Blood trickled from the corner of Vic's mouth. This was because Akainu's Haki was stronger than Vic's. In the physical collision, Vic wasn't afraid, but Akainu's Haki was stronger and had already invaded Vic's body.
After the initial impact, the two didn't rest. Their bodies began to collide violently at high speed. One moment they were exchanging punches, and the next they were kicking each other.
Because of Sengoku's intervention, neither of them used anything other than physical techniques and Haki. However, both of them were strong, and the intensity of the conflict exceeded everyone's understanding. The wind pressure generated by their collision also assaulted everyone in waves!
Only a few people at the scene could clearly see the two fighting. Both Vic and Akainu were very fast, and with the help of Observation Haki, the two fought back and forth.
Akainu reacted quickly, possessed strong combat skills, and was adept at seizing opportunities to attack. Vic, relying on his speed, could only defend and did not inflict any significant damage on Akainu.
Both men sustained injuries, but Vic had more. Vic was stronger in physical combat, but his Haki was inferior to Vic's.
Akainu thought he could easily crush his opponent before he arrived, but he ended up getting humiliated himself, and he was furious.
The battle intensified, with both fighters using Ryuo in combat. The arena could no longer withstand the force, and fragments of the armor shattered and flew everywhere. The small plaza looked as if it had been struck by a meteorite, leaving it in ruins!
The battle had been going on for an hour, Vic felt excruciating pain throughout his body. Akainu's Ryuo had invaded his body, and many of his muscles were already damaged. The situation was very unfavorable for him.
Vic was no longer concerned about the people around him who were worried about him; he focused all his attention on the battle.
"This can't go on, or we'll end up seriously injured again. Akainu isn't Kaido; this isn't the outcome I want!"
Vic didn't give up. Although his Haki wasn't as strong as Akainu's, he had other methods up his sleeve.
Vic directly condensed his Sword Qi into his fist, then wrapped it with Haki.
It's the Swordless Style that Zoro used in the original work, a sword technique that doesn't require a weapon, and Vic also knows this move.
Wounds began to appear on Akainu's body. Although he is Logia Fruit user, attacks infused with Haki can still harm him even without him actively transforming into his elemental form.
This is the effect of Haki. Normal attacks can be passively transformed into elements by Logia Fruit users without human control. However, attacks imbued with Haki will hit your physical body if you don't actively control your body to become elemental.
"You think you're the only one who knows swordsmanship?" Akainu also knew swordsmanship when he was young, but he probably gave it up after acquiring a Devil Fruit ability that was more powerful.
Akainu's attacks also carried Sword Qi, but their strength and quality were inferior to Vic's.
The battle changed. Previously, both of them had injuries, but they were all internal, with only abrasions on their skin. However, after using Sword Qi, wounds appeared on their bodies.
Vic is physically stronger, so his wounds are much smaller, while Akainu's wounds are much larger.
To minimize damage, Akainu had no choice but to use more Haki to defend. Vic's attack, imbued with Sword Qi, was deflected by the Haki defense, and Vic regained his advantage.
Vic then thought of Mind Power. He had previously injured Queen with Sword Qi imbued with Mind Power, so Mind Power had some restraining effect on Haki defense.
"Could we channel our Mind Power into Haki? That way, we could bypass Akainu's Haki defense and penetrate deeper through the gaps between cells?"
During their mutual attacks, Akainu began his own experiment: simply adding Mind Power had little effect because Vic didn't have strong control over Haki. The Haki was just running around randomly in the gaps between Akainu's cells without penetrating deeper inside.
Later, Vic added more Mind Power to Ryuo, and sure enough, the effect was different. With just the first strike, Akainu, caught off guard, coughed up blood, his internal organs injured.
Akainu stared at Vic in shock. He couldn't understand why Vic's Ryuo had suddenly become so strong. He had just witnessed Vic's Ryuo before, and it was impossible for it to penetrate his body. It was shattered by Vic's Haki before it even entered.
Is Vic going to win?
That attack looks like it did a lot of damage!
"Yes, it was the first time I'd ever seen him cough up blood!"
"He's going to lose, hahaha!"
"How could Vice Admiral Sakazuki lose? He was just careless for a moment!" A supporter of Akainu roared menacingly.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Sakazuki can't possibly lose; he hasn't even used his Devil Fruit ability yet!"
"Even the Admiral Sengoku said we can't use Devil Fruit abilities, so is he breaking the rules?!"
"I don't know if it's against the rules or not, I only know that this isn't Sakazuki's full strength!"
" Vic hasn't even used his knife yet, and he's already using his full strength?"
While the onlookers were discussing the incident, Akainu was hit by several more attacks. His body was in great pain. His usual training did not train his internal organs, so the internal injuries were very serious.
The current Akainu is not the Akainu of ten years or so later. His control over Ryuo is not as profound yet. Otherwise, even with Victor's current mental strength, he wouldn't be able to attack his internal organs. If it were Kaido, Victor wouldn't be able to do it.
Akainu had already heard the crowd's assessment of him. Was he going to lose? Defeat was not something he could accept! He needed greater authority to carry out his plans.
Akainu also heard about the Devil Fruit's power, and disregarding everything else, he immediately used the Magma-Magma Fruit to attack.
" Hell Hound!"
"Damn it, Akainu, you have no sportsmanship!"
As Vic watched the red dog-head lava lunge at him, he cursed inwardly and quickly dodged.
The spot where Vic had just stood had turned into a small pool of lava, bubbling with large red bubbles, and a wave of intense heat swept outwards.
The onlookers were immediately forced to retreat.
Sakazuki really used it!
"How shameless! Headquarters Vice Admiral headquarters, going back on his word!"
"Did Sakazuki personally agree to that? No, did you hear me?"
"Shameless! A disgrace to the Navy!"
"What do you know? You're still too young. On the high seas today, might makes right, and strength is the foundation of everything."
" Rebecca, cheer up, Vic will be alright!" Wendy grabbed Rebecca, who was unsteady on her feet.
"But the image of Vic's leg being burned keeps flashing through my mind, I'm really worried about him!" Rebecca panicked whenever she saw Akainu use his Devil Fruit power!
"You need to stay calm. Vic might retaliate at any moment, and then you'll need the knife in your hand!"
"Yes, Vic still needs me. I need to pull myself together!"
The field was now filled with small pools of lava. Vic could only dodge in the air using Geppo. Directly touching the lava? Vic didn't yet have the physique or Haki for that.
" Rebecca!" Vic shouted, and Rebecca woke up instantly, throwing the Blood Wither at him.
Vic dodged and caught Blood Wither, drawing his longsword. Akainu energy crisscrossed, cutting away the magma that Sword Gang was shooting at. The Sword Gang energy continued its momentum, some flying towards Akainu, and some towards the surrounding buildings.
The Sword Gang flying towards Akainu passed through his body, but he dodged it by transforming into his elemental form. The Sword Gang energy continued its momentum, slashing across the ground and turning it into irregularly shaped blocks.
The Sword Gang flying towards the houses sliced the entire row of houses in half. By the time the Sword Qi was completely exhausted, the small square of the Recruit Camp was completely unrecognizable, and the surrounding buildings had also suffered damage!
" Sakazuki! Vic! Stop right there!" A loud shout accompanied by a mental shockwave swept through the area.
Most of the onlookers had fainted; few were still able to stand.
"This is... Conqueror's Haki!" Vic's heart skipped a beat.
Sengoku was already rushing here when Akainu used the Magma-Magma Fruit. He had been using Observation Haki to keep an eye on the area, but the current outcome was neither good nor bad.
There was some damage to buildings and grounds. Sengoku just used his Observation Haki to sense that no one died, but a few were injured.
Both fighters were injured, but fortunately, they were both unharmed.
"If I had arrived any later, you guys would have destroyed the entire recruit training area. It's just a friendly sparring match, is it really necessary to take it so seriously?"
"Warring Sengoku," he said sternly.
Neither Vic nor Akainu spoke; they both knew this wasn't just a friendly spar.
" Sakazuki! You're going back to G-1 Base tomorrow. Don't stay at headquarters. The situation in the New World isn't looking good either!" Sengoku said to the two who were facing off.
Akainu didn't say anything, gave Vic a deep look, and left. Onigumo followed him away.
Seeing Akainu leave, Vic also sheathed Blood Wither.
" Vic, don't overthink it. Sakazuki just felt humiliated by a recruit. Onigumo has always been a big fan of his. You two became friends after this fight. Now that he knows your strength, he won't make things difficult for you anymore. Just focus on your own work and ignore him!"
Sengoku was also impressed. He had Observation Haki and knew that Akainu had been seriously injured by Vic. Perhaps there was an element of underestimating his opponent, but it was still rare to be able to injure someone. Sengoku had to look at Vic with new respect. He was only seventeen years old!
"Let him come all he wants. Next time, I'll make him lie down!" Vic said nonchalantly.
The Sengoku also presented some headaches; none of them were easy to deal with.
" Andrew and Vic have gone straight to the Elite Camp. They can't be assessed here anymore, and many people aren't in good shape. Let's take them to the Elite Camp for the assessment tomorrow!" Sengoku sighed as he looked at the dilapidated site.
"What do you mean you're not feeling well? Did you faint? Or did you do that?" Andrew rolled his eyes, but dared not say what he really thought.
Vic ignored Sengoku and went straight to Rebecca and Wendy. After meeting up with the two women, he left.
Sengoku sighed as he watched Vic's retreating figure, knowing that Vic was somewhat dissatisfied with him. But there was nothing he could do. The Navy was not a monolithic entity, and now all the Navy's affairs were on his shoulders. He had to consider the overall situation.