"Kuhahaha! What a rush!" Roger laughed as he pulled his sword back. "Little brat, let me show you my true strength!"
"If you can't keep up, just say you can't keep up. Don't talk about 'true strength'!" The corners of Rhett's mouth curled into a wild grin. "Mist God Style: Blood Dragon's Roar!"
The blood mist on the Black Tide Greatsword suddenly boiled and condensed into a ferocious blood dragon wrapped around the blade. The dragon's roar echoed through the illusion. The blood-red sword beam and Roger's crimson blade light collided again.
"BOOM—!"
The shockwave tore a crack dozens of meters long through the canyon.
Someone might ask: Hey, weren't they just in a forest? How did it become a canyon? Didn't they just cut it into one? The shockwave tore a crack dozens of meters long through the forest.
Roger's straw hat was nearly blown off by the blast. He held it down firmly on his head. "Good one, kid! That had some force!"
"I'm not done yet!" Rhett spun and swung again. "Mist God Style: Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl!"
Two blood dragons roared out from the blade, one on the left and one on the right, lunging at Roger. Crimson flames flickered in their eyes. Their whiskers were as sharp as blades.
Roger's eyes flashed. The Ace sword shone with a brilliant golden light. One slash severed both dragons' heads. But the shattered blood mist suddenly reformed into countless blood needles that shot toward him.
"Clink, clink, clink—!"
Roger's sword became a blur of light, deflecting every needle. He used the opportunity to close the distance, the Ace sword thrusting at Rhett's throat. "My turn! Divine Fall!"
Even before the blade reached him, the terrifying pressure made Rhett's skin sting. He retreated three steps and raised Black Tide to block.
"Mist God Style: Dragon Scale Shield!"
The blood mist condensed into blood-red dragon scales in front of the blade, taking the heavy strike. The moment the shield shattered, Rhett used the force to flip backward. Black Tide traced a perfect arc.
"Mist God Style: Blood Moon Slash!"
A crimson crescent-shaped sword beam tore through the ground. Roger laughed and split it in half with one swing. "Not enough! Sea Splitter!"
Lady Toki had to raise her hand to shield her eyes. Through her fingers, she saw the two of them leap into the air.
"Mist God Style: Nine Dragons Devouring the Heavens!" Rhett descended from above. It was a sword technique that came from the sky. Nine blood dragons burst out of the mist. Each one was lifelike. Their scales had a metallic sheen.
Roger's fighting spirit burned even brighter. "Well done! Sun Piercer!"
The Ace sword shone with rainbow light. A sword beam that stretched across the sky met the nine blood dragons. Dragon roars and sword cries echoed through the clouds. The explosive force of the blast scattered the clouds inside the illusion.
These two idiots. The ground wasn't enough for them. They had to go into the sky too.
"THUD!"
They landed at the same time. The ground cracked beneath their feet. Roger's shirt had several holes from the blood mist's腐蚀. Rhett's black cloak was torn by the sword beams. But both of their eyes burned just as fiercely.
"Kid," Roger wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "you haven't wasted these years. But if this is all you've got, you're going to lose badly, little Rhett."
"Of course I haven't wasted them. You were bleeding just now, weren't you?" Rhett looked at the blood on Roger's mouth. Finally, after fighting for so long, he had made Roger bleed for once. Rhett wiped the red saliva from his own mouth. Two swords clash. Roger bleeds. Rhett spits. Rhett's true strength? He wasn't saying.
---
The scenery around them began to twist. The solid ground of the canyon became soft like water. Mist formed under Roger's feet, and he slowly sank. He swung his sword, but the blade felt like it was stuck in a swamp, unable to break free.
"What is this?" Roger frowned. His Conqueror's Haki exploded, trying to dispel the strangeness around him. But it had no effect. Like a stone dropped into the sea.
The mist grew thicker. Roger's figure was slowly swallowed. He felt like he was in an endless maze. No matter which direction he went, he always came back to the same place.
"Amazing!!!! I'll have to try this on little Rhett later!!" Roger's eyes sparkled.
"Bastard! We're in the middle of a fight! Take this seriously!" Rhett created a mist clone next to Roger and started yelling at him.
"Sorry, sorry. Rhett, go back. Let's start over."
"Hmph." Rhett's mist clone slowly faded.
Roger closed his eyes again and focused. He tried to see through the illusion.
But what he saw was even stranger.
Countless faces appeared and disappeared in the mist. Enemies he had defeated in the past. All of his memories were放大, rushing at him like a tidal wave.
"Huh? That's it?" Roger was stunned. Wasn't this supposed to be a terrible illusion?
Rhett stayed hidden in the mist and didn't dare to speak. He knew exactly what would break Roger. The crew he had lost. The sight of the Roger Pirates being destroyed.
That would definitely make Roger slip up. But the problem was, Rhett would feel terrible seeing that too. That would be like stabbing Roger and stabbing himself at the same time. Giving himself pain? That's kind of interesting.
"If nothing else happens, I'm going to swing my sword!" Roger swung at the illusions in front of him.
But the blade passed through them, cutting nothing. The illusions were like ghosts. Untouchable.
"Huh??"
Roger realized he wasn't just fighting against simple illusions.
"You think you can defeat me like this? You're still too young!" Roger took a deep breath.
He knew Rhett must be hiding somewhere in the mist. To break the illusion, he had to find its source. The true power controlling the mist.
He closed his eyes again and pushed his Observation Haki to its limit. For the first time in his sparring with Rhett, he fully used the Voice of All Things. He tried to sense everything around him.
But Rhett was like he had disappeared.
This time, he finally found something.
Deep in the mist, he sensed a faint trace of blood energy. It disappeared in an instant.
"Found you!" Roger's eyes focused. He opened his eyes and swung his sword toward where the blood energy had come from.
"Sea Splitter!"
A brilliant sword beam tore through the mist, heading straight for the source.
"BOOM—!"
A loud crash. The mist instantly dissipated. The scenery around them returned to normal.
Roger found himself still standing in the canyon.
Rhett frowned. "Captain, how did you find me? I'm sure you couldn't lock onto my position. Even with the Voice of All Things."
"Oh, I only saw a trace of it, and it disappeared in an instant. There was no way to pinpoint your exact location." Roger scratched his head. "But you have a habit. When you dodge, you like to go right. I guessed. And even if I couldn't pinpoint you, I could just swing a few more times. Kuhahaha."
"As I thought, it's impossible to defeat you with just illusions." Rhett shrugged. "But making you experience the pain of the past is still a good result."
"Kid, your illusions are really impressive. I almost lost myself."