Luo Tian took a deep breath, the power within him surging without end.
He lowered his body slightly. Dark red flames of Haki rose and swirled around the blade of Black Dragon in his hand.
Spatial Perception spread out, perfectly merging with his advanced Observation Haki!
The world grew clear before his eyes, and the trajectories of all things seemed to slow.
As Black Dragon's blade cut through the air, it brought with it a chill glint that seemed to tear through space.
All the colors in his vision abruptly faded, leaving only a blinding streak of pure blood-red light that could cleave through everything—
"Thousand-Blade Style: Heavenly Demon Chaos!"
The blade light exploded across the night sky.
Not one strike, but hundreds, thousands—endless!
Streaks of dark red, razor-sharp blade light shot out in all directions like a devastating storm surging into the sky.
Every strike carried the will to cleave through steel, and precisely targeted the Rock Giant Lions.
"Boom—!!!"
"Boom, boom, boom—!!!"
A chain of explosions rang out across the deserted island!
The island shook violently, as if it might break apart at any moment.
The ground was torn up layer by layer; earth, rocks, and trees were reduced to dust!
"Mamamamama... Luo Tian has already grown this powerful?!"
Charlotte Linlin stared at the scene on the island, and the dessert in her hand suddenly lost its appeal.
Her eyes were filled with shock, along with an undisguised, almost greedy gleam.
She had assumed Luo Tian's strength was at most a little greater than Ochoku's.
She had never imagined that the power he was displaying now was enough to rival a core officer like her!
No, he might even be... stronger!
A wild thought stirred in her heart once more: If she could have a child with him, one who inherited this terrifying talent... then perhaps the future seas would belong to Charlotte Linlin!
Golden Lion wanted Luo Tian, and Charlotte Linlin wanted him too. Put simply, whoever got Luo Tian would get the world!
At that moment, Charlotte Linlin's gaze swept back and forth over Luo Tian's agile figure, as if appraising a rare treasure capable of changing the balance of the world.
"Gurararara... Linlin, you'd better put those thoughts away."
Whitebeard laughed without the slightest restraint as he exposed her:
"That kid Luo Tian wouldn't like someone like you. You'd better give up!
Besides, with Luo Tian's strength now, do you really think you can 'take him down'?
You might end up getting nothing and taking a beating from the kid instead."
"Hmph!"
"Stay out of this, Whitebeard!"
Charlotte Linlin's expression darkened. She snorted and turned away, no longer looking at Whitebeard.
Indeed, Whitebeard wasn't wrong.
Luo Tian's strength had now firmly placed him among the handful of the world's very strongest.
Even if she faced him herself, she probably wouldn't stand much chance.
But so what?
The stronger and more perfect he was, the more "valuable" he became in her eyes.
Ochoku and Kaido stood silently to the side. Neither had uttered a word, but shock had already swept away every other thought in their minds.
From the beginning of this battle until now, the strength Luo Tian had displayed—
If they had been in Shiki's place, could they have endured that relentless, flawless onslaught?
Ochoku rapidly ran through more than a dozen possible responses in his mind. The conclusion he reached sent a chill down his spine:
He would probably be utterly defeated in a very short time, perhaps... even killed in one blow!
Kaido clenched his fists, his bell-like eyes fixed on Luo Tian, filled with resentment.
Why was there a Kaido if there was already a Luo Tian!
The two men sighed inwardly, shook their heads slightly, and were overwhelmed with emotion.
Silence was the sound of Cambridge tonight!
Luo Tian was no longer the newcomer who had just arrived on Beehive Island, someone who drew attention but still seemed "within reach."
Back then, he had been strong, but people had still felt they could surpass him.
But now...
Previously, Ochoku had planned to wait until Luo Tian returned with the Heavenly Tribute, then find a chance to take revenge and restore his authority.
But before Luo Tian even returned, his astonishing exploits had spread across the seas like a storm, forcing Ochoku to reassess his strength.
Now, after witnessing this earth-shattering battle with his own eyes, all of Ochoku's resentment, hatred, and scheming turned into a helpless sigh and sank into his heart.
The same went for Kaido.
He had stubbornly believed that Luo Tian was unworthy of being an officer. He had wanted nothing more than to defeat him and prove that he was the stronger one, then take his place.
Now, looking back, he saw how laughable he had been!
Other officers, such as John and Silver Axe, had learned of Luo Tian's might through the newspapers, but "knowing" and "seeing it with their own eyes" were on entirely different levels.
However exaggerated the cold words in a newspaper might be, they could never match the soul-shaking spectacle of the world changing before their eyes.
Among the officers, Luo Tian's strength now probably surpassed everyone except Captain Rocks and Whitebeard!
As the shock wore off, John, Silver Axe, and the others grew increasingly serious.
On these seas, especially within the Rocks Pirates—the New World's foremost force, where absolute power reigned supreme—strength was the foundation of all authority and profit.
The harder your punch, the bigger and juicier the share you could claim when the spoils were divided, and the more weight your words carried in making decisions.
Rocks harbored the astonishing ambition of overthrowing the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Powerful subordinates were essential to realizing it.
Whitebeard was the best example.
As the crew's acknowledged second-strongest fighter after Rocks, his position had all but become that of a vice-captain, above every other officer.
After each operation, he also received a share of the spoils several times larger than theirs.
They had assumed that Luo Tian's strength would at most put him on equal footing with them, or perhaps leave him slightly behind.
It turned out they had been completely wrong.
Luo Tian now possessed the strength to stand as an equal to Golden Lion Shiki.
If he continued to grow at this terrifying rate, it was almost certain he would reach Whitebeard's level, or even surpass it.
When that happened, their standing and influence within the crew would inevitably be squeezed even further, and the share of the spoils they received would shrink considerably.
The officers each had their own thoughts. They watched the battlefield in silence, keeping their expressions blank.
But the uncertain gleams in their eyes gave away their feelings.
Jealousy? Wariness? Unease?
Perhaps all of the above.
In the center of the deserted island, the fierce battle continued.
Shiki watched as every Rock Giant Lion he had summoned was ground to dust by the intersecting blade lights and sword energy unleashed by Luo Tian.
The remaining razor-sharp slashes were sweeping toward him from every direction.
"It's not over yet, kid—!"
His golden hair whipped about as he roared. His two swords, wrapped in Ryuo, slashed at a speed beyond the limits of sight, leaving countless golden afterimages hanging in the air.
"Thousand-Slice Valley!"
Not one strike, but hundreds, thousands!
Every slash was more concentrated, more vicious, and faster than before!
Golden sword energy poured wildly from Shiki's twin blades, weaving through the air into a net of destruction capable of tearing apart anything!
The two faced each other from a distance and began the purest clash of sword energy!
Countless golden and dark red slashes collided, exploded, and annihilated one another in midair!
In an instant, the two figures battling in the sky were completely swallowed by the endless tide of slashes.
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