Pirate: Invincible from the Start

"Now that you know the gap between us, be a good sport and spar with me!"

Kuta didn't even look at the golden slash coming straight at him. His Space Domain spread in an instant.

Boom!

A tremendous force blasted both the seawater and the slash aside.

Then Kuta teleported behind Golden Lion and drew Zankū, slashing viciously at his back.

Clang!

Golden Lion could do little about Kuta's teleportation. He could only turn and raise his sword to block the blow.

Then his body shot toward the ground.

With a boom, he crashed into a Giant Mountain below.

Who Was the Prey?

Outside the mountain.

Kuta waited a while, but Golden Lion didn't come out.

He couldn't help shouting at the mountain, "Hey! Old man, don't tell me you're hiding in there!"

He could still sense the old man's presence. It hadn't weakened at all!

Golden Lion was just a little out of breath.

Was he really so old that a short fight with a young man had worn him out?

Just then, an aura far stronger than Kuta's Conqueror's Haki rose from within the massive mountain ahead.

"Huh?"

Kuta frowned as he felt it.

How could the old man still unleash Conqueror's Haki?

Suddenly, the mountain split down the middle. A huge crescent-shaped golden slash burst out and hurtled straight toward Kuta.

Kuta hurriedly sent out a slash of his own.

Clang!

The two slashes tangled together, shot into the sky, and vanished.

Golden Lion's blond hair whipped wildly as he slowly rose through the crack in the mountain.

As he emerged, an even stronger wave of Conqueror's Haki swept across heaven and earth.

On the only Giant Island above them, everyone except Indigo rolled their eyes back and fell unconscious.

Kuta, who took the brunt of it, felt it even more keenly.

So this is what it means to stand at the top of the world? Terrifying.

Against the pressure of Golden Lion's Haki, he unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki.

Crack!

A sound like space shattering came from where the two forces collided.

Purple lightning flashed all around them.

Enduring the mental pressure, Kuta looked up at Golden Lion floating in the air. His pupils suddenly contracted.

The old man really is fighting to the death. He actually pulled out the Ship's Rudder.

No wonder he can unleash Conqueror's Haki. This must be his last burst of life!

Golden Lion floated in the air, smoking at his leisure.

After pulling out the Ship's Rudder, his mind had suddenly grown much clearer.

He casually tore a strip from his clothes and wrapped it haphazardly around the wound on his head so he wouldn't bleed to death too quickly.

The wild, arrogant fury he'd shown earlier was gone. Now he seemed remarkably calm.

At least, his aura did.

Has he lost his mind?

Kuta stared at Golden Lion, a trace of confusion crossing his face.

A calm Golden Lion was something no one had ever seen!

Golden Lion gazed down at Kuta as though he were a flawless jewel. The admiration in his eyes deepened.

He only admired the strong.

Once Kuta had gained the upper hand, Golden Lion had known his time was probably up.

And if this was the end, what was there to hesitate over? Of course he would fight with everything he had.

Even though he knew that pulling out the Ship's Rudder had started the countdown on his life—

his remaining time was running out.

But he couldn't let this silver-haired brat look down on him, could he?

Who was he?

He was Golden Lion!

He stared at Kuta and let out his signature laugh, though this time it held far less malice.

"Jihahahaha! Brat, you've earned my respect. I, Golden Lion Shiki, acknowledge you as a strong fighter."

Kuta stared at him, baffled. Did pulling out the Ship's Rudder drive the old man completely insane?

He rested his right hand on his sword hilt, ready to draw at any moment, and shouted at Golden Lion.

"Old man, have you gone mad or what? If you won't come at me, I'll come at you."

"Jihahahaha! Come on, brat! I'll show you what a fighter at the top of the seas can really do."

Holding his swords in both hands, Golden Lion casually swung the one in his right hand at Kuta.

"Slash Wave!"

A massive crescent-shaped slash, its golden light more intense than before, flew toward Kuta at tremendous speed.

Kuta kicked off the ground and shot forward with a whoosh, drawing his sword to meet the golden slash.

"Shave: Iai Slash!"

Boom!

His blade slammed into the golden slash.

The force drove him backward, his feet skidding for dozens of meters before he finally stopped.

He put more strength into his arm and forced the slash upward, sending it flying into the sky.

Kuta looked up at Golden Lion in surprise.

So strong.

This was nothing like before.

Golden Lion's earlier slashes had been powerful, but Kuta's hadn't been weak either!

If I'd met that with a flying slash instead of my blade...

My slash would have shattered instantly.

There was a world of difference between them.

Sensing Kuta's surprise at facing this slash for the first time, Golden Lion laughed heartily.

"Jihahahaha!"

"Weren't you going to kill me, brat? Then hurry up and come at me."

After fighting him for so long, Golden Lion had already worked it out: the brat was relying on his beastlike body and unparalleled Observation Haki.

But against a master swordsman like him, those advantages weren't enough.

The brat also had very little combat experience.

Kuta was growing rapidly through their fight, but he had only just set out to sea. Against Golden Lion as he was now, he wasn't quite up to the task.

Kuta stared at Golden Lion, sheathed his sword, then drew it in a flash.

"Iai: Iai Slash!"

A huge silver-gray slash sped toward Golden Lion.

Kuta knew Golden Lion's slashes were on another level now, but he still wanted to test the difference.

Golden Lion laughed and shattered Kuta's slash with a casual swing.

"Your slash is too diffuse. It lacks focus."

He paused, then

continued, "You need more finesse, not just brute force. A slash that crude will shatter the moment it meets a real fighter, just like your Haki. Learn to control your energy, compress it, and only then release a flying slash."

As he spoke, he swung his sword at Kuta.

"Slash Wave!"

A golden half-moon slash flew from Golden Lion's blade.

Kuta hurriedly followed the method Golden Lion had just taught him and released an equally huge silver-gray half-moon slash.

This time, his slash held against Golden Lion's for a moment before it was cut apart.

Looking at Zankū in his hand, Kuta understood Golden Lion's state of mind.

From the moment Golden Lion pulled out the Ship's Rudder, he had known he was going to die.

Then, somehow, the old man had come up with a fanciful idea.

He wanted to leave as much of himself behind in this world as he could.

Or perhaps he saw Kuta's potential and his identity as a pirate, and wanted to help raise one more powerful pirate before he died.

So the old man had taught Kuta his strongest slash.

At its peak, the old man's Slash Wave had enough power to cut through a hundred kilometers of sea.

That was an astonishing level of strength.

Kuta certainly couldn't have cut across anything like that distance before.

And he couldn't have learned a top Swordmaster's slashes at Isshin Dojo. Only by fighting top-tier opponents again and again could he develop a slash of his own.

As the old man had said, Kuta's slashes came from swinging his sword with the brute strength of his monstrous body.

They were unfocused and had little technique behind them.

They were devastating against small fry, of course, but against a truly strong opponent, they were useless.

A slash like his couldn't even cut through someone's Armament Haki defense.

Now that Kuta understood what the old man intended, he said nothing.

He appeared beside Golden Lion in an instant, drew his sword, and slashed.

Golden Lion roared with laughter. "You're fast, brat, but your reactions are too slow."

Red light flashed in his eyes. Though he moved second, his sword struck first, cutting Kuta's attack apart.

Then he gave his blade a slight twist and struck the spine of Kuta's sword from a fiendishly tricky angle.

Kuta froze for an instant.

In a fight between powerful opponents, that instant was enough to decide everything.

But Golden Lion didn't press his advantage. Instead, he stared at Kuta and called out, "Brat, Observation Haki isn't about extending your senses as far as they'll go. You need to master every inch of it. Once you do that and can make your sword move with your will, you'll truly deserve to be called strong."

Kuta stood a short distance away, glaring at Golden Lion.

"You're getting a taste for playing teacher, aren't you, old man?" he snapped.