The Flying Sword Emerges, the Pluto Is Astonished

In other words, if he really couldn't win, he could always settle for a draw.

"Somewhere else?"

Rayleigh was visibly taken aback by Dongze's suggestion. People didn't usually change locations for a sparring match.

They only did that when the fallout from a fight threatened to get out of hand.

In the original story, the Marines had used the terrain to their advantage by making Marineford the battlefield. They had stopped the Whitebeard Pirates and taken the lives of Edward Newgate and Fire Fist Portgas D. Ace, but nearly all of Marineford had sunk into the sea. Things had clearly gone beyond Sengoku's control.

The losses had been severe. Marineford was the symbol of the Marines, and what happened there had dealt their reputation a heavy blow.

The battle had also given rise to Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach. Honestly, it was hard to say who had really won that war.

As for the two of them now, Rayleigh knew Aokiji had recommended Dongze for the Shichibukai, but Dongze was still a newcomer. He might be strong, yet Rayleigh didn't believe their fight would get beyond his control.

"No need, is there?"

"Heh. Don't regret it. If one of the World Creators happens to come by, don't expect me to—"

Rayleigh's face darkened at once. If one of those people really did wander over, he would have a problem on his hands.

"Fine. Somewhere else!"

The pressure of the Celestial Dragons was no joke. Dongze didn't even have to press him again before Rayleigh agreed.

"You two go ahead to Shakky's Rip-off Bar! Rayleigh and I will meet you there!"

After a moment's thought, Dongze decided to send Enel and Robin ahead. Once the fight started, he might not be able to look after them.

Rayleigh nodded as well. Watching Dongze set off first, his gaze grew distant, as though he were weighing something.

Then he used Shave and shot after him.

They ran nearly five hundred kilometers before Dongze finally stopped at the Calm Belt.

Rayleigh caught up about half an hour later.

Remembering Dongze's absurd speed, he gave a wry smile. Now he had some idea why Dongze had wanted to move the fight.

He began to take the young man seriously. Judging by that speed, Dongze seemed to possess strength comparable to an ordinary Admiral's.

Dongze looked out over the perfectly calm sea, his pupils narrowing. His Observation Haki spread rapidly in every direction as he surveyed the area.

Rayleigh was thoroughly versed in Haki, and he froze when he sensed that wave of Observation Haki.

Shock entered his eyes. Haki at this level was rare even across the entire sea, let alone in someone so young.

Rayleigh then released his own Observation Haki to examine their surroundings. Both men wanted to eliminate any unnecessary interference.

About five minutes later, Dongze nodded to Rayleigh.

Rayleigh nodded back.

Two bursts of Conqueror's Haki surged skyward, shaking the heavens.

Rayleigh's face changed. If Dongze's Observation Haki had surprised him, this Conqueror's Haki horrified him.

Well acquainted with the Three Types of Haki, he knew Conqueror's Haki could not be strengthened through training. It grew only as its wielder did.

Yet he now felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. It almost seemed like a joke.

Who was he?

He was the Pirate King's vice-captain, the legendary Dark King Rayleigh.

Was his willpower really no match for some young punk's? Was he still asleep?

When he looked up, he saw Conqueror's Haki splitting the sky. Back when he had sailed the seas with Roger, that had only happened in clashes with Whitebeard.

He had never expected to see the same sight from a young man today.

The two had not even deliberately pitted their strength against each other, yet the sea around them had already been turned upside down.

The water, once smooth as a mirror, now heaved with waves. Rings of surf spread outward from beneath their feet.

Where the waves met, streaks of dark red lightning snaked through the air, crackling.

"A clash of Conqueror's Haki."

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes. His surging presence grew fiercer as he unleashed another burst of Conqueror's Haki.

Dongze's expression did not change. Rayleigh had not used his full strength before, and neither had he.

His eyes widened slightly as he cast off every restraint on his Conqueror's Haki. This time, an overwhelming force swept across five hundred kilometers of sea.

It was as though a depth charge had exploded in the water beneath Dongze's feet. A terrifying shockwave tore through everything nearby.

Rayleigh felt as though his Conqueror's Haki had been hit by the Sea Train from Water 7.

His Haki shattered, and he himself was sent flying.

"Holy shit!"

The force broke through even Rayleigh's habitually cool composure.

Surfacing, Rayleigh shook his head with a rueful smile and cursed under his breath. "That little monster!"

He sensed that, in that instant, every sea beast and Sea King within five hundred kilometers had been terrified. They fled downward or outward, desperate to get away from those waters.

Scaring Sea Kings was the sort of thing most people could only imagine. Today, these two masters of Haki had actually done it.

Dongze pressed a catch, and a disposable golden sword sprang out. He ran two fingers along its blade, and deep in his eyes, a glacial blue took hold.

A bitter chill surged across the sea.

A long cry rang out over the water.

"The wind blows bleakly, and the Cold River runs cold!"

Cold River Sword Intent erupted without warning. A bone-chilling frost froze the sea beneath Dongze's feet, then spread outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing the ice race toward him, Rayleigh had no time to dwell on what had just happened. He leaped out of the sea.

Using Shave, he held himself in midair.

He stared in disbelief as the vast expanse of water turned to Glacier. What the hell? Freezing the sea—was that something a Swordmaster could do?

He quietly slapped himself twice.

He seriously suspected he was dreaming.

He wondered who that kid who had unleashed such Conqueror's Haki really was.

A thought suddenly sprang into his mind. Don't tell me he's Aokiji's secret son?

Flying Swords Emerge, the Dark King Is Stunned

"Mr. Rayleigh, we can begin!"

Dongze landed lightly on the ice and tossed aside the golden sword, now reduced to icy fragments.

After a long silence, Rayleigh asked, "What kind of move was that?"

As the vice-captain of Roger's ship, he was one of the few powerful pirates who had never eaten a Devil Fruit.

He had also noticed that Dongze was not afraid of seawater. That meant Dongze was no Devil Fruit User either.

But Dongze's ability to freeze the sea with a wave of his hand had shaken him.

In Rayleigh's words: "Kid, does that make any sense? Aren't you a Swordmaster? If you told me you could split a mountain with one strike, I'd believe you. I can do that too!"

"If you said you could cut someone with an elemental body, I'd believe that too. That's what Haki is for, right?"

"If you said you could draw your sword and sever water, I'd believe you! Hawkeye can do it!"

"But you're telling me a Swordmaster froze the sea?"

"Have I lost my damn mind?"

Dongze had expected Rayleigh's reaction. This was power from an entirely different realm. In this world, even a Swordmaster who reached the peak of training could only produce a stronger slash. Nothing like this.

"Sword Intent."

"I see! So that was what I felt that day?"

Dongze narrowed his eyes. From Rayleigh's words, it seemed he had already known Sword Intent existed.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, you might not know this, young man. A few months ago, I felt an unusual presence. Perhaps every accomplished swordsman on the sea felt it!"

"A new path of Swordsmanship that shook the whole sea!"

"I still remember that vast sensation coming from the void. There was a desolation to it, with a hint of the Erosion Cycle. The sword in my hand kept softly ringing!"

As Rayleigh spoke, his gaze shifted. He looked at Dongze in an entirely different way.

This ordinary-looking kid kept surprising him. At first, he had thought Dongze was merely a lucky young man who had caught the eye of Garp and Aokiji.

That was why they had recommended him for the Shichibukai.

Instead, Dongze's true strength had astonished him. His superb physical techniques, excellent Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and baffling Conqueror's Haki had all shaken Rayleigh.

Now Rayleigh had learned that Dongze was also the person who had caused such a stir across the sea not long ago. In a short span of time, Dongze had overturned his expectations again and again.

Rayleigh no longer knew how to speak to him.

With an ordinary newcomer, he could have pulled rank without a second thought. On the sea, everyone understood that strength commanded respect.

But Dongze seemed no weaker than him in either combat strength or achievement. Lecturing him would only cause resentment.

No wonder the kid had been so confident earlier.

Looking out over the endless Glacier, Rayleigh thought, Perhaps he really can lead a new era!

He remembered the dream his dear friend had entrusted to the younger generation. After wavering for a long while, he still could not let it go.

He slowly drew the sword at his side and said with utmost seriousness, "Young man, let me see whether your spirit can truly bear the weight of this world!"

Dongze gazed toward the distant sea, his thoughts churning. If Rayleigh was right, then his first Sword Intent must have caused quite a commotion. Had Garp and Aokiji known about it when they later fought him?

And what had Aokiji really been thinking when he recommended him for the Shichibukai?

Or was he overthinking it? Perhaps neither of them knew anything about it.

He could reach no firm conclusion. Dongze shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. Things had come this far; there was no use worrying now.

As he had told Robin before, he would deal with whatever came his way.

Facing the battle-ready Rayleigh, Dongze let out a slow breath and set the Peerless Sword Case before him.

He pressed its button, setting its mechanisms in motion until the case opened fully and revealed the six swords remaining inside.

Dongze said with feeling, "Eight years have passed since I first took up a sword at the age of eight. I trained day and night without pause. At fifteen, I went to sea and slew more than a thousand bandits, honing my skills until my swordsmanship reached mastery."

"By chance, I watched lone smoke rise over the desert and the sun set beyond a long river, and cultivated the Erosion Cycle Sword Intent. Then I met Vice Admiral Garp. In a battle that sank an island, I witnessed the might of his invincible fists, which broke mountains and split the earth, and realized the Non-Contention Sword Intent. When Mamaragan struck me and I hovered between life and death, I comprehended Thunderclap. Later, a thousand kilometers off Jaya Island, I fought Admiral Aokiji. I saw the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit's Awakening and suddenly grasped the way of Vertical and Horizontal and the intent of Cold River. That battle shook the world and earned me a recommendation for the Shichibukai!"

"Thus, I have gained six forms of Sword Intent: first, Erosion Cycle; second, Thunderclap; third, Non-Contention; fourth and fifth, Vertical and Horizontal; and sixth, Cold River Sword Intent."

"I invite the Dark King to judge them!"

Dongze's unusual introduction nearly sent Rayleigh through the roof.

He had waited all this time in grave anticipation, and Dongze was showing off.

Worse, he had made quite a performance of it. Rayleigh had never heard anyone boast about himself with such a straight face.

Still, it had served a purpose. At least Rayleigh now knew why Aokiji had recommended Dongze for the Shichibukai.

"First sword: Erosion Cycle!"

Before Rayleigh could make a sarcastic remark, Long River had already pierced the air.

Rayleigh frowned at the sword flying straight toward him.

He had never seen an attack like this.

On the sea, losing your grip on your weapon meant defeat. Why would Dongze throw his sword away at the very start?

Was the kid an idiot?

"Huh? Why hasn't that sword fallen?"