Before she finished speaking, Kuina's figure had already transformed into an almost transparent silver-white afterimage, leaving only a wisp of sword wind carrying a chilling sharpness, stirring up battlefield dust before dissipating.
In the next instant, she stood silently behind the Five Elders, sword in hand. The rope binding the snow-white hilt remained unmoved, and the cold blade was as clear as Shusui, unstained by any blood. Only a wisp of pale blue Sword Qi rose like a wisp of silk, merging into the smoke-filled air.
The retired old man's body suddenly froze on the spot, as if bound by invisible shackles—his pupils had long since dilated, losing the last vestige of life, yet deep in his eyes remained an extreme horror and unbelievable fear, as if he hadn't seen how the fatal sword fell until his death.
As Kuina lifted her foot and took her first step, it seemed to trigger some hidden field, and a fine line of blood suddenly split open between the old man's eyebrows!
The blood line, like a cracked layer of ice, extended all the way to the root of the thigh. The next second, the entire body was neatly split in two along the blood line and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Only when the corpse struck the ground with a dull thud did warm blood gush out from the severed body, meandering like a river across the charred battlefield.
Kuina raised her eyes and surveyed the battlefield, her gaze sweeping over the carnage and lingering briefly in the heart of the battlefield.
There, the clash between Vic and Imu had reached a fever pitch. Every collision unleashed devastating energy, twisting and deforming space like crumpled paper. A powerful aura surged, obscuring the sky, eclipsing the sun and moon, and changing the color of the wind and clouds.
She withdrew her gaze, sheathed her sword, and walked steadily toward another battlefield, her aloof figure moving with firmness and composure with each step.
She withdrew her gaze, and with a light twist of her wrist, a clear "clang" rang out as the long sword returned to its sheath. The resonance between the sheath and the blade drew a cool arc in the noisy battlefield.
Her figure remained as upright as a pine tree, her steps firm and composed as she steadily walked towards another battlefield, her ribbon sweeping across the pebbles on the ground without leaving a trace of mud or water.
Behind her, the retired old woman who should have been buried by the dust of history has completely disappeared in this chaotic world.
Kuina's next target was Gunko. Without Raiden's support, Nami was at a disadvantage in the battle against Gunko. Although she wasn't completely overwhelmed, Nami didn't have many direct attack methods!
Furthermore, without Conqueror's Haki, Nami was completely helpless against Gunko, who possessed an immortal body. This was the fundamental reason why Kuina had her eye on Gunko!
Meanwhile, Dragon and his long-time nemesis, Maffey, are locked in a fierce battle.
The memory of the God Valley Incident is etched deep into Dragon's mind like a brand.
At that time, he was just a seventeen-year-old soldier who had recently joined the navy, carrying a rifle and moving through the smoke of battle.
In an attempt to save the Red-Hair woman's two children, he confronted Maffey of the Holy Knights, but nearly lost his life.
By then, Maffey was already a core member of the Knights of the Riding Order, possessing unfathomable strength, while he was merely a greenhorn, the difference in their strength being as vast as an insurmountable chasm.
Maffey effortlessly snatched Shamrock from his grasp and even attempted to kill him. Had Whitebeard not interrupted her actions with his indiscriminate attacks on the Celestial Dragons, Dragon would have been dead on the spot.
But in the end, he could only watch helplessly as Shamrock was taken away by this woman. Years later, when they met again, Shamrock's depravity filled him with guilt—he hated his own weakness back then, and even more so, he hated Maffey's tyrannical plunder.
Therefore, when this final battle broke out, Dragon immediately went to Maffey.
In just over twenty moves, each strike was potentially fatal, with both sides fighting with their true fury.
Dragon always believed that he bore some responsibility for Shamrock's downfall; and although Maffey had brought back a child, she still couldn't escape Garling's reprimands and punishments, and she had held onto this resentment and bitterness for decades.
Not seeing Dragon was nothing, but now that the old enemy has reunited, it naturally stirs up those memories, and all the pent-up anger and resentment are transformed into killing intent amidst the flashing blades.
"I never imagined! Those ants I could have easily crushed back then have grown to this extent... I truly regret my past actions!"
The sword strike was forcefully blocked Dragon Claw Fist, which was imbued with Haki. Sparks flew as the sword and the dragon claw collided.
She recalled the disheveled soldier she first met in God Valley, her tone filled with emotion, but even more so with an undisguised sense of imbalance.
Even Rocks, the strongest warrior on the island at the time, died at the hands of their God's Knights ( Rocks had already been rendered immobile by Roger and Garp working together, and was finally finished off by Garling ). It's amazing that Dragon, who was just a recruit at the time, was able to survive and grow to where he is today. Fate is unpredictable!
She already knew that the person in front of her had killed one of the Five Elders Nusjuro, and that the one in their Holy Knights had been killed right in front of her.
This level of strength was already astonishing enough, yet she could only stagnate. This stark contrast almost drove the proud and arrogant girl to despair.
"I owe my strength to you all. If it weren't for your darkness, I wouldn't have this almost extreme drive to become stronger. To wipe you out and restore peace to the world, I have no choice but to become stronger!"
Dragon's voice was deep and firm, and the Haki on his dragon claws became even more refined!
It was at God Valley that he witnessed the darkness of the World Government and the Navy's complicity in wrongdoing, which led him to make that seemingly impossible vow in his heart, and to strive and dedicate himself to it with all his heart and soul!
His power was never for personal gain, but to fulfill the vow that was once considered a pipe dream—to overthrow the dark rule and restore freedom to the world.
This determination drove him to dedicate himself wholeheartedly for decades, while his remarkable talent gave him the means to fulfill his vow.
Looking at the female Celestial Dragons in front of him, whose lower body was that of a horse and whose upper body was that of a human, and whose appearance was remarkably similar to that of Nusjuro he had previously killed, Dragon felt that he had a special affinity with Zoan that have four hooves.
Although Nusjuro's power is Bakotsu and Maffey's is a unicorn, their transformed appearances are still quite similar. Nusjuro has already died at his hands, and now he's preparing to send Maffey on her way!
"Darkness and light, justice and evil—those are merely definitions of mediocre people. Light and justice are written by the victors, just as history itself has!"
Maffey scoffed at the idea that Dragon had become stronger for such a trivial reason!
If Dragon says that becoming stronger is so that she can kill at will, then she agrees. She's already so powerful, why should she care about what the world thinks?
Isn't it better to live as you please? If you like killing, then kill; if you like money, then rob; if you like women, then go for it... That's the treatment the strong deserve!
To see someone becoming stronger just to help the weak as a foolish and ridiculous act, she felt that people like Dragon were a disgrace to the strong!
A strong person needs a strong mindset, while Dragon has the mindset of a weak person. Only in this way can he think from the perspective of the weak and empathize with them. Such a person doesn't deserve to live!
Maffey had a gleaming horn on his head, a longsword in his hand, a mouth full of sharp white teeth, white breath coming out of his nostrils, and one of his hooves was pawing the ground, as if he might charge at Dragon at any moment.