Kitetsu's Further Transformation

On Gudora Island, the entire landmass trembled under a series of earth-shattering roars, the violent winds causing the island's trees to collapse in every direction.

Elsewhere, Nami flew through the sky, continuously raining down sheets of Sea Cloud. Ain could only wave her hands incessantly; whenever she touched a cloud, it would vanish.

However, Nami was flying in the sky, maintaining a state of all-out offense, while Ain was forced into a purely defensive posture.

Under this dynamic of attack and defense, as time wore on, Ain's disadvantage gradually became apparent.

On the other side, the battle between Lu Zhuo and Zephyr continued to rage.

The former Marine Admiral and teacher to Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji, Zephyr possessed strength that was truly unfathomable.

Approaching seventy years of age, he could barely exert half of his peak youthful strength, and under the psychological disruption of Lu Zhuo's words, he couldn't even manifest fifty percent of his remaining power.

Furthermore, his Seastone mechanical arm had no effect on Lu Zhuo. Lu Zhuo was single-mindedly devoted to the path of the sword; although he coveted many Devil Fruits, he knew that if he consumed one, he would likely lose his sword heart and forfeit the chance to advance into a Great Swordsman.

Such a thing was something Lu Zhuo would naturally never do.

Moreover, because of the massive mechanical arm, Zephyr's body was quite inflexible.

Under these various pressures, the strength Zephyr could exert was at most twenty percent of his prime!

Yet even so, Lu Zhuo was unable to secure an easy victory and remained locked in a bitter struggle!

"Damn pirate, my combat experience is not something you can compare to!" Zephyr roared, his left arm suddenly encased in Armament Haki as he grabbed the Nidai Kitetsu from Lu Zhuo's hand. Simultaneously, his right mechanical arm swung a fierce punch toward Lu Zhuo.

Lu Zhuo sensed danger but felt no alarm; he released the Nidai Kitetsu and leaped backward, dodging the blow.

Although Zephyr's left hand was coated in Armament Haki, the act of forcefully catching the Nidai Kitetsu still resulted in a deep, bone-reaching gash across his palm!

His mechanical arm gripped the hilt of the Nidai Kitetsu, and both hands exerted immense force.

The blade of the Nidai Kitetsu was instantly bent into a semi-circular arc, yet it refused to break any further.

Lu Zhuo sneered, stepped forward, and covered his right hand in a layer of invisible Armament Haki, striking toward Zephyr's chest.

Though Lu Zhuo's Nidai Kitetsu was infinitely close to a Supreme Grade sword, its essence was that of a divine artifact surpassing even those; not even Whitebeard or Garp could destroy it by pitting their strength against it.

Watching Lu Zhuo's fist, Zephyr sneered, neither dodging nor parrying, as a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki manifested over his chest.

Second-stage Haki against first-stage Haki was a total suppression. Even if Lu Zhuo struck his chest, the punch would cause no damage.

However, in the next moment, Lu Zhuo suddenly smirked, his fist shifting into an open palm that pressed lightly against the blade of the Nidai Kitetsu.

Zephyr instantly felt a chill radiate from the sword in his hand, and a wave of terrifying killing intent and resentment flooded his mind.

With a cry, Zephyr released the Nidai Kitetsu and retreated dozens of meters in an instant.

Lu Zhuo reclaimed the Nidai Kitetsu and sighed softly, "I alone am your master; others are not worthy of wielding you!"

As if sensing Lu Zhuo's will, the blade of the Nidai Kitetsu hummed.

Deep within Gudora Island, dozens of meters underground, a black Nidai Kitetsu trembled, struggling to drill upward as if a massive magnet were pulling it from above.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhuo looked at Zephyr, who was clutching his head and roaring in agony dozens of meters away, and said indifferently, "Goodbye. I shall send you on your way with my strongest technique yet!"

Gently sliding the Nidai Kitetsu into its scabbard, Lu Zhuo gripped the hilt with both hands. A sharp sword intent condensed, causing a slight qualitative change that formed something akin to a partial Sword Domain.

The Great Dao is simple; the Great Dao is complex.

The basics are the most fundamental aspects of the sword path, and thus, they are closest to the true essence of the blade!

Super, Godspeed Draw Sword Strike!

It was as if time and space in the world had frozen before this single strike. Lu Zhuo's sword slowly emerged from its scabbard, trailing a few sparks.

The rest of the world fell into absolute silence: Zephyr, who had been roaring while clutching his head; Law, who was watching nervously in the distance; and Bepo, who was shouting about running away.

Everything, absolutely everything, seemed to have come to a standstill.

No! It was because Lu Zhuo's sword... was simply too fast!

A strike that shocked the heavens and the earth!

The moment the sword cleared the scabbard, time in the world seemed to resume, but Zephyr, in the distance, suddenly froze.

Staring fixedly at Lu Zhuo, Zephyr spoke, "Your... this strike... is so fast!"

The next moment, four sword beams erupted from his left arm, his right mechanical arm, his left leg, and his right leg, instantly shredding his limbs.

A silent sword beam also swept across his throat. On his chest, three sword beams intersected in a triangle, converging exactly over his heart.

One strike manifested as eight!

The light faded from Zephyr's eyes as his consciousness reached the brink of collapse.

The Marines... the fallen Marines will likely be no match for this pirate... This thought was the final trace to cross his mind before his consciousness dissipated completely.

Lu Zhuo, having unleashed this strike, looked somewhat pale and slowly closed his eyes.

The next moment, he gave his sword a light flick toward the ground in front of him.

Without a sound, sixteen sword marks appeared on the ground.

Finally, he had taken another step forward. Lu Zhuo opened his eyes and smiled faintly. Combat was the best way to improve one's sword path. Facing a powerful opponent and unleashing one's strongest strike always revealed shortcomings, leading to the discovery of an even greater sword.

Suddenly, the Nidai Kitetsu, a black blade with a cross-shaped guard, flew in from beyond the sky, and the Kitetsu in Lu Zhuo's hand flew out of his grip to meet it!

Attracted by the Kitetsu in Lu Zhuo's hand, that Nidai Kitetsu finally tore its way out from deep beneath the earth.

Watching this scene, Lu Zhuo was naturally exceptionally pleased.

The two Kitetsu blades intertwined and attracted one another, slowly beginning to fuse.

This step seemed identical to the previous fusions, yet the clouds in the sky began to change.

Lu Zhuo frowned, looking at the suddenly darkening sky, and muttered, "This... that's impossible. Nami couldn't possibly possess this kind of power. Could it be a natural phenomenon?"

The perfectly clear sky had suddenly turned overcast, and a storm was gradually brewing.

If anyone claimed this was normal, Lu Zhuo certainly wouldn't believe it.

While it was true that the weather in the Grand Line changed abruptly, why would it wait until the blades began to fuse to change?

Looking up at the sky, Lu Zhuo's eyes grew increasingly solemn as a faint sense of unease welled up in his heart.

At the same time, on the other side, a look of disbelief suddenly appeared on Ain's face.

She tremblingly pulled a white card from her bosom, watched as it burned in the air and turned to ash, and instantly lost all her spirit.

In an instant, she was enveloped from head to toe by Nami's Sea Cloud, losing her ability to fight.

Nami drifted to the ground and returned to her human form. She looked at the sky with a solemn expression and muttered, "What is going on with this weather? I didn't gather any thunderclouds at all!"

Elsewhere, Law sat cross-legged, watching the sky with a look of confusion in his eyes.

"Wah, Captain, a storm is coming! Let's find a place to hide!" Bepo looked at the sky, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

Law remained silent, still sitting there quietly.

At this moment, the two Kitetsu blades in front of Lu Zhuo finally finished their fusion.