The vice admirals of the Marine Headquarters, who had initially taken Onigumo's victory over Uya somewhat seriously, were now enraged when they heard Uya dare to declare that he was challenging all the vice admirals.
One of them sneered and stepped forward.
The Marine Headquarters admiral was tall and imposing, wielding a broad-bladed longsword. As he approached Uya, a heavy aura immediately filled the air.
"It's Thor!"
"Vice Admiral Thor has personally captured a notorious pirate with a bounty exceeding 500 million. He doesn't possess Devil Fruit abilities, but his swordsmanship and mastery of the Marine Six Powers are unparalleled. He's an absolute powerhouse."
As the tall Vice Admiral from the Marine Headquarters stepped forward, the naval officers behind him all showed expressions of awe.
Vice Admiral Thor was once a Vice Admiral in the Marine Headquarters, along with the three Admirals, including Akainu Kizaru. However, his strength was inferior to Akainu and Kizaru. As a result, Kizaru, Akainu, and the others have become Admirals, while he remains a Vice Admiral. However, his strength is extremely powerful, ranking among the top among all the Vice Admirals in the Headquarters.
" Thor's swordsmanship leans towards defense and endurance. In terms of defense, no one can surpass him. If he can withstand Uya's attacks, he will most likely win."
"Hmm, Thor has a better chance of winning."
The lieutenant generals present all considered making a move, but seeing Thor step forward, they all stood with their hands on their swords and spoke at the same time.
Under everyone's gaze, Thor's Sword Intent had already blossomed, like a solid mountain peak or a firm piece of earth, heavy and steady.
He looked at Uya and said in a deep voice, "Let me experience Lieutenant General Uya's swordsmanship!"
Upon hearing this, the Marines behind him who didn't recognize Uya suddenly realized who the white-clad youth in front of them was.
"So he's Uya, but he's way too young!"
"I heard he once fought to a draw with the world's greatest swordsman, Hawk-Eye, but I don't know if it's true or not."
Upon learning Uya's identity, the faces of these marines were almost all filled with surprise. They had originally thought Uya was an ordinary naval captain, but they did not expect him to be one of the vice admirals of the Marine Headquarters, and also the central figure who had caused turmoil throughout the entire sea some time ago.
"A swordsmanship that focuses more on defense?"
Uya stood there, calmly watching Lieutenant General Thor approach, casually raising his sword and giving Thor a light, sweeping motion.
laugh!!
A golden sword aura suddenly descended, like a shooting star from outer space, falling from the sky with dazzling light, unstoppable!
"Drink!!"
Thor let out a low shout, gripped the massive longsword in his hands, and suddenly swept it upwards, as if drawing upon the power of the entire earth, shattering the golden sword energy with a deafening roar!
After letting out a cold snort, Thor swung his greatsword and charged towards Uya.
In swordsmanship battles, sword energy is generally just a probing tactic; the real attack still requires close combat.
Or to put it another way, a swordsman wields a sword, and the length of that sword, combined with the length of his arm, creates the strongest attack within that range!
Sword energy is a ranged attack. Although it is flashy, unless you reach the pinnacle of skill like Hawk-Eye, its attack power is not as good as a close-range sword strike.
This is why swordsmen often decide the outcome through close combat, rather than exchanging sword energy from a distance; it's because sword energy is weaker and harder to determine a winner.
Thor's greatsword was very long, so in one step he closed the distance between him and Uya to within the reach of the sword, and then he brought the sword down hard.
The Sword Intent, heavy as a mountain, accompanied the sword as it crashed down, as if it had cleaved the sea and torn apart the earth!
It's like a mountain peak descending from the sky, unstoppable!
"A heavy sword, is it meant to intimidate?"
Looking at Thor's sword strike, Uya showed no panic on his face. Instead, he calmly examined the sword strike with extreme indifference.
"But... what if it wasn't a person being crushed, but another, even taller mountain?!"
As he spoke softly, Uya's Sword Intent suddenly changed. It was still the extremely domineering Sword Intent, but in an instant it became extremely heavy, like a towering, unshakeable mountain!
Facing Thor's heavy sword strike, Uya showed no intention of retreating. Instead, she gripped her sword with one hand and met the attack with a light, effortless strike!
On one side was a heavy greatsword held with both hands, which came crashing down on his head; on the other side was a slender golden sword that looked light and airy, which was held with one hand and swung upwards.
By any measure, Uya looked as if he were about to be cleaved in two, sword and all.
Even some ordinary naval soldiers couldn't bear to watch the horrific scene that followed and couldn't help but close their eyes.
bite!!
The two swords suddenly clashed, but the scene that Thor had imagined—where he cleaved Uya in two—did not occur.
Instead, Thor's heavy greatsword was blocked in mid-air, unable to advance an inch!
Uya's thin and frail figure stood there, yet it was like an iron nail driven into the earth, unmoved under the heavy pressure, and even the golden sword did not tremble in the slightest!
On the contrary, Thor, who was gripping the greatsword with both hands, found that the greatsword was trembling constantly, and even his hands were shaking!
Thor's eyes widened suddenly, his face filled with disbelief. He couldn't believe that Uya had blocked his full-force slash with just one hand, using that slender sword!
Moreover, Uya's slender sword remained completely still under his swing, and the Power of Tremors was almost unbearable for his arms.
boom!!
Finally, in the next instant, Thor's greatsword was suddenly blasted away by the Power of Tremors transmitted from the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword Uya.
Thor gripped his sword with both hands, and staggered back several steps, sword and all, before finally coming to a stop!
To his even greater horror, a nick had appeared on the blade of his sword!
"Impossible! I clearly used Armament Haki..."
Thor's eyes held a hint of disbelief as he saw the nick in his sword. This was even more unbelievable than when Yu Ye effortlessly blocked his full-force Uya.
Because he had just used Armament Haki, and he could sense that Uya hadn't used Armament Haki at all!
"Even the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades couldn't be this sharp, able to break through Armament defenses without using Armament... What exactly is that sword of yours?!" (To be continued.)