The Despicable Uchiha Celestial Dragon

"Inorganic Reincarnation!"

Brando used a unique technique of Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode.

Rayleigh lowered his head, somewhat surprised by the changes in the ground beneath his feet. Several sharp spikes formed from the soil and shot straight at him, but an attack of this level was nothing to Rayleigh. With a casual swing of his sword, he cut them apart.

"Is this a Paramecia awakening?"

Rayleigh could not quite make sense of it.

The ability to alter the surrounding environment could only be achieved through a Logia or a Paramecia Devil Fruit after awakening.

Or was it some special Mythical Zoan?

Brando raised the ninja sword Fang.

A bolt of lightning streaked through the trees of Sabaody and struck directly in front of Rayleigh. After leaping back to avoid it, Rayleigh stomped down and charged straight at Brando.

He did not want to keep taking hits.

But Brando had no intention of clashing with him head-on. He immediately swung Thunder Sword: Fang, sending an X-shaped bolt of lightning toward Rayleigh.

Just as Rayleigh tried to evade, the surrounding ground wriggled and two straight walls rose up, trapping him in the middle.

"Heavy Severing!"

Rayleigh gripped his longsword and slashed forward. Sword aura infused with Conqueror's Haki, carrying black arcs of lightning, cut through the X-shaped electric arcs Brando had released and flew toward Brando.

Naturally, Brando had no desire to take such a stat-heavy sword aura head-on. He easily dodged with a Body Flicker Technique. The slash crashed into the shop behind him and instantly destroyed it before piercing through an unknown number of buildings and finally exploding.

Just as Brando raised Thunder Sword: Fang and prepared to unleash a large amount of lightning to restrain Rayleigh, Rayleigh appeared directly in front of him with his sword raised and slashed down. Brando could only abandon the idea of releasing lightning and tighten his grip on both swords to meet the attack.

"Why are your movements nowhere near as tough as your words? You've been dodging the whole time."

Rayleigh also began provoking Brando, staring directly into his eyes.

He had already confirmed that this kid was quite capable, but if he wanted to defeat him, he was still a hundred years too early.

"It seems no one ever told you that when facing the Uchiha, you should never look directly into their eyes."

As Brando's words fell, Rayleigh felt his vision go dark, as though something had entered his consciousness.

It startled him, and he immediately used Conqueror's Haki to drive it out.

As his Conqueror's Haki erupted, he regained his senses.

Only an instant had passed.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle!"

Powerful currents erupted from Brando's body once more. This time, Rayleigh had not managed to evade in advance, nor had he had time to use Conqueror's Haki to block it. The parts of his body struck by the electricity were immediately seized by intense numbness, causing him to stiffen.

Yet Rayleigh still relied on his formidable physique to force himself out of the paralysis caused by the electric arcs and pull away.

"What is this?!"

Rayleigh had never encountered such a situation before, and there was still a trace of uncertainty in his eyes.

"It seems your Observation Haki hasn't reached Katakuri's level. You can't maintain Future Sight as a constant state."

Naturally, Brando did not answer.

Future Sight was the pinnacle of Observation Haki. There were probably fewer than ten people on this sea who had mastered it. Rayleigh had only barely gained some grasp of Future Sight after the Roger Pirates disbanded, and it was unstable.

Katakuri, on the other hand, could use Future Sight continuously and keep it active under normal circumstances. If it had been him, he probably would not have fallen for Brando's mental assault. This move did not have enough killing power, and Rayleigh's Observation Haki had failed to warn him in advance.

"Young people these days really are terrifying."

"Is Uchiha the surname of the Celestial Dragons?"

Rayleigh felt that the abilities of newcomers these days were becoming more and more flashy. Wasn't that a little too terrifying?

Back in their era, powerful Devil Fruit users and non-users each made up about half of the strongest fighters. But now, all the formidable young people were Devil Fruit users.

"I won't give you the chance to stall for time and recover!"

Brando had no interest in explaining.

He intended to kick Rayleigh while he was down, taking advantage of his negative paralysis status. He continued swinging Thunder Sword: Fang and releasing electric currents. This new energy really was useful.

However, he knew it would be difficult to kill Rayleigh unless the old man made a mistake and stubbornly refused to run.

A powerhouse at Rayleigh's level probably had a physique comparable to Might Guy's Seventh Gate in his normal state. If he wanted to flee, Brando had no way to stop him.

This time, Brando had even specifically prepared two pairs of Seastone handcuffs, which he had bought in Sabaody. But Rayleigh was not a Devil Fruit user, so they were completely useless.

Lightning from the sky fell like a fine rain.

Although Brando's Sharingan mental invasion had left Rayleigh's mental state somewhat unstable, preventing him from triggering Future Sight, he could still use Observation Haki and react to the speed of the lightning.

It was just that his body was numb, making his movements somewhat stiff. He looked rather miserable as he dodged.

At the same time, Brando used Inorganic Reincarnation to control the soil on the ground, creating terrain to interfere with Rayleigh.

Are all Celestial Dragons this despicable?!

Rayleigh could not help cursing inwardly.

"Hm?"

"Where did this water come from?"

As his body began to feel almost recovered, he stepped into water.

Brando had used Water Style: Water Bullet to release a large volume of water. Empowered by senjutsu chakra, he spat out an enormous torrent.

At the same time, he used Inorganic Reincarnation to control the soil, dispersing the water and spreading it across the ground around Rayleigh. [According to the settings, Inorganic Reincarnation can control inorganic matter, and water is also inorganic matter. However, I also found claims that it can only control solid inorganic materials such as metal, soil, and rock. Also, if Inorganic Reincarnation could control seawater in the One Piece world, it would basically be invincible, so the setting is that Inorganic Reincarnation cannot control water and can only control solid inorganic matter.]

Rayleigh was well-read, after all. He was a "master"!

The moment he realized water could conduct electricity, he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, instantly shattering the surrounding ground and water.

Brando had already plunged Thunder Sword: Fang into the water and was releasing electricity. Rayleigh had reacted in time and avoided getting hit, while the scattered electric arcs were blocked with Armament Haki.

"What a shame my New Energy Fishing Technique failed."

Brando said regretfully.

Observing through his Sharingan, Brando saw that Rayleigh's muscle stiffness had mostly recovered. At the same time, his Observation Haki detected a familiar presence approaching.

"A troublesome guy is here!"

Rayleigh had naturally sensed that powerful presence as well. Though he did not know exactly who it was, it had to be a powerhouse from the World Government.

He looked at Brando with some reluctance. If he had known, he would have gone for the kill from the very beginning. No matter what, he should have left this kid with a scar like Shanks's.

But it seemed he no longer had the chance.

"Kid, take this move from me, and I'll acknowledge your strength!"

Rayleigh gripped his longsword as Conqueror's Haki wrapped directly around it.

The dancing black arcs of lightning were especially obvious. Rayleigh's right hand was tensed tightly, clearly preparing to give Brando a vicious attack.

"Only an idiot would take your move head-on. And who the hell are you that I need your acknowledgment?"

Brando laughed.

He was not an idiot like Luffy.

Besides, Kuzan's presence was far too distinct. Observation Haki might not have been especially effective at sensing and identifying the presence of others, but Brando also possessed the Uzumaki clan's sensory talent, allowing him to distinguish other people's presences more accurately.

He had already obtained Sage Mode from Kuzan, so there was no need to target him for the time being. His real target was the Celestial Dragons. If he exposed himself and they ran away, that would be a problem. That was more important.

Other than Water Release, he had not used any of his old techniques against Rayleigh today precisely to avoid exposing himself.

But Rayleigh ignored him and wanted to unleash his ultimate move. Brando simply used the Body Flicker Technique to flee at high speed, vanishing right in front of Rayleigh.

"My, my, isn't this Pluton Rayleigh?"

Kuzan looked half-asleep as he strolled toward Rayleigh, as though he had just been woken up and was annoyed by the disturbance.

"Other Shore Blade: Thallium!"

Seeing Brando run away, Rayleigh directly slashed his condensed attack toward Kuzan.

A V-shaped, blood-red sword aura carrying electric arcs shot straight at Kuzan.

"Hey, hey, hey."

Kuzan was stunned too. Was it going to be this exciting right from the start?

"Boom!"

Brando heard the explosion behind him and had no reaction.

He was thinking about finding a place to properly relax tonight.