"Hmph, all evil must be struck down."
Raiden Ei held kusanagi with both hands and swung it rapidly, sending two slashes, "swish swish," one before the other, toward the Giant Crocodile's eyes. She lightly stepped back, retreating her figure.
Now was the time when the enemy was strong and she was weak; she needed to temporarily avoid the sharp edge and find an opportunity to annihilate him in one blow. She also needed to keep an eye on Kizaru, as he posed the greatest threat to her here right now.
Hengkitari's defense was thick enough that at most she couldn't damage him, but Kizaru was truly too fast to hit. Seeing his current listless expression as he stood there just admiring the scenery, she knew he definitely hadn't used his full strength earlier.
Facing the two incoming slashes, the Giant Crocodile was much more direct and brutal. He lowered his massive head and rammed directly forward, his steps never stopping as he charged toward the slashes.
"Bang! Bang!" The two collided. The Giant Crocodile's head, which was even harder than his body, instantly shattered the slashes. His body only swayed slightly before he continued his pursuit of Raiden Ei.
Kizaru, who was standing to the side admiring the scenery, couldn't help but sigh at the toughness of the Ancient Species. Watching the Giant Crocodile form of Hengkitari launch another attack on Raiden Ei, he noted that his speed wasn't faster than hers, so he was currently just being dragged into fighting her.
"It's time for me to make a move!"
His body elementalized and moved toward Raiden Ei at extreme speed, preparing to block her retreat. Though he was lazy, he would still complete the tasks he was assigned.
"He's coming!"
Raiden Ei, who had been constantly watching Kizaru, stopped attacking the Giant Crocodile the moment she saw him elementalize toward her. Seizing the opportune moment, kusanagi, wrapped in Armament Haki, instantly slashed toward the incoming light spot. "Swish!" A huge slash shot directly toward the light spot.
"Bang!" The light spot, cut through by the slash, instantly shattered. The light spot fell from the sky to the ground. Kizaru materialized from the broken light spot. He only rolled twice on the ground before standing up.
"Oh! That was close, I almost lost my life."
Raiden Ei wouldn't believe a word Kizaru said. He was definitely affected, but nowhere near as severely as he claimed. Her movements didn't stop; "Swish!" another slash was sent toward him.
At this moment, the Giant Crocodile had caught up. She didn't have time to continue playing with him. She felt the chance she wanted was here—a chance to kill Hengkitari.
As soon as Kizaru finished speaking, he saw a slash coming toward him at extreme speed. He muttered, "Does she not charge for her slashes? How can she be so wasteful!"
He had no intention of meeting that slash head-on. If he could dodge it, why would he take it? Furthermore, he saw that Hengkitari had already reached Raiden Ei's vicinity. His original objective had been achieved, so he stopped lingering and elementalized, flashing away into the distance.
While Raiden Ei was stopped to deal with Kizaru, the Giant Crocodile moved his heavy limbs rapidly to reach behind her. Seeing her so close and completely unguarded, he was extremely excited. He guaranteed that this time she wouldn't escape.
"Finally got you, hehe. This time you can't escape. Struggle as much as you can!"
Raiden Ei remained completely unfazed; this was exactly the result she wanted. Kizaru had just left and couldn't instantly arrive to support Hengkitari. Now, he was utterly alone. As long as she could use Conquerors Haki Infusion, he would undoubtedly die, and Kizaru couldn't save him, she thought.
"Is that so? Then let's make a wager and see who dies first."
Raiden Ei's calm voice sounded at this moment, causing Hengkitari, who was about to bite her to death, to halt his motion.
"Oh! You aren't planning to save yourself, and you even want to wager with me? Hahaha, are you truly insane?"
Raiden Ei's tone remained calm, as if the outcome was already decided: "Hehe, you don't dare!"
"Hahaha, what is there to not dare? Come on!"
Hengkitari didn't believe he would die at Raiden Ei's hands. The fight had gone on for so long, and she hadn't even managed to break through his defense once. Why would she kill him? What would she use to kill him?
Was it the lightning ability that defeated Sengoku? Don't joke. If she had that ability, she would have used it long ago. Neither he nor Kizaru could have forced her into this situation.
Therefore, Raiden Ei was merely struggling in her final moments. No matter how he calculated it, he was bound to win this round. The Giant Crocodile looked at her with a look of contempt in his eyes.
"Buzz." At this moment, Conqueror's Haki erupted from Raiden Ei's body. In that instant, it felt as if time around her stopped flowing. The Haki swept out in all directions without hesitation.
The area swept by the Haki felt extremely oppressive, as if a huge mountain was pressing down on one's head, making people's expressions involuntarily tense.
"Hahaha, is that all you have left? I already told you, Conqueror's Haki of this level is only good for tickling me." Hengkitari was extremely disdainful of Raiden Ei's Conqueror's Haki. The suppressive force of this level of Conqueror's Haki was negligible to him; it didn't affect him much.
"If this is all you've got, then I win this wager."
The Giant Crocodile opened his mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth, ready at any moment to bite the nearby Raiden Ei to death! He couldn't wait any longer.
"Oh, are you sure?"
As soon as Raiden Ei's voice fell, wisps of crimson lightning appeared around her. Her entire aura became extremely powerful, terrifying, and dreadful.
Hengkitari could hardly believe it. This woman had truly regained a powerful strength. The Raiden Ei before him now no longer gave him the feeling that he could bite her to death in one go.
Moreover, his Observation Haki was frantically warning him. Everything indicated that he was no longer her match. But he was unwilling to accept it. Just a second ago, he could casually kill her, but now?
He went mad. The dozen-meter-long Giant Crocodile stomped his limbs heavily on the ground, making a huge sound. "Bang! Bang!" The entire island shook. The Giant Crocodile used his full strength to bite toward her, preparing for a life-or-death struggle.
"Aaaah! I don't care how you did it, now die for me!"
Raiden Ei heard the last words Hengkitari could utter beside her ear. She turned to look at the Giant Crocodile lunging toward her. kusanagi in her hand was instantly imbued with Conquerors Haki Infusion, and red lightning occasionally flickered around her.
"I said, I must kill you today."
She stamped the ground and rushed straight toward the Giant Crocodile's head. The distance between them was already short; they were about to collide instantly.
Conqueror's Haki erupted from Raiden Ei's body once more. In just an instant, it stunned the Giant Crocodile, but it only lasted that brief moment. However, for her, who had already mastered Conquerors Haki Infusion, it was enough.
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