Barn's pale eyes, flickering with lightning, met Kizaru's startled gaze as he calmly spoke the name of the shadowy ghost wrapped around the First-Generation Onikiri.
"You extended your blade's reach? That won't work, Barn."
Kizaru's eyes widened briefly before he turned into a beam of light and vanished before Barn.
Watching Kizaru dissolve into photons, Barn slowly rose to his feet, an inscrutable smile tugging at his lips.
"Is that all?"
Barn spoke softly. At some point, the shadow wrapped around the First-Generation Onikiri had disappeared, but he raised his blade and swung at an empty patch of air.
At that very moment, somewhere within the vast ocean of light, a splash of blood fell...
"There!"
Seeing the blood fall to the ground and scatter into photons, Barn smiled. He immediately turned into a streak of lightning and rushed over, driving the First-Generation Onikiri into the seemingly empty ground!
Yet blood spilled once again from that empty spot where the First-Generation Onikiri had pierced. Kizaru's figure slowly appeared, with Barn's blade buried in his shoulder!
"How did you do that?"
Kizaru glanced at his bleeding shoulder, where Barn's blade was embedded, then looked at the faintly smiling Barn in disbelief.
"The moment I cut you with Onikiri wrapped in Blade, Blade entered your body through that wound. No matter where I swing my sword, Blade faithfully delivers the slash to you!"
Only after hearing Barn's explanation did Kizaru notice a shadow coiling around the wound on his abdomen.
"Barn..."
Kizaru stared at the shadow and spat Barn's name in fury.
"I told you. There's nowhere you can run."
Barn spoke calmly, but Kizaru's face twisted with rage as he shouted back.
"Then let's put that to the test!"
Biting his lower lip, Kizaru jerked his body upward. The blade buried