If Kuma's talks at the Kakeiin Clan's main house had gone fairly smoothly,
then Urouge's discussions with the Gokadoin Clan in Aoi Spiral City had gone even more smoothly.
Hidemoto Keikain could entrust a message to Hanakaiin Mingzai through a dream, so naturally Abe no Seimei had also contacted Abe no Yoshihira.
Moreover, compared to Hidemoto Keikain, Abe no Seimei held greater influence over the Gokadoin Clan. It had been nothing short of an order.
Thus, Abe no Yoshihira had long been waiting for the World Government to come recruiting.
This gave Urouge a favorable impression of these Gokadoin Clan Yin-Yang sorcerers.
So, during his spar with Abe no Yoshihira, he held back and did not cause him too much harm.
Otherwise, if that final punch had truly landed on Abe no Yoshihira after he had fallen,
both man and ground would have been smashed into a heap of sludge sunken within a circular crater.
That was also the scene that still filled Abe no Yoshihira with lingering fear.
At the time, the enormous fist coated in Armament Haki had been less than half a meter from his face.
Yet the force of the punch alone had nearly knocked him unconscious.
And his proudest accomplishment, the "ultimate goal of Yin-Yang arts"—commanding the weather—
whether it was wind and thunder, torrential rain and frost,
seemed utterly useless against an opponent with an indestructible body immune to all techniques.
Whirlwinds were violently slapped apart, lightning could not harm him in the slightest, floodwaters could not shake his footing, and frost was shattered with nothing more than a clap.
Even when he concealed himself in clouds and mist, the man could still easily seize him!
But what Abe no Yoshihira could not let go of most was Urouge's final remark before leaving.
"You