Splitting the Sea with a Single Sword! Rayleigh's Terror / I Bled for the Marines
Clang!
The longsword coated in Armament Haki collided with Atlas's fist once again.
"Truly terrifying! Not even a single scratch!"
Rayleigh looked at the flawless Atlas. By all logic, even the strongest Armament Haki, if wrapped around the entire body, would expand the defense area while inevitably decreasing the defensive power per unit area.
Yet the marine before him seemed to directly violate this law. It could only mean one of two things: either his Armament Haki was even stronger than he displayed, or... this guy's pool of Haki was terrifyingly vast!
"Blast Fist: Impact!"
Explosive flames rapidly sprouted on Atlas's fist. Pulling her fist back, she drove it straight toward Rayleigh's face with immense momentum!
Boom! Boom!
Rayleigh blocked horizontally with his sword, Armament Haki coating the blade!
The two collision sounds rang out almost simultaneously, one right after the other. The terrifying force made the web of Rayleigh's hand go slightly numb, and his body could not help but slide backward!
"Armament Haki Emission?"
Before the fist even struck the blade, a blood-red wave of Armament Haki surged forward. Even with Rayleigh set in a blocking stance, he was caught off guard.
"Truly a monster of a young man. It seems I must pull out some real skills myself."
Hastily steadying her footing, Rayleigh chuckled wryly. From the brief exchange just now, she had already gained a rough understanding of the strength of this young marine before her.
It was no exaggeration to say that Atlas was definitely the most outstanding young person she had ever seen, without exception.
She had originally thought Shanks was considered extremely exceptional among the youths, but compared to the marine in front of her, he seemed to fall a bit short.
At this thought, a serious expression appeared on Rayleigh's face. She gripped the sword hilt with both hands. Compared to holding it with one hand, a two-handed grip could exert greater force, holding a larger advantage in both frontal attack and defense. This also showed that Rayleigh truly regarded Atlas with high importance.
"Razor: Explosion!"
Atlas took the initiative, constantly shifting her form in the air. The incredible speed and agility brought to her by Kami-e Mushin allowed her to approach Rayleigh almost in an instant!
Clang!
Relying on her forward momentum, Atlas kicked out horizontally, striking Rayleigh's blade directly. The metallic ring of colliding Armament Haki echoed out!
"Truly worthy of the Dark King..."
Atlas looked at the faint trace of blood vanishing from her shin. A serious Rayleigh was truly terrifying, actually breaking through her Armament Haki defense. Although it didn't cause her a major wound, it gradually stirred a sense of vigilance in her heart.
Chapter 103: Splitting the Sea with a Single Sword! Rayleigh's Terror
"Flying Finger Pistol: Explosion!"
Continuous and dense explosive beams fired from Atlas's hands, shooting toward Rayleigh with the momentum of a descending meteor shower!
Swish!
Rayleigh relied on her powerful Observation Haki to dodge the oncoming explosive flames, but her singed hair and tattered clothes both showed how disheveled she was at the moment.
The CP0 agent still aboard the warship vaguely sensed the tremors of the distant battle, but did not dare to go observe alone for fear that Atlas would seize the opportunity to slaughter him, in which case the World Government would not pursue the matter even if it was framed on pirates.
"Marine, sail the ship a bit closer, go take a look at how the battle is going."
The CP0 agent wearing a black-and-white mask instructed the marines at the edge.
To his embarrassment, however, these marines remained completely indifferent to his words, showing no regard whatsoever for his status as a CP0 agent!
"This is so frustrating..."
He muttered discontentedly. Ever since boarding this ship, he had not suffered a small amount of grievance.
Damn it!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. The black-and-white masked CP0 simply sat down flat on the deck, no longer caring about the situation over on Atlas's side.
Atlas, over here, naturally had no idea about the grievance in the CP0 agent's heart. She only stared at Rayleigh opposite her with a solemn gaze, her muscles tense all over and both fists primed for action.
"Iron Fist: Shatter!"
The muscles in Atlas's arms bulged, and a flurry of fists instantly submerged Rayleigh. Strangely, almost all of the fist images did not land directly on Rayleigh, instead striking bizarrely into the air right beside her.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Rayleigh abruptly halted her dodging motion.
"Future Sight?"
Although Observation Haki's future sight was indeed powerful, the future was constantly changing. What Atlas foresaw was merely one possible scene in the future, not a guaranteed occurrence.
Atlas certainly did not expect the future-seeing Observation Haki to suppress Rayleigh. As the right hand of the Pirate King, the battles she had experienced were far more numerous than hers, and her combat experience and adaptability were also superior.
"Iaijutsu: Lightning Cutter!"
The Sandai Kitetsu at her waist sheathed out, a flash of cold light gleaming as a blood-red slash tore straight toward Rayleigh with unavoidable momentum!
"This is..."
The speed was too fast!
Rayleigh felt it was simply impossible to avoid. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the blood-red slash filled her entire field of vision!
Suddenly, Rayleigh raised the longsword in her hand, Armament Haki winding along with it. Black-and-red lightning leaped joyfully upon the blade, and an intimidating aura emanated from the sword, causing the surrounding space to take on a faint sense of distortion!
Conqueror's Haki! Infusion!
Whoosh!
Atlas's slash was annihilated almost instantly, and a slash more than twice the size of the previous one kept its momentum, slashing toward Atlas!
Along its path, the flying slash practically split the sea in two. The terrifying sharpness, carrying the unique intimidation of Conqueror's Haki, unleashed itself upon Atlas!
Puff!
A large mouthful of blood spewed out. The Armament Haki across her chest was forcefully broken open, leaving a huge gaping wound running from top to bottom. Tearing flesh constantly spewed fresh red blood, and Atlas felt her mind go blank for less than 0.001 seconds, but then the healing power of the Horse Talisman instantly erased the wounds on her body!
Damn it!
I threw a skill one, and you fucking hit me with an ultimate right off the bat?
Atlas casually spat out the remaining blood foam in her mouth, muttering with some depression.
"Oh? Even the recovery power is beyond monster-level."
Seeing Atlas heal the wounds she had caused in a split second, Rayleigh felt a jolt of shock, almost starting to wonder if this guy had eaten some kind of healing-related Devil Fruit.
You must know that while there were physiques in this world known as monsters, they still couldn't reach Atlas's instantaneous recovery ability—not even Kaido in the New World right now!
"Rip! Old timer, looks like you're playing for real, huh?"
Atlas grew somewhat annoyed and embarrassed. Aside from having such a disheveled experience with Kaido, truly no one else had ever put her in such an embarrassing state. She tore off her tattered clothes, exposing her well-toned upper body, and gripped the Sandai Kitetsu before her.
"One Sword Style Secret Art: Twenty Moments in a Finger Snap—Twenty Thoughts in an Instant—Ninety Kshanas in a Thought—Nine Million Births and Deaths in a Kshana!"
"Hmm?"
Rayleigh felt the surrounding time seem to stall for a split second, and a hair-raising sensation emerged on her body.
"Thousand Slashes in an Instant!"
Atlas's figure shifted like a displaced phantom, moving from the front straight to Rayleigh's back!
Swish! Swish! Clang! Clang!
The dense, chaotic sounds of blades colliding with flesh rang out, mixed with the metallic ringing of steel.
"With this kind of swordsmanship, you can already be called a great swordsman!"
Rayleigh was indeed incomparable to Marco. Although the vast majority of the slashes landed on her, her profound mastery of Haki meant she didn't suffer any very severe injuries; only small cuts were slowly healing. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the leisure to sit here critiquing Atlas's swordsmanship.
"Thanks for the compliment! But that's no use against me!"
Whoosh!
Atlas appeared like a ghost behind Rayleigh, the Sandai Kitetsu in her hand—already coated in Haki—following like a shadow.
A flash of cold light chopped from the upper right toward Rayleigh's lower left!
Gyaku Kesagiri!
If this strike landed solidly, Rayleigh would undoubtedly have a massive cross-section cut from her shoulder down to her waist and abdomen, but Rayleigh naturally wouldn't let herself be captured so easily.
Clang!
Right in the path of the Sandai Kitetsu, a longsword bizarrely blocked the way horizontally!
Without even turning her body, Rayleigh directly flipped her sword-holding hand, blocking Atlas's Gyaku Kesagiri from the exact opposite direction!
However, such a striking posture could ultimately not exert much force. Rayleigh only felt the back of the blade strike her body, and a thrusting force directly made her stagger, almost tumbling headfirst into the sea.
Bang!
Atlas naturally wouldn't let go of such an opportunity. The muscles in her right leg suddenly bulged, kicking toward Rayleigh's waist with a fierce tearing sound in the air!
"You really have zero respect for an old man like me!"
Taking the kick, Rayleigh used the momentum to create some distance, rubbing her waist with a helpless expression as if questioning whether Atlas knew anything about respecting the elderly and cherishing the young.
"Sorry for the trouble, but an old guy like you should hurry up and enter the dirt!"
Atlas didn't hold back at all, tit for tat!
"Hey! Old man, can you teach me that technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion?"
Rayleigh looked at Atlas, who the second before had been cursing him into a coffin and was now asking for pointers on Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and chuckled speechlessly.
"Sure, you quit the marines and become a pirate!"
"Oh, then forget it..."
Chapter 104: I Bled for the Marines
"Hey! I say, Mr. Marine guy, why don't you just let me go like this."
Rayleigh asked tentatively.
It wasn't that she couldn't leave, but if the marine in front of her were to chase after her, she would feel quite troubled after all, seeing as she had witnessed Atlas's terrifying Observation Haki.
"Sure, just stand there and let me hack you with a sword."
Atlas still remembered the slash Rayleigh hit her with earlier, which was deep enough to nearly reach the bone. If she didn't have the Horse Talisman, she'd probably be lying on the ground groaning right about now.
"Now that really puts me in a spot. That sort of thing is something this old man simply... cannot do!"
The words had barely fallen when Rayleigh's figure vanished right before Atlas's eyes.
A red flash flickered and vanished in Atlas's eyes, and a confident smile curled the corner of her mouth, "Hey! Don't underestimate my Observation Haki, old man!"
"Marine lad, you shouldn't be overly confident in Observation Haki."
The voice came from right behind Atlas, yet she wasn't surprised in the least. Spinning around swiftly, she thrust the Sandai Kitetsu in her hand forward with well-prepared timing!
Clang!
The two locked in a stalemate, sparks continuously bursting from the intersecting point of their blades.
"Not bad! Looks like your strength hasn't diminished."
Atlas sneered at Rayleigh.
"Thanks for the compliment. This old man is not yet so old that I lack the strength to discipline you."
Clang!
Seeing that neither gained any advantage in the clash of strength, the two stepped back with tacit understanding, turning around to continue slashing!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After a few more exchanges, in terms of both Haki and physical strength, Atlas did not suffer much disadvantage, though she was faintly suppressed.
"The 'tender shoots' of the new era cannot withstand your ravages!"
Rayleigh's expression gradually grew serious, a sharper glint entering her eyes. At this moment, she looked much more like the Dark King Rayleigh known as the 'Right Hand of the Pirate King', rather than a smiling retired old man.
The sword tip hung down naturally. Coating in Armament Haki once more, Conqueror's Haki slowly wound around it as well, black-and-red lightning continuously leaping upon the blade. A monumental sense of oppression filled this entire space.