Seeing Kuma leave, Dragon felt considerably more at ease.
He fixed a sharp gaze on the mysterious figure before him.
Their first exchange had left him in a sorry state. He had caught only a brief glimpse of the stranger's face, which looked fairly young.
Though it was night, his instincts told him something during that brief clash: this unknown Celestial Dragon might be a woman.
That was startling.
But he did not care whether his opponent was a man or a woman. What mattered was using this chance to test the stranger's strength.
As the World Government's sworn enemy, he knew that understanding his opponent was the key to victory.
In his eyes, this person was every bit as formidable as Roger had been when they met.
The stranger's Swordsmanship alone had reached the highest level on the seas.
The stranger's Haki was terrifyingly strong, too.
Dragon held a slight edge in raw strength, but it was useless. It made no difference to the fight.
Gales swept around Dragon's body, forming a terrifying hurricane domain in the blink of an eye.
Outsiders would struggle to enter. Dragon had created a battlefield of his own.
There would be no interference, and he could bring his full fighting strength to bear within it.
The mysterious figure was clearly affected, swept helplessly into the air by the gale.
Dragon turned into wind and merged with the storm, searching for an opening to attack.
"Little mouse."
A cold smile appeared beneath the black robe.
The stranger brought a sword down, and with a terrifying show of force, split the entire hurricane domain in two.
Now.
Seizing the opening left by that attack, Dragon launched a fierce assault.
Wind Blades slashed at his opponent from every direction.
He did not let down his guard,