Issho's Terrifying Strength

"Young friend, you are different from the other pirates. Of all the people I've met, you are the kindest and most amiable."

"Still, I'll pass on joining your pirate crew!"

It was clear that, in Issho's mind, Lin Yan was a pirate worthy of his admiration.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to think so highly of me!"

"You may not know this, but the last person I invited said the exact same thing as you. Now, he's one of my crew."

Lin Yan thought of Zephyr and spoke calmly.

"Oh? Who was that person?"

Issho asked.

"The former Marine Admiral, Black Arm Zephyr!"

Could inviting a former Marine Admiral be bragged about for a year? Sorry, once the invitation succeeded, it really could be bragged about for a year.

Sure enough.

The moment he heard the name Black Arm Zephyr.

A ripple stirred in Issho's heart.

A former Marine Admiral had joined his division?

Issho had naturally heard of Zephyr.

Wasn't that former Marine Admiral extremely hateful toward pirates?

How had he...

At that moment.

Lin Yan continued, "Issho, you drift across the world and call nowhere home. The Marines are a place that values connections and background. If you join rashly, I can guarantee that you won't accomplish anything in the short term. Are you really willing to let all your abilities be buried among the masses?"

Issho said nothing.

Or rather.

He did not know how to refute it.

Within the Marines.

Things truly were exactly as Lin Yan had described.

He listened quietly.

"Now, an opportunity lies before you. Join my Seventeenth Division. I won't claim to give you the very best, but I can give you a place to spread your wings—a stage upon which you can realize your ambitions and display your skills in this world."

"This opportunity is right in front of you now. Whether you seize it or abandon it depends entirely on a single thought!"

Lin Yan's words were extremely sincere.

Every word rang powerfully in Issho's ears.

They struck directly at the deepest part of his heart.

Listening to Lin Yan's passionate, encouraging words.

If Issho had not been moved.

That would have been a lie.

Seeing this, Lin Yan added more fuel to the fire. "Issho, I mean it! This world needs you, and our Seventeenth Division needs you too!"

For many years.

Though he had been a wanderer.

He had constantly pressed forward toward his own goals.

But what had been the result?

Setback after setback, failure after failure.

Now.

Lin Yan had given him hope.

And rekindled the flame within him.

"I heard that you once swept through the entire Whitebeard Pirates by yourself?"

Issho asked in a deep, resonant voice.

"What about it?"

The moment Lin Yan heard that, he knew his chance had come.

"I'll have a match with you. If you win, not only will I join your Seventeenth Division, I'll also give you a great gift. How about it?"

Issho spoke with utmost solemnity.

A smile had originally rested on Lin Yan's face.

But.

After hearing Issho's words, he slowly raised his head. His eyes shone with brilliance. "Is that true?"

"Ain, find a nearby island!"

Lin Yan instructed Ain.

There was no shortage of islands along the Grand Line. Before long, the Seventeenth Division's fleet docked at an uninhabited island.

At the center of the island.

Mountains and ravines crisscrossed the landscape.

As far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of lush primeval forest.

Among the mountains and wilderness.

The cries of birds, beasts, and insects rang out without end.

Lin Yan and Issho stood in a line, each occupying one side.

Issho kept his eyes closed as he slowly drew the sword concealed within his cane.

Observation Haki flowed outward, and an airwave spread through the surroundings.

Lin Yan stood quietly opposite Issho.

He did not speak.

Nor did he make any movement.

Once their auras had built to a certain point.

Battle was about to erupt at any moment.

Whoosh!!!

A piercing sound tore through the air.

Issho was the first to attack.

"Slash!"

With unstoppable force, the sword in his hand slashed toward Lin Yan.

"Dragon Claw!"

Dense arcs of white lightning covered Lin Yan's palm.

He curled one hand into a claw and met Issho's slash head-on.

Clang!!!

The lightning-cloaked Dragon Claw seized Issho's blade.

Blade and claw.

The two collided.

Violent electric currents and the sound of clashing strikes.

Raged chaotically through the wind.

The auras erupting from both of them blasted across the surroundings.

Thick crimson bolts of lightning descended from the sky.

They smashed into the ground, the rocks, and the forest.

Wind and clouds surged as the world trembled uneasily.

The surrounding mountains, rivers, trees, and grass were all flattened by the aftershocks of their battle.

And that was only their first exchange!

The aftershock alone was already this terrifying.

Let alone the people involved.

As spectators.

When Zephyr's students saw this scene.

Their hearts pounded with fear.

When they learned that their division commander was going to fight this blind man.

Everyone had been overjoyed.

After all.

They had naturally heard of their division commander's exploits.

But they had never seen him fight personally.

Now that the opportunity was right before them.

They naturally wanted to observe for themselves.

What a battle between top-tier powerhouses of the New World looked like.

Yet.

It would have been better if they had not watched.

The moment they saw that the two men's first exchange had already been so earth-shattering.

The students all sucked in cold breaths.

They sighed that their division commander truly lived up to his reputation; his strength was indeed extraordinary.

However.

What shocked them even more was.

That in the first clash.

Issho had actually matched their division commander blow for blow!

This blind man.

Was no ordinary person either!

Before they could think any further.

Lin Yan and Issho's battle continued.

After the first strike.

The two traded blows.

In one burst of momentum, they clashed for a full hundred exchanges.

There were no dazzling footwork techniques.

Nor were there any flashy skills.

This was a pure contest of strength between the two sides!

After a hundred exchanges.

Issho was forced back.

After so many consecutive collisions.

He felt the web between his thumb and forefinger trembling, while the arm gripping his sword shook uncontrollably.

A thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead as well.

Lin Yan's strength was truly formidable.

On the other side.

Lin Yan also frowned slightly.

In terms of pure strength alone, Issho was no weaker than Jozu, the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Third Division.

Not to mention his swordsmanship, which rivaled Vista's!

In his attainments in the way of the sword.

Issho had gone very far!

His strength.

Was even greater than Zephyr's.

"Again!"

Issho leveled his blade and launched another attack.