The Mysterious Challenger

What did it feel like to hear blood flowing through your veins? Long Yi could tell you from personal experience that it was anything but pleasant.

When all things fell silent and only his own body resounded, when the noises from every part of his body flooded into his perception at once, the sensation was enough to drive anyone mad!

Fortunately, Long Yi had awakened Asura Will before this, and his mental strength had long surpassed human limits.

Otherwise, even if he had mastered Observation Haki under Fujitora's guidance, he would have ended up a raving lunatic.

In the end, Long Yi finally grasped some of the true essence of Fujitora's Observation Haki.

The price he paid was spending more than half a month in a state worse than death.

"Wave Imprint!"

With a quiet murmur, Long Yi stood with sword in hand. Milky white once again filled his eyes, while the profound Wave Imprint slowly rotated above his head.

His plain cloth garments fluttered without wind. Compared to half a month ago, his presence had changed beyond recognition.

The youth had gone from a sharp sword with its edge fully exposed to a vicious blade concealed within its sheath.

"Mm, very good."

Fujitora was quite satisfied by the aura Long Yi displayed. After offering a bland assessment, he drew his sword.

"Evil Light Slash!"

There was no need for verbal probing. Long Yi raised his hand and sent a streak of sword light shooting through the air.

After the slash, he did not pause. Before the first attack had even reached Fujitora, he rushed forward, slightly reined in his sword momentum, and suddenly thrust ahead.

Faced with the youth's successive attacks, Fujitora remained expressionless. He lightly pointed the tip of his cane sword downward, and the power of the Press-Press Fruit abruptly activated.

"I heard it!"

The instant the air above him grew heavier, Long Yi's ears twitched. After more than half a month of desperate comprehension, no movement within thirty meters of him could now escape his senses.

"Three-Section Slash!"

Power surged through his feet, and the youth's figure abruptly accelerated. His blade swept sideways, slashing directly toward Fujitora's chest.

This sword technique had three stages, each strike faster than the last. In a flash, cold light flickered three times.

"Armament Haki reinforcement."

Fujitora covered the exact spot where Long Yi's blade fell with Haki, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He stood as immovable as a mountain as a purple force field spread around him.

"Gravity Repulsion."

Like a charging rhinoceros smashing into his chest, the force of the Three-Section Slash rebounded upon Long Yi with twice its original power. Sweetness rose in his throat. Not daring to hesitate, his figure vanished as he flashed away.

When he appeared again, he had already put a great distance between himself and Fujitora.

"Soru is indeed a fine martial art, but if all you can do is run, you won't get past me."

Fujitora walked forward unhurriedly, like a mountain standing in Long Yi's path. Every clack of his wooden sandals against the ground seemed to step on Long Yi's heart.

Hearing Fujitora's words, Long Yi gave a low chuckle. His pale face and the crimson blood at the corner of his lips made his smile somewhat savage, but the right hand gripping Purple Pill never relaxed.

He had not given up yet!

"Not bad."

Fujitora's Observation Haki could sense changes in people's emotions, so Long Yi's refusal to admit defeat naturally could not escape his perception.

But appreciation was appreciation. His Fruit ability activated again without the slightest hesitation.

"Gravity Suppression."

The air above suddenly sank. Long Yi's heart stirred, but he did not panic in the slightest. He used Soru again to evade the attack, then flashed before Fujitora at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

"Slash!"

There was no time to use any sword technique. Long Yi's opportunity to strike lasted only a fraction of a second.

An utterly ordinary slash swept toward Fujitora's chest. He had poured every ounce of strength into this sword.

Clang!

Metal rang against metal, and sparks flew as Fujitora's cane sword accurately blocked Long Yi's Purple Pill.

Long Yi had expected such a result. It would have been a huge joke if the great Fujitora had his clothes cut by a rookie swordsman like him. Yet instead of disappointment, Long Yi revealed a strange smile.

This sword was not his final trump card.

Lend me your strength, Blade Soul Kazan!

With a silent cry in his heart, ghostly energy surged behind Long Yi. A vague phantom of a demon spirit appeared out of thin air. Empowered by its strength, his power increased severalfold, while eerie demonic flames clung to Purple Pill's blade.

"Ghost Slash!"

Purple demonic flames blazed fiercely, instantly engulfing Fujitora's entire body. Long Yi withdrew and retreated, his gaze burning.

"You have some tricks, but they aren't quite enough."

The purple demonic flames burned fast and vanished just as quickly. Protected by Armament Haki, Fujitora was completely unharmed. Even his kimono had not gained the slightest crease.

"Alright, alright. I can't beat you, okay?"

With his final trump card having failed, Long Yi put away Purple Pill and raised his hands in surrender.

Feeling a dull ache in his internal organs, he sat down cross-legged and kept muttering under his breath.

"Isn't it just a Devil Fruit? It's not like I don't have one. Once I make up my mind..."

Thinking of the Devil Fruit stored at the Marine branch, Long Yi's heart grew hot. But moments later, the impulse born from Fujitora's brutal beating gradually faded.

The system in his sea of consciousness was enough to bring him to the peak of this world. There was no need to gamble on eating an unknown Devil Fruit and giving himself another weakness.

"You could try your luck. Swordsmanship is merely a means of killing for you. You don't look like such a rigid kid."

Fujitora smiled softly and sat beside Long Yi. He knew everything about Long Yi's Devil Fruit.

Filled with guilt and gratitude, the villagers of Guya Village had placed that Devil Fruit by Long Yi's bedside. Long Yi had not refused, instead smiling as he handed Belik's corpse over to them.

Thirty-five million Beli in exchange for an unknown Paramecia Devil Fruit—no matter how one looked at it, Long Yi had made an incredible profit.

"I'm not rigid, but I don't want to have weaknesses."

Long Yi looked at Fujitora beside him with a hint of mischief on his face.

No matter what he did on land, he could not deal with Fujitora. But at sea, perhaps he could make this burly uncle suffer badly. The thought only flashed through his mind, though. If possible, Long Yi sincerely hoped he would never have to draw his sword in earnest against this upright, kind-hearted man.

"Heh heh..."

Fujitora smiled faintly and was about to say something when he suddenly fell silent. A moment later, a strange look appeared on his face as he raised his brows at Long Yi.

"Kid, it seems someone is looking for you."

Long Yi turned his head in confusion, only for a tall, beautiful figure to suddenly appear before him.

Looking up, he saw that the newcomer had blue curly hair and a cold expression.

"Come. Draw your sword."

The young woman did not waste words. Pointing her sword at Long Yi's brow, she spoke indifferently.