"BOOM!!!!"
Above the red wasteland, two different powers collided. The shockwave tore through the thick clouds.
There was no probing each other. The battle became intense from the very first exchange.
Aiden's body turned into a huge pillar of lightning and fell from the sky with crushing force. He slammed toward the ground.
Facing that powerful strike, Issho sat cross-legged on a floating rock. He gripped his cane sword in reverse and swung it sharply toward the earth.
"Gravity... Reversal!"
Rumble!
The ground shook hard.
The earth within a thousand meters shattered at once. Huge boulders rose into the air! Under Issho's control, they gathered into a rising flow of stone. With a heavy roar, they shot upward to meet the lightning falling from above!
BANG!!!
The lightning and the flow of rocks clashed in mid-air.
Electricity surged out, shattering the first boulders and melting them into glowing red lava.
But more layers of rock followed behind them. They formed a thick wall in the sky, blocking the lightning pillar in its tracks before it finally exploded!
A bright light covered everything. The shockwave from the explosion flattened the surrounding area.
Before the dust could settle, Aiden had already passed through the center of the explosion and landed on his feet.
"Using the earth to block the sky? Good move."
The look in Aiden's eyes became sharper.
A second later, he vanished from his spot.
Crackle, crackle, crackle...
Using the extreme speed of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Aiden seemed to split into dozens of afterimages. He launched slashes at Issho from every direction at once.
"CLANG!"
The famous sword Oto clashed against the plain cane sword, sending sparks flying.
Aiden held his blade with one hand, his body wrapped in fierce electricity. He moved like a flash of light, shifting left and right, using his speed to keep attacking without pause.
Every swing was as fast as lightning. Every strike carried enough heat to melt steel.
Issho simply stood there, his cane sword moving so fast it formed a shield. No matter where Aiden attacked from, and no matter how fast the lightning was, Issho always moved his blade into the path of the strike.
Aiden was surprised.
In terms of Observation Haki, Aiden knew he was superior. He had surpassed the standard level. Even if Issho was an expert in Observation Haki, he shouldn't be able to match Aiden's perception.
Yet, Issho perfectly blocked every attack.
He wasn't just relying on perception. He was using his trained body, sharp reactions, and battle instinct. That closed the gap in perception, and Issho even had a chance to use his greater strength to push back!
"Is this the strength of a future Admiral?"
Aiden flashed away, appearing on a giant rock a hundred meters away. He looked at the man who remained steady in place, and excitement flashed in his eyes. "You really are strong."
"You give me too much credit," Issho said.
Issho breathed slightly. Although he had blocked the attacks, the heat and impact of the lightning had made his hands go numb.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit truly lives up to its name. Not only is the speed incredible, but the destructive force is the greatest I have ever seen."
Issho held his cane sword in front of him. A purple glow began to spread toward the ground beneath his feet. "Since I cannot keep up with your speed, I will have to use a simple method."
"Gravity... Mire!"
Vwoom!
Without warning, the ground beneath Aiden's feet collapsed!
A heavy gravitational force suddenly covered the area. It rose from several times normal gravity to dozens, then hundreds of times normal gravity!
CRACK!
The massive rock under Aiden's feet turned to dust instantly.
Even the dust in the air was pinned hard against the ground.
Aiden felt his body become heavy, as if a mountain had been dropped on his back. Even lifting a finger became difficult. His blood began to flow backward under the pressure, and his bones strained under the weight.
"I have you now."
Issho's figure vanished. Using the repulsive force of gravity, he shot toward the pinned Aiden like a purple meteor.
His cane sword left its sheath. A heavy Iai slash aimed straight for Aiden's throat!
This strike had no tricks. It was only strength and Haki. With the help of gravity, the blade fell with terrifying weight!
"Interesting!"
Facing the deadly strike, Aiden didn't panic. Instead, he grinned.
Crackle!
Blue electric arcs surged through his body, forcing his muscles to move faster.
Just as the cane sword was about to touch his skin, Aiden forced his body to twist against the hundred-fold gravity. He moved at the last possible moment and barely dodged the fatal strike.
Pfft!
The blade tore through his coat and left a bloody mark on his shoulder.
At the same time, Aiden's left hand turned into a claw of lightning, swinging hard at Issho's face!
BOOM!
The two separated again, both retreating dozens of meters.
Aiden touched the wound on his shoulder, and the bleeding stopped quickly. A charred mark appeared on Issho's cheek, and a lock of his hair was singed.
"That felt good!"
Aiden shook his hand. Since he had killed Golden Lion Shiki, he hadn't felt this kind of danger in a long time.
He didn't give Issho any time to breathe.
"Again!"
The rocks beneath him shattered, and Aiden charged out as a bolt of lightning once more.
This time, his attacks were even faster and more direct.
He swung his left hand, and a tiger made of white lightning roared as it charged at Issho, opening its mouth to swallow him.
Issho frowned slightly and swung his cane sword horizontally.
"Gravity Blade... Sky Break!"
Purple gravity waves combined with a sharp sword slash. The moment the lightning tiger touched this power, it was split from head to tail by the slash and torn apart by the gravity field, turning into sparks.
But this was just a distraction.
The moment the lightning exploded, Aiden appeared behind Issho. Oto carried a sharp edge, aiming straight for Issho's heart.
Issho didn't even turn around. His cane sword moved behind his back and blocked the strike perfectly.
"CLANG!!"
Sparks flew.
"Oh? You can block that clearly without eyes?"
Aiden's lips curled up. He turned his wrist, letting his blade slide down the cane sword to cut at Issho's fingers.
Issho flicked his wrist, and a gravity wave exploded, pushing Aiden and his sword back several meters. But before Issho could adjust his breathing, Aiden was already in front of him again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The two exchanged dozens of blows in mid-air.
Aiden used his lightning speed to bounce and change directions constantly, attacking from the most difficult angles. Issho remained steady, responding to every change with solid defense.
"What's wrong? Can you only defend?"
Aiden kicked Issho's cane sword, using the force to jump into the air. His eyes flashed with curiosity. "You have this much power, yet your blade always holds back. What are you worried about?"
"BOOM!"
Aiden dived down again. This time, he didn't use any tricks. He held his sword with both hands, focusing all his strength and Haki into a single point.
CLANG!
Oto was blocked by Issho's blade. Sparks flew between their faces. Through the crossed blades, Aiden stared into Issho's clouded eyes. "Your swordsmanship is strong, but I can feel it... your blade is being held back!"
"Held back?"
Issho frowned. He pushed with his arms, releasing a gravity wave that knocked Aiden back. "I do not understand what you mean."
"You don't? Then let me show you!"
Aiden jumped back using the force, but a moment later, he charged back even faster. His blade pointed straight at the space between Issho's eyebrows. "What exactly is your sword protecting?"
Hearing this question, Issho went silent.
He lowered his head. His bloodshot eyes faced his cane sword, as if he were remembering something from long ago.
"What am I protecting?"
After a long pause, Issho spoke slowly. His voice was rough, as if he were lost in a memory. "You see the current Blacksteel Empire, which has become harsh and survives by taking from others."
"But have you ever seen... what this country looked like twenty years ago?"
Aiden didn't speak. He just watched him quietly.
Issho looked up. His gaze became distant, as if he had returned to that ruined era.
"Back then, this wasn't the Blacksteel Empire. It didn't even have a unified name."
"This land was poor. It had no resources and no gold. All it had were these mountains of stone and many starving people."
"At that time, there was no World Government flag and no protection from the Marines."
Issho's voice began to tremble. "Pirates came. They stole food, burned villages, and took women and children as slaves. Slavers came and forced men onto ships to be auctioned elsewhere."
"I was young and arrogant then. I thought that because I had decent sword skills, I could cut down every injustice I saw by myself."
Issho gave a self-mocking laugh. "But can you ever kill them all?"
"I would save one village, and the next day, black smoke would rise from the neighboring village. I would kill one group of pirates, and on the third day, an even worse pirate crew would land."
"One man's sword, no matter how sharp, cannot protect such a vast land. One man's justice, no matter how firm, cannot fill the stomachs of hundreds of thousands of people."
Aiden remained silent.
"Until that man appeared."
Issho pointed toward the palace. His expression became hard to read. "He unified this land, built an army, and drove away the pirates. He did whatever it took to get the protection of the World Government for this country."
"I saw it with my own eyes."
Issho's hand gripped his sword so hard his knuckles turned white. "I saw that proud King. After he took off the military uniform that symbolized his power, he lived a simple life that didn't look like a King's at all."
"Inside that grand palace, you won't find a single luxury item. There is no fine food or wine on his table, only the simplest meals. In his bedroom, there is nothing but a hard bed and a room full of documents."
"He didn't waste wealth like other nobles. Instead, he gave everything he had to this country. He pushed himself to the limit before he ever pushed his citizens."
"From that moment on, I understood."
Issho looked at Aiden, his gaze becoming firmer than ever before. "This world is cruel. Sometimes, to let the majority survive, someone must carry the blame. Someone must become the villain."
"He chose to be a tyrant. He used plunder and war to provide for this country and satisfy the endless demands of the Celestial Dragons. He did it just to buy the status of an 'Allied Nation.'"
"Because on this sea, only by buying that expensive ticket can ordinary people avoid being slaughtered by pirates and slavers!"
"And I..."
Issho took a deep breath. The purple light around him burst outward, and the gravity waves became even heavier, matching his current mood. "I am not protecting that King. I am protecting the order that allows tens of millions of citizens to live!"
"Even if this order is built on blood... even if this order is twisted..."
"Until I find a better way, I will not allow anyone to destroy it!"
BOOM!!!
With Issho's roar, a massive gravity wave shot into the sky and crushed the clouds above!
The earth shook. Countless boulders floated up, spinning around Issho to form a massive gravity storm.
Aiden looked at Issho, who now looked like a man ready to carry the whole country on his back. He didn't laugh. Instead, he showed a hint of respect.
"I see."
Aiden nodded. "So you fight for a false peace?"
"That's a heavy burden to carry. Unfortunately..."
Aiden raised Oto, and the blade glowed with intense lightning. "You're on the wrong path. If the road itself is wrong, running faster won't save you."
"The order you want to protect is a monster that eats people. No matter how much flesh and blood you feed it, it will never be satisfied. The appetite of the Celestial Dragons cannot be filled."
"Since that's the case, I might as well smash it right now!"
Crackle!
Aiden's figure vanished again. He turned into a bolt of lightning and charged into the gravity storm!
The battle intensified again!
The two figures flashed across the wasteland. Wherever they passed, mountains collapsed and the earth cracked.
Blacksteel Palace, King's Study.
Friedrich sat at his desk.
The glass in the windows hummed from the constant vibrations. Those were the shockwaves from the distant battle between the two fighters. Even the ink bottle on his desk trembled, creating ripples.
He knew the person who had come this time was strong, far stronger than expected.
Even Mr. Issho had been pushed this far.
But he didn't look up. He didn't look out the window.
He still wore his clean military uniform, buttoned all the way to the top. His back was perfectly straight, and he did not bend at all.
Among the mountains of documents, his expression was focused and cold. It was as if the battle outside didn't exist. It was as if the lightning that could destroy the country was nothing more than distant rain.
His hand was steady. His pen moved quickly across the paper. His notes were short and clear, without a single tremor.
Even if death was waiting outside the door, and even if the country might fall in the next second, he was still the King until that moment arrived.
As long as he sat in this seat for one more second, the country would keep moving according to his orders for one more second.
Even if destruction came in the next moment, he had to do his duty now.
The Wasteland Battlefield.
The battle had become even fiercer.
Although Aiden had the upper hand and was using his speed to suppress Issho, he realized that defeating Issho completely wouldn't be easy.
On this sea, the bodies of the strongest fighters were often absurdly tough.
Especially someone like Issho, who was in his prime. His body had been trained to an extreme level. Even if he was at a disadvantage, it might take days of constant fighting to truly take him down.
Issho also couldn't do much to Aiden. Normal gravity suppression had limited effects on Aiden's lightning body, and his slashes couldn't keep up with Aiden's speed.
It was a stalemate.
"Huff..."
Issho used the recoil from a clash to retreat a hundred meters.
He didn't want a simple war of attrition.
"Your strength is truly amazing."
Issho slowly returned his sword to its sheath. The movement was slow and steady.
As the sword clicked into the sheath, his presence suddenly changed.
The violent gravity waves vanished instantly. The world seemed to go still for a moment.
But Aiden's Observation Haki warned him sharply!
It was danger.
"Since the techniques on the ground cannot stop you..."
Issho gripped the hilt with both hands. He looked up at the pitch-black night sky. A flash of determination appeared in his bloodshot eyes. "Then I shall borrow the power of the sky."
"Gravity... Hell Journey!"
VWOOM!!!!!
A massive gravitational wave shot through the clouds and the atmosphere, reaching directly into outer space!
A few seconds later.
The dark night sky suddenly lit up.
The clouds were torn apart. A massive red fireball, trailing a long tail of flame, came through the clouds with overwhelming force!
It was... a meteor!
And it wasn't just a normal meteor.
Issho swung his sword toward the sky. A wave of jet-black Armament Haki shot up and coated the surface of the falling meteor!
The glowing red meteor instantly turned into a "Black Meteor" with a metallic shine, strong enough to strike Aiden's real body through his Logia power!
This was a finishing strike that could truly hurt Aiden!
"Is this the power of someone who can stand at Admiral level?"
Aiden looked up. He watched the massive meteor filling the sky, as if it were going to turn the wasteland into a crater. He felt the scorching heat hit his face.
Instead of fear, a fierce smile appeared on his face.
"Hahahaha! Good! This is great!"
Aiden laughed, his voice echoing through the thunder. "This is more like it! This is the kind of opponent I want to challenge!"
If it were just a normal meteor, he could dodge it by turning into lightning.
But this meteor was coated in strong Armament Haki and was locked onto his presence.
Dodge?
Aiden had no intention of doing that.
There was only one option: cut it down!
Aiden stopped holding back.
He flipped his left hand and took another famous blade from his Storage Ring: Kogarashi, which he had inherited from Golden Lion.
He had both swords now.
A sharp pressure burst from his blades. This was the swordsmanship he had inherited from the legendary pirate "Golden Lion" Shiki, now combined with the speed and violence of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
Crackle!
Black Armament Haki and bright lightning instantly wrapped around both famous blades.
Facing the falling star, Aiden didn't take a single step back.
He bent his knees, and the air beneath his feet burst apart.
"BOOM!"
He shot into the sky like a silver meteor flying upward, heading straight for the massive black meteor!
As he met the giant rock, Aiden crossed his two swords. His eyes flashed like lightning.
"Two-Sword Style Secret Technique... Star Cutter!"
In that moment.
All sound seemed to fade away.
Under the dark night, the small human figure and the massive meteor met high in the air.
There was no thunderous crash.
There was only a sharp, cross-shaped flash of lightning. It cut across the sky and struck the meteor head-on.
Time seemed to stop for a second.
The unstoppable black meteor paused in mid-air. Then, two thin cracks appeared in its center and quickly spread across the whole thing.
A second later.
"BOOM!!!!!"
The delayed blast finally erupted. The sound shook the wasteland and spread far into the distance.
The massive meteor was cut cleanly into four pieces. Its solid structure collapsed under the violent electricity.
It blew apart!
Countless burning fragments of the meteor turned into a rain of fire. They looked like thousands of shooting stars falling at once, lighting up the red wasteland like daytime.
Amid the fire and lightning.
Aiden held his two swords and floated quietly in the air.
The wind caught his coat, making it flap loudly. The blue arcs of electricity on his body and the falling red fire reflected against each other.
He looked like a man who had just cut down a star.
On the ground.
Issho looked up. Even though his eyes could only see blurry light and shadows, his powerful Observation Haki captured this scene clearly.
His hand gripping the sword trembled slightly. The reflection of the fire rain shone in his tired, bloodshot eyes.
"Even the stars... can be cut down?"
"That is truly... frightening power."
To Be Continued
---------------------------------
https://www.patreon.com/c/LIZBETH1242
40 chapters available in advance!