"Clang!" With that final strike, Gray was sent flying.
Thud!
Lying in the deep crater, Gray had no strength left.
"You won again. It seems I'm still a ways off from an Admiral!"
"It's not like that, Chairman. I was only able to last until you ran out of stamina because I was familiar with your attacks and fought cautiously!" Issho was in no better shape.
Gray's instant-movement attack style was no easy thing to defend against.
After defending for so long, Issho had finally slipped up. Gray's Ryuo Haki had wrecked most of his internal organs, and several patches of skin on his body were scorched by electricity.
Now that the battle was over, the tension in Issho's chest eased, and he promptly slumped to the ground.
If Issho was having a hard time, Gray, who had been just a little stronger, was naturally in even worse shape.
Every bone in his chest was shattered, his internal organs had sustained varying degrees of damage, his left arm had been severed at the shoulder, and his entire body was covered in sword wounds.
Fortunately, the two of them had only been fighting inside Uta's mental world. Once they returned to reality, their injuries would amount to nothing more than mental exhaustion.
Without Uta's ability, not only would they be unable to fight at full strength during their sparring sessions, but the thought of injuring a companion would make them hesitate to strike.
With Uta's ability, they could spar without holding back, hone their combat experience and willpower, and rapidly improve their Haki.
That night, everyone gathered in the Green Bit plaza to celebrate the end of their training and their imminent departure with a party.
"Hancock, how are your preparations coming along?"
"Don't worry, Gray! Everything is ready. Even