When fighting an enemy stronger than yourself, the only option is to strike first. Otherwise, once your opponent makes the first move, your chances of mounting a counterattack become vanishingly small.
"One-Sword Style, Draw Slash: Swallowtail Flash."
Shirakawa moved with incredible speed, but Orr was even faster. Before Shirakawa's Swallowtail Flash could fully unfold, Orr had already raised his blade and blocked it.
"Not bad, kid. Your strength and speed have already reached the level of the strong, but that's still not enough."
The way he spoke made Shirakawa feel like the old man was begging to be punched, a lot like Kizaru.
"Hmph."
While locked in the clash with Orr, Shirakawa suddenly poured in more strength and switched techniques on the spot.
"One-Sword Style, Mountain Splitter!"
The name was simple, and the move itself looked simple as well, but it required an exceptionally heavy sword intent. More importantly, it struck without warning, making the opponent feel as if they were facing an entire mountain crashing down on them.
This sword technique was something Shirakawa had learned from Rayleigh, and it was also one of Rayleigh's signature moves. With it, he had defeated who knew how many self-proclaimed masters of the sword.
A crushing wave of sword aura descended along with Shirakawa's slash. Orr raised his own blade to block it and was forced several meters backward, while the ground beneath them was split by a clean, even crack.
"Kid, this isn't the place for a fight between the two of us. Let's head up the mountain."
"Fine."
Orr had to admit that he had underestimated Shirakawa a little just now. He truly had not expected Shirakawa's strength to surpass his expectations by this much.
The two of them dashed toward the mountaintop at full speed, and Jora hurried after them. If he could witness a battle like this, he was bound to gain tremendous insight from it.
Unfortunately, Jora could not keep up with their speed. By the time he reached the summit, the two had already exchanged several rounds.
The surrounding ground was covered in cracks carved out by sword aura, and every cross-section was so smooth it looked polished.
Shirakawa had started at fifty percent of his strength, but now he was already approaching seventy, gradually pushing closer and closer to his full power. And yet Orr still looked completely at ease.
"As expected of a Great Swordsman."
Shirakawa could not help sighing in admiration.
Even among Great Swordsmen, Orr should rank above the middle tier.
Shirakawa was not boasting, but against weaker Great Swordsmen, he could already fight on even footing. If he went all out, some of them would not even be his match.
But someone like Orr was different.
Even among Great Swordsmen, he belonged to the ranks of the truly powerful. It was not as though he was crushing Shirakawa outright, but Shirakawa had not gained the upper hand even once.
No matter how much strength Shirakawa used, Orr always matched him perfectly, as if he were simply playing around.
"Kid, I know you still haven't used your full strength. Go all out. If you don't, you won't get another chance."
"Fine."
A silver-white radiance rose from Shirakawa's body, and the Sword of Damocles suddenly appeared in the sky above.
His aura changed in an instant, becoming something completely different from before.
If not for the fact that his face remained the same, anyone might have thought he had become an entirely different person.
"Interesting."
Orr chuckled.
Now this was enough to stir his fighting spirit. Up until now, the battle had been starting to bore him.
Shirakawa had no intention of wasting words. His figure vanished from Orr's sight in an instant. And when he reappeared, he was already at Orr's side, his blade wrapped in Armament Haki as it came crashing down in a vicious slash.
"You're pretty ruthless, kid."
Orr coated his own blade in Armament Haki as well and turned to meet the attack head-on.
In that instant, a formless shockwave burst outward from the point where their blades collided, rippling in all directions. Purple-black lightning crackled through the air along with it.
"What's going on?"
Down in the village, the people felt the shockwave wash over them. Looking at the Sword of Damocles hanging in the sky, they were seized by a suffocating sense of dread and panic, with no idea what was happening.
"Don't worry. As long as Mr. Orr is here, we'll be fine."
The one who spoke was the same auntie who had wanted to introduce Shirakawa to someone earlier.
"That's right. Mr. Orr is our savior. As long as he's here, we'll definitely be safe," one of the men in the village said.
To the villagers, Orr was their lifesaver.
The first time Orr had arrived in the village, it had been during their darkest hour, when the village was under attack by pirates.
And it was Orr who had saved them then, driving the pirates away and rescuing the whole village.
From that day on, every villager had regarded Orr as their benefactor.
And after settling here in seclusion, Orr had saved the villagers several more times.
The villagers had even wanted Orr to live in the village itself, and had offered to build him a house. But Orr's personality was rather solitary, so he had refused their kindness.
Instead, he chose to live in seclusion deep in the mountain behind the village.
That was also one of the reasons Jora was so well liked in this village.
A large part of it was because of his master's reputation.
Meanwhile, Shirakawa and Orr's battle continued, or rather, their true battle had only just begun.
The moment the Sword of Damocles appeared, Shirakawa had already gone all out.
Clang after clang rang out in rapid succession as both men sped up dramatically. At this point, Jora could no longer see the paths of their blades at all. He could only vaguely catch flashes of sword light.
"I didn't expect you to possess Conqueror's Haki too."
Orr's body moved like a phantom as he appeared behind Shirakawa.
"Likewise."
Who would have thought a shriveled old dwarf would possess Conqueror's Haki too?
The instant danger struck, the shield around Shirakawa's body sprang up automatically, blocking an attack that would have wounded him.
That alone was enough to prove that Shirakawa had already lost in the contest of swordsmanship.
But the battle was not over.
Orr was placing immense pressure on Shirakawa, and under that pressure, Shirakawa could already feel the bottleneck before the realm of Great Swordsman growing thinner and thinner.
"Devil Fruit ability?"
Seeing his strike fail, Orr retreated a short distance, because Shirakawa had already recovered.
Orr's physical strength was not especially overwhelming, but his speed was a nightmare for Shirakawa to deal with. That ghostlike movement and those unpredictable attacks were almost impossible to guard against.
As the battle continued, Shirakawa's breathing gradually grew heavier, yet the excitement in his heart only intensified, and the smile at the corner of his lips became impossible to suppress.
Pressure creates motivation.
That saying fit Shirakawa perfectly right now.
More often than not, a person could only unleash their greater potential when cornered by adversity. Orr could already see the awkward stage Shirakawa was stuck in, not enough to rise higher, but more than enough to stand above those below him.
If Shirakawa could break through in the middle of this fight, Orr would be more than willing to help him achieve it.
Because once Shirakawa broke through, he would become even stronger, and that would make this battle far more enjoyable for Orr.
As things stood, Shirakawa was only an appetizer that could offer Orr a pleasant surprise.
He was still nowhere near the main course.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)