Terrifying power continued to press down on Kizaru, forcing his body to involuntarily retreat.
For a moment, he almost lost his grip on the sword hilt, nearly dropping it.
Clang!
Kizaru, being an admiral after all, quickly regained his composure.
With a mere thought, he adjusted his stance, switching from holding the sword with one hand to gripping it with both. Both palms erupted with dazzling golden light.
The Pika Pika no Mi ability activated, adding counter-force to his Ame no Murakumo. Only then did he barely stabilize his posture — blade against sword, neither giving way.
Crack!
Suddenly, a crisp fracturing sound rang out.
Then, to Kizaru's astonishment, a crack appeared on the blade of the Ame no Murakumo sword.
Seeing this, he realized the situation had turned dire. His sword-holding hands suddenly extended one finger, aiming directly at Hyaku.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a laser beam shot toward the opponent.
However, Hyaku seemed prepared. Just before the beam fired, he perceived the attack trajectory and darted sharply to one side.
Rip!
The beam missed his body.
Instead, with a ripping sound, it pierced and cut through the package at his waist. The package immediately unfurled and fell.
Seeing this, Kizaru narrowed his eyes, hastily glancing at the fallen package.
A moment later, his expression changed as he clearly saw that inside the opened package was nothing but Hyaku's Marine coat.
Nothing else!
There was nothing that Kizaru had expected to find.
"Wait... We're not done yet!" Realizing he might have been mistaken, Kizaru began to speak.
But Hyaku cut him off.
Clang!
With a cold snort, Hyaku seized the opportunity. His hand flipped over, lifting the Ryūka upward and deflecting Kizaru's Ame no Murakumo sword.
Before he could continue his attack, a system prompt appeared in his mind.
〘 Ding! Host Successfully Swung the Sword 3,000 Times! Reward: Azure Dragon Sword Intent Proficiency +5% | Three Colors of Haki Proficiency +1% | Rokkōgiri Proficiency +5%! 〙
Fighting with Marine Admiral Kizaru had allowed him to accumulate sword swings several times faster than daily practice. After this round of combat, he had reached 3,000 sword swings for the day.
Azure Dragon Sword Intent, Three Colors of Haki, and Rokkōgiri all gained proficiency.
〘 Ding! Host has Accumulated 30,000 Sword Swings! Reward: Constitution Grade +1! 〙
The system reward notification continued, granting him the total accumulated sword swing reward.
Constitution upgraded from B-Grade to A-Grade!
Hum!
As the system's voice faded, Hyaku's body glowed with an eerie white light.
In the span of a breath, all the power consumed in battle was completely restored. Not only that, his internal power now exceeded what it was before.
✣ Rokkōgiri: Rokkō Shūsoku ⭄ Six Light Convergence! ✣
Claiming all rewards, Hyaku firmly gripped the blade of his Ryūka. A deep voice emanated.
Thump, Thump!
In an instant, all the power around his body concentrated in his arms. They visibly swelled, emanating a sense of overwhelming force ready to explode.
"Rokkōgiri…" With this limitless power surging through his arms, Hyaku slashed at Kizaru with lightning speed.
✣ Rokkōgiri: Ichi no Kata, Seiryū Kiri ⭄ First Move: Azure Dragon Cut! ✣
Whoosh—Boom!
The terrifying force made it seem as if the Ryūka cleaved through the very air itself.
Seeing Hyaku's slash coming again — clearly faster than before — Kizaru inwardly cursed. He reluctantly raised his sword vertically before him, adopting a defensive stance.
Clang!
Crack-Crack-Crack!
The Ryūka struck Kizaru's defensively positioned Ame no Murakumo. Power surged like a tidal wave, crashing entirely onto the light sword.
In just an instant, cracks spread across the Ame no Murakumo's blade.
Kizaru staggered back two steps.
✣ Rokkōgiri: Ni no Kata, Tatsumaki Giri ⭄ Second Move: Tornado Slash! ✣
But this was just the beginning.
Just as Kizaru had barely blocked Hyaku's first slash, Hyaku raised his blade for another diagonal upward cut.
This time, the slash was even faster!
Clearly facing this type of rapid attack for the first time, Kizaru became overwhelmed. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword down, actively meeting the opponent's katana.
Clang!
Crash!!
Another piercing sound of metal violently colliding rang out.
Unable to withstand the explosive power of the Ryūka, Kizaru's Ame no Murakumo completely shattered and dissipated with a single slash.
✣ Rokkōgiri: San no Kata, Sora no Kiretsu ⭄ Third Move: Sky Rift! ✣
In one swift step, Hyaku darted to Kizaru's front. Without pause, he quickly retracted his blade and slashed down again.
This time, his sword moved even faster, its power more devastating!
Rip!
Kizaru could only try to avoid vital areas. His garment tore open with a ripping sound, leaving a visible gash across the front. He looked thoroughly disheveled.
✣ Rokkōgiri: Shi no Kata, Tenchi Hakai ⭄ Fourth Move: Heaven-Earth Severance! ✣
Hyaku's assault continued without mercy.
As the fourth slash came down, Kizaru found himself with nowhere to dodge. His only option was to fully activate his Devil Fruit ability, completely elementalizing his body to minimize the blade's impact.
But he had forgotten — Ryūka was imbued with Armament Haki!
Elementalizing his body could only offset a fraction of the attack's power.
Slice!
A deep cut appeared on Kizaru's chest, breaking through his skin as drops of blood fell from midair.
If he hadn't elementalized his body to absorb part of the blade's power, this slash would have been enough to disembowel him.
✣ Rokkōgiri: Go no Kata, Ryūjin Kaimetsu ⭄ Fifth Move: Dragon God Destruction! ✣
Without giving his opponent a moment to recover, Hyaku unleashed his fifth slash with lightning speed.
The blade's razor edge aimed directly for Kizaru's waist. A direct hit would have devastating consequences.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
A sudden shout erupted from the ground below.
Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh!
Within Hyaku's Observation Haki sensing range, three sharp ice pillars attacked from the side. They spiraled through the air at astonishing velocity.
Detecting the ice pillars, Hyaku's brow furrowed slightly.
He faced a split-second choice — continue his attack on Kizaru and risk being struck by the ice pillars, or retreat. The ice pillars clearly intended to force him back.
After a moment's hesitation, Hyaku abandoned the attack. Trading blows with Kizaru wasn't part of his plan.
He pivoted sharply, twisting from the waist with decisive force.
His rotating body guided Ryūka in a sweeping arc.
Bang, Bang, Bang!
The katana struck all three ice pillars with precision, shattering them into fragments.
Beep!
Seizing this momentary opening, Kizaru finally caught his breath. His body instantly elementalized, flashing back to the ground.
Meanwhile, Hyaku's Rokkōgiri chain momentum came to an abrupt halt.
His arms returned to their normal state as he descended back to the ground.
✣✣✣
T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
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