Rayleigh did not dare act rashly for the moment as he watched Senga's strange behavior. After all, Senga's endless stream of techniques had left an indelible impression on him.
Meanwhile, Senga seized the time to digest the abilities of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit he had just acquired.
Senga discovered that after absorbing the Gravity-Gravity Fruit, the most obvious effect was the explosive growth of his Pupil Power, especially the Deva Path ability.
With his current Deva Path ability, he was confident that if he used Banshō Ten'in or Shinra Tensei on an opponent at Tokikake's level again, even if they protected their internal organs with Armament Haki, they would still be severely injured at once.
And... Senga raised his head toward the sky. He could sense that the Rinnegan's Pupil Power could now pass through the atmosphere and reach outer space. That meant he could use a certain overwhelmingly destructive technique.
Not making Rayleigh wait long, Senga raised his hand and activated Banshō Ten'in once again. This time, its power was so immense that even Rayleigh was struggling to withstand it.
Rayleigh abruptly drove his sword into the ground, relying on the soil's resistance to keep himself from being pulled over by Banshō Ten'in. But the massive trees and shattered rocks behind him had no such method, all rapidly converging in the direction of the gravitational pull.
Throughout the process, all sorts of hard objects constantly slammed into Rayleigh's back and shattered, forcing him to coat his back in Armament Haki.
He was old, after all. He could not endure attacks at that frequency with his body alone for long.
Countless massive trees and rocks gathered before Senga's palm, eventually compressing into a gigantic sphere. Senga's eyes widened sharply, and Shinra Tensei erupted. The enormous sphere was instantly launched outward, smashing fiercely toward Rayleigh.
Seeing this, Rayleigh did not dare underestimate him. He pulled his sword from the ground and swung it horizontally, sending a slash crashing into the incoming giant sphere.
In Rayleigh's view, splitting a sphere made of rotten wood and rubble with that attack should have been effortless. But was that really the case?
The slash left a deep gash after striking the sphere, but it did not split the sphere in half. It still hurtled toward Rayleigh at high speed.
Damn it, had that incredible compression created an object of such extreme density?
He understood the reason, but the giant sphere was already about to have an intimate encounter with him.
Rayleigh's expression darkened. Energy wound along the arm holding his sword and wrapped around the blade. The energy-wreathed sword began flashing with red-black lightning, giving off an utterly terrifying aura.
"Pluton: Void Crash!"
A slash laced with black lightning and several times more powerful shot forth, colliding with Senga's attack once more. This time, the sphere was blasted to pieces the instant it touched the slash.
After shattering the sphere, the slash actually did not lose momentum and continued cutting toward Senga.
"This power... it's Conqueror's Haki coating, isn't it? I, Uchiha Senga, acknowledge you. Among all the enemies I've encountered, I would call you... not bad!"
Senga had originally wanted to say the strongest, but after thinking about how long the road ahead was, he felt it would lose its impact if he said it now.
"Heh, setting everything else aside, your mouth sure is stubborn. If you can, then take this attack and let me see!"
Rayleigh believed that even if Senga had somehow increased his strength, there was no way he could withstand a slash coated in Conqueror's Haki.
He had even shifted his gaze toward Kalifa in the distance, wondering whether he should deal with that woman as well.
Rayleigh still retained some of the ruthlessness from his pirate days. After being provoked by Senga again and again, he had developed killing intent.
Kalifa's heart went cold. Naturally, she could feel Rayleigh's killing intent. Locked under his gaze, she felt as though even her heartbeat were about to stop.
Yet she held an inexplicable confidence in Senga—that nothing would happen to her today. She did not know where this confidence in him came from.
It was just that whenever Senga's eyes appeared in her mind, she felt an overwhelming sense of security.
Forcing her stiff body to move, Kalifa retreated several hundred more meters. She knew that the only thing she could do now was avoid becoming a burden to Senga.
If Rayleigh tried to stop her, she could at least delay him a little and buy Senga some time, even if it was only a few seconds.
As long as Senga lived, there would still be a chance to turn things around. If Senga failed, then she could not escape death on her own anyway.
Back on Senga's side, he faced the incoming slash and spread his arms wide. Terrifying Pupil Power brewed in his eyes.
Finally, just as the slash was about to strike Senga, an immensely powerful Repulsion Force burst forth from his body.
"Super Shinra Tensei!"
In an instant, time seemed to freeze. The terrifying Repulsion Force swallowed every object within a range of several thousand meters like a tidal wave. Wherever it passed, not a blade of grass remained, leaving behind nothing but bare earth.
After a long while, the attack ceased. A pile of rubble suddenly exploded, and Rayleigh leaped out from within it.
The moment he emerged, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Even though he had shielded his body with Armament Haki immediately, the Super Shinra Tensei had still inflicted considerable internal injuries on him.
But he had no mood to care about his injuries. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: kill Senga.
If a young Marine with such talent were allowed to grow, he would become an even more terrifying monster than the Marine's current three Admirals.
Conqueror's Haki surged madly into the sword in Rayleigh's hand. The blade gave a low hum and trembled without end as denser black lightning covered it. Rayleigh made up his mind to bring Senga down with a single strike.
But this time, Senga would not give him another chance to charge up. He looked toward the sky, then used several rapid movements to find the dirt-covered Kalifa a thousand meters away and pulled her into his arms.
This time, Kalifa naturally leaned against Senga's chest. Feeling his blazing heartbeat, she softly asked,
"Did you win?"
Senga smiled and shook his head.
"You think too highly of me. I'm still no match for him right now, but sooner or later, I'll kill him with my own hands. A dead Pluton is much more valuable than a living one."
"I believe you, but... will he really just let us leave?"
Senga turned and glanced behind him, then said meaningfully,
"He will. I left him one—no, two heavyweight gifts."
Kalifa tilted her head adorably, unable to understand. Still, she obediently rested her head against Senga again and said nothing more.
Senga glanced at the ground beneath his feet. Yomotsu Hirasaka activated, and a black hole appeared. Holding Kalifa, Senga disappeared into it.
On the other side, the moment Rayleigh saw Senga preparing to leave, he wanted to attack at once. The power of this strike was already sufficient. Yet just as he was about to move, his Observation Haki sent him an extremely dangerous warning.
He suddenly looked up, and the sight before him left him rooted to the spot.
High in the sky, a gigantic meteor nearly two hundred meters in diameter had already broken through the clouds and was hurtling toward the ground.
This disaster-level phenomenon was seen not only by Rayleigh, but also by people in other areas far from this location.
"Look, what is that?"
"Oh my god, it's a meteor!"
"How could there be a meteor here? That's terrifying!"
Unlike ordinary people, some powerful figures hidden throughout the various areas felt that things were not so simple. Sabaody had never seen something like a meteor, so this phenomenon itself was deeply strange.
Sure enough, what happened next proved their suspicions.
Just as the meteor was about to crash into the ground, a terrifying slash appeared and instantly split it in half. The one who had unleashed that slash was Rayleigh, and it had originally been prepared for Senga.
Having used another slash coated in Conqueror's Haki, the aged Rayleigh's breathing became somewhat labored. Yet he still did not dare relax, because the warning from his Observation Haki had not stopped.
Sure enough, a thunderous roar rang out. A meteor twice as large as the previous one appeared, falling toward the same location.
With a bitter smile, Rayleigh could only force himself to stand and use Conqueror's Haki coating again. This time, because the meteor was larger, he had no choice but to slash twice in succession.
As the two slashes flew out, the second meteor also shattered with two resounding crashes, falling to the ground with a deafening boom.
Rayleigh supported himself with his sword in one hand and dropped heavily onto the ground. Looking toward where Senga had vanished, he muttered,
"Captain Roger, it seems I've left behind an unbelievable Marine Monster for the next generation!"
Before you continue