Grim (1)

Boom! The floating island trembled in the sky, and a large amount of rubble and dust fell from the island's foundation.

It plunged into the sea.

Inside the palace, the most magnificent palace dome exploded open, and two illusory figures shot straight up into the sky, one after the other.

Its body soared into a higher space.

"Hahahaha! Kid... why are you running?"

The one flying ahead is naturally Oboro.

Following behind was the Shiki.

The two used their abilities to shift the battlefield.

Because if the fight had broken out on land, everyone would likely have been caught in the crossfire. Of the Hell Pirates members, including Shiki's subordinates, only a handful would have survived. So, what appeared to be a chase was actually a coordinated effort between the two, though Shiki clearly enjoyed boasting and deliberately laughed arrogantly.

Whoosh! Wave slash!

Two massive sword energies slashed down from below, and Oboro's figure 'swayed' in the space as he dodged them one after another.

This slash was identical to the one he had previously fought against Hawkeye; both were based on formidable swordsmanship and strength. Whether in terms of area, distance, or speed, only a swordsman with terrifying skill could ensure that the sword energy remained concentrated and possessed terrifying destructive power during the attack. However, Shiki's slash was not simply an explosion of sword energy... his slash wave had a wider arc and a larger volume... almost several times the size of Hawkeye's slash.

Although its rate of fire and sharpness are not as good as Hawkeye's.

However, it has a wider scope... making it more suitable for causing a mass 'attack'.

It's clear that Shiki used his Devil Fruit power for slashing attacks, allowing his sword strikes to cover a wider area.

In team battles, the power of this sword technique is clearly superior to Hawkeye's.

Of course... given the situation at Reverse Mountain at the time, Hawkeye still had many tricks up his sleeve, and the exchange between the two was more of a probing one.

That's a completely different matter from the current situation.

Although she dodged it, the storm stirred up by the sword's edge made Oboro's body somewhat unsteady.

My hat almost got blown off.

"That terrifying old ghost..."

Oboro sensed Shiki relentlessly pursuing him and chuckled softly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Shiki roared as he kicked wildly with both feet.

With each lift of the sword, a rainbow of sword light slashed towards the black dot that Oboro had transformed into.

Looking up from the ground, even during the day, the sky seems to be dotted with stars, shining with dazzling light.

And each of these stars... is actually a wave-cutting technique created by the Shiki.

The quantity is staggering.

The sword light finally dissipated after soaring to the top of the sky.

All the strikes exploded, merging into one... stirring up a storm that covered the sky.

Meanwhile, Oboro stood unharmed in the eye of the storm, looking down at the Shiki that was still rising and flying towards them.

An invisible wall of energy formed around him, isolating all the sword energy carried by the wind curtain.

The two forces collided, creating a continuous roar.

"Little brat..."

The Shiki, drawing ever closer, is still preparing to spout nonsense.

Suddenly, his vision blurred as he looked up.

Immediately afterwards, Oboro, high above and standing at the center of the sun, raised his arm and swung it downwards.

A gigantic hand suddenly appeared directly above the Shiki, slamming down with the force of Mount Tai Crushing the Top.

Shiki was like a flying fly that had been hit by a fly swatter.

His body, which had been rising, suddenly plummeted.

"Um?"

He squinted his eyes slightly.

The imagined scene didn't occur. Although Shiki was knocked down by his attack, he wasn't injured. Instead, he unleashed his Haki, raising one arm to withstand the downward 'airflow palm'. Although his body was falling, he didn't lose his balance.

It should be noted that the intensity of the airflow that Oboro unleashed this time was no less than the power that slammed Hawkeye into the sea.

"We held on..."

Long was somewhat surprised, but not astonished.

Despite his age, he was still the Shiki! Shiki's body crackled with red lightning, unleashing his full Haki, and with a roar, he swung his arm upwards.

The airflow that was meant to pull him back to the ground suddenly dissipated.

Immediately, a golden slash, seemingly capable of splitting the entire sky in two, shot up.

Upon seeing this move, Oboro's expression changed.

Lion's Thousand Cuts.

It is a unique slash belonging to Shiki, and it is also the culmination of his swordsmanship.

This wave-cutting power... truly reaches the level of the Yonko.

Such sword power feels like it could cleave the entire ocean in two... and it was unleashed with an extremely terrifying Haki.

With a buzzing sound.

Golden light instantly appeared outside Long's body, forming a large bell-shaped cover.

At the same time, he used multiple body-tempering defensive techniques and mobilized all of his Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki... because he couldn't dodge this attack.

As soon as the golden light appeared in his vision, the astonishing pressure of the sword energy was already blowing towards him like a whirlwind.

The slash was so powerful that it shortened the distance between the two of them.

Boom! The 'qi tide' that Oboro used to block in front of him was easily cut open like tofu.

However, the wave-slashing attack landed squarely on him.

In the clear sky, a thunderclap seemed to rise... Long streaked across the sky, flying backwards into the distance.

As he was sent flying, specks of blood splattered in the air. A shocking wound ripped through his black suit, running from his shoulder down to his abdomen, a serious injury.

"Hahahaha... Back when I, Whitebeard, Roger, and the others were sailing the seas, you brats were nowhere to be found! With the tricks you've learned... you think you can look down on everyone just because you've got some skills."

"Let me tell you... these are all things we've already done!"

"The reason I am known as the Shiki, and the reason I can be on par with that idiot Roger, is because... whether it's the World Government, the Navy, or all One Piece, I, Golden Lion Shiki, will always be their most feared and dreaded enemy!"

"When I was at my peak, I was even more dazzling than you, the God Slayer!"

"Kid!!"

The Shiki's furious curses followed, and he swiftly moved towards Oboro's direction.

And quickly, it arrived at the landing point of Oboro's flight ahead of time.

The old man's face was arrogant as he raised his fist, which gleamed with a black metallic sheen, ready to strike Long's body hard.

"Conqueror's Haki... Devil Fruit ability... Heh, kid... how many years have you lived?"

As he spoke, the Shiki was about to make his move.

However, suddenly, he felt dizzy for no apparent reason.

Difficulty breathing.

Originally, Oboro was blasted away by the slash and seemed to lose the ability to move for a short time. Suddenly, it stopped its 'gliding' trajectory in the sky and came to a stop in a very smooth manner, hovering in front of the Shiki with its eyes wide open and its expression painful.

"So... you're really stupid..."

Their eyes met, and though blood stained his chest, he remained calm.

His fingertips were enveloped in Haki resembling 'black water,' and his attacks were as fast as Inazuma.

In an instant, it pierced straight into the Shiki's eye socket.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Shiki jumped and roared wildly, not screaming in pain.

After being struck, the body seemed to regain its mobility and retreated instantly.

Create distance.

He covered his left eye with one hand, blood flowing from between his fingers. His eyes remained arrogant, but now held a chilling glint, as if he wanted to tear Long Da to pieces and devour him alive.

"You actually dodged it... Impressive. I was originally going to gouge out both of your eyes."

Long raised an eyebrow, looking at the equally injured Shiki, his blood-stained fingertips toying with a warm eyeball, a playful expression on his face.

"What makes you think... you can definitely beat me?"

"Stop yelling, okay?"