"Since when did human traffickers get this strong?!"
Arlan felt a massive headache coming on. Lately, it seemed like every strong fighter he ran into was a complete monster.
First there were the two terrifying giants back at Little Garden, then just a few days ago, he'd run into Donquixote Doflamingo—a bona fide Warlord of the Sea, practically a walking natural disaster. There were only seven such monsters in the entire world, and somehow he had stumbled across one just like that. Now, he was up against a human trafficker who had clearly mastered Rokushiki? This was ridiculous!
I swear, this world is out to get me!
"Man, this is crazy..."
Even Backan, who had never seen Oliver fight at full power before, was left absolutely stunned. He couldn't help but praise him inwardly—no wonder Oliver was the second-strongest member of the Chris Pirates. He was definitely stronger than himself.
"Sheesh~ Oliver's going all-out. What's gotten into him? Is he treating the enemy like a swordsman or something?"
Dimitri scratched his head, utterly baffled.
"Oi, oi, oi! Isn't this a bit over the top?!"
Standing at the bow, Elver suddenly had a bad feeling. Watching the flames raging in the sky, he clutched his tea cup absentmindedly, not taking a single sip.
He recognized this move: Flame Rend, one of Paradi's most powerful extensions of Rankyaku. Though it wasn't a full-blown ultimate move, it still consumed a massive amount of stamina—and its power was devastating, easily capable of slicing a Marine third-rate warship clean in half and setting it ablaze. Yet here it had just clashed head-on with that freakish bird-like slash from the enemy.
Elver muttered under his breath, cheeks jiggling with tension,
"Looks like we underestimated the Chris Pirates..."
...
"A sea of fire! The whole sky's burning!"
"Captain Oliver's slash got blocked?! Is the enemy a monster too?!"
"He... he actually stopped Paradi-sama's attack?!"
"Could it be that guy's a monster just like Paradi-sama?!"
The crews of both the Chris and Saint Florent were in complete uproar, staring in disbelief at the inferno engulfing the sky.
On the Saint Florent, Paradi's eyes gleamed blood-red as he grinned cruelly, watching the clashing slashes.
"A swordsman, huh? Doesn't matter if you're a master or not... I'll just cut you into pieces anyway."
Standing atop the ship's railing, Paradi lifted his leg high and lashed out—a piercing, spear-like Rankyaku shot through the air with a bone-chilling shriek.
Rankyaku—Sky Pierce!
"Leave it to me!"
Before anyone on the Chris could react, Oliver had already moved. His right hand lifted and fell in one swift motion—an invisible slash so fast and silent it seemed to simply appear out of nowhere.
When it struck the ocean surface, it gouged a deep ravine into the sea.
One-Sword Style—Wind Shear!
BOOM!
Another thunderous explosion tore through the battlefield. The force of the impact hollowed the sea beneath, air currents churned violently like a raging storm, and both ships rocked dangerously from the blast.
Paradi, still perched on the railing, staggered slightly. His expression grew grim.
He had assumed that earlier devastating slash had been the enemy's full-power, last-ditch strike—something they couldn't easily replicate in short order. His own piercing Rankyaku could shred through a Navy first-rate warship's steel armor with ease—yet the opponent had met it head-on and fought it to a standstill.
What did that mean?
It meant this guy wasn't some newly minted swordsman—he was close to his own level!
"Tch... this is bad!"
Elver, long used to Paradi's methods, immediately realized what had happened.
That attack had been a test—and the enemy swordsman, no, the enemy swordmaster, had passed with flying colors. Worse yet, their captain hadn't even taken the field yet.
They'd picked a fight with a real monster this time.
"Fine. Time to go all out!"
Paradi tilted his head back and leapt into the sky.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM—
Effortlessly stepping through the air with Geppo, Paradi moved with such ease he was practically a blur.
From his aerial vantage point, Paradi's muscles coiled tight. His legs kicked at lightning speed, unleashing a hailstorm of razor-sharp vacuum blades down toward the Chris, covering almost half the ship.
Rankyaku—Blade Frenzy!
"A worthy target... a worthy target..."
Oliver muttered feverishly, eyes gleaming.
Gripping his twin blades, he moved faster than the eye could follow—slashes blending into afterimages as he launched a flurry of strikes back at the descending blades.
Two-Sword Style—Phantom Thousand Cuts!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—
One explosion after another rocked the battlefield, the sheer impact drowning out even the roar of the cannons.
"Wahhh! We're gonna die!"
"How the hell are those slashes so insane?!"
"Fuck! It's like two monsters fighting!"
"How can this be happening?!"
...
The crew of the Chris were half-dead from terror, clinging desperately to the ship, convinced a single missed slash would cleave them all in half.
Even the seasoned sailors of the Saint Florent were trembling uncontrollably—none of them had ever witnessed a clash of such sheer scale and ferocity.
High above, Paradi's face twisted in shock.
"No way... Observation Haki?!"
Every single one of his vacuum blades was being intercepted, perfectly timed and precisely aimed. Without Observation Haki, it would have been impossible—pure eyesight and reflexes alone couldn't have achieved that, unless the opponent had a devil fruit ability tailored to such feats.
But Paradi knew the truth: a pure swordsman like Oliver would never stoop to rely on Devil Fruit powers.
"A human trafficker using Observation Haki?!"
Oliver's mind raced as he parried strike after strike, analyzing the enemy in the heat of battle.
The way Paradi sealed off every potential escape route with his vacuum blades? That kind of predictive attack pattern was impossible without Observation Haki—or a fruit ability, but again, Oliver could tell this man was fighting purely through Rokushiki techniques.
His own Observation Haki had been taught to him by Aeridar. He could use Armament Haki too, though his mastery wasn't enough to fully harden his blades yet—only to coat them with basic Haki.
"Oliver, you damn lazy bastard! Finish that asshole already! If you let even one slash through, I swear I'll kick your stupid hook-nose flat!"
From the deck, Arlan screamed his head off, furious beyond belief.
Oliver's eyebrow twitched violently. A vein bulged on his forehead. Without even turning, he roared back,
"Shut it, you blue-haired freak! Once I'm done cutting him down, you're next!"
Watching this chaos from above, Paradi's lips twitched uncontrollably.
"These damn pirates..."
Veins bulged all over his forehead.
"When the hell did I ever get underestimated like this?!
"YOU DAMN PIRATES... DIE!!!"
Roaring in fury, Paradi leapt higher into the air, then brought his leg down in a crushing axe-kick.
Rankyaku—Circular Rend!
A massive, five-meter-wide blue-white crescent slash burst forth, spinning rapidly through the sky as it shrieked, slicing the very air itself.
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