullets in The Matrix. While doing so, he balanced on one leg and delivered a precise kick to Kuroobi's shin with the other, causing him to lose his balance and fall. 

Sanji then gained more space by performing another backflip and, this time wasn't immediately pressured when he landed. 

He rushed at Kuroobi, who had just gotten up, and when he got close, Sanji delivered a crescent kick with his right leg, aiming for Kuroobi's head, swinging from the outside in. 

With his Observation Haki, Kuroobi saw the kick coming and shielded the side of his head with his left arm. 

But the kick went over Kuroobi's head without hitting him, as it was a feint. And after his leg passed in front of Kuroobi's face, Sanji jumped, spinning his body in the air and hitting a kick with the sole of his foot squarely in Kuroobi's chest with his left leg, making him slide on the ground. 

The fight continued, with both exchanging blows and accumulating wounds. 

Sanji, his forehead bleeding from a headbutt he had received, charged toward Kuroobi, whose forearms were completely bruised and bleeding after failing to cover them with Armament Haki several times during the fight, as Sanji had been too fast for him. 

When Sanji got close, he turned his back and unleashed a powerful 'Collier Frit', aiming for Kuroobi's neck. Kuroobi dodged to the side, closing in on Sanji's personal space. 

Kuroobi then delivered a powerful punch coated with Armament Haki to Sanji's back, who couldn't defend with his own Haki, instantly forming a large purple bruise. 

After the punch, Kuroobi spun his body, cutting deeply into the bruise with the fin on his elbow. 

"Urghh", Sanji groaned in pain. 

The force of the blow threw Sanji backward, with Kuroobi chasing after him to continue the assault. 

As Kuroobi threw another punch, trying to hit Sanji on the ground, Sanji planted his hands on the floor and flipped backward, effectively dodging the attack, which hit the ground, creating a massive crater. 

Without stopping, Kuroobi charged again, raising his left leg above his head before forcefully bringing it down in a devastating axe kick, which Sanji blocked by raising his right leg, meeting the attack halfway. 

After blocking the attack, Sanji shifted his support to his right leg and, with his left leg coated in Armament Haki, unleashed a powerful 'Santen Decoupage', striking Kuroobi's stomach, neck, and chest, sending him flying backward with the impact. 

Quickly orienting himself in the air, Kuroobi landed on his feet and slid several more meters, clawing at the ground with his hands. 

As soon as he came to a stop, Sanji suddenly appeared in front of him, jumping up and landing a knee strike directly to his head, breaking his nose with a nauseating crack. 

Kuroobi's body was thrown backward, but he quickly recovered mid-air, flipping backward. And upon landing on his feet, he swiftly made a motion as if grabbing the air with both hands. The water in the atmosphere condensed into droplets on the tips of his fingers, which he coated with Armament Haki and hurled at Sanji with all his strength, shouting, "Fish-Man Karate: Yabusame." 

Seeing the massive barrage of water bullets coated in Armament Haki speeding toward him at supersonic speeds, Sanji pushed his Observation Haki, Armament Haki, Soru, and Geppo to the limit, trying to dodge the projectiles. Despite managing to avoid or block most of them, he was still hit by several, getting pierced in his shoulders, legs, ribs, and waist, with many more grazing him. 

Wiping the blood from his broken nose and resetting it with a forceful snap, Kuroobi looked at the bloodied, panting Sanji and said, "You're strong for a human. You must have trained a long time to reach this level, but in the end, it's not enough. Now you understand? This is the difference between our species. We Fish-Men are born superior to every other species in the world." 

"One week", Sanji said, straightening up and lighting another cigarette. 

"What?", Kuroobi asked, confused. 

"I trained for one week to reach this level, and I haven't even given it my all. You need to understand that a few scratches won't take me down so easily", Sanji said, exhaling smoke from the corner of his mouth. 

"You filthy worm", Kuroobi spat, enraged by the presumption of the dying human before him. 

The fight resumed, this time even more brutal than before, with the environment around them being completely destroyed with every blow exchanged. 

The climax of the battle arrived when both unleashed their most powerful attacks, shouting, "Diable Jambe: Brochette de Barbecue!" and "Fish-Man Karate: Vagabond Drill!" 

Sanji ignited his leg in flames, delivering a powerful flying sidekick coated in Armament Haki, aimed at Kuroobi's chest. 

Meanwhile, Kuroobi gathered a ball of water around his fist, delivering a powerful punch coated in Armament Haki, colliding with Sanji's flaming kick. 

The impact of Sanji's kick caused a massive explosion of flames, engulfing Kuroobi entirely before launching him backward in a trail of searing flames. Kuroobi crashed unconscious into a large rock that was part of an artificial waterfall in Arlong Park's pool, with the dust cloud from the impact extinguishing the flames that had been voraciously consuming his body. 

Meanwhile, Sanji, though still conscious, didn't escape unscathed from the previous collision. The ball of water around Kuroobi's fist had vibrated through his body via his leg, causing internal damage all the way until it exited through the deep cut on his back, already crimson red and aggravating the wound even further. 

Collapsing to the ground, Sanji lay there for a few seconds before slowly getting up, glancing at where Kuroobi lay, confirming that he had won the fight. 

Suddenly, he heard Luffy's voice shouting from the sky, "Gomu Gomu no Atomic Punch." 

And a moment later, for just a second, the sound of a loud "Ziummmmmm" was heard across the entire island, followed by a massive explosion of something colliding with the ground, shaking the whole island. 

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(AN: 1,235 Words)

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