Strength and Skill! The Two Who Clashed

Dunn also leaped into the air, landing on the sandy beach by the island's shore.

Stepping onto the soft sand, Dunn fixed his gaze on Koushiro, who stood not far away.

"Go all out this time. I want to test my limits."

Dunn emphasized this once more, and after speaking, he fully unleashed his Observation Haki.

He had sparred with Koushiro many times; although Koushiro had never truly fought with his full strength during those sessions, Dunn was well-acquainted with his swordsmanship.

While the Shimotsuki Family's ancestral sword techniques he spoke of were what he excelled at, a top-tier master swordsman was never that simple.

"That is my intention as well."

Raising a hand to adjust his glasses, Koushiro looked at Dunn with calm eyes from behind the lenses.

"Consider this your graduation exam. You are perhaps the most gifted student I have ever guided in my life."

Koushiro knew very well that Dunn had always been holding something back.

That power of Flame—Dunn had never used it in their previous bouts. Perhaps, this time, he would finally see it.

Thinking this, Koushiro raised his hand and drew the Wado Ichimonji. Pitch-black Haki enveloped his arm and hand, then flowed into the blade.

The flowing Haki rippled like water.

Dunn mirrored the movement, raising his hand to grip the hilt of Flame, the long sword he carried at his left side. He slowly drew the exceptionally long blade, and Haki manifested, coiling around the steel.

The next moment, the sand beneath their feet exploded outward.

Clang!

A piercing sound of metal striking metal rang out. As the two locked blades, a violent shockwave erupted, sending ripples across the beach and the nearby sea.

The trees in the distance were bent by the force of the impact.

"You surely know my strength by now!"

Dunn's expression hardened. His right arm, holding the sword, exerted sudden force, sending Koushiro flying backward. Dunn followed instantly, the blade of Flame carving a wide arc as he slashed at the retreating Koushiro.

Koushiro tapped the incoming blade with his Armament Haki-coated Wado Ichimonji, using the contact to vault his body higher, letting the black slash pass harmlessly beneath him.

Boom!

The slash flew past, carving a long, deep trench through the island's forest.

"I once told you that a swordsman must learn to control his own strength."

After landing, Koushiro sensed the power of Dunn's strike with his Observation Haki and spoke to the grounded Dunn.

"Yes, you did, but that doesn't quite suit me."

Dunn held his sword horizontally before him. A flash of orange-red appeared on his hand, spiraling around the blade like several ribbons of flame.

"Flame should be explosive and intense. Flame is never calm."

As Dunn finished speaking, the fire left a trail in the air. The long, narrow blade, wreathed in intense flames, slashed down toward Koushiro's head.

Koushiro sidestepped, the Wado Ichimonji tracing a dim light as it thrust directly toward Dunn's wrist.

The fierce blade of fire carried immense power, but before the strike fully landed, Dunn abruptly shifted his momentum, turning the vertical slash into a horizontal one, colliding with Koushiro's redirected Wado Ichimonji.

Koushiro used the force to retreat again, but the blade of fire followed relentlessly.

Violent sword qi of flame flew out one after another. Koushiro retreated, repeatedly dodging the slashes by swaying side to side.

The scorching heat of the slashes caused the surrounding temperature to rise rapidly.

"Truly an impressive slash!"

Koushiro said while backing away, yet he could not widen the distance between himself and Dunn.

Compared to Koushiro's technique-heavy style, Dunn's movements were simple, direct, and heavy with force.

Koushiro had previously warned Dunn that there were countless powerhouses on this sea with terrifying physiques, and that relying solely on brute force might lead to a crushing defeat at some point.

Yet, Dunn had chosen to walk this path regardless.

This was a clash of strength versus technique.

Facing the oncoming Dunn, Koushiro tapped his feet lightly, his body closing the distance to Dunn silently, his sword thrusting out with several afterimages.

His target: Dunn's eyes.

However, the Wado Ichimonji thrusting toward Dunn collided with his Armament Haki-coated hand.

The sharp Wado Ichimonji failed to inflict even the slightest scratch on Dunn.

Again!

Koushiro felt a sense of helplessness. He withdrew the Wado Ichimonji and clashed it against the descending Flame, then spun his entire body, using the momentum to perform an aerial flip before thrusting his sword out once more.

He knew Dunn's body was special; in their previous encounters, he had realized countless times that it was incredibly difficult to injure him.

But even with such monstrous talent, there had to be an upper limit.

Facing the sword thrusting toward his chest and abdomen, Dunn instinctively retreated, dodging the blade.

Swish, swish, swish!

Several dull-colored slashes were unleashed by Koushiro, his body following in their wake as if he himself had become a slash, trailing afterimages as he lunged toward Dunn.

"You should recognize this strike."

Dunn sheathed his blade, his right hand resting on the hilt as he faced the incoming slashes.

"Flame: Nadeshiko Slash!"

Swish. The blade, as if slicing through space itself, shredded all the incoming attacks. The next moment, before Koushiro could react, the sword had already reached his chest.

BOOM!

The figure was sent flying by the strike.

Flipping through the air, Koushiro crashed into the distant woods.

Dunn pointed his longsword diagonally toward the ground, looking toward the direction where Koushiro had fallen, before glancing down at his own abdomen.

The fabric over his stomach had been sliced open.

"Truly impressive!"

Dunn hadn't even noticed when he had been hit; his Observation Haki hadn't caught the strike either.

"It seems I have no choice but to go all out."

Koushiro's voice drifted from afar. The next moment, his body leaped from the woods, flowing Haki saturating the Wado Ichimonji in his hand.

Then, he dove down from the sky.

A smile appeared on Dunn's face. He bent his knees sharply, flowing Haki coiling around the blade in his hand. As the Haki converged onto the steel, flames began to burn along the edge.

The next moment, the sand beneath Dunn's feet exploded.

Trailing long flames behind him like an incredibly long orange-red cape, he swung his blade, carving an orange-red circle through the air.

CLANG!

The sword striking from below collided with the sword descending from above, and they locked in mid-air.

The stalemate lasted only a moment before the blades slid past one another.

Dunn's expression tightened as he caught a glimpse of the figure and the sword flashing past his side.

[HP: 87%]

Dunn, soaring into the sky, turned his head to watch the descending Koushiro.

Koushiro did not pause for a second upon landing; he instantly spun and launched himself back into the air, pursuing Dunn once more. The Wado Ichimonji in his hand carried a dangerous aura as he slashed toward Dunn.

Dunn clenched his fist and struck back, colliding with the incoming blade. Unable to find leverage in the air, Dunn actually lost the contest of strength and was sent flying by the strike.

In an instant, the roles of attacker and defender had reversed.

Surrounding the falling Dunn from every direction were incoming blades and slashes, Koushiro's body accompanied by countless afterimages.

Dunn swung his sword, parrying the incoming slashes, but a large number of them still landed on his body.

BOOM!

Dunn slammed head-on into a slash intended to force him back into the sky, and his body plummeted from the air to the ground.

Riiip!

Dunn tore off his tattered shirt, revealing a sturdy upper body that remained without a single scratch.

However, Dunn's HP had already dropped below half.

The descending Koushiro panted, looking at Dunn's uninjured form with a flash of helplessness on his face.