As Weiss shouted in fury, the sword aura around him responded as though it had gained sentience. What had been a chaotic storm of slashing energy now flowed like rivers converging into the sea.
Streams of sword qi gathered along the blade, and as they stilled, the world seemed to fall into silence. Not a single sound could be heard—the battlefield went deathly quiet.
With a single swing of the sword, an explosion of power erupted. A torrent of sword qi surged forth, two massive arcs slicing through the sky itself. No matter where one looked, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Yet at the same time, the slash seemed almost delicate—as if it had condensed into a single thread that could be effortlessly sidestepped with the slightest shift of the body.
Two completely contradictory sensations!
"Impossible!"
For the first time, King lost his composure.
He had fought swordmasters on the seas before—many of them had even died by his hand. But never had he encountered a swordmaster like Weiss.
It looked like a single strike. But within it, there were seven hidden slashes, each layered and interwoven. Try to block one, and the others would scatter and slice from different angles.
To block them all… was to take the full brunt of the assault.
This wasn't the same as someone swinging a blade at you several times—you could find gaps between swings. But this attack came all at once, overwhelming and absolute.
---
"Tempuraudon!"
King dared not hold back. In an instant, he unleashed one of his ultimate techniques. A massive dragon wreathed in roaring flames appeared behind him, its face twisted and savage.
"ROAR!"
The blazing beast charged forward, setting everything in its path aflame. The air distorted from the heat, and half the sky turned crimson beneath the sea of fire.
Kizaru responded without hesitation. His Yasakani no Magatama rained down in waves, flooding the air before him with golden light. The space shimmered with blinding brilliance, leaving no room for the sword aura to advance.
The battlefield split into three zones:
One was a chaotic maelstrom of sword energy, slashing wildly in the air.
Another was a roaring inferno, flames consuming the sky.
The last was a world of radiant light, where every inch shimmered under Kizaru's attack.
Three forces clashed violently in the air.
The pirates along the coast had long since fled offshore, watching the island from afar aboard their ships. The sky above the island had become a standoff of titans.
"So this… is the world of true power," murmured one pirate who had narrowly escaped.
"Why are such monsters here? It doesn't make sense!" another muttered, unable to comprehend.
"One of them is Admiral Kizaru. Another is King of the All-Stars. And that last one? Whoever he is, to be evenly matched with them—he must be a legend!"
Onboard a nearby ship, Groo sat silently, watching the battle unfold. He had left the island long ago, right after sending out a message. There was nothing more he could do.
Now, he could only wait for the result.
He knew Weiss was strong—after all, rumors said he was the disciple of the Golden Lion, and a great swordmaster himself. But he hadn't expected this level of power.
If the island still existed after this battle, it would only be because the three fighters hadn't gone all out. Even so, already half of the island had been shattered into scattered islets.
If they continued… it wouldn't be surprising if the entire island vanished into the sea.
The intensity of their clash had created a strange magnetic field in the area. From afar, the clouds above the battle had twisted into a spiraling vortex.
"Look! What's that?" a pirate cried out in alarm.
Everyone turned to look. A blood-red sword slash tore through the sky, striking the clouds above.
The blow seemed to awaken some hidden force in the heavens—bolts of lightning burst forth like a thunderstorm, crashing down upon the island in rapid succession.
It didn't last long. A brilliant light exploded from the center of the clouds, and then—
The sky split in two.
"He… he just split the sky..." Sophie stammered, her voice trembling.
They were aboard the Chris, and had chosen to stay behind rather than immediately flee to sea as Weiss had instructed. It was a unanimous decision.
There were too many ships on the water—and they feared that Weiss might burn too much of his strength in the fight.
Now, Weiss stood on the battered shore of the island, breathing heavily as waves crashed behind him. The outburst had drained him considerably.
King was in no better shape. He hadn't taken to the sky as a pteranodon—he, too, had consumed too much energy. And now, he had to conserve what strength he had left. Strictly speaking, he was the only one among them who was actually a pirate.
Kizaru, aside from looking a bit disheveled, was relatively unharmed.
That was the power of an admiral—especially a Logia-type one.
And because none of them had gone in for the kill, despite the overwhelming destruction, no one had suffered serious injuries. What they'd burned through was stamina.
Kizaru only needed to make a report.
King needed to escape.
And Weiss... Weiss needed to vent his fury.
If this had been a true life-and-death battle, Weiss wouldn't have hesitated to team up with King to kill Kizaru first. Not this back-and-forth dance.
"What a terrifying young man," Kizaru said sincerely at last. Weiss was far too young to wield such power.
King was in his forties. Kizaru was over fifty.
And yet Weiss had fought them both to a standstill—without injury.
What was even scarier was that Weiss wouldn't reach his peak until around thirty.
The two older men exchanged glances, silently realizing just how dangerous this young swordmaster would become in the future.
"If we keep going like this, we'll all be late for dinner," Weiss said, plunging his sword into the ground and resting his hands on the hilt. The sword aura shimmered faintly around him.
Calm and unafraid.
King, on the other hand, was beginning to back off. His Observation Haki told him that more and more warships were approaching the island. If he didn't leave now and two vice admirals arrived, he really wouldn't be able to escape.
He made his decision.
His body ignited in a massive burst of flame, shrouding the battlefield once more in blinding fire. Two fire dragons roared forth—but it was clearly just for show.
As expected, when the fire cleared, King had transformed into a pteranodon and was flying off into the sky.
Just as Kizaru prepared to give chase, the Den Den Mushi in his bag rang.
"Old man, we caught a few pirates with bounties of tens of millions," said Sentomaru's voice.
"My, my, Sentomaru… When did you get so capable?" Kizaru replied, for once not using the wrong transceiver.
"I've always been this good. I'm the strongest marine on the seas!"
Click.
Kizaru hung up. "Well then, see you around, kid."
With that, he turned into a streak of golden light and vanished.
Seeing both his opponents gone, Weiss turned and began walking toward the harbor.
---
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