Shiki Admits Defeat! Advanced Conqueror's Haki Techniques!

"One-Sword Style: All Things Return to One!"

Luo Tian sank his stance, his entire body's strength surging into his right arm like a rushing river.

He gripped the hilt of Black Dragon tightly, and a dark red aura erupted violently from the blade.

Then, he slashed!

This strike tore through space itself!

A blinding sword glow flew out, and everywhere it passed, space shattered like a mirror.

All the golden sword qi released by Golden Lion Shiki through his Thousand-Slice Valley melted and vanished before this strike, like snow meeting a scorching sun.

"Whoosh--!"

"Boom, boom, boom--!!!"

Every single slash of the Thousand-Slice Valley that Shiki had expended massive amounts of Haki to unleash crumbled, dissipating into a sky full of golden light particles.

Yet, the momentum of Luo Tian's strike remained undiminished; after crushing all obstacles, it transformed into a torrent of dark red sword light, sweeping toward the Golden Lion in the distance!

"What?!" Shiki's pupils dilated in shock.

But there was no time for him to be stunned, as Luo Tian's strike had already pierced through the air, moving so fast that the very atmosphere was compressed into a solid white shockwave.

Shiki immediately crossed his two blades in front of him, pushing his Armament Haki to the limit, the flowing energy covering his entire body like armor.

Clang--!!!

The moment the torrent of sword light collided with him, it erupted with a glare so blinding that everyone nearby was momentarily struck with blindness.

The shockwave expanded like a sphere, lifting, pulverizing, and vaporizing all rocks, soil, and vegetation within a hundred-meter radius.

Shiki was sent flying like a cannonball for over a hundred meters.

His arms went numb, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers split open, and blood trickled down his wrists.

Shiki gasped for air, his eyes filled with horror.

The power of that strike had far exceeded his estimations.

But it wasn't over yet.

Luo Tian locked his gaze onto Shiki, who was hundreds of meters away, his eyes narrowing!

"Cross-Distance Teleportation!"

Cross-Distance Teleportation: By fixing one's gaze on a distant target, one can instantly teleport them to one's own front!

The next instant--

Hum!

Space rippled like water.

Shiki only felt the scenery before his eyes blur and twist, as if the entire world were spinning.

When his vision cleared, he was astonished to find that he was no longer where he had been, but...

He had appeared right in front of Luo Tian!

The distance between the two was less than three meters.

Their eyes met.

Shiki was dumbfounded, his brain momentarily stalling.

Spatial movement? Teleportation? No... he had been the one moved!

At this moment, he saw Luo Tian raise his right hand, fingers slightly spread, his palm aimed directly at Shiki.

That posture, that movement...

Shiki was suddenly struck by a bad feeling; why did this scene feel so familiar?

Memories flashed through his mind like lightning--

It was that guy Rayleigh; he had been tricked by this exact move back then!

Back then, Luo Tian had also raised his hand just like this, and then...

Oh no!

Every hair on Shiki's body stood on end as a sense of crisis descended!

He immediately activated his Float-Float Fruit, wanting to flee, wanting to put distance between them--

However, it was already too late!

From the moment he was teleported in front of Luo Tian to the moment Luo Tian raised his hand, the entire process took less than 0.5 seconds.

For an ordinary person, that wasn't even enough time to blink.

But for top-tier powerhouses, 0.5 seconds was enough to do many things--for example, launching a fatal attack.

Because in the eyes of the strong, the world is slowed down!

"Shinra Tensei--!!!"

Before the words even faded, Golden Lion Shiki felt an invisible barrier of repulsive force slam into his face like a ten-thousand-ton hammer.

It wasn't a shockwave, nor was it an energy explosion; it was the very "refusal" and "repulsion" of space itself.

It was as if the entire world were saying: You do not belong here, get out.

Immediately after, he felt his body being expelled by space; every cell, every drop of blood, and every bone was being denied, rejected, and pushed away by some sort of law!

Finally--

BOOM!!!!!!

Golden Lion Shiki was blasted away by a colossal force, carving a harrowing parabola through the air at a speed so fast it left a trail of sonic boom clouds in its wake.

Then, he smashed heavily through the ground.

The impact created a massive crater over a hundred meters in diameter and ten meters deep.

The rocks at the bottom of the pit were instantly pulverized into dust, and the shockwave heaved the surrounding soil upward, forming a ring-shaped wave of earth.

Dust and smoke billowed into the sky, rising like a mushroom cloud.

Dead silence.

The entire sea area fell into a deathly hush.

"Wh-what? Executive Shiki was blasted away!"

"Just now... what just happened? How did Executive Shiki suddenly end up right in front of Executive Luo Tian?"

"I didn't see it clearly... it happened in an instant..."

The pirates watching from a distance cried out in alarm, discussing the event fervently, their faces etched with shock and disbelief.

It was too fast.

As the dust and smoke slowly dissipated, the situation at the bottom of the crater became clear.

Golden Lion Shiki flew out of the pit, clutching his chest as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth: "Cough, cough..."

He raised his head to look at the figure in the sky.

Luo Tian stood in mid-air, his voice calm:

"Shiki, do you still want to keep fighting?"

He realized that if he continued to fight Shiki using only swordsmanship and Haki, who knew how long it would take to determine a winner?

After all, his swordsmanship and Haki did not vastly exceed Shiki's; while he held a slight edge, he couldn't achieve an absolute crushing victory.

Shiki's combat experience was too rich, and his stamina and Haki were terrifyingly deep; if they truly engaged in a war of attrition, they could fight for three days and three nights.

Therefore, to decide the outcome quickly, he had to make more use of the Space-Space Fruit's abilities.

By using methods the opponent was unfamiliar with and unable to fully guard against, he could create a decisive opening.

"I'm done, I'm done."

Golden Lion Shiki shook his head and waved his hand, his voice somewhat hoarse:

"Who can beat a freakish ability like yours? It's simply impossible to guard against!"

He gave a bitter smile and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth:

"Teleportation combined with repulsion... this move of yours is just too disgusting."

"If I had known you had this trick up your sleeve, I would never have let you get close."

Although he said that, Shiki knew in his heart: even if he had known, it would have been difficult to guard against.

That teleportation ability was too bizarre and left no trace to follow; unless one used powerful Haki to shake it off the moment they were targeted, it was unavoidable.

After all, as long as an ability was activated by eating a Devil Fruit, it was destined to be countered by Haki.

If it couldn't be countered, it simply meant one's Haki wasn't strong enough.

Therefore, this move of Luo Tian's was not invincible against top-tier powerhouses; its strength lay in catching the opponent off guard.

If the opponent reacted and prepared themselves, the effectiveness of this combo would be greatly diminished.

After all, top-tier powerhouses all mastered powerful Observation Haki and Armament Haki.

Luo Tian had realized this, which was why he seized the moment when Shiki was blasted back by his slash and his mind was shaken, grasping the opportunity to execute this combo perfectly.

Teleporting the enemy in front of him, followed by a Shinra Tensei!

Simple, brutal, and effective.

But this move required an extremely high level of timing and necessitated that the enemy be in a "vulnerable" state--

Such as the moment after taking a heavy blow, when their breath was unstable and their Observation Haki warnings were sluggish.

If Shiki were in his prime and fully on guard, the success rate of this move would likely be less than thirty percent.

Ding! Mission completed: Defeat Golden Lion Shiki!

Reward distributed: Congratulations, you have acquired the technique for Advanced Conqueror's Haki!