Issho's Yakuza Kasen swung out again, a straight slash descending.
Hiroto, who had arrived in front of him with Shunpo, sidestepped, his Observation Haki barely catching Issho's slash trajectory, avoiding the blow.
Boom!
The ground caved in, forming a bottomless pit, showing just how heavy the gravity on that slash was.
Hiroto seized the opportunity to stab forward, a sharp slash shooting out. However, even at close range, it didn't actually harm Issho.
Gravity erupted, like a roaring tsunami, sending Hiroto flying.
"Flying slash, huh... I can do that too."
Yakuza Kasen slashed upwards, and a slash surrounded by a gravity halo shot into the sky.
Boom!
The earth wailed and trembled, tearing open a gigantic abyss hundreds of meters long.
The purple-black slash that charged out was as heavy as a mountain, crushing everything in its path.
Too late to dodge.
Hiroto chose to meet force with force. Shigure slashed downwards, and a crimson slash rose from the ground.
Flying Slash: Four Times Scale Amplification, Three Times Power Amplification!
The violent slash instantly transformed, hundreds of meters across.
Even without [Fish-Man Strength]'s buff, relying on his C-grade attributes, he recreated the Sea-Splitting Slash.
With his shortcomings addressed, he still possessed enough endurance.
Boom!
Countless shattered rocks and debris were flung into the sky.
Dust scattered, but was then swept away by the escaping slashes in the next instant, revealing the tangerine grove transformed into a giant crater.
Well, it couldn't be called a tangerine grove anymore, because there were no tangerines, only a large pit.
Within the charred pit, Hiroto and Issho stood close, their intense battle having stopped.
Drip...
Drip...
Blood dripped from the Yakuza Kasen's edge, forming a continuous line of blood.
Issho watched Hiroto, whose heart he had just pierced during the clash.
The slash Hiroto had unleashed had inexplicably grown several times larger, and its power was considerable.
By meeting force with force, clashing and stalemating with his slash, Hiroto seized that opening and rushed forward, his long blade, coated in Armament Haki, delivering a direct thrust to the face.
Issho originally intended to hold back, but then he remembered what the other party had said before their battle.
Out of trust, he naturally responded.
Sidestep, draw his blade.
And that's how it ended up like this.
Yakuza Kasen pierced Hiroto's heart. From Issho's perspective, the focus in the other party's pupils had almost completely scattered. Hiroto's life force was rapidly declining, essentially describing him as on the verge of death.
But when he delivered that thrust, Issho had another reason for not holding back. It was the meaning and emotion revealed in Hiroto's eyes, as if he had accomplished something impossible, laughing heartily for it.
He didn't care about the impending death, nor about his failure.
What he cared about was...
Issho slowly turned his head, and a section of a blade came into view, piercing his shoulder.
Bright red blood gushed out.
Whether it was the unexpected trade of life for injury or something else, none of it was an excuse.
Especially when he hadn't intended to get hurt, yet was pierced through the shoulder by the long sword in Hiroto's hand.
"What a remarkable fellow."
Issho offered a sincere word of praise, then drew his blade and stepped back, watching Hiroto, whose heart had been pierced, fall backward onto the ground.
"..."
There was no movement.
Issho just stood there, his gaze fluctuating with waves of emotion.
He stared at the 'corpse' before him, whose presence had become incredibly weak—one could even say non-existent.
A feeling of anxiety churned in his heart, but he still focused all his efforts on sensing Hiroto's condition.
Is Hiroto dead?
Had he misunderstood something?
He...
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump!
An abrupt 'heartbeat' suddenly rang out, vigorous and powerful like the beat of a drum.
'Heartbeat? Wasn't his heart pierced by me?' Issho's eyes widened, his expression filled with shock.
In his perception, Hiroto's physical heart was not beating.
Indeed, that was not the other party's physical heartbeat. Or rather, that thumping heartbeat did not exist on a physical level. It was a 'heartbeat' on a spiritual levelm
The moment he glimpsed this, Issho 'saw' it in a daze.
That heart, manifested from Hiroto's 'will', was beating within that 'corpse'.
Only then did Issho discover that Hiroto still had a single breath left.
[Sit-ups] entered the second stage.
Hiroto's vision focused as he used the condensed 'Heart of Will' to dominate his body, which was hanging by a thread.
Lie
Down
Sit
Up!
Abundant vitality was injected out of thin air, and the wounds on Hiroto's body healed at an incredible speed. The flesh within the wounds where skin and meat had been torn away by the gravity chains squirmed and closed, forming dense scars which then rapidly peeled away.
In the end, his skin became as smooth as before, and even his pierced heart returned to its peak state. It beat vigorously and powerfully.
After fully returning to his peak state, some subtle changes occurred within Hiroto himself.
His natural talent and potential increased exponentially. His aptitude for swordsmanship, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki all saw varying degrees of improvement.
He even vaguely felt that something more had been added, though it wasn't yet enough to take shape.
If his talent would have been considered mediocre in the Grand Line before, it was now worthy of being called excellent.
But this was not the end.
Hiroto could clearly feel a power accumulating within his body, waiting for his choice before exploding.
The 'Power Surge' mechanism triggered.
Hiroto felt that he could choose one thing from his combat system to undergo a qualitative leap in stage. However, it couldn't be saved for later.
Thinking briefly about his current needs, he made a decision.
[Elementary Armament Haki → Intermediate Armament Haki]
(End of Chapter)
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