Yellow Monkey Retreats, Mission Accomplished

Ian gave a sly chuckle, exerting force with his hand as Conqueror's Haki bore down on Yellow Monkey, shaking his mind.

Seizing the opportunity, Ian coated his right leg in Armament Haki and launched a kick.

Yellow Monkey's mind merely wavered for an instant before recovering. His Observation Haki caught Ian's attack, and golden light flared beneath his foot as he threw out a kick of his own.

Boom!

Their feet collided with a muffled crash. The shockwave spread outward, splitting the ground further as both men were forced back.

They exchanged a glance, then charged at each other again with swords in hand. The light sword clashed against Hyorinmaru, and after a brief deadlock, Yellow Monkey lost out in strength and was pressed down by Ian!

A red gleam flashed through Yellow Monkey's eyes, as though he had sensed some danger. He tilted his head to the right, but with a slash, a wound still appeared on his cheek.

Every attack from a Great Swordsman carried an immensely powerful surge of sword energy. The bursting sword energy had injured Yellow Monkey!

"A Great Swordsman really is troublesome..." Yellow Monkey narrowed his eyes and manipulated the surrounding light particles into beams of light.

Aurora Spike! Countless points of golden light flickered around the two of them. Then, golden blades shot out from every point of light, blanketing the entire area!

Slash, slash, slash...

A series of piercing sounds rang out as Ian and Yellow Monkey's bodies were directly impaled by the golden blades!

Since the attack came from the same source, Yellow Monkey was completely unharmed. However, when he looked at Ian, his expression darkened. "Ice? An illusion?"

Ian, who had been pierced by countless golden blades, suddenly turned into shattered ice, while his real body had vanished without a trace!

The next moment, Yellow Monkey suddenly sensed something and looked up at the sky.

Ian had spread wings behind his back and appeared high above at some unknown point. Like a falling meteor, he charged down at Yellow Monkey, raising Hyorinmaru high. Ice crystals condensed into the shape of a dragon along its blade. Ice Dragon Tailspin!

Boom!

With a single slash, the dragon-shaped ice crystals erupted, instantly freezing a large area. Amid cracking sounds, a massive iceberg suddenly rose in the battlefield, stretching across the field!

"That was close..." Yellow Monkey twisted his body and appeared out of thin air above Ian. Crossing his arms, he rained down an endless barrage of golden light!

Boom, boom, boom...

The dense barrage descended amid unceasing roars, and boundless explosions erupted across the battlefield.

"What a slippery bastard!" Ian curled his lip. Against an enemy who could teleport like this, landing a hit was exceedingly difficult.

He shifted left and right, dodging the golden barrage. But the attacks were too dense, and eventually there was nowhere left to evade. Ian stopped, raised his hand, and slashed out a hundred-meter sword strike, blasting apart the incoming golden light!

Cross Flower! Ian charged out with Flash Step, using Conqueror's Haki to intimidate Yellow Monkey as he thrust his sword forward.

Cold air gathered from nowhere, and a cross-shaped ice crystal formed abruptly, taking shape almost instantly!

Because of the chill surrounding him, Yellow Monkey felt his reactions slow considerably. Before he could evade, he was frozen within the cross-shaped ice crystal.

Yellow Monkey's expression changed drastically. He had been careless!

Ice-based abilities excelled in prolonged battles and possessed formidable battlefield control. The longer the fight continued, the lower the surrounding temperature became, and the greater Ian's advantage would be!

"Let's see how you dodge this!" Ian sneered. Sword intent erupted from his body as he gripped his sword with both hands and slashed downward. Nameless Divine Wind Style: Twin Gods!

The roars of a dragon and tiger rang out. The Azure Dragon churned the wind pressure, while the White Tiger shattered the ground beneath its paws. The Twin Gods descended at once.

The winds and clouds shifted across the battlefield as the earth shook and mountains trembled!

The two attacks surged forth together, their killing intent soaring into the heavens!

"This is bad!" Though he was frozen inside the ice crystal, Yellow Monkey had already transformed his body into an element. Light was both speed and intense heat!

Boom, boom, boom!

Endless light radiated from Yellow Monkey's body. Explosions rang out from within the cross-shaped ice crystal, followed by the cracking of ice!

At the final moment, Yellow Monkey broke free from the ice, his entire body resembling a miniature sun as it radiated endless light and heat!

Maximum Wheel: Light Wheel Cannon! Yellow Monkey shouted, drawing in the surrounding light particles as a massive golden laser dozens of meters thick suddenly collided with Ian's attack!

Rumble!

The two overwhelmingly powerful attacks collided, making the battlefield seem as though a nuclear bomb had detonated. Terrifying shockwaves spread out like crashing tides, blasting apart the clouds overhead and revealing a clear sky!

The ground—no, the entire island—began to shake. The violent shockwave swept in every direction and spread across the sea, raising waves dozens of meters high that crashed outward!

When the world's top fighters clashed for too long, they could even destroy a large island!

"Not bad. Then... try this move of mine! It's also one of my strongest techniques at the moment!" Ian casually swept away the smoke and dust, then looked at the slightly panting Yellow Monkey and laughed heartily, his expression incomparably excited.

In his previous life, he had never experienced such exhilarating satisfaction. The more he fought now, the more excited Ian became, his eyes filled with boundless fighting spirit!

Ian's smile faded, though his fighting spirit remained. Hyorinmaru pointed toward the sky.

With a hum, an overwhelming aura erupted from Ian's body. Even colder air surged from the blade into the heavens, covering the clear sky with dark clouds once more. A storm rose, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled!

Ian was about to unleash his ultimate move!

Feeling the fighting spirit Ian was releasing, Yellow Monkey's mouth twitched again. He did not want to fight anymore. He truly did not!

This guy was a battle maniac, just like that lunatic Kaido. Once he got into the fight, he would hardly consider any consequences at all.

Damn it, why had he come here in the first place?!

He spread out his senses and saw that the Marines had already withdrawn, with even their warships having sailed far away. Yellow Monkey felt a wave of relief. Well done. He could leave now!

"Hey, hey, spare this old man. This old man doesn't want to fight anymore. Until we meet again, Sir Ian!!" Though he had no idea what ultimate move Ian was preparing, Yellow Monkey had no intention of waiting. After throwing out those words, his body suddenly dispersed and reformed in the distance.

Then, he turned into a streak of golden light and shot off in one direction without looking back. He moved so fast that he vanished like a flash of light in the blink of an eye...

"Old bastard, don't run!" Ian was in the middle of preparing his ultimate move when he discovered that Yellow Monkey had actually fled without so much as a word, turning into golden light and escaping. The corners of his mouth could not help twitching...

Seeing Yellow Monkey flee as though for his life, Ian knew that the Glint-Glint Fruit was already one of the fastest abilities in this world. If Yellow Monkey was determined to run, Ian truly could not catch him with his current speed...

The aura he had gathered dispersed. With no target left to attack, there was no point in using his ultimate move...

Ian let out a breath and cursed under his breath, "Coward!"

"Forget it. At least the mission is complete. I can't catch Yellow Monkey anyway, and he wouldn't be easy to kill either. Besides, killing him would only make things more troublesome. This is fine..." Hearing the system notification in his mind, Ian smiled.

Fine. He had not lost out.

One draw was already a huge profit!

Ian looked around at the area destroyed by his battle with Yellow Monkey, his thoughts turning solemn. I rejected the offer to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and then fought Yellow Monkey... Given the World Government's nature, they'll definitely pin the destruction here on me. Being put on the wanted list is unavoidable.

And the World Government will definitely target me in the future. I'm alone; if all three Admirals come after me, I might not be their match. There should be some powerful people within the World Government as well. This is troublesome...

I'll take things one step at a time. If it comes down to it, I can only head to the New World to lie low for a while...

I hope the World Government doesn't go too far. If you truly push me too far, I'll be like those other transmigrators before me and overthrow you all!!

Ian snorted inwardly. After taking one last look around, he did not linger. With a flash, he left the area...