After a brief test, Kyros and Shimotsuki Koushirou had gained a rough understanding of each other's strength.
As the two faced off with swords in hand, everyone around them could clearly sense a change in their auras.
"Whoosh!!!"
After facing his opponent for a moment, Kyros made the first move. With a faint whistle through the air, his figure abruptly vanished from where he stood, using Soru, one of the Marine Six Styles.
The instant Kyros vanished, Shimotsuki Koushirou actually narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Whoosh—"
The bamboo sword sliced through the air at high speed. Kyros suddenly appeared behind Shimotsuki Koushirou, his bamboo sword angled downward as he viciously swung it at Shimotsuki Koushirou's back.
He had not used a slashing motion. Kyros remembered Yoriichi's words; even with a bamboo sword, he held back.
Just as Kyros thought this strike, enhanced by Soru, would surely land, Shimotsuki Koushirou suddenly turned sideways. His upper body twisted slightly, and he raised his bamboo sword upright, precisely blocking Kyros's strike.
Clack!!
The bamboo swords collided with a crisp sound. Shimotsuki Koushirou was forced back by Kyros's immense strength. After taking two quick steps to bleed off the force, he lunged forward and swiftly arrived before Kyros, swinging his bamboo sword straight at Kyros's chest.
Like Kyros's earlier attack, Shimotsuki Koushirou did not slash, instead striking with the flat of the blade.
At the same time, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who had been sitting by the wall, slightly raised his head the instant Shimotsuki Koushirou counterattacked and focused intently on him.
Armament Haki!
At that moment, Tsugikuni Yoriichi could clearly sense powerful Armament Haki coiling around Shimotsuki Koushirou's arms and bamboo sword.
This bespectacled samurai pretending to be a refined scholar had mastered Armament Haki!
Bang!!!
Shimotsuki Koushirou's counterattack was incredibly fast. Armament Haki wrapped not