92
"If you all seriously wounded me, what right would I have to speak of being the 'strongest'?"
He thought of a certain figure entrenched on Onigashima-that monster had fought one challenger after another, his former subordinates and even his own rebellious flesh and blood, before finally falling to the sound of rubber drums.
The summit was supposed to crush every step beneath it.
Laughter reverberated through the diamond body.
As Jozu clenched his fists, the crystals scraped together with a metallic ring.
"Now that's more like it!"
The wind over the deserted island suddenly stilled.
All four figures blurred at once.
Thatch grinned, spinning ** half a turn in his palm.
"Watch yourself-"
Before he finished speaking, his figure had blurred into an afterimage.
Two cold flashes sliced toward the gaps around Rossi's joints. Before the blades arrived, his skin already felt as though it had been precisely sliced open, as if the grain of his muscles had been separated strand by strand in his mind.
The clash of metal exploded.
Rossi had not even moved his feet.
The arc of the long sword leaving his waist intercepted the two blades perfectly, the motion as casual as brushing aside a falling leaf.
He had seen far too many edges like these. The pressure rushing at his face was no more than wind passing his ears.
"-don't underestimate a cook."
On the other side, the ponytailed young man struck with both swords.
Sword energy condensed into scarlet petals, spinning to fill his vision.
Every petal was condensed Armament Haki, capable of shattering bones and slicing flesh on contact.
The black haori billowed behind Rossi.
A pitch-black layer of hardening instantly covered the fabric, like a shield suddenly unfolding.
Two rapiers struck it, sending sparks flying.
Vista's pupils contracted slightly-his slashes