Overheating

Duncan's body exploded from the tar, reaching forward to embrace Maria. Maria's leg came screeching around in a circle, slicing Duncan into two separate tar entities. Her kick had been quick enough to make sure the tar hadn't stuck to her legs, but once more Duncan seemed unfazed from the kick. He quickly recoiled into the tar, though, seeing this technique as a bust. The tar he disappeared into splashed as he vanished into it.

"Crap," said Maria, realizing she may have lost her one and only chance to bring him down. If he didn't leave the tar dome again, she would never have another chance to take him down. It sucked, but it was true. She used another fast kick into the air in order to try and buy herself more time to figure out the way around this predicament.

Of course, that attack meant nothing to Duncan. Another almost gatling gun-like wave of tar bullets came crashing in at her. Maria's hands snapped forward in a series of fast punches. Each punch had a slight angle to it to send the tar bullets away in various directions rather than splattering onto her or her fists. She had already had to fight with her feet stuck, so the last thing she wanted to happen was for her arms to stick into them. She stepped forward and batted the pellets away with superior speed and precision.

Duncan smirked as he once more vanished into the tar behind him. Maria chased in and landed a quick punch into the tar, hoping that by some miracle not only would it barely hit him, but it would affect him too. Duncan laughed. If it wasn't for his Devil Fruit, she may have actually stood a chance. Her power, speed, and instincts were all top-notch. However, Duncan would still win. He slung another ball of tar at Maria, aiming for her shoulder, but just like before, Maria's instincts kicked into high gear as if sensing the attack.

With a powerful spin, she launched a roundhouse kick, slicing the tar in half and sending each half in different directions. She planted her foot as she puffed out her chest in victory as if saying 'how's that' to Duncan and his pathetic strategy. This only made Duncan cackle quietly from his safe spot within the massive tar heap.

Duncan was surprised by her fighting spirit, though. She was surrounded on all sides by her opponent, no escape possible and she couldn't even touch him. Even if she could, and then if she could beat him, when Duncan died or fell unconscious and his control over the tar broke… the only thing that would happen is the room would collapse. The tar would once more engulf her in its sticky hold. Victory even in defeat, that's the way Duncan liked it.

Duncan found himself unusually riled now he thought about it. This little girl… with her ego big enough for two. He found her… annoying. He has shown undying loyalty to Trevor and the Arena time and time again and then she waltzes in here and he fawns over her and her strength. He was Trevor's favorite until she came along, so he would just have to remind her and Trevor where his rightful place was. Right by Trevor's side.

Duncan created a huge ball of tar, one at least three times the size of his other ones. He let it harden, then he gouged out the insides and filled it full of liquid. It was basically a pot filled with tar. Not only could it cause a concussion if it actually hit anyone, but even if Maria broke it apart like his last attacks, she would be covered in his tar. She would be completely incapable of moving it would be his win. He let it go flying towards her.

Maria's head swiveled around first, locking onto her new target. Her entire body followed, completing the turn. Her entire body was directed at the large ball. She smiled. Duncan was apparently stepping up his game. He went a size up, too bad it didn't mean anything to her. No matter how big he made them, she'd just keep breaking them. She pivoted forward, sending a fast right straight for the large ball. With the slightest rotation added to her punch, she easily abolished it. Her fist smashed straight through one side and causing the rest of it to break off and shatter. It was only then when she realized her grave mistake.

She had thought Duncan wouldn't think of such a treacherous technique and yet here it was. The ball exploded, covering her in the thick black stuff. She immediately began thrashing about, trying to fling the crap off of her body, but it was to no avail. The tar weighed down on her, sticking to her arms and chest, refusing to be knocked loose from its latest captive. Maria was trapped once more.

She watched as Duncan sunk back into his swimming pool of tar. He was barely visible beneath the thin black curtain. There were little ripples as he began circling around Maria, his trapped rat. With her feet firmly planted in the ground, fixated in one direction she probably seemed like the perfect target to an experienced killer like him. From there he immediately started the attack.

The balls of tar began flying towards Maria. They blew in from all sides, like an angry hornet's nest. Even without her full-range of motion with her legs and even her chest being restricted, she still had enough power to blow them away. Her quick hands smashing into each and every single one of the balls that were to the front of her. Her hands screeched out, each one hitting another sending them all spiraling into a variety of directions. Her speed and strength made such a technique simple for her.

Maria groaned as she felt several of the balls smash into her back. There was no way for her to block those and Duncan knew this. He stopped his circling and took up a station primarily behind her. He continued his attack. Every one of his Tar Pistols came flying in towards her back, each one hitting her solidly between the shoulders.

Maria tried once more to break free of the tar. She twisted again, ignoring the constant stinging assault on her back for the time being. She needed to break free, but she couldn't. There was a huge strain on her entire body, the human and machine parts alike. She sighed as she realized that she overworking her body with the constant fights and now this. It was bad news for her. Her body was overheating like any normal machine.

She looked down as she tried to calm down and give herself some time to let it cool down, but when she did so she noticed something interesting. She might be able to use it. Duncan seemed to have taken note of the change in Maria's face that she had finally come together with a new plan as he increased the numbers yet again. The hardened spheres of tar came at a higher pace now.

Each one came flying in at her with the intention of killing her. They were being aimed at vital spots now, but that didn't bother Maria. Why? Cause all of her vital spots were within arm's reach not a single vital spot was located in the vulnerable back. She swatted the ball down and away from her liver, another away from her heart. Her punching speed not only matched Duncan's throwing speed, but surpassed it. Finally Maria pressed forward, knocking another ball aside she moved her legs forward. The strain was evident, but almost immediately the tar surrounding them broke!

She caught herself and charged forward towards Duncan who was still in mid-throw. She closed the distance in a short amount of time, quicker than Duncan could retreat into his tar dome that was for sure. She was face-to-face with him in a matter of seconds, of course, Duncan didn't mind. Despite her immense strength and ability to break free from his tar's grip, she couldn't harm him! He was still a Logia and she didn't magically master Haki in the past two seconds. His overwhelming belief in his own Logia powers was proven fruitless in the next second.

As Maria's powerful right hook drew closer to Duncan's head, he felt the most immense surge of heat outpouring from it. Her limbs were machines, and just like any other machine, they grew hot with overuse. She was overheating. Of course, ordinarily this just meant that she may be able to burn her opponent with her punches, but against Duncan it meant more, so much more.

Duncan was a tar man, and that means whatever happens to tar also happens to him. So what happens to tar when it is exposed to extreme heat? It hardens. And that was the Taru-Taru no mi's one weakness. When it was exposed to heat, the user would harden and it would be possible to hit him. The strength of Maria's punch went in, unhindered and straight into Duncan's skull. Duncan's body was basically wrenched free from the tar and pulled out of his large dome. He was dazed as he tried to figure out what had happened.

The power of her punch had actually knocked him unconscious for a split second, and even now he was having trouble seeing. His vision was blurry due to the fact that his brain was probably rattled from the force of her punch. What had even happened? She shouldn't have been able to even lay a finger on him, but with that kind of power it was possible that she could just rip his head free from his shoulders. He was just coming to again when Maria brought her steaming hot knee forward and into his face, throwing it back again. Duncan quickly came to his senses and retreated back into the tar before Maria could get another punch in. Once he was safely tucked away in the tar he tried to catch his breath and figure out just how bad the situation was.

Despite recently finding out that Trevor orchestrated an attack on their home, and that a Buster Call was pointed straight at him, it was possible that this was the number one biggest surprise so far today. Maria hadn't stopped attacking. She continued to punch feverously. She stepped forward and continued to pound her fists into the tar dome, quite literally actually. Her punches sunk beneath the surface and came flying at Duncan still. Duncan was caught off-guard. No one has ever been crazy or stupid enough to try such a ridiculous stunt, but her she was throwing wide punches into the tar. Through either sheer luck or determination her punches came in. One smashed solidly into Duncan's cheek. Duncan turned around quickly and tried to fight back, but another punch came flying in, and then another. She refused to stop, despite the thick wall of tar that separated them her punches kept on coming.

Every one of her punches found their mark, screeching through the wall and into Duncan's body forcing it back little by little. He couldn't move, Maria was plowing her way through the tar dome forcing him back each and every time with renewed force each time. Finally Duncan felt it his body had exited the goop. The tar had been lifted as his body had been forced out. Maria had successfully fought her way through it all and she was still going. She brought her fist through once more, smashing into Duncan's jaw and jerking him back against the ground. And he was out.

Maria ripped through the last layer of tar and into the fresh air again. She stepped forward, but nearly fell flat of her face. Her legs were at their limits. She wanted to say she knew she would've won all along, but right now if Duncan had enough strength to stand he would be the winner. Maria's legs were overheated and about to give-up. She couldn't help but wobble as she took another step. Her legs were dying now… she had pushed them and pushed them and now they were admitting that they couldn't keep up. She collapsed onto the floor. She was done.

One Single Punch

I currently got a new Beta-Reader, so hopefully the amount of errors have decreased. Everybody thank Labyrinth-Designer for a wonderful job Beta Reading!

I hope Maria knows it not wise to fall asleep in the middle of enemy territory. However, almost all the baddies of the URA are being wiped out by their crew. Trevor, Karasu, and Mashiba are left. This arc is speeding up, but more plot twists still lurk in the shadows!