On Swordsmen and the Flying Slash

Xi Yan paid no attention to what the others thought, instead pondering some questions on his own.

'Using this method to gradually chip away at the enemy's effective strength, huh.' Xi Yan mused inwardly.

Sanji should also realize that the ones left behind would be dealt with by those coming after them—it was indeed a decent strategy.

But there was one prerequisite: that none of the enemies possessed strength surpassing Sanji's. Yet from what Zoro had implied, that wasn't the case.

Thinking of this, a trace of worry surfaced in Xi Yan's eyes.

"Tell me about your setup this time," Xi Yan said. "And what about the troop strength on Judicial Island?"

Whether by luck or otherwise, this Man in a Suit happened to be the one who knew the most.

"Besides the large number of Taxi Soldiers..."

"No need to mention the Taxi Soldiers on the train," Xi Yan cut him off.

"..."

"This escort is mainly handled by five members of CP9, and Judicial Island's standing garrison is about ten thousand."

"Is that so..."

Though Xi Yan didn't know how strong CP9 was, since Zoro called them formidable, they were likely beyond Sanji's ability to handle. At the very least, he couldn't take on five at once. He hoped that guy wouldn't just charge in recklessly.

As for the so-called ten thousand troops on Judicial Island, Xi Yan didn't take them seriously. Without strong individuals stationed there, no amount of ordinary Taxi Soldiers would matter.

After a moment's thought, Xi Yan asked, "Are there any other CP9 members on Judicial Island?"

"Not sure," the Man in a Suit said. "But CP9's duty is to guard Judicial Island, so I think there should still be some people there."

As for how many or who exactly, he didn't know.

Xi Yan considered it. Since the CP9 members this time had left Water Seven, there had to be others still on Judicial Island. Otherwise, an attack would leave no one to reinforce in time.

As for whether anyone would dare to strike at Judicial Island?

Tsk, don't say there wasn't—weren't they about to do exactly that?

While thinking, Xi Yan released his control over the Man in a Suit.

Since the questioning was done, this guy was useless now.

The Man in a Suit, just coming back to his senses, realized what he had done and his face instantly changed.

"I..."

What had he just done?!

He had revealed so many important intelligence to the enemy?

It was over. He was completely finished.

Even if he somehow survived this time, he would be purged.

As an Old Hand, he knew all too well how the higher-ups handled things.

"Under these eyes, no secret can hide," Xi Yan said calmly.

With that, he paid no more attention to the crestfallen man, stepped past everyone, and walked into another carriage. "Luffy, I've got the full picture. We can leave now."

"Sanji's not here though..."

"Hmm, he's not."

Through the Back door's window, Xi Yan gazed at the distant sea. "Sanji is still on the train ahead. Whether we can catch up to him before he enters Judicial Island is another question."

If Sanji charged into Judicial Island alone, he'd have to face a host of experts and ten thousand naval soldiers.

At that thought, worry flickered in Xi Yan's eyes.

"Then let's go. We need to catch up to him fast," Luffy said.

Though he trusted Sanji could survive, it was always better to reach his companion sooner and help.

Once on the roof, watching the approaching train car, Xi Yan said, "We need to get rid of this carriage, or the Rocket Man will have problems."

Crashing straight into the detached carriage wouldn't be much better.

"Leave it to Zoro," Luffy said with a grin.

As if those weren't two train cars, but two pieces of cake.

"Oh, alright."

Xi Yan, who had been about to Draw Swords, lowered his hand and calmly watched the approaching train car. "Then leave it to Zoro."

He was also a bit curious about Zoro's slashes.

Soon, at Luffy's call, Zoro stood at the Rocket Man's head, calmly watching the approaching carriage.

The moment they closed in, Zoro moved.

"Two-Sword Style—Iai: Rashomon!"

A Flying Slash shot out, instantly cleaving two train cars in half!!

This scene stunned everyone still awake inside the cars.

"The... the cars are cut open!!"

What kind of miserable life were they living? Just escaping one demon, and now their train car gets slashed by someone.

"So strong!!"

Zanbai and the others stared in shock. Was this the true strength of the Pirate Hunter?!

"And yet someone this powerful isn't even the captain..." Zanbai swallowed and said.

No, wait—this was even better!

That meant their chances of rescuing their big brother were even greater!

Thinking this, Zanbai began trembling with excitement.

"So this is a swordsman's slash."

Back on the Rocket Man, Xi Yan watched curiously as Zoro sheathed his two swords. His Sharinggan had just caught Zoro's Flying Slash—it was somewhat similar to the wind release he could slash out with the Kusanagi Sword.

But strictly speaking, there were major differences too.

Zoro's slash had no elemental attribute—it was purely physical—while his own did.

Calmly putting away both swords, Zoro didn't even glance at the train cars flying off to either side, as if he'd done something utterly trivial.

Then he looked at Xi Yan and said, "You have a sword too..."

"I'm not a pure swordsman." Xi Yan shook his head. "Don't forget, I'm a ninja."

To him, blades and swords were just tools for killing—there wasn't much difference. The only special thing was that the Kusanagi Sword in his hand could channel chakra.

"Fair enough." Zoro nodded in understanding.

After all, Xi Yan was different from him—not a pure swordsman—so it made sense he wasn't fully clear on what a swordsman was like.

"This is a swordsman's slash." Zoro explained. "After reaching the Iron-Cutting Realm, the next step is being able to unleash a Flying Slash."

"Once you reach this level, you can basically be called a swordsman."

Above that was the Great Swordsman level—like the Hawkeye Mihawk he'd encountered before, who was truly the World's Greatest Swordsman.

One day, he would surpass him!

"Flying Slash, huh..." Xi Yan rubbed his chin and nodded. "Got it."

Then in a sense, could he count as a swordsman too?

The Wind Blade he slashed out could cut through steel without any problem.

"Strange, why is there a giant Sea Kings corpse here?" Barry asked in confusion.

The Rocket Man was fast, quickly leaving the severed train cars behind. But ahead, a Sea Kings corpse cut in half appeared!

"Looks like there's another expert up ahead." Xi Yan glanced at the Sea Kings' bisected body. "That would take at least a swordsman to pull off."

"Leave it to me." Zoro nodded.

Dealing with a swordsman—that was his job.