Outside the central granary.
Flames were still burning.
Sabo and the white-clad figure at the end of the street stared at each other across dozens of meters.
The man made no move to draw his sword. He simply stood there.
The heat stirred his white cloak, and the cross on his chest stood out sharply in the firelight.
After a moment, he spoke.
"Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army."
"Sabo."
"You actually dared set foot on the land of gods."
His voice was calm.
But it carried an arrogance so deeply ingrained that the Revolutionary Army's presence here seemed, in itself, an intolerable blasphemy.
Sabo looked at him.
"We're already here."
"And..."
He glanced toward the blazing granary in the distance.
"This Land of Gods of yours doesn't seem all that untouchable."
The man's eyes turned cold.
"Saint Figarland Shamrock."
"Remember that name."
"Because you'll die here."
Clang!
The rapier at his waist flashed from its sheath.
Without testing his opponent, Saint Shamrock stepped forward.
"Three-Fang Thrust!"
His blade became three streaks of cold light.
The throat.
The chest.
The lower abdomen.
All three strikes shot toward Sabo at once.
Sabo's pupils tightened, and he vanished.
Whoosh!
The three sword strikes pierced his afterimage.
The next instant, Sabo appeared to Saint Shamrock's left.
He curled three fingers into a Dragon Claw as Armament Haki raced over his entire arm.
"Instant Dragon Claw!"
Bang!
His claw struck straight for Shamrock's temple.
But Saint Shamrock seemed to have expected it. His sword swept back.
Clang!
Claw and blade collided. Haki burst outward, shattering the paving stones beneath both men's feet.
Saint Shamrock sneered.
"Teleportation?"
"No wonder the Holy Land could never catch you."
Sabo gave no answer. He vanished again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Afterimages flickered all around the street.
**"Sky-Severing Raking