Chapter 292

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Facing Howard's powerful punch, Abel casually extended a hand and effortlessly blocked it. His physical prowess, even without leveraging any special abilities, was on par with an average Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. Of course, this doesn't include the exceptional Mythical and Ancient types, as well as those who have awakened their Devil Fruit powers. Abel's training in Armament Haki was not lacking either; he had even purchased several 'experience books' from the system store, which had allowed his Armament Haki to reach a level where he could imbue any weapon with it. This isn't easy, even in the New World, where many can only use Armament Haki to reinforce themselves.

How long had Abel been learning Armament Haki? The speed of his progress was terrifying, making it unsurprising that Abel could easily catch Howard's attack. However, Howard himself couldn't accept this outcome.

"Damn it, then let me show you my Super Baboon Fist!"

Howard, transformed into a white-haired baboon, began swaying like a drunkard, but his fists moved swiftly, creating a barrage of punches. Upon closer observation, many of the punches came from tricky angles that were difficult to defend against or awkward to block. This was the essence of the Super Baboon Fist. 

It aimed to exploit the enemy's weaknesses by following its beastly instincts. Even if only one punch in ten was effective, the rapid accumulation at such a velocity made it easy to gain the upper hand.

However, Abel used his well-developed Observation Haki to teach the adversary a lesson. The flurry of punches seemed to vanish into thin air. Abel effortlessly stood in place, elegantly dodging all of Howard's attacks. In terms of speed and agility, Abel was definitely not inferior to his opponent—he even had the advantage. When it came to training in Observation Haki, Abel outclassed him by far.

Lose? How could he?

Unless he was hit by a deluge of water. Seeing that his attacks didn't seem to affect Abel, Howard grew increasingly frustrated, his eyes reddening and his breathing becoming heavy and rapid. 

He then let out a strange cry, completely losing his cool! In his enraged state, the white-haired baboon's attack speed and strength did indeed increase. But his moves became more chaotic and erratic, as though he was fighting entirely on animal instinct, which was fundamentally flawed.

Abel was somewhat amused, not because of the opponent's strength, but due to the emotional changes he observed. Let's not forget the true purpose of his visit to the West Blue. The angrier Howard became, the more Abel looked forward to it. Thus, he was in no hurry to end the fight quickly, continuing instead to provoke his already sensitive foe.

Every now and then, he would slap that butt-like face of Howard's, intentionally pulling his punches to reduce the damage but maximize the insult. Howard was close to going insane.

"I will kill you!" he bellowed, as his eyes lost all reason and his body began to exude a berserk aura.

"Going berserk?" The appearance indeed seemed similar. Perhaps this was Howard's trump card. But it undoubtedly signified that he could no longer present any more surprises to Abel.

Facing Howard, who was drooling and lunging forward ferociously...

Abel knew it was time to end it, so he activated his talent, "The Power of the Behemoth."

The fivefold enhanced feral strength began coursing through his body, seemingly looking for a way to release itself.

Clang!

Abel's entire right arm was enveloped in black Armament Haki.

Observation Haki helped Abel break down his opponent's every move frame by frame, revealing vast weaknesses.

Then, at a certain moment, Abel gathered all his strength and threw a ferocious punch.

Howard seemed to be asking for it as he lunged into the punch.

The next moment, Howard's beast-like eyes regained a hint of clarity.

With a complex expression, he looked at Abel and, with his last bit of strength, said: "Another monster."

And then he fell backward.

A big hole had opened in his chest, and his internal organs had been shattered.

With such an injury, there was no chance he would survive.

Abel released the effect of his talent and immediately shouted, "Come down and check if this guy's soul matches the requirements!"

"I'm on it~"

Before the words had finished, a cute and obedient maid jumped down from above and ran to Howard's human-shaped body, grasping the light orb invisible to ordinary people.

"Still no good?"

Seeing Baby-5 shaking her head with a pained expression, Abel sighed helplessly.

Had he used up all his luck looking for those two special souls?

Or was it that the "Soul of a Human Plunged into Fury" was so hard to find?

However, he quickly readjusted his mindset.

If the first target wasn't right, there were still two others.

If none met the criteria, he was no longer willing to wait; he would place a wish order for another one.

Just then, Abel suddenly looked out the window.

A sharp aura was zooming in from that direction.

"I never expected that guy to actually find this place."

The Capone family's intelligence network was indeed formidable, and Abel had taken advantage of it, arriving at this island first and finding the 'beast' Howard.

The advantage of transportation could not be ignored.

After a thought, Abel glanced surreptitiously at the secretary lady feigning unconsciousness on the bed and then picked up Howard's corpse, broke the window, and jumped out.

Baby-5 hurriedly followed.

"The man you're looking for is here."

Facing 'Hawkeye' Mihawk, Abel threw the corpse onto the ground.

Mihawk gave it a glance before returning his gaze to Abel.

"This man was my prey."

"So, what are you proposing?"

Abel's eyes narrowed; he didn't know if his current strength was enough to defeat the other, but if the man truly wanted to fight, he was more than willing to oblige.

If you must know why.

Deep down, Abel also considered himself a swordsman.

And as a swordsman, when encountering strong 'peers,' there's always a desire to determine who is superior.

Even if one knows they are no match, they must dare to draw their sword!

Otherwise, their thoughts become unclear.

'Hawkeye' Mihawk seemed to have noticed the "Onimaru" hanging at Abel's waist and the unusual atmosphere.

So he said, "Survive one slash from me, and we're even, regardless of life or death."