Admiral Battle, Part One

"Hm? Who's that?"

At the Execution Platform, Kaya was watching the Quincy perform when one of them caught his attention.

He was an ordinary Quincy without a Schrift. Normally, such a Quincy would not have been worth noticing, but what he had shown was interesting.

Even after suffering severe injuries, he could still force his body to keep fighting.

This was no ordinary move.

Ransōtengai: countless strands of Reishi stitched into threads were bound to immobile parts of the body, forcing them to move like a puppet.

It was designed mainly for Quincy who could no longer move their bodies freely due to old age or severe injuries, but still wished to fight to the end.

It was the ultimate combat spirit technique, created to allow its user to keep fighting until their body turned to dust.

Whether severed tendons or shattered bones, all became meaningless before this technique.

It existed so its user could fight until their body was smashed to pieces, making it the highest-level combat spirit technique available to the Reishi-manipulating Quincy.

Ransōtengai worked on a principle similar to Hirenkyaku, increasing the frequency of Reishi vibrations to let the body move beyond its limits.

As the price of using Ransōtengai to continue fighting to the end, the user would ultimately be reduced to ashes when their Reishi exceeded its limits.

That said...

Unless the body had been completely destroyed, there was still some chance of saving the user if help came in time.

"Someone has already mastered this move at this stage?" That was all Kaya cared about.

Quincy abilities were passed down through blood, but aside from the most basic Reishi Gathering, other abilities had a threshold for learning them.

Ransōtengai was a highly difficult skill.

Being able to use it meant that the Quincy had seriously studied advanced Quincy skills and possessed a certain amount of talent.

Just look at those who had obtained a Schrift: apart from Vollständig, they used nothing else.

Using Vollständig left one feeling exhausted. It was a major move with a high cost, but its straightforward, overwhelming power still made Quincy dependent on it.

Kaya had watched all the Quincy and gained a general understanding of their performance.

Ordinary Quincy were stronger than Marines. Quincy who could master higher-level skills were worthy of being considered officers, while Quincy with a Schrift were far stronger than Marine Vice Admirals.

Of course, even among Vice Admirals, people like Garp were certainly different from the others.

But they could still put up a fight.

After all, those guys had never been ordinary to begin with, so naturally they would be stronger after becoming Quincy.

If they were still useless?

Then that had nothing to do with Quincy power!

"Since everyone's working so hard, I can't just stand by and watch anymore." Kaya shook out his cloak. His hair had grown a little recently and hung behind his shoulders.

Beside him, Kong stared at Kaya, thinking how young he was. Just what kind of existence was this young man, not even twenty years old?

He looked like a knight, like the prince of some kingdom.

Kaya vanished.

Kong froze for a moment, then hurriedly looked around, only to find no trace of him. He had no idea where Kaya had gone.

Meanwhile, on a battlefield somewhere on the island.

"Die, you filthy Marine!"

Gloriosa leaped into the air and raised her hand to shoot. The Haki coating her arrow was powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone.

But against her opponent's black greatsword, her arrow was cut in two in midair before it could even land.

Though she also used arrows, Gloriosa was not a Quincy. She was a warrior from Amazon Lily.

She had never expected to run into someone like this.

"As a Marine Admiral, why aren't you charging with the main force? What are you doing here, sneaking around on your own?!" Gloriosa shouted.

Admiral Bright's face was expressionless. The greatsword in his hand, as tall as a person, radiated a murderous aura.

Clearly, Bright knew full well that their main objective in this war was to rescue Kong, not wipe out all the pirates on Hachinosu.

But rescuing Kong from so many vicious pirates was impossible.

So after the battle began, he had slipped around the main battlefield undetected.

Hachinosu was roughly circular. Bright had followed its outer edge, moving away from the main shoreline in an attempt to reach the far rear of the island.

That did not mean it was easy, and only a Marine Admiral like him could do it.

The Execution Platform was the most conspicuous spot on the entire battlefield. No matter how hard he concealed himself, everyone would spot him the moment he stepped onto it.

When that happened, a fierce battle would be unavoidable.

For all those reasons, Bright had been conserving his strength, avoiding direct combat with the enemy to prepare for Kong's rescue.

Unexpectedly, he had run into Gloriosa head-on at the battlefield to the side.

Still, this position was fairly close to the Execution Platform.

"No choice..."

Bright gripped his sword hilt with both hands. Unless he dealt with this woman, he could not advance any farther.

He hesitated no longer. Sword in hand, he closed in and clashed with Gloriosa.

His title was no misnomer.

Bright was known as Admiral Black Python. His two-handed sword was long and heavy, and the force behind it was fierce and astonishing.

Yet his swordplay was endlessly varied and bizarre, like a snake's head emerging from the grass, sending a chill through those who faced it. There was no telling which strike would inject its venom.

Before long, Gloriosa was wounded and began to fall into a disadvantage.

At the critical moment, someone else came to support her.

Whoosh!

An arrow pierced the air, flying at Bright from his blind spot at a swift, precise, vicious angle.

Bright rapidly retreated several steps, choosing to evade it.

He turned and saw who had come, visibly taken aback. "What a beautiful woman..."

"Are you all right?" Shakky leaped in front of Gloriosa, accompanied by a long snake flicking its tongue.

Gloriosa's face fell, and she looked ready to cry. "Why?! That wasn't his reaction at all when he saw me just now!"

"The answer's obvious, isn't it?" Shakky brushed back her hair, a charming smile on her face.

This is bad!

Bright shook his head and came to his senses.

He narrowed his eyes at Shakky, his long, narrow eyes looking just like a snake's fixed on its prey.

"I see. So it's you. What a shame... If we weren't on a battlefield, I might not have had the heart to do this."

Shakky and Gloriosa were suddenly startled.

Both women sensed the faint killing intent from Bright that lingered in the air.

Although the two of them were among the foremost figures of the current generation in Amazon Lily, they were still somewhat inferior to Bright, who had been a Marine Admiral for over twenty years.

"Black Mamba!!"

Slash-

Bright swept past Gloriosa and Shakky, holding his sword in the position of a completed strike.

A few seconds later, blood spurted from both women.

Thud!

Hearing the sound of someone falling behind him, Bright did not turn to check. He drew a deep breath and continued charging forward.

That was his strongest ultimate move. After all, he had no time left to waste.

But he had not advanced far when he suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on the space ahead. A patch of air twisted through half a circle, and a figure appeared out of nowhere.

The man wore white holy knight attire, with a silver cross badge pinned to his chest. His long black hair fell over his shoulders, his handsome face was calm, and his eyes emitted a faint blue glow.

Bright did not recognize him, but the pressure the man gave him was far greater than that of anyone else.

It was a reaction akin to a living creature's instinct!