"Emperor Sword: Thunder Blade!!"
He crouched low.
Allen let out an explosive shout, violently swinging his blade in a sweeping slash toward Fujitora in the distance!
*Zing!!*
A massive flying slash instantly blasted forward, infused with berserk lightning that swept across the ground, scorching the earth and vegetation black wherever it passed!
The meteor had already been severed, and Fujitora no longer maintained his gravitational bind on Allen. Facing the powerful lightning slash, he swiftly sheathed his blade and sank into a half-crouch.
"Gravity Blade: Fierce Tiger!!"
*Zing!!*
Veins bulged on Fujitora's forehead as he shouted, drawing his blade in an iaido stance to unleash a massive, purple-glowing slash forward!
*Clang—!!*
The two slashes—one horizontal, one vertical—collided violently in a cross! The stalemate lasted barely a second before the unstable energy within them detonated!
*Boom!!!*
Berserk lightning ravaged the earth and trees, while terrifying gravity waves distorted space. The two forces intertwined, completely obliterating everything in the vicinity!
Massive clouds of smoke and dust billowed into the sky, rolling outward.
"As expected of someone who suppressed countless masters to claim the seat of an Admiral. Not only is your Devil Fruit ability powerful, but your swordsmanship is also astonishingly superb."
Allen curled his lips into a grin. With the gravitational bind lifted from his body, he instantly felt much lighter.
Gripping his greatsword, he sprinted forward, plunging headfirst into the thick dust.
He didn't need his vision; Observation Haki was more than enough.
*Clang!!*
*Clang!!*
Accompanied by bursts of flashing sparks, the intense sound of clashing cold steel continuously rang out from within the smoke.
Allen wielded the blade one-handed with effortless ease. The twelve-ton weight howled through the air in his grasp, swung around as if it were a mere wooden stick.
Yet every strike carried world-crushing momentum, forcing Fujitora to retreat step by step. The webbing between the Admiral's thumb and index finger was jolted so hard it seeped blood, nearly splitting open as he could only barely block and parry.
What shocked Fujitora even more was that his opponent wasn't just swinging wildly, relying on brute force to suppress him.
On the contrary, despite wielding such a cumbersome greatsword, the man was executing his swordsmanship techniques to absolute perfection.
Without a doubt, the Allen standing before him was a master swordsman with incredibly profound skill.
"Since Your Excellency's blade is so heavy, allow this old man to add a bit more to it."
*Clang!!*
Fujitora let out a low shout, his cane sword radiating a dark purple halo. As he blocked Allen's blade, he seized the opportunity to apply his ability.
"Gravity Blade: Imbue!!"
*Bang!!*
Suddenly, Bladeless Caesar's weight multiplied several times over, violently plummeting toward the ground. Allen's hand sank, nearly losing his grip on the sword.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's a pretty excessive move, disarming a swordsman's blade like that."
Amidst his surprise, a hint of amusement flickered in Allen's eyes.
The user of the Press-Press Fruit could release gravity waves and freely manipulate the magnitude and direction of gravity.
If a mere touch could increase a weapon's weight by several or even a dozen times, wouldn't that make him the natural nemesis of all swordsmen?
Fortunately, this had absolutely no effect on Allen. Not only because he possessed sufficiently powerful physical combat skills, but also because he wielded an ability that perfectly countered all others.
*Bang!!*
Allen spun and delivered a back kick, sending Fujitora skidding backward, before gripping the hilt with his right hand.
"Blackwater!"
Black mist continuously surged from his palm, flowing in tendrils to wrap around the blade. In just a single breath, the greatsword returned to its original weight.
At the same time, Caesar deactivated its cleaver form, reverting to its original edgeless, ruler-like shape.
Hoisting the black-mist-wreathed Bladeless onto his shoulder, Allen curled his lips into a sinister grin and teased,
"Didn't you say fighting here would keep you from holding back? I followed you all this way. If this is all you've got, I'm going to be very disappointed."
"Fierce and belligerent, exactly as the rumors say."
Fujitora spoke slowly, "From a strategic standpoint, this old man shouldn't be fighting you. But since things have come to this, I suppose there is no possibility of negotiation."
"Is that so? Sounds like you think you can beat me."
Allen's eyes held a mix of surprise and mockery.
Hearing this, Fujitora merely smiled and said calmly, "This old man doesn't have that kind of skill, but holding out until reinforcements arrive should still be manageable."
That was right. From the very beginning, he never had any intention of taking Allen down.
If a dignified Emperor of the Sea could be taken down so easily, there wouldn't be any pirates left in the New World.
As for reinforcements, back when Allen's group first descended upon Dressrosa, he had already ordered his communications officer to request Marine Headquarters to deploy Kizaru.
Although Kizaru was sluggish in his actions, with the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit, he would surely arrive in Dressrosa soon.
Facing two Marine Admirals simultaneously was a situation that even a Four Emperors crew wouldn't take lightly.
Hearing his words, Allen thought for a moment and quickly deduced that another Admiral was likely on the way.
And to arrive here in such a short time, unless an Admiral happened to be nearby, the only person it could be was Kizaru.
"I see. So that's how it is."
Realizing something, Allen gave a knowing smile and said, "Luring me out here wasn't to avoid catching civilians in the crossfire, but to stall for time along the way."
"It sounds like this old man is being underestimated. Stalling Your Excellency for a while isn't that difficult. Doing this was, of course, still to avoid involving civilians."
Fujitora said with an indifferent expression, sheathing his blade and activating his ability, wrapping gravity waves around his cane sword.
"Hey, hey, hey, who's underestimating who here?"
Allen grinned, leveling Bladeless in preparation to strike as Armament Haki rapidly coated the blade.
The next second.
*Swish—!*
The two of them dashed forward simultaneously!
*Clang!!*
The two cold weapons violently clashed, sparking intensely!
A ring of impact expanded outward, sending sword aura flying in all directions and slicing every surrounding tree cleanly in half!
"Gravity Sword: Imbue!!"
Fujitora repeated his previous trick, attempting to multiply the gravity on Allen's sword. However, this time, his gravitational energy was completely isolated by the black mist wreathing Bladeless!
Allen's smile turned savage. He gripped the hilt with his other hand as well, veins bulging on his arms. His knotted muscles swelled as he forcefully pressed down.
*Boom!!*
The heavy sword Bladeless smashed fiercely into the ground, instantly forcing Fujitora back, his feet plowing two long trenches into the earth.
"Applying my ability failed? In that case..."
Fujitora's expression darkened. He sheathed his blade, opting instead to imbue his own weapon with purple energy waves.
"Gravity Command!!"
*Zing!*
Fujitora shouted as he drew his sword, unleashing a circular wave of sword aura laced with gravitational energy that erupted in all directions from him as the center.
Allen casually raised his blade to block.
Fujitora pointed his blade, and everything else that the sword aura had swept over began to float into the air.
The next second.
*Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!*
Every object within a radius of several hundred meters converged and flew toward Allen. He quickly leaped to evade as rocks, trees, and absolutely everything else violently smashed together.
No matter where he jumped, the objects continuously tracked him as if they had locked onto him.
Suddenly, Fujitora dashed forward, swiftly arriving just a short distance in front of Allen. With his right hand on the hilt, he violently drew his blade in a sweeping slash!
"Anti-Gravity Blade!!"
*Zing!!*
Fujitora let out a loud shout, releasing several rings of gravity from his blade. An invisible, overwhelming force instantly enveloped Allen, launching him away!
*Boom!!*
Allen's back slammed heavily into the cliff face. Immediately after, countless rocks and broken trees crashed down, piling up layer upon layer.
Fujitora swiftly launched his blade, embedding it into the pile with a powerful gravity wave as he activated his ability to the maximum!
"Gravity Blade: Neutron Star!!"
*Boom!!!*
A massive burst of gravity erupted. Countless rocks suddenly collapsed inward, forming a giant, dense sphere that firmly suppressed Allen inside!