Pirate: I Became a Legend by Seeing Proficiency

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 venues for a sparring match.

Unless the fallout from a fight threatened to get out of hand. Then they might move the battlefield in advance.

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

The losses were severe. Marineford was the symbol of the Marines, and what happened there dealt a tremendous blow to their authority.

The battle had also made Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach. Honestly, it was hard to say who had truly won the Paramount 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 could get beyond his control.

"No need, is there?"

"Heh. Don't regret it if some World Creators happen to wander over. You wouldn't want to..."

At Dongze's words, Rayleigh's face darkened. If those people really did stray into the fight, dealing with the consequences would be a headache.

"Fine. We'll move!"

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

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

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 too. As he watched Dongze set off first, his gaze grew distant, as though he were weighing something.

Then he used Shave and sped 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 rueful smile. Now he understood why Dongze had wanted to move the fight.

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

Dongze's eyes narrowed at the utterly calm sea. His Observation Haki spread swiftly in every direction, probing the surroundings.

Rayleigh, who wielded Haki with practiced ease, froze when he sensed it.

Shock rose in his eyes. Observation Haki of this caliber was rare on the seas, and its wielder was still so young.

Rayleigh released his own Observation Haki to survey the area. Both men had the same idea: eliminate anything that might interfere.

About five minutes later, Dongze nodded to Rayleigh.

Rayleigh nodded back.

Two surges of Conqueror's Haki shot skyward, shaking the heavens.

Rayleigh's expression changed. Dongze's Observation Haki had surprised him, but this Conqueror's Haki horrified him.

He knew the Three Types of Haki well. Conqueror's Haki couldn't be strengthened through training; it grew only as its wielder grew.

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

Who was he?

He was the Pirate King's first mate, the legendary Dark King Rayleigh.

And his will couldn't overpower some young upstart's? Was he still asleep?

He looked up and saw Conqueror's Haki splitting the sky. Back when he had sailed the seas with Roger, he had only seen that happen during clashes with Whitebeard.

He had never expected to see it again from someone so young.

They hadn't even deliberately clashed, yet the sea around them had already been transformed.

The water, smooth as a mirror moments ago, churned into violent waves. Rings of surf spread outward from beneath their feet.

Where the waves collided, streaks of dark-red lightning snaked through the air with a crackle.

"Conqueror's Haki clashing."

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes. His aura surged as he unleashed another burst of Conqueror's Haki, growing fiercer still.

Dongze's expression didn't change. Rayleigh hadn't gone all out before, and neither had he.

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

It was as though a depth charge had detonated beneath Dongze's feet. The terrifying shock wave 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 hurled away.

"What the hell?!"

The force broke straight through Rayleigh's usual cool composure.

When he surfaced, Rayleigh shook his head with a bitter smile and cursed under his breath. "That little monster!"

He could sense the sea beasts and Sea Kings within five hundred kilometers. That instant of terror had sent them fleeing down into the depths or out of the area as fast as they could.

Scaring off Sea Kings was normally the stuff of fantasy. Now these two Haki masters had done it.

Dongze pressed a mechanism, and a disposable golden sword sprang free. He ran two fingers along the blade, and an icy blue light appeared deep in his eyes.

The air above the sea abruptly turned frigid.

A long cry rang across the waters.

"The wind sighs, and the Cold River chills!"

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

At the sight of the ice racing toward him, Rayleigh forgot everything that had just happened and leaped out of the sea.

Using Shave, he held himself in midair.

The vast ocean had become a glacier. Disbelief filled his eyes. Damn it, was freezing the sea something a swordsman was supposed to do?

He secretly slapped himself twice.

He strongly suspected he was dreaming.

Who exactly was that kid who had unleashed such Conqueror's Haki?

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Could he be Aokiji's illegitimate son?

Flying Sword Drawn, Dark King Stunned

"Mr. Rayleigh, we can begin!"

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

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

As Roger's first mate, he was one of the few powerful pirates who had never eaten a Devil Fruit.

He had also noticed that Dongze wasn't afraid of seawater, which meant the young man wasn't a Devil Fruit User either.

But freezing the sea with a wave of his hand had stunned Rayleigh.

As Rayleigh saw it: "Kid, does that make any sense? You're a swordsman. If you told me you could split a mountain with one slash, I'd believe you. I can do that too!"

"If you said you could strike someone whose body had turned into an element, I'd believe that too. That's what Haki is for, isn't it?"

"If you said you could cut through water, I'd believe you! Hawkeye can do it!"

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

"Have I lost my damn mind?"

Dongze had expected Rayleigh's reaction. Sword Intent was on another level. In this world, even swordsmen who reached the pinnacle of their craft could only produce stronger Slashing attacks. They could never cause a spectacle like this.

"Sword Intent."

"I see! So that's what it was that day?"

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

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, you might not know this, young man. A few months ago, I felt a peculiar aura. Perhaps every skilled swordsman on the seas felt it!"

"A path of Swordsmanship that shook the entire sea!"

"I still remember that vast presence coming from nowhere, desolate yet carrying a hint of Erosion Cycle. The sword in my hand gave a soft, ringing hum!"

As he spoke, Rayleigh's gaze shifted. He looked at Dongze strangely.

This unremarkable-looking young man kept astonishing him. Rayleigh had initially thought he was simply lucky enough to catch Garp's and Aokiji's attention.

That was how he had been recommended for the Shichibukai.

Instead, Dongze's true strength had taken him by surprise. His exceptional physical techniques, superb Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and that baffling Conqueror's Haki had all shaken Rayleigh.

Now he had learned Dongze was also the person who had recently stirred up the entire sea. In so short a time, the young man had overturned his expectations again and again.

Rayleigh no longer knew how to speak to him.

With an ordinary newcomer, Rayleigh could have played the elder without a problem. Strength ruled the seas, after all.

But Dongze seemed no less capable or accomplished than he was. Lecturing him would only breed resentment.

No wonder the kid had been so confident earlier.

Looking across the boundless ice, Rayleigh thought, Perhaps he really can lead a new era!

He remembered the dream his dear friend had entrusted to the younger generation. After a long hesitation, he still couldn't let it go.

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

Dongze looked toward the distant sea, his mind racing. If Rayleigh was right, his first Sword Intent had caused quite a stir. Had Garp and Aokiji known about it when they fought him?

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

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

There was no clear answer. Dongze shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. Things had come this far; worrying now was pointless.

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

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

He pressed its button and worked the mechanisms until the case opened fully, revealing the six swords that remained inside.

Dongze spoke with quiet feeling. "Eight years have passed since I first took up a sword at eight. I trained day and night without pause. At fifteen, I went to sea and killed more than a thousand pirates, taking more heads than I can count. Through it all, I honed my skills until I mastered the sword."

"By chance, I watched smoke rise alone in the desert and the sun set over a long river, and attained Erosion Cycle Sword Intent. Then I met Vice Admiral Garp. In a battle that sank an island, I witnessed his invincible fists and the earth splitting beneath collapsing mountains, and awakened Non-Contention Sword Intent. With Mamaragan coursing through me, I stood at death's door and comprehended Thunderclap. Later, I fought Admiral Aokiji a thousand kilometers off Jaya Island. I saw the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit's Awakening and, in a flash of insight, grasped Vertical and Horizontal and Cold River Sword Intent. That battle shook the world and earned me a recommendation for the Shichibukai!"

"And so I gained six Sword Intents: first, Erosion Cycle; second, Thunderclap; third, Non-Contention; fourth and fifth, Vertical and Horizontal; sixth, Cold River Sword Intent."

"Dark King, I invite your appraisal!"

Dongze's unusual introduction nearly sent Rayleigh reeling.

Rayleigh had waited so solemnly all this time, and the kid was showing off.

And doing a fine job of it, too. Who else could praise himself so shamelessly with such a straight face?

Still, it hadn't been entirely pointless. At least Rayleigh now knew why Aokiji had recommended Dongze for the Shichibukai.

"First sword: Erosion Cycle!"

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

Rayleigh frowned at the sword flying toward him.

He had never seen an attack like this.

At sea, losing hold of your weapon meant defeat. Why would anyone throw his weapon at the very start?

Was this kid an idiot?

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