How could I possibly be afraid of Big Mom!
If they manage to take down a notorious fellow, they would become famous, and maybe even improve their standing within the Pirates.
And as a Four Emperors Pirates group, they wouldn't back down either.
People from both sides bellowed at each other; Urouge and Snack remained silent, simply staring each other down, until the ships closed in side by side, both parties moved almost simultaneously, leaping into the air.
Urouge held a prismatic lead pillar, grinning maniacally as he swung it to create the character 'Heaven'.
"Infiltrating Enlightenment!"
"Potato Cutter!"
Snack swung the great tachi, the blade tracing a circle in the air, slicing straight ahead.
Bam!
As the pillar and blade met, the ships below collided at that moment, bow against stern, parallel to each other.
"Charge!"
"Take them down!"
Both sides wielded weapons and pulled triggers, clashing into each other in a tightly packed battle space formed by the interlocking ships.
Bang!
Two figures fell from the air along with the sound, shattering the guardrail and stomping the wooden deck into splinters.
When Urouge landed, his arms bulged, veins throbbing, as he used all his strength to deflect the tachi, smashing it down furiously.
Snack retreated the moment his weapon was deflected, the tachi slicing vertically above as the lead pillar swung, the blade rapidly split into several slices.
Just like slicing freshly fried potatoes into thin chips, swift and precise.
"Fried Food Cutter!"
Urouge maintained his maniacal grin as the descending pillar mysteriously lifted again, crashing heavily against the slicing blades.
"Exorcism and Righteousness!"
Clang!!
A crisp sound rang out, accompanied by a shockwave, the weapons held by both sides trembled vigorously, neither yielding.
Snack frowned, the tachi blade turned horizontal, striking sparks against the tip of the lead pillar, stubbornly slicing towards Urouge's head.
"Peeling!"
"All Things Are Impermanent!"
Urouge pushed the pillar aggressively towards Snack's head, the latter's pupils contracted, the blade sliced down beside the pillar, transforming instantaneously to a swipe, thrusting the pillar aside.
"Soru!"
At that moment, Urouge's deep voice resounded behind Snack, prompting him to turn his head sharply, seeing Urouge's fist clenched as he grinned wryly:
"I don't just rely on brutish attacks!"
Having trained in the New World for half a year, he naturally learned the Six Styles.
However, unlike the Demon Race, people like them didn't have rigid requirements for the Six Styles, choosing what suited them best.
Urouge mastered Tekkai and Soru.
"You bastard!"
Snack clenched his teeth, as Urouge's fist approached, he twisted his waist sharply, swinging the tachi previously drawn away, rotating half a circle, its blade turned black, slicing horizontally.
Haki!
Seeing this, Urouge's grin widened, his punching fist was Armament Hardening, delivering a vicious blow to Snack's turned cheek.
Bang!
"Tekkai Black Steel!"
Upon impact, Urouge's body paused, feet planted firmly, muscular physique tensed, shrouded in black layers, forcefully blocking Snack's attack.
He couldn't perform Coiling yet, unable to concentrate Haki, but he could do Hardening.
As Sage said, insufficient Haki is better spent not learning Coiling, with such scant amount of Haki, local hardening suffices, avoiding excessive Haki usage, making one's will exhausted before the body.
The hardened Haki combined with Tekkai offers formidable defense!
Clang!!
The horizontally slicing blade struck Urouge's flank, emitting a crisp sound.
Urouge glanced down, praising: "Impressive power, neither Haki nor Tekkai can withstand it."
The blade embedded slightly into flesh, revealing blood.
"But..."
Clang!
The tense body instantly relaxed, he swiftly reached out, swiping away the blade while simultaneously lifting Snack's flank with both hands, flipping him upside down in shock.
"Breaking Obsession!!"
Boom!!
Urouge slammed the head-down Snack onto the deck forcefully, pounding out a huge hole, making Snack's head plummet into it.
He let go of his hand and said with a laugh, "In this case, you can't resist, right?"
Falling downward, the upside-down body of Snack trembled, and with a kick of both feet, sent Urouge stumbling back a few steps. His whole body leaped up from the deck, his blood-smeared face full of anger.
Despite being attacked, he still held tightly onto his sword.
"Do you think you've won? Don't underestimate me!"
Snack didn't even turn his body around, just thrust his tachi forward. The blade, coated with Haki, instantly became countless afterimages, chaotically slashing at Urouge.
"Fried Explosion Slash!"
"Tekkai!"
Shhhhhh!
Urouge had just retreated, his arms once again igniting with Haki, using Tekkai to stand firm, but the chaotic blades seemed to cover his entire body. Each slash left deep marks, causing his sturdy frame to spray blood everywhere.
"Potato Skewer!"
The chaotic blades halted, transforming into a single focused strike, driving forcefully forward, impaling into Urouge's crossed arms.
Bang!
The immense force shattered Urouge's Tekkai, flinging his arms apart, sending him flying back, crashing through a mast.
Only then did Snack pivot his body, landing heavily on the deck, glaring as he said:
"A mere pirate worth over a hundred million, don't be so arrogant. I'm one of the 'Four Generals'!"
"What a terrifying power."
Urouge stood up from where the mast had broken, shaking his shoulders, and grinning oddly at Snack: "In that case, I have to go all out."
"What are you talking about, you bastard!"
Snack pointed his tachi forward in anger: "You're telling me you haven't gone all out against me yet? Stop spewing nonsense!"
"Enough damage..."
Strange aura started to emanate from every part of Urouge's body, distorting the surrounding air.
"Karma!"
His already towering figure began to swell, towering over the previously equal-height Snack by more than half a head.
"Come, let's continue, and have a good brawl!"
Urouge clenched his fists, "Beat you, and I'll get to see the 'Four Emperors'!"
Boom!
The sky turned gloomy, erupting with a bolt of purple thunderbolt.
"It's going to rain again..."
In the courtyard of the Royal Palace, Sage, shirtless, reclined on a lounge chair, pulling his sunglasses down and glancing up at the suddenly darkening sky, clicking his tongue:
"It was just a clear day. The weather changes in the New World so fast, even within the island's climate range it can't be avoided."
He had planned to sunbathe while the weather was good, but no sooner had he started than the sky turned cloudy.
"Hopefully it only lasts a few days."
Lily's clear voice rang out from behind, "By usual standards, the longest storm lasts only three days. Twenty minutes ago, noticing the weather was off, I already warned the island residents about your storm."
Sage didn't even turn his head, "How many times do I have to say it, it's not my storm. Isn't rain perfectly normal? Why does everything have to be put on me..."
"At this rate, I'll be blamed for every disaster in the world. One day when the sea level rises and drowns the world, it will also be my fault."
Wearing a light blue long dress with a bow that wrapped around her waist, Lily stood behind the lounge chair, saying:
"If you announce it...some people might believe it."
"Stop joking around."
Sage looked up, his eyes met with two trembling peaks, he couldn't even see her face.
Just as Lily couldn't see her own toes looking down.
Both of their gazes were blocked by a mountain they couldn't climb over...
Sage slightly sat up, picked up the gemstone wine glass from the table beside the lounge chair, drank the wine in one gulp, then handed it to the side.
Lily took the bottle and refilled his glass.
Today, her long wavy blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, giving her a youthful, energetic look.
"What's up?" Sage asked.
"There's a result."
Lily put the bottle down and said:
"After fighting for half a day, of the three hundred men Urouge brought, fifty-one can still move, thirty are heavily injured, and the rest lightly injured. Both our ship and the enemy's ship are destroyed, Urouge won."
"Bulu Bulu Bulu..."
She waved, and a female pirate following her respectfully handed over a Radio Snail that was ringing with both hands.
"Someone's calling, an unfamiliar signal, I don't recognize the simulated face. If I'm not mistaken, it should be..."
Lily pursed her lips and said, "Big Mom."