Chinjao's mouth twitched. Are newcomers these days all this hot-tempered?
However, Apophis clearly had no intention of wasting words on him. A cold gleam flashed, and he rode the gale toward him.
Chinjao's gaze sharpened as an overwhelmingly powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body and surged in all directions.
As he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, Chinjao's fan-sized hands snapped open. Jet-black Armament Haki swiftly wrapped around them, and his palms, like iron forged from refined steel, clamped shut around the Seven Star Sword's blade.
"Ha ha ha ha! Now your sword is mine... Aah!" Chinjao had barely begun gloating when he suddenly discovered that the sword trapped between his palms was even hotter than a red-hot branding iron. The pain was unbearable, as though someone were viciously driving needles into his brain.
Caught off guard, Chinjao released his grip. The Long Sword in Apophis's hand thrust forward, its tip striking Chinjao's chest. Even though he formed an invisible suit of armor over his chest with Armament Haki at the last moment, the blow still sent him flying. He bounced across the ground several times like a ball before landing.
Naturally, Apophis would not give Chinjao time to adapt. While his opponent was still airborne and unable to adjust his body, Apophis followed him like a shadow. He appeared above Chinjao and brought his sword down.
"Hasshoken: Cross Shield!"
Chinjao crossed his arms before his chest and, relying on the dual defenses of Armament Haki and Hasshoken, forcibly blocked the strike.
Though he had stopped the fatal attack against his vital point, he could not negate the tremendous force transmitted through the Seven Star Sword. Chinjao slid across the ground for more than a hundred meters before barely coming to a halt. His clothes were badly worn, and his back