A Bounty Hunter’s Fantasy

## Arriving at Destiny

“I just know this place is gonna have some high bounties” says Shinryoku Chikara, marveling at the views of the island. He walks toward GR 66 at a leisurely pace, looking around for any important looking people that may be pirates or other criminals. He arrives at his destination, slightly disappointed in the lack of action. “YO! Ensign! Yes, you, over there! Is there any known bounties present on this island?”

”yes, I believe there are three different pirates, scattered around the island, here are the files.” the marine says, slightly nervously.

”Perfect, a little low for my tastes but the three of them combined will make for quite a sum, and only one known fruit eater, all in a days work” He pauses as he hears the door open and a man walks in, wearing… boxing gloves?

Ralmos stepped into the building covered in bandages!? His entire body was wrapped with them. They were stained with red as the boxer had suffered many beatings that left him in such a state. Some of the bandages were a dark red, indicating he had been bleeding a lot. Some of the bandages were a clean red to show he was bleeding now!? So why was he here to hunt for more bounties? It was simple: his drive to become stronger. He needed to keep hunting despite suffering significant injuries he had not fully recovered from. To keep training his fists to grow stronger. "I want the toughest bounties on this island. Nothing more and nothing less."

Shinryoku was a little shook by the man’s arrival, intimidated and a little impressed at his resolve, and he definitely didn’t want to give him the opportunity to steal his bounties. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit this one out man?”

"Nah.." Ralmos proclaimed. "I got to get much stronger And the only way you do that is to push beyond your limits. I am fine, honestly." Ralmos was not fine. He seemed to be more a walking corpse than a living, breathing bounty hunter. Ralmos took a few shakey steps forward. "I have been sitting out of action for over six months. Not able to even fight anyone! Now I finally can at least move how I want too. So I am looking for bounties to sharpen my skills on. My fists have not been tested in such a long time." There was not a hint of hesitation in Ralmos's voice.

Shinryoku was a little conflicted by this. On the one hand, this man was a competitor to him, yet on the other, he did not want to let this determined man die. “Do you want to hunt these dudes together? It wouldn’t be the first time I worked with another hunter” he said, remembering his exploits at Loguetown. “We can split the bounties accordingly,”

"Fine with me. However, if you want to split, that works for me. I just need someone to fight." Ramos was not going to explain more than that. Being a bounty hunter was the easiest way to get into a fight. If he wanted to get stronger, he would fight, and the cycle would repeat itself. "Do you know who we will be hunting?" Ralmos glanced around the building. "I heard this island used to have many run-down pirates. But it seems peaceful nowadays. Hopefully, this was not a sign that the pirates they run into would be subpar.

“Two relatively low bounties and one predatory Zoan user worth a medium amount, should be some fun ones.”

"Alrighty, let's go take a look then." Ralmos was more interested in fighting the Zoan user than the other two. The first two should be some light work. But the Zoan user should be something he could sink his fists into. To allow his bones, muscles, and mind to move together again. He could remember the day he got maimed in battle. He didn't want to think about it that much, but it was something that had left his body ravaged. He had barely survived, but he had gained a lot of insight into his true abilities. Now, it was time to test them out against these pirates.

## Shaking Off the Rust

“I heard that one is in here” They enter the saloon, which is extremely busy. There is clamoring at every table, so loud that the two can barely hear the waiter say

”I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to sit you two, the wait is 45 minutes” a waiter says.

”Don’t worry, we’re meeting a friend here, I believe he already has a table” Shinryoku says.

They look around the bar, and lo and behold, they see a broad man yelling. “This round is on me guys! C’mon let’s have some fun everybody!”

”Thats one of them for sure” Shinryoku tells his comrade

"You sure that one of the guys." Ralmos turned, looking at Chikara. If this guy were one of them, he would be happy to beat him up. But, Ralmos had not taken the time to look at the picture of their bounties. And while his hands were available to anyone, he was not the type to A. throw a sucker punch and B. Throw a punch without a good reason. Of course, he didn't say this quietly at all, so it would be pretty easy for the pirate to overhear and maybe put two and two together. Or maybe he was still busy being the life of the party.

“I’m sure” He was a bit confused. This doesn’t seem like such a bad guy. Shinryoku had met pirates that weren’t necessarily bad in his past, but never someone quite like this. “Should we go up to him, or just wait it out for a while or what?”

"Alright, if you sure." Ralmos would dart forward, kicking off the ground at least ten times as he raced in with inhuman speed. This was the Soru, a technique used by the world government. Ralmos had known his technique for about one year now, learning it after observing Rebecca Brave, in their battle. Of course, he had both grown more skilled with the ability and was able to use it even while he seemed to be crippled. His right fist would flash forward to fill the man's view. A clear sign of disrespect and futhermore, a sign Ralmos wanted to fight.

"I don't think I need to say anymore, but... you're a pirate. I'm a bounty hunter. I am here to take you in." Ralmos seemed almost robotic in a way. He didn't try to explain it more than that or bring out much joy. In fact, it seemed like he was searching for something. This battle was all a test in his mind. To grasp onto something that would propel him to further strength.

”I see” the man said, “Who am I to stop you from doing your job. I will not deny you of the battle you seek”

Shinryoku was still conflicted about fighting the man, and silently agreed to himself to stay passive, though step in if lives were in danger.

"Alrighty then. That was easy. Let's meet outside, then I'll have you three minutes." Ralmos was okay with giving this guy time to run away or prepare to battle him. If he ran like a coward, then he was not worth fighting in the first place. Ralmos would step outside and take in a deep breath. But once he did, a bit of blood began to leak from his bandages. Using the Soru had reopened his wounds already? Ralmos just grinned slightly under the bandages. He needed this level of insanity and challenge to reach the peak of his powers.

“Ahhh, the dangers of this occupation as a pirate” the man downed his drink, paid the bartender, then got up and walked toward the exit. He met Ralmos outside, drew his khopesh, and prepared for battle. “I’m ready when you are”

So he was going to use a sword? That was going to make things a bit tougher. But Ralmos wanted to be stronger than those who used such weapons. He had improved his boxing for moments like these. Ralmos's muscles fully relaxed as he stared down the pirate. Ralmos finally pushed off the ground, racing in close with the Soru techquine. He bypassed the guard fully and landed a straight clean right straight to the face of the man. A Lighting fast strike to start the battle in his favor. Hopefully, it would catch him off guard and let Ralmos get into his rhythm.

The man attempts to dodge, though still gets slightly hit on the side of his face, he falters for a second, leaving an opening for Ralmos.

Ralmos saw the opening as the man attempted to dodge his attacks. Ralmos fist shot forward to land another flush straight to the man's jaw. Then he'd spin around to land a left uppercut on the man's jaw. A vicious two-piece combo from the Boxer! What was more, was that each move had no delay. He was flowing in each attack without conscious intent. Ralmos moved into the next most straightforward attack, which allowed him to attack at maximum speed and efficiency.

The man managed to dodge a few strikes but the attacks were relentless, getting hit from everywhere. He managed to get one blow in, but it was weak and Ralmos didn’t seem to ever slow down.

Ralmos swung, but his foe was quick. He couldn't land all his strikes. Before he could throw another blow, the man's fist came crashing into Ralmos guard. He was just able to raise it just in time. He would have blocked it entirely if he had been at full strength. But with him being so damaged, he was forced backward by the weak punch. Ralmos gritted his teeth, 'Dammit, I really am shakey right now huh.' Ralmos would begin to scan over the man, 'Then it is perfect. It is the perfect time to learn the Star punch.' Ralmos began to analyze the man's form. He was looking for the perfect weak point to strike.

The man was quite sure that the bounty hunter in front of him had much more technique than he had, but perhaps he had the advantage in strength and weaponry. He also observed the hunter’s bandages covering his whole body. If he could get one good hit in, that might take him out of commission.

'He's not moving forward? He really does not want to get hit.' Ralmos narrowed his eyes as he kept looking for his weak point's. 'It just like my master said.' Ralmos glared as his eyes seemed to fully focus as if he were X-raying the pirates body. It was not from a devil's fruit but from Ralmo's natural understanding of the Human body. He was scanning for any odd weak points that could be taken advantage of. Ralmos couldn't move that well while doing this as he was entirely focused as he performed one of his new techniques. Demon Scanner!

With the pause in his opponent’s attacks, the man took an experimental swipe with the flat of his blade, hoping to knock the hunter off balance.

'Guess he would not make it easy huh!' Ralmos was forced to move back to avoid the strike! He would keep his backstep up, trying to avoid the blade as it came down. Meanwhile, his eyes remained narrowed and focused on the man's form. He would find a weak point to set up an ace in the hole!

The man knew the hunter was up to something. First a barrage of nonstop attacks, and now, being so passive and defensive? He knew he wasn’t going to get a good hit in while his opponent was focused on dodging, but he decided that it’s better to keep him on his toes than to let him prepare for whatever the next move was. He leaped in the air, and brought his blade down using a large percentage of his strength.

'Alright there!' Ralmos saw the Pirate leap into the air and swing his blade towards him! He still had not found a weak point, but he could not be so passive. Ralmos was forced to step to the side of the pirate. The sword smashed into the ground as Ralmos swung forward to hook the man right in the jaw after his blade smashed into the ground. Fact was, without his scanning, he knew that the human chin was a weak point!

So that didn’t work, the hunter’s skill level was so high that the man didn’t know what to do. If he weakens himself with attacks, there will be a counter-strike, though if he plays defensively, that won’t get him anywhere. To be fair, he was a little rattled after the strike to the chin, so he wasn’t very prepared for any further attacks anyway, so he decided to try playing defensively and solid.

'He's backing up.' Ralmos went for the killing blows! He was ready to end this fight. This guy was too weak to push him to his limits. Ralmos kicked off the ground blood spraying from his wounds. Then he unleashed the torrent. "Soru!" He used Soru, moving quickly forward to land a massive barrage of blows at the Bounty Hunter, aiming to overwhelm him and knock him out with a sheer speed and power.

The man tried in vain to block the incoming attacks, which were too quick and precise to be defended against. The man was knocked to the floor by the blows. “I yeild, I yeild! You are clearly beyond my level.”

Ralmos stopped throwing punches as the man yielded. Ralmos let out a deep sigh. "Alrighty then. Then we just gotta arrest you now. You shouldn't of become a pirate if you are so damn weak." He glanced over his shoulder at Chikara. "You got something to cuff this guy with right? I really...i usually just knock them out. But I feel so bad for this guy and he also did say he was giving up. It would be pretty awful to knock out someone who surrenders."

“Yeah I always keep a pair of cuffs on me” Shinryoku said. He was quite taken aback by what he had just witnessed. First, the pirate who had been so confident and boasting, turned out to be quite a weakling. Also, the man covered in bandages, clearly injured, almost on the brink of death, was one of the toughest fighters he’d ever seen, so precise and consistent in attacks. He handcuffed the pirate on the floor and asked the other hunter, “What should we do with this guy, bring him back right now and cash in, or go look for the other guys? Or we could split up.”

"Yeah let's split up for the next two, I'll say. I'll meet you back later." Ralmos nodded and headed off to find one of the other pirates. There didn't need to be more words said between the two of them. With the parties split they would have to face their next foes all on their own!

## An Unexpected Challenge

Shinryoku flew above the main square, looking for one of the faces he saw on the posters. He didn’t see anybody matching the descriptions in his mind, and was searching for some sort of scuffle or uproar in the crowd. Just then he saw one of the people he recognized, intimidating a poor civilian. Ah, unfortunately it wasn’t the Zoan user, I guess I won’t get to fight him. Shinryoku landed in front of them. “Hey!”

The man in the crowd was named Richi. He was a Swordsman who performed in fake sword fights for nobles. However, he grew bored and wanted to test his blade. He had killed over twenty people in bloody duels to the death that usually led to others being hurt. He thought he was tough, but his bounty was only 7,500,000. Right now, he was trying to get out of a fight with another local to taste blood on his sword again.

"So you were pushing me huh? You think that is cool man!? Maybe I should give you a taste of steal." He'd draw the blade pointing to the man's face, cutting part of his cheek. "No, I am sorry, man! I don't wanna fight you! I didn't even push you! You pushed me!" Richi would scowl "Oh, so now I'm the asshole? You really pissing me off. I could just.." He got ready to move the blade to the man's chest. Everyone began to back away, not wanting to be in the range of Richi's crazy swordplay. Richi paused as he heard someone call to him. "What you want asshole!" Richi yelled at Shinryoku.

”Pick on someone your own size dipshit! If even, weak ass mothafucka” He said, walking up to him quite aggressively. He didn’t like the fact that this guy was almost going to kill a random civilian for no reason. Shinryoku took the scythe from his back and prepared for battle.

"Oh so you wanna die? That is fine with me, I can show you the taste of my sword." Richi let out a heavy laugh and began to walk towards Shinryoku. "You seem to actually be pretty strong, so I guess we can duel right here and put on a show for the crowd." Richi would point his blade toward Shinryoku. He would have to wait for the man to reach his range before the battle started. Meanwhile, everyone else on the ground began to scatter not wanting to get in the way of this deadly duel!

He looked around and made sure that nobody was in harm’s way. ”Fine, the audience will witness your resounding defeat.” He swung his scythe in a long slashing attack.

Richi swung his blade out as the Scythe came down. The two blades clashed as the crowd began to watch with intent. They wanted to see Richi go down but were still determining if it would happen. If the first clash were any indication, it would differ from Richi's other fights. This guy was strong! The crowd began to cheer as Richi stepped back. "Not bad...alright!" He would raise the blade, swinging to carve down the middle of Shin's body. "But how you taste this one and tell me how confident you feel afterwards!"

Shinryoku stepped back to avoid getting sliced. He had a reach advantage in this fight, but his weapon is less maneuverable, so he had to be careful. “I’m still quite confident, you have strength but no technique, that is your flaw,” Shinryoku retorted, this was somewhat of a lie, he did have a little technique, but it was quite average and showed signs of inexperience. He mostly hoped to antagonize him, and hope he made a mistake out of anger.

"HUH, YOU'RE CALLING ME SWORDSMANSHIP SHIT!" Richi was beyond pissed by such a bold take! His Swordsmanship was known for its fearsome killing power. They called him the Manslayer for his actions (The locals, not the paper's. He was too small fry for a nickname). With rage in his heart, Richi charged forward, failing his sword out to try to cut and slash Shinryoku with a wild barrage. None of these attacks had much grace or power to them. It was an attack of an amateur. Of course, any attack with a sword was deadly if allowed to land on its target.

Shinryoku grinned, for his ploy had worked well, not quite to perfection, he couldn’t quite find an opening in his mad swinging, but the lack of finesse in the swings meant he had no trouble getting out of the way. He waited for the opportune moment to come and then threw his scythe, jumped in the air, quickly transforming to an owl and back in a flash, and all in one swift movement, he swung his weapon, aiming to hit his opponent with the snath.

"WHAT!" Richi was surprised as Shinryoku was not only avoiding his attacks but even more so when he transformed into an owl. He was hit right in the head by Shinryoku's snath. Richi slammed right into the dirt, one hand clasping his head, the other still holding his blade's handle. "Your fucking joking with me right now!" Richi would quickly get up to his feet but by the time he did he was already fully open to the next attack the bounty hunter could unleash!

“You’re lucky I don’t plan to take your life.” Shinryoku swung his scythe, then, gaining momentum, he attacked the man with the back of his blade.

"GUAH!" The Scythe slammed into the back of Richi, sending him flying across the dirt. Richi skidded across the ground and let out a cough. "Ugh...my head.." Richi would get to his feet, glancing at his injury. "You don't kill...you are a fool. You should try to kill me! Cause that was your last chance to defeat me!" Richi would charge forward and swing his blade with more grace than before. He was still swinging with rapid strikes, but they were much more controlled, though as a result, the speed and power were reduced from the wild strikes from before!

Interesting, Shinryoku thought, so he does have some swordsmanship expertise, as he dodged and parried the attacks. I hit him with back to back blows and he improved his strikes? “AGh” the blade barely cuts him in the right side. It might be hard to incapacitate him by knocking him unconscious, but he didn’t want to maim him unless it was absolutely necessary. He decided it would be best to slide back and play defensively for a bit.

"Yeah, not so cocky now, huh!" It was not as if Richi had gotten better at attacking. It was more that he was focused now. This guy was solid, and he needed to focus his abilities fully. Richi charged forward, swinging his sword around and trying to finish off Shinrokyu. Since he was focused on defending himself, Richi believed that he could take Shirnoryku down! With each strike, he became more reckless since he had not truly learned his lesson; seeing that he could kill Shinoryku, his bloodlust took over. "You can die for me! Kill number twenty one!"

Crap, Shinryoku allowed his opponent to get into his rhythm, he had to halt his strikes or counterattack somehow. As he kept on blocking the attacks, an idea popped into his head. When the sword came around the next time, Shinryoku blocked at the handle of the weapon.

The steel of Shinryoku's weapon met his swings. As the two were locked in the clash, Richi grinned. "Yeah, that's right. I got you right where I want you! Now open up that guard for me so I can cut you down!" Richi pulled his blade backward and kept swinging once more. His rhythm fully exposed, and he unleashed a torrent of wild strikes just like before. He had become lost in the bloodlust, fully believing he was seconds away from breaking Shiroryoku's guard and cutting him down!

Shinryoku began to fear that he would have to seriously hurt this man, or worse, lose to him. Shinryoku took pride in never hurting the people he brought in, but he was now forced to make a decision. As he kept blocking the wild attacks, he found one extremely out of place one, and dodged, then swung his scythe at the off balance Richi.

"WHAT!" The blade missed as Shinryoku dodged and then unleashed his scythe. Richi tried to spin his blade to block but he was too slow! 'Fuck..gotta dodge but too deep in the swing!' The scythe slammed into his side, burying into his flesh. "GUAH!...w...who!?" He expected to be the winner, but now he had just been stabbed. The pain was intense! He didn't like it when he was being stabbed, no he wanted to be the one ripping people apart. Slowly he collasped to his knees breathing hard. He could not clearly keep fighting after being stabbed, but Shinryoku had to decide if this man lived or died.

There was no time to relish in victory, and even if there was, he didn’t like seeing the man in such pain. Shinryoku looked down at the man, who was grimacing. “C’mon, get up, I’m turning you in”

"You just stabbed me! You think I can get up asshole!" Richi growled as he glanced at his blade. He would slowly reach out for it, hoping that he could take the chance to slash Shinryoku if he did try to help him. Richi was just an overall bastard. Of course, with his current state, it was easy to see what Richi was going for and just as easy to stop him and make sure he was brought to justice. Dead or alive.

”You’re really wasting your skill here, first intimidating the innocent, and now resorting to cheap tricks” Shinryoku tsked and kicked away the blade. “Let me pick you up”

"Bastard you won't get away with this." The fact was, Richi had nothing left to give. After his blade was kicked aside, all he could was be picked by Shinryoku, and he was knocked unconscious at the blood loss. He was not going to die anytime soon, but it was better not to waste any time.

Shinryoku hobbled all the way to the nearest marine station, carrying Richi. "ENSIGN, this guy needs medical attention!" A set of marines took Richi into custody, where he received his much needed treatment. "Here's your reward sir." Shinryoku took the money, but he didn't feel great about what he did to that guy. He tried to rationalize it, saying that if any opponent deserved it, it would of been him, but his pride in staying neutral was starting to falter.

## Wild Challenge

Ralmos was looking for the final bounty; he was the strongest of the three, someone with a deadly reputation. Ralmos was hoping that it was true. He needed something to remove the taste of the last fight from his mouth. He was disappointed that he couldn't push himself to his very limit. He knew that he would be able to reach his peak once he faced a real challenge. Combined with his current wear and tear, it was the perfect storm for an evolution of his boxing. Ralmos paused in the middle of a street, his eyes wandering to see if he could find the pirate. Lifting the man's posters in one hand, he'd use his other hand to point out the pirate in the crowds.

There was a man gathering watchers as he put on a performance on a stage in the street, "Come one, come all, and witness the incredible feats of Kodi the Spectacular!"

'Kodi huh?' Ralmos glanced at his poster to see if this was the guy he was looking for. 'If he is putting on a show, he must be pretty strong. Or maybe he is some form of actor. Either way, if this is the guy I'm looking for, guess I'll have to join the show.' In his shambling state, Ralmos began to press forward to find a break in the crowd to get close as he looked at the information he had on his final target.

”He’s handsome, he’s buff, he can beat anybody here in a fight, he can do anything! except swim” he whispered to a closer audience member. “Now, before we begin, are there any volunteers who would like to be part of the show?”

It seemed this was the place he wanted to go. This Kodi guy was the person he was looking for. However, the guy who made the announcement was different from Kodi. Ralmos would step forward, breaking through the crowd. Arriving at the footsteps of the event, Ralmos would proclaim. "I've come here to challenge Kodi. I'll take up his challenge because he may be big and strong but I'm quick and tough. If I fight him i'll lay his ass flat." Ralmos didn't look as such, considering his bandaged state. He looked more like a corpse than a fighter.

"Ah, our daily challenger! Come, come, now tell me young man, wow you don't look very good, how far you have come to challenge the legend that is Kodi" he said in a very quick voice, clearly meant to entertain the crowd.

"I suppose it looks like i'm the challenger. But nah, Kodi is challenging me." Ralmos would put his boxing glove to his chest. "One day I plan to be the strongest man in the world. Well, second storngest, it would be boring to be at the top, I just wanna see waht the summit of strength truly looks like. So this Kodi guy might be strong, but I assure you I'm gonna knock his block off." Bold words, but he really wanted to drive this Kodi fellow to use his full strength in their battle. He didn't wanna be disappointed; he needed a real challenge.

"Ah yes, your whole life story, just what we all wanted to hear," he said sarcastically, "well I suppose you want to meet your opponent, the one, the only, KODI" a very large man burst out from behind the curtain of the stage, lifting his arms up to the crowd, who was cheering him on, clearly this was a regular event.

'Alright that seems to be the guy I am looking for.' Ralmos would look at up at 'Kodi'. He was still not sure if this was the dude, but either way, he was going to fight him now. Ralmos didn't make the first move of course, letting Kodi set up his little show before he got the fight started. He did appreciate whenever someone had to show up and perform for the battle. That was the thrill of gladiator fights. It was not just the fighting. It was the trash talk, the entrance, and the anticipation of two infamous fighters finally facing each other after a long period of hype building.

"WELCOME EVERYBODY! Welcome especially, to my opponent here, let's give him a round of applause for his bravery, huh everybody?" there was some polite applause from the crowd, "Now you've all been here before, you know how it works, we fight until someone loses consciousness, I celebrate the win, blah blah blah, we all go home happy, ARE YOU READYYYYYY!" The crowd cheered very loudly.

Ralmos cracked his neck as he was ready to face off with Kodi. He didn't want to waste any more time. Ralmos would wave his boxing glove toward the crowd before waiting to see Kodi come rushing out so they could begin to throw hands! "You all should enjoy the show because I plan to make this is the very last show Kodi performs!"  Ralmos crossed the glove across his throat. The reaper had come to take Kodi's life, and Ralmos was going to be death's scythe.

"Confident one, huh." He readied his stance, and prepared to face off against this boxer. "Count us down my man." "3, 2, 1!" Immediately after the other man said this he transformed into a white bear. "There it is, the Kuma Kuma no Mi, Model: Kermode Bear, Kodi's famous Zoan fruit!"

"Yah." Ralmos's eyes narrowed as he focused on scanning Kodi's entire frame, looking for weak points. He could see Kodi transform into his bear form. 'So he is a real deal fighter. A zoan user is tough to deal with in hand-to-hand combat. I have enough experience to know that.' Ralmos would raise his arms, getting his guard ready to face off with Kodi. He was going to let Kodi strike first to get an idea of how strong and fast Kodi was and adjust what level of strength he needed to use to win this battle.

”There’s a pause in the fight, they seem to be sizing each other up, oh and Kodi goes in for a paw swipe.” Kodi indeed, did swing his paw toward his opponent’s chest.

'Alright he is attacking!' Ralmos saw the paw swipe coming from a mile away. Ralmos stepped in pulling his body down to duck under the swipe. It cut into his hair, sending some of it flying into the crowd. It was a close shave but Ralmos was not just going to dodge. Ralmos planted his feet as he swung his left fist towards Kodi's gut. That would then be used to open up a combo! After the left fist flew he'd swing the right fist around into an uppercut. The hope was the left hand strike would low Kodi's jaw down to unleash a nasty uppercut for Kodi's troubles.

Kodi failed to block the attacks, though it did not faze him, the attacks did little to weaken Kodi’s “Oh and the challenger lands two hits on Kodi, showing immense skill!” Kodi counterattacked his opponent with another paw swipe.

'He took no damage I should expect that I am not fighting at full strength.' Ralmos saw the swipe come in and was forced to raise a block. The swipe sent him flying backward, skidding across the wood, blood flying from his mouth. What made it worse was the claw mark that formed on his arms, blood pooling out of his bandages. 'Ok...this guy won't be like the other one.'  Ralmos cracked a grin. "ALRIGHT!" He smashed his fists to his chest, which almost sounded like a shotgun going off. Did he just rattle his body with that! Ralmos would shoot forward, with Soru racing around to unleash a barrage of punches on Kodi. With the speed he was moving at, it almost looked like one was being attacked by four men at once!

Kodi raised his arms to block, and did successfully for some blows, though others snuck through his guard. ”The challenger releases a furious barrage of attacks, they seem to be getting through to Kodi, though getting through the toughness of his fruit will be another thing all together.” Kodi was moved back by the constant attacks, though he survived the barrage with something that would result in only slight soreness post fight. Kodi rushed in shoulder first next, hoping to knock him to the ground.

'A Tackle huh!' Ralmos glanced as Kodi was really tanking these blows damn well. It was going to be annoying to break that guard open, especially in his current state. Ralmos shifted his feet, weaving past the shoulder tackle. Ralmos planted himself, raising his fists. "Iron Gloves!" Ralmos unleashed a One-Two attack, but right as the fist fully extended, his body would quickly turn iron-like to increase the power of the attacks. With an instant flex of the muscles, he could use Tekkai before quickly removing the effect. It had been a part of Ralmos' secret training. The timing of a boxer's attacks for instant defense and instant offense! He called it Iron Boxing!

“Some incredible agility from the challenger, avoiding Kodi’s attacks and finding holes in his guard!” Finally, Kodi felt some real pain after his opponent struck him. Kodi roared and, slightly enraged, swung his paws back and forth, trying to damage and possibly kill his opponent.

'Even with Iron Boxing huh?' Ralmos was forced to dodge the incoming swipes, but each blow cut into his bandages, causing his injuries to become more clear. He had clearly been battered badly before these fights. Despite all that, he could still fight! He may have been waking right towards his grave, but Ralmos was not the type to shy away from fighting near death's door! It only made a boxer stronger the closer they were to defeat! Ralmos pushed off the ground to swing his fist into the gut of the Bear before darting away to avoid the strikes. He knew that he would eventually be caught. He just had to set up a finishing combo in order to survive!

Kodi knew he had the advantage in pure strength, so he kept on the attack, so as to not give his opponent time to hit him with anything, as he was quite quick. "Kodi is simply nonstop with his offensive tactics, let's see if he finishes off the challenger!"

'Alrighty! He is still attacking. Ok time to turn it up to the final notch.' Ramos was hit by the clawed strike and sent skidding backward as a spray of blood flew from his bandages. "Ah...." Ralmos took in a deep breath. "Hey, you should know something I'm just warming up." Ralmos began to punch the air and move back and forth.

"There use to be a King in the New World they said could knock down an Emperor of the Sea with just one punch. Most of that is bullshit, but if you can warm yourself up, there is a path to explosive power." Ralmos fist clenched as he brought his right arm back. He'd swing it forward, unleashing a torrent of powerful wind. A massive wind-up hook meant to blast Kodi backward with all his might! It was like a slash of air but only created through pure, blunt force!

Kodi was knocked to the floor from the sheer force of the wind. "What in the world did I just witness!" The crowd was stunned, for they had never seen anything like this. Kodi got up slowly, a little shaken and confused from what just happened.

"It's the difference in our resolve. You wanna be the king of this show. Fair enough, you can have that. Beating up the weak to make people laugh and throwing cash your way. Fuck that weak nonsense!" Ralmos slammed his fists to his chest. It created a massive drumming noise as Ralmos's muscles were clearly as solid as stones!? He was hardly human in his muscle training! "I used to believe that was enough for me, too. But, I ain't weak like that anymore! I don't ever wanna be 'satisfied.' I wanna tear down the strongest until I can't raise my fists again. Every day I train myself to become even stronger. I ain't satisfied with being the big fish in a small pond. I wanna be at the top of the Food Chain!"

Ralmos then got low as he charged forward towards Kodi as he finally got up. As a boxer, he would not attack a foe on the ground. Once Kodi was standing and wanted to keep fighting? Yeah, Ralmos would go in for the kill. Ralmos would throw a feinted left punch to raise Kodi's guard. Then, shifting his entire weight, Ralmos went to hit Kodi in the stomach with his full-strength.

As Kodi got up, he saw his opponent running toward him. He tried to backhand his opponent before he got to him, for he was sure in his weakened state, he would not survive another blow like that.

Ralmos was hit by the back hand from Kodi as blood flew out of his mouth. However, he quickly planted his feet and got even lower. Blood dripped the floor as Ralmos pressed down on the floor. 'If you think such a weak attack going to keep me away.' Ralmos would twist on the ground, his fist flying upwards towards a massive uppercut, aiming to lift Kodi off the ground and blast him into the heavens with a fearsome aura. The ground began to break under Ramos as he lifted the blow into the air. As the blow got in close, he would imbue himself with Tekkai to make sure this time he was not going to move backward!

"And Kodi goes flying, I can't believe this!" Kodi was knocked back and knocked out from the tremendous blow. "The undefeated title will be no more! We have a new champion!!!" The guy who was announcing ran onto the stage, and stuck a microphone in the victors face, "How about a post match interview, first of all, what is your name?"

Ralmos raised his fists into he air as he glanced down at Kodi. He was a lot tougher than the last guy, but he was still not what he was looking for. It was better than nothing, and the money he would get from these last two jobs should be enough for him. When the announcer asked for his name, he walked over to pick up Kodi. "I am Ralmos, a bounty hunter by trade. Kodi here has a bounty so I'll take him as payment! I am also retiring as champion! Yall go find someone else to watch kick people's asses!" Ralmos then turned to run off with Kodi despite his bandaged state.

Shinryoku flew down into the crowd next to Ralmos. "You got to him before I did, huh. Let's turn him in, have someone fix up your bandages, then I'll treat you to some lunch."

"Sounds good to me." Ralmos called out as he ran into Shinryoku. "We got a lot of money to burn once we turn all three of these guys in." Ralmos flashed a thumbs-up. "If you ever need bounty hunter help again, here is my number." He'd hand a Den Den Mushi number for Shinryoku. "Can't say I'm in the business of teaming up, but you a pretty swell guy. So I'll give it a chance every once in a while. Now, come on lets go turn these three in! I really need a meal and I gotta get my bandages fixed."

"Understood, here's my Den Den Mushi number. I'll call you if there's a bounty I think you'd be interested in claiming with me, and I expect you to do the same, now what type of food do you wanna eat?"

"Hmm..not really sure...wait I know. Lets get a nice bowl of Ramen! That stuff is always good! There gotta be some nice Ramen places to go too. We can talk about all our bounties we collected and faced. Maybe I can tell you what I am a mummy...at least for now! Once my injuries fully heal I'm gonna be on another level!" He was doing all this, hardly fighting at full strength. What wicked power did he have hiding under the bandages? Either way, they find out after they get a nice bite to eat. First, though, these bounties had to be turned in.

"I look forward to hearing it, new friend"