In response to Hengkitari's provocative words, Raiden Ei did not answer at all. With a'swish,' she held kusanagi with both hands and unleashed a massive slash at him with all her might.
"Useless, useless! With only this much power, you cannot break my indestructible defense. Use your full strength! You, who defeated Sengoku, shouldn't only have this little power..."
Hengkitari paid no mind to the attack. His defense had reached a terrifying level; even the attack of an Admiral couldn't be broken in a short time.
Facing the incoming slash, he quickly covered his entire body with Armament Haki, achieving an indestructible effect. With a 'bang,' the massive slash hit his body squarely.
Unfortunately, it couldn't break through the solid defense at all. It was immediately knocked aside. The resulting shockwave rushed outwards, while the slash continued toward a hill nearby. With a 'rumble,' the slash cut through, severing the hill in half.
"Hehe, see? Your attack is completely useless. Now it's my turn to attack."
His enormous figure rushed towards Raiden Ei. With every stride of his four legs, the ground pounded 'bang bang,' and the immense power made the entire island tremble slightly, as if there were an earthquake.
With 'pitter-patter,' the Giant Crocodile rushed rapidly towards Raiden Ei. His powerful burst of energy instantly closed the distance between them. His large mouth, filled with sharp fangs, opened as he lunged to bite her.
Facing an attack even fiercer than before, Raiden Ei directly seized his opening, jumped up from the spot, dodged Hengkitari's huge maw, and landed directly on its broad back, swinging kusanagi down towards its back.
"Swish." The blade of kusanagi slid across the Giant Crocodile's thick hide. The blade only stayed on the surface; it couldn't cut in at all. It was like she was using a dull knife to cut tough cowhide.
"It's just like cutting cowhide. One or two slashes won't break his defense. I need to think of another way."
The Giant Crocodile, whose attack Raiden Ei had dodged, couldn't stop its momentum in time and continued charging forward, biting down on a large rock ahead. With a 'crack,' the large rock was instantly crushed by his bite.
Hengkitari spat out the crushed rock from his mouth. His Observation Haki sensed that Raiden Ei had landed on his back and was still attacking him with the sword. Without hesitation, he immediately used the crocodile's signature skill, 'Death Roll.'
The massive crocodile, several meters long, instantly began to roll rapidly like the drum of a washing machine. With 'bang bang bang bang,' everything Hengkitari touched nearby was destroyed, and the resulting shockwaves rushed in all directions.
Raiden Ei's Observation Haki had already sensed Hengkitari's movement the moment he made a move. She directly used Geppo to dodge his Death Roll.
She flashed away several times, moving out of his attack range, and landed on a nearby uneven hill. She turned to look at the Giant Crocodile, which had stopped rolling, but the area was filled with smoke and dust, making it hard to see for a moment.
A voice came from the dust: "Raiden Ei, do you only know how to dodge? Come on! Come and fight me!" Hengkitari charged out of the dust, his four legs moving rapidly as he ran toward Raiden Ei.
Hengkitari was already a bit reckless about not being able to hit Raiden Ei. Relying on the formidable Ancient Species Devil Fruit, he didn't even bother dodging her attacks.
"If I go head-to-head with you, I'd be truly foolish."
Raiden Ei swung kusanagi, unleashing a slash, and then immediately retreated backward, dodging the giant mouth that lunged at her again. In her mind, she was contemplating how to kill him.
With a'snap,' he bit into the air. Hengkitari moved his limbs, continuing to pursue Raiden Ei. The hill he stepped on directly collapsed with a 'rumble, rumble.'
While dodging Hengkitari's attacks, Raiden Ei pondered a way to break his defense: Should she wait until he was exhausted? No, that would take too long. Zoan types also have strong recovery abilities; I can't outlast him.
He had already notified the others earlier. She didn't know who would come to support him. If it was Borsalino, given his speed, he might already be here. She still needed to be careful not to be ambushed by him.
She should continue experimenting with Conquerors Haki Infusion! It's almost successful. If even this can't break his defense, then I'll have to retreat for now and fight another day. Just wait a little longer!
With a'snap,' she narrowly dodged the giant mouth coming straight at her and leaped onto a hill. At this moment, Hengkitari was still relentless. He turned and whipped his large tail towards the hill. With a 'bang,' the crocodile's tail strike carried immense force, shattering the hill in one blow.
"Rumble, rumble." The mountain collapsed, and debris and dirt flew everywhere. The massive sound was audible across the entire island. Raiden Ei had no choice but to use Geppo, stepping on the air and flying to the side.
Hengkitari charged left and right but couldn't catch Raiden Ei, which made him a bit frustrated. However, thinking about the person he notified should have arrived by now, he wondered why they hadn't appeared yet.
He became somewhat agitated and continued towards Raiden Ei. Even if no one came to support him, he wouldn't let her go. Every footfall of the Giant Crocodile echoed with a huge sound.
"Oh dear! It seems I can't just keep watching here! Time is almost up; I need to get to work. Relying only on CP is too much of a stretch, isn't it?"
Borsalino finished speaking to himself, his body transforming into sparkling points of light, rapidly heading towards the battlefield below.
In a short while, he appeared not far in front of the two combatants, and his body, which had turned into light points, gradually returned to its original appearance.
The two, who were locked in a stalemate, immediately stopped their attacks, both looking towards the person who had just appeared nearby in the first instant. However, the moment she saw the light points, Raiden Ei quickly increased the distance between herself and the two.
"Sorry, sorry, did I interrupt you guys?"
Hearing Borsalino's voice, Hengkitari reacted the most strongly. His body rapidly shrank back to his half-beast form of a crocodile, and he spoke to him irritably.
"You're too slow, Borsalino."
"Sorry, sorry, I got lost just now. It's good that I'm still in time."
"What do you mean 'in time'? If I hadn't held her off here, she would have long since escaped somewhere. Don't forget the mission Fleet Admiral gave you."
"Fine! I won't let her run away."
"Hmph, it's good that you know. I will truthfully report this matter to the World Government. Our urgent task now is to capture her."
Hengkitari looked disdainfully at Raiden Ei in the distance. With Borsalino supporting him, he seemed completely certain of capturing her.
Borsalino also looked at Raiden Ei, still maintaining an indifferent, lazy demeanor: "Is that the Raiden Ei with a bounty of one billion Berries? She looks quite terrifying."
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