"First, let me see whether that scrap metal you're so proud of can leave so much as a white mark on me."
Yas's utterly arrogant words were like the sharpest thorns, stabbing viciously into Dr. Indigo's heart!
"Brat, you're asking to die!"
Dr. Indigo's face twisted with extreme rage, his once rather refined geisha makeup now making him look like a demon from hell.
He, Indigo, was the chief officer who had followed Golden Lion Shiki into battle for half his life, one of the men who stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship! His Sakura Ten was a Supreme Grade Blade that had severed the heads of countless mighty warriors and drunk their blood!
And today, some wet-behind-the-ears Marine brat had actually called it "scrap metal"?!
He had never suffered such a humiliating insult in his life!
"I'll slice you and that ridiculous armor into mincemeat, inch by inch!"
Dr. Indigo let out a frenzied, bestial roar. He stopped holding anything back to test his opponent and pushed his speed and swordsmanship to their limits!
Leaving an afterimage where he had stood, he appeared before Yas in an instant. The famous sword Sakura Ten in his hand became a cold flash almost too fast for the naked eye to follow, screaming through the air as it stabbed viciously toward Yas's heart from an exceptionally tricky angle!
The thrust was fast, precise, and ruthless! It carried his Armament Haki, powerful enough to pierce steel plates!
Yet faced with this lethal thrust, Yas remained where he stood without even lifting his eyelids.
Clang!
An incredibly crisp crash suddenly erupted, like metal striking the hardest diamond!
Dr. Indigo felt an irresistible, terrifying recoil surge from the tip of his sword. His entire arm instantly went numb, and the web of his hand split open, blood streaming out!
His eyes widened as he stared at his sword's tip in disbelief.
The once-unstoppable famous sword Sakura Ten was now pressed firmly against Yas's breastplate, which was covered in black lightning. No matter how much strength he exerted, he could not drive it even a fraction farther!
No!
It had not even left the slightest scratch or a single white mark!
"How is that possible?!" Dr. Indigo's mind went completely blank.
His attack could not even break through his opponent's defenses?
Just what was this black armor?!
"Too slow." Yas finally lowered his head slowly, glanced at the famous sword against his chest as though looking at garbage, and uttered those words in utter boredom.
Before his words had faded, he gave Indigo no chance to react. His left hand, covered in Black Lightning armor, moved as fast as lightning and seized Sakura Ten's blade!
Bzzzzzt!
Violent black lightning instantly spread up the blade. Dr. Indigo felt a destructive force surge toward him, and his right hand gripping the hilt was instantly shocked black, giving off the scorched smell of roasting meat!
"Aah!"
Indigo screamed, unable to hold on to his beloved sword any longer, and instinctively let go.
Just like that, Yas effortlessly took his sword from him.
"This is the power you're so proud of?"
Yas hefted Sakura Ten in his hand, his ice-blue eyes filled with undisguised contempt and disappointment.
"What a disappointment."
Under Indigo's horrified, furious gaze, his eyes instantly bloodshot, Yas slowly raised Sakura Ten. Then he gripped the hilt with one hand and the tip with the other and abruptly forced them inward!
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out, shattering the courage of every pirate still conscious!
Sakura Ten, the legendary famous sword that had accompanied Dr. Indigo for half his life and ranked among the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, had actually been snapped in two by Yas's raw physical strength!
"No! My Sakura Ten!"
Staring at the broken blade, Dr. Indigo let out a heartrending wail, like a cuckoo crying blood.
A sword was a swordsman's life!
What Yas had done caused him more pain and humiliation than killing him outright would have!
"Here, have it back."
Yas casually tossed the two pieces of the broken sword at Indigo's feet as though throwing away trash.
"Now that the scrap metal you were so proud of is gone, what else do you have?"
"Aaaaaah! I'll kill you! Kill you!"
Indigo went completely mad!
Abandoning all swordsmanship and technique, he unleashed every ounce of strength in his body without reservation. He stamped both feet against the ground and shot toward Yas like a cannonball!
His hands became vicious claws, coated in Armament Haki hardened to its utmost, like two blades that could cut through anything. He clawed frantically at vital points all over Yas's body!
Lion Style: Chaotic Slashing!
In an instant, hundreds upon thousands of fierce claw strikes formed an impenetrable black storm, completely engulfing Yas!
Every strike was powerful enough to tear through steel plates several meters thick!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Yet all that answered him was a dense barrage of teeth-grating metallic clashes!
Aboard the Leviathan, Brannew and the entire crew held their breath, staring fixedly at the Surveillance Den Den Mushi's screen.
They saw their godlike commanding officer standing motionless amid that raging black storm of claw strikes.
He had even clasped his hands behind his back, allowing those attacks capable of tearing through anything to rain wildly upon him.
He simply stood there quietly, as though enjoying an utterly insignificant massage.
Sparks flew across that fearsome black Raijin Armor, yet not the slightest trace of damage remained.
"Is that even human defensive power?" a young Marine soldier asked in a trembling voice, feeling his understanding of the world being crushed over and over.
"No, this isn't defensive power." Brannew clenched his fists tightly, fanatical flames burning in his eyes as he murmured to himself, "This is the absolute domain of a god, beyond all defiance!"
The assault continued for a full minute.
When Dr. Indigo finally had to stop because of his rapidly draining stamina, he was panting like an ox and drenched in sweat.
He raised his head and looked at Yas, who remained completely unharmed, without even a hair out of place. The last shred of his pride as a powerful warrior was crushed to dust before this hopeless reality.
"Monster... what kind of monster are you?" Indigo's voice trembled.
He finally understood.
What he faced was no rising Marine star.
It was an ancient demon god in the truest sense, wearing human skin!
Yas slowly lowered the hands he had clasped behind his back and rolled his neck, producing a series of sharp cracks.
Looking at the enemy before him, who had lost all will to fight and resembled a beaten dog, he gave a bored yawn.
"Finished warming up?"
Yas's cold, indifferent voice slowly rang in Indigo's ears like a summons from the god of death.
"Then..."
His lips curled into a cruel smile that made Indigo feel his very soul tremble.
"It's my turn."
Before you continue