Only as the blade cut down through the air did Kaiyu slowly raise his eyelids.
Rossi moved so fast he left afterimages.
His Devil Fruit power spread silently, wrapping the surroundings like an invisible membrane and interfering with his opponent's perception.
He excelled at close-quarters combat; no one was better suited to making the first probing attack.
Amid the faint whistle of the blade, the long sword named Sandai Kitetsu suddenly hummed, as though a living creature had awakened.
A dark red aura, nearly black, erupted from the blade. The air instantly congealed like lead, then rapidly froze into a metal-like shell, its chill piercing bone and heart, sealing every escape route-
Yet the strike still missed.
Almost the instant Rossi stepped forward, his opponent had already shifted slightly to the side.
The blade swept past the man's chest with such precision that it seemed rehearsed.
The man calling himself Kaiyu moved then.
A gleam of cold steel slipped from his sleeve. What he held was actually a kitchen knife.
An ordinary cooking utensil, yet its swing stirred up biting killing intent.
Along with the blade's gleam came a stream of black mist, surging toward Rossi.
"Eternal Spirit: Bone Break."
The instant the black mist wrapped around him, Rossi's blood froze, and a chill seeped through his skin.
Countless villagers with contorted faces suddenly appeared in his vision, blood seeping from all seven orifices. They reached for him like vengeful spirits crawling out of hell to drag him down.
Hmph.
Rossi flicked his wrist, drawing Sandai Kitetsu back half a foot before slashing again.
The flame patterns on the blade suddenly blazed as though real fire had ignited, tearing through the black mist shaped like villagers with a ripping hiss.
This was "presence."
His opponent had already reached the threshold