Troublesome! Swain vs Akainu

A fierce battle began right then and there!

As soon as the combatants' techniques collided, their surges of aura sharply defined themselves.

The red and blue shockwaves matched each other blow for blow.

Yet the very next moment—

"Brat! You're still way too green!"

With a roar from Akainu, the red shockwave instantly overpowered the other.

"So strong!" Swain felt a pressure even greater than the one Kuzan had given him.

Akainu's attacks carried an absolute ruthlessness!

Bang! Friction at the point of impact kicked up a puff of white smoke, and immediately afterward, a figure was sent flying.

The first exchange between the two produced a result.

Swain was a step behind!

Like a cannonball, his body stirred up thick dust on the ground, crashing consecutively through seven or eight houses before he finally managed to halt.

He truly lived up to being the strongest of the Three Admirals!

"Ouch! That really hurts, though!" Swain muttered involuntarily.

Though he had been sent flying, he hadn't sustained any real injuries.

Under the state granted by the Blessing of the Sea God, his physical attributes, durability, and offensive power were all comprehensively enhanced!

It was fair to say that Swain's defense could now rival the flesh and blood of the Lunarian Tribe.

On top of that, he had wrapped his entire body in Conqueror's Haki.

This was somewhat similar to Kaido's physical body and Luffy's Gear Fourth, utilizing Haki to encase oneself and elevate personal defense to unprecedented heights!

After all, Haki was what reigned supreme over everything!

As the smoke and dust cleared, Swain walked out from within.

"How is this possible?! He was able to block a strike from Admiral Akainu?!" an ordinary soldier exclaimed in shock.

"Talk about stating the obvious! How could a pirate with a bounty of 1.6 billion be defeated this quickly?!" a pirate nearby piped up.

"But Admiral Akainu, when hunting down pirates with billion-plus bounties in the New World..."

"Under this very move, they'd either be dead or severely wounded. How is this pirate completely fine?"

That soldier evidently often followed Akainu on missions, which was why he held such blind faith in him.

"Didn't you see the Conqueror's Haki on Swain? That's Ryuo Haki! Naturally, it enhances his defense."

"Even in the New World, there aren't many powerhouses who can wield Ryuo Haki."

The pirate chimed in as someone who had seen the world.

Naturally, the soldier didn't understand what Haki was, but he couldn't help wondering why this guy next to him kept speaking up for pirates.

Turning his head, he saw that this person wasn't wearing a military uniform and yet dared to show up here—he was bound to be a pirate.

The two locked eyes.

"Don't run!"

The pirate bolted in a flash, prompting the marine to fire off several shots in his wake.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Swain and Akainu were locked in an intense, evenly matched struggle.

Utilizing his speed advantage, Swain closed in on Akainu and landed a punch straight to his face.

Akainu grimaced, biting down hard on his cigar.

His right hand lunged out to grab Swain, while his left hand transformed into a Magma Fist.

He struck Swain fiercely in the abdomen.

The blow instantly caused the Haki on Swain's stomach to scatter, and the magma began to sear his skin.

He was trading injury for injury!

Seeing things turn critical, Swain twisted his body in the opposite direction, hooking his left leg to kick at Akainu's neck.

His other leg also rapidly lashed out toward his chest.

Only then did the two of them break apart.

"What a absolute maniac!" Swain panted as he retreated a great distance.

He touched his abdomen with his hand; it was already a bloody mess.

It looked quite horrifying.

Good thing I protected myself with Haki! Otherwise, I'd be roasted to a crisp right now. He endured the waves of piercing pain washing over him.

On the other side, Akainu had also sustained minor injuries.

A scratch had appeared near his neck, currently seeping a thin trail of blood.

It was a close call!

If the Haki had been just a bit stronger, it could have gravely wounded him!

Regrettably, Akainu would only make that mistake once.

Casting a sideways glance, Akainu looked at his wound and said:

"Brat, you've successfully angered me."

Gushing streams of magma began to well up from his arms.

The intensely hot magma dripped onto the ground, burning straight through to form deep hollows.

Trying to fight this mad dog with brute force will only result in mutual destruction. Swain pondered a method for victory.

He had to deal Akainu a heavy blow through a surprise move!

Yet combat changed in the blink of an eye; how could they possibly afford him time to think?

"Great Eruption!"

Akainu launched a magma fireball into the sky, which burst outward in all directions like dense clusters of cannonballs.

He intended to restrict Swain's footing!

Only by doing so could he reduce Swain's formidable speed advantage to the absolute minimum.

The volcanic projectiles rained down everywhere.

He completely disregarded the lives of everyone else around!

Cries of agony rang out one after another.

"Reporting! Please, General..."

Before the soldier could finish his sentence, Akainu's ferocious glare frightened him into silence!

"For the sake of justice, you must be prepared to make sacrifices!" Akainu stated.

"What kind of garbage justice is that?! You're even murdering your own comrades!"

Swain looked on with utter disdain.

Then, extending his palm forward, he wrapped the hundred-meter radius around himself in seawater, forming a semi-circle.

The people behind him were thus spared.

Akainu's expression shifted, seemingly provoked by Swain's words.

"What do you know?!"

"This is justice!"

With that, Akainu leaped forward and struck at Swain.

Swain coated his fists in Ryuo Haki, meeting Akainu head-on.

Yet within mere seconds, the Haki on his hands dissipated as it offset the intense heat.

Swain had no choice but to alter his technique, throwing a punch from below with the intent of dealing a heavy blow to Akainu's abdomen.

His current understanding of Haki was limited to the initial Ryuo stage, and he still wasn't very proficient in applying Ryuo, unable to maintain a continuous output into his hands.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been constrained time and again by Akainu's magma.

"Sea: Entanglement!"

Several black chains instantly wrapped around Akainu's ankles.

In an instant, he felt his entire body drain of strength.

It was that familiar sensation of helplessness, like tumbling into the open sea.

Though it lasted only a moment, it was enough for Swain to seize the opening!

A mirror-like surface materialized in front of Akainu, and Swain pulled his fist back to charge up power before unleashing it.

Bang!

Akainu's body was sent flying like a cannonball.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Even as his body soared backward, the coughing up of blood began.

"It worked!" Swain declared.

He had dared to go blow-for-blow with Akainu precisely by exploiting his arrogant psychology—something proven by how he had dared to face Whitebeard alone during the Summit War two years later!

Only by doing so could he manage to entwine seawater around Akainu's ankles without drawing his notice.

Plunging him into momentary full-body fatigue and seizing that opening—Swain's attacks were capable of inflicting massive damage on him.

Still, Swain understood that he only had one chance to inflict damage through this little trick!

"Can you still get up?" Swain asked, gazing forward.

The rubble that had buried Akainu turned into flowing magma!

Plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop!

Hundreds of volcanic spheres hurtled toward Swain.

"Sea: Great Tentacle Spike!"

Several giant tentacles appeared around Swain, surrounding him.

The volcanic spheres struck the tentacles, leaving behind a sizzling sound and clouds of steam.

Akainu stood up, magma beginning to flow from his waist down.

Good news: he was injured.

Bad news: he seemed even stronger.

Swain cursed incessantly in his mind.

Why is this red dog so tanky?

That attack of his just now could arguably be considered equivalent to Akainu empowered by a Fruit, yet he could withstand this.

If it were anyone else, their lower body would probably be gone!

One could only say Akainu was bulky!

Come to think of it, after all, in the original plot during the Marineford War, Whitebeard almost beat him into soy milk, yet he was still able to get back up and deal Whitebeard a fatal blow!

What the—...

Swain felt things were very tricky.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The combat footage was also transmitted via Projector Snail to the World Conquest office.

"Swain? It seems he's the one who ate the Sea Fruit!"

A white-haired old swordsman said.