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Soon, only Shakky and Robin remained in Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Neither Robin nor Shakky seemed particularly interested in fighting, so they stayed outside while the others entered the green Den Den Mushi perched on the bar.
As they chatted idly, Shakky expertly mixed a drink, garnished it with a lemon slice, and slid it across the counter to Robin.
Robin raised the glass and took a small sip, just as Shakky asked with a teasing smile, "...So, are you and Boa Hancock both Giorno's girlfriends?"
"Cough, cough!"
The question caught Robin completely off guard. She choked on her drink, coughing so violently that tears welled up in her eyes.
Why is this aunt so obsessed with our affairs? It's so weird...
A handkerchief was offered to her. Robin took it and wiped her eyes and mouth.
"Heh heh..." Shakky tilted her head, exhaling a puff of smoke. She glanced at the slightly flustered Jolyne, then chuckled as her gaze landed on the green Den Den Mushi resting on the bar. "My admiration for little brother Giorno grows stronger by the moment..."
"Cough!"
Robin choked again on her drink. Looking up, she saw Shakky had casually poked Vane as he passed by while teasing her. Misunderstanding the gesture, Vane had directly absorbed her whole body into his City Fortress.
"..."
The wine in her glass swirled gently, its refracted light reflecting Robin's dazed, contemplative face. She unconsciously reached out to Vane as he crawled toward her, then suddenly snapped out of her daze, raised a finger, and shook her head, stopping the Den Den Mushi from drawing her into the City Fortress as well.
"Buru?"
If I go in now, it'll just be awkward...
Robin took another sip of wine, finally managing to calm herself.
Sipping her drink alone, she couldn't help but chuckle again.
Hancock's allure... it was overwhelming even for another woman like Robin, let alone a man like Liam.
...
In the Den Den Mushi City Fortress, Shakky materialized with a "whiz," stumbled half a step, and steadied herself. A quick glance around revealed she was in a residential apartment-like dwelling.
"So this is the space inside their Den Den Mushi?"
Shakky turned around curiously. The living room sofa was strewn with cushions and a thin blanket, while two clean cups sat on the coffee table beside a pair of books with titles like "A Brief Overview of the Culture of [Country]" on their covers. She guessed Jolyne was the one reading them; Giorno's little brother didn't strike her as the bookish type.
With a cigarette dangling from her lips and her elbow propped up, Shakky wandered through the living room, study, and a few bedrooms. Clothes hung drying on a rope strung around the corridor corner, varying in size but similar in style for both men and women.
"I knew that ship in the newspaper was too small. So their home is inside this place."
Like a fan who had stumbled upon a sweet treat, Shakky wore a blissful smile of satisfaction.
Soon, she heard commotion from upstairs. "Upstairs?"
Climbing the spiral staircase, the thudding sounds of combat grew louder behind the door on the next floor. Shakky pushed it open, and the scene before her widened into an expansive, flat area.
The entire upper floor was a vast, open space, clearly designed for training and combat.
In the center of this expanse, Giorno and Rayleigh were locked in fierce combat.
Rayleigh wielded his sword, the blade wreathed in Haki, leaving streaks of black afterimages in the air with each swing.
Shakky hadn't seen Rayleigh draw his sword in ages, and even longer since she'd witnessed him engaged in such intense combat.
On the other side of the clash, Giorno wielded the iron rod that had brought him into the spotlight during the Sword Hero Tournament. He had also coated it in a layer of pitch-black Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), clashing against Rayleigh's longsword in a blinding flurry of strikes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew incessantly from the collision of the black rod and the Black Blade.
After countless clashes, Liam gripped the rod with both hands and pressed forward horizontally. Rayleigh, wielding his sword in one hand, parried with unwavering resolve.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The blade's edge and the rod trembled slightly, as black lightning snaked wildly between them.
"As expected, your Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) is truly formidable," Rayleigh remarked with a faint smile. "It surpasses my expectations."
"But when compared to top-tier masters, there's still a gap to bridge," he added.
Liam hadn't used his full strength, and he was certain Rayleigh hadn't either. After all, this was merely a spar to test their Haki, not a duel to the death. Haki primarily functions as an "enchantment," enhancing defensive capabilities and destructive power, rather than increasing agility or raw strength. Thus, when Liam and Rayleigh began fighting in the Den Den MushiCity Fortress, they didn't go all out, focusing instead on testing the superiority of their Haki, essentially, a contest of whose fist was "harder," not "stronger."
Next: a battle of fists.
The two men locked eyes at close range. After their black staff and Black Blade clashed one last time, they simultaneously discarded their weapons, their fists instantly becoming wreathed in black as they lunged at each other.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The clash of blades and staff swiftly devolved into a brutal exchange of punches and kicks.
Shakky, cigarette dangling from her lips, watched with mild interest. As expected, even in a hand-to-hand exchange, Rayleigh's Haki remained marginally stronger.
Bang!
Rayleigh was sent flying backward by a single punch, but he deftly planted a hand on the ground, flipped mid-air, and landed gracefully on his feet.
"Heh, a sneak attack, young man?" Rayleigh chuckled, rubbing his shoulder as he kicked off his sandals, planting his bare feet firmly on the ground.
Liam raised his fist. "I got too caught up in it and accidentally used my full strength..."
"Then I can't afford to..." Rayleigh stripped off his shirt, revealing a muscular upper body crisscrossed with old scars, "...let my guard down either."
"Watch out, he's getting serious now," Shakky chuckled from the sidelines.
Liam knew instinctively that the silver-haired elder before him, now bare-chested, resembled an ancient beast awakening, radiating an aura of unparalleled dominance!
Haoshoku Haki...
Liam realized that while he wasn't going to be knocked unconscious by Rayleigh's Haoshoku Haki, he wasn't entirely immune to its effects either. It felt like being plunged into an infinitely deep ocean, his entire body crushed by an invisible, overwhelming force...
"Since Crocus and Shanks both asked me, I can't afford to half-ass this," Rayleigh said, already vanishing from his spot and reappearing before Liam in a flash. His rough hand pressed down, a faint smile on his face. "Right?"
This time, Rayleigh's palm showed no trace of the black that usually signifies entwine Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki).
Bang!
Moments later, Liam was sent flying by Rayleigh's strike, crashing heavily into the City Fortress wall before coming to a stop.
"This is..." Robin, who had just entered, was startled by the sight of Liam being hurled through the air.
Liam sat against the wall, staring at his black Haki-entwined arms, which still trembled slightly. He recalled Rayleigh's earlier palm strike and the Haki infused within it. "So this is 'Ryuo (Flowing Sakura)'! Is this how you removed my collar...?"
(End Of This Chapter)