"Bastard…"
Up above, Marco was getting increasingly annoyed. Being cut a few times was nothing, but being relentlessly shredded by those Haki-coated scythe-arms was… unpleasant, even for a phoenix.
On Kuro's forearms, tiny serrated blade-edges glinted coldly. Every swipe carved another line into Marco's flames.
With a frustrated shout, Marco grabbed Kuro's arms with talons wrapped in Armament Haki, stopping the barrage.
"Oh? Finally using proper Haki?" Kuro sneered. "Too bad—Haki has ranks too."
"You're getting way too full of yourself, marine!"
Marco fully transformed, a fat, blazing-blue phoenix screaming defiance.
"Heh."
Kuro followed suit, shifting into full beast form. The Ancient Zoan: Demon Flower Mantis unfurled in the air—grotesque and powerful.
Down below, Ghost Spider could only glance up from the ice, watching a phoenix and a mantis brawl across the sky.
That Kuro guy… really can fight on that level…
He remembered all the times he'd mocked White Ghost's group back at Headquarters. Remembered Sakazuki's absolute disdain for White Ghost's style. All that talk of "degenerate marines."
Yet right now, that "degenerate's" subordinate was trading blows evenly with Whitebeard's First Division Commander.
Ghost Spider's grip tightened on his swords.
"Enjoying the scenery, Headquarters Vice Admiral?" a smooth voice cut in.
Steel flashed.
Ghost Spider barely got all eight swords up in time.
CLANG!
The impact shuddered down his arms.
Standing in front of him was a man in a flamboyant hat, with an elegant moustache and twin sabers in his hands.
Whitebeard's Fifth Division Commander – "Flower Sword" Vista.
Vista smiled, his moustache twitching.
"First time we've met, yet you recognize me right away, Vice Admiral Ghost Spider. I'm flattered."
"Hard not to recognize," Ghost Spider growled.
Vista's gaze dropped to the eight blades.
"You seem very… free. I've always been curious about Marine Eight-Sword Style. Try not to disappoint me, hmm?"
"Bastard!"
Ghost Spider shoved him back and lunged.
"Spider Wild Blades!"
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH—
Two real arms, six arms formed by Life Return—all eight swords slashed in a dense, swirling storm.
Vista's sabers danced.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!
He parried, deflected, spun, and smiled the whole time.
"Messy at first glance, but actually quite refined. The coordination between your eight blades is… rather clever."
"Marines," Ghost Spider snapped, "are not for pirates like you to judge!"
Vista laughed lightly.
"Anger is a deadly flaw in battle, Vice Admiral."
He sprang back, crossing both blades before him.
"Rose Tempest!"
A storm of shimmering sword petals—slashing aura in the shape of rose petals—swirled toward Ghost Spider like a blizzard.
Ghost Spider spun his eight blades, knocking most of the "petals" aside, but a few slipped through, drawing shallow lines of blood across his limbs and torso.
Zzzip—
"Hmph… just scratches."
But Vista was already back on him, sabers flashing.
"So, Vice Admiral? How does it feel?"
"Shut up, pirate."
Ghost Spider knew he was being baited. He knew it—and still, his anger only grew.
Vista pushed him away with a heavy clash and then slashed.
"Rose Severing Slash!"
Multiple crescent-shaped sword beams shot toward Ghost Spider.
He snorted and spun his eight arms again, intercepting each wave of sword qi.
Vista refused to give him breathing room, closing in yet again.
"Your skill is decent," Vista said pleasantly, sabers whirling. "Shame your temperament doesn't match it, Vice Admiral."
"Die, pirate!"
CLANG!
Vista twisted, knocking all eight blades outward. At that exact instant, his right saber flicked low.
Ghost Spider's eyes widened.
Too slow—
He snapped into Iron Body, Armament spreading over his stomach.
"Flower Cut."
SHLK.
Vista slid past, and a line of blood opened across Ghost Spider's abdomen.
"Gah—!"
He flew backward, hit the ice, and skidded, clutching his stomach as blood seeped between his fingers.
"Heh… when crossing blades with a swordsman, you can't afford even a flicker of carelessness," Vista said, stepping forward. "One slip, and you get cut."
He raised his sabers and slashed again.
"Rose Blooming Slash!"
Sword aura roared toward the fallen vice admiral.
SWOOSH!
Steel flashed in front of Ghost Spider.
Two blades.
"Two-Sword Style – Wind Slash!"
BOOM!
The incoming sword aura was split and dissipated.
"Hm?"
Vista looked up in interest.
A young woman stood between him and Ghost Spider, twin swords in hand—Sakura Ten and Kiku Ichimonji gleaming faintly with Haki.
"Flower Sword Vista, Great Swordsman…"Ain said calmly. "I'd like to know just how big the gap is between you and me."
Vista's grin widened.
"A young Marine swordswoman, huh? And a Swordmaster, at that." His eyes flicked to her blades. "Beautiful swords. Those are Shiki the Golden Lion's blades, aren't they?"
Ain's expression didn't change.
"None of your business."
Vista's shoulders shook with a laugh.
"Fair enough. So—want to test yourself, Marine girl?"
Ain tightened her grip.
"…Yeah. I want to see exactly how far I am from a Great Swordsman."
She dashed in.
"Then let's dance," Vista said. "This is a battlefield—no holding back for rank or gender."
The two collided.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!
Twin swords vs. twin swords, sparks flying in all directions.
"You're not at Great Swordsman level yet," Vista judged mid-clash. "But you're close. Very close. A talent like you is rare on these seas."
Ain's blades were forced back, but she slid with the impact, knees bending instead of buckling.
"Close or not, so what? Sword fights aren't won by technique alone."
She poured Armament Haki into her blades.
DUANG!
Black sheen coated Sakura Ten and Kiku Ichimonji.
Vista followed suit, his sabers darkening as black lightning flickered faintly.
"Oh? That, I can agree with, Marine girl."
Their blades met again.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!
In pure sword skill, Ain was being edged out; Vista's footing, timing, and angles were all a level above. But her ferocity and sharp, wind-like slashes made up for some of the difference.
She disengaged with a leap, landing lightly and crossing her blades.
"Two-Sword Style – Gale Edge!"
SHING!
An X-shaped wind slash shot toward Vista.
"Interesting," Vista said, lips curling.
"Rose Petal Slash."
Two arcs of sword aura rushed out to meet it.
BOOM—!
Sword winds collided, shredding the ice around them.
Ain didn't pause.
"Two-Sword Style – Gale Spin Slash!"
She whipped her blades, and a rotating circular slash—like a spinning saw of compressed wind—hurtled at Vista.
Vista braced, sabers up.
CLANG!
He caught the spinning slash on his blades—but her sword energy kept grinding, trying to chew through his guard.
"Ho…"
With a grunt, he twisted and flicked his sabers, hurling the spinning slash upward into the sky.
It erupted overhead with a thunderous boom.
Now Vista's expression turned more serious.
"Marine… who taught you?"
He glanced again at Sakura Ten and Kiku Ichimonji.
"And those swords… they definitely belonged to Golden Lion Shiki, didn't they?"
"Classified," Ain replied, and sent another sword wave.
Vista laughed.
"Fine then. Let me show you what a Great Swordsman really looks like."
He leapt, twin blades spinning.
"Rose Tempest!"
A blizzard of razor-sharp rose petals descended.
Ghost Spider, still clutching his stomach, struggled to his feet.
"Careful! Those petals—"
He stopped mid-shout.
Because Ain had shifted her stance.
She held both swords angled to her right, bodies parallel, breath low and steady.
"Two-Sword Style – Gale Dragon Vortex!"
WHOOM—!
A tornado sprang up in front of her, roaring into existence and sucking in all of Vista's rose petals, grinding them within swirling wind.
"Huh?"
Vista's eyes narrowed. His Observation Haki screamed a warning—there was real danger inside that wind.
He moved, leaping clear of the vortex's path.
From the side, Ain's voice rang out.
"Don't treat me like some random cat or dog. If you're a Great Swordsman—then fight me like one."
Ghost Spider felt his heart seize.
Cat or dog… and I was the one who got shredded by those petals… so I'm the cat or dog!?
Vista crossed his blades in front of him, smile fading into a more focused expression.
"…Alright then, Marine girl," he said quietly. "Let's raise the stakes."
Ain sucked in a breath.
"Gale… Sever."
She stepped forward.
BOOM!
The ice beneath her foot cracked in a spiderweb pattern. Her twin blades vanished in a blur.
A heartbeat later—
SHNK.
The two of them were past each other, backs almost touching.
A thin line of red appeared across Vista's chest.
"…Broke through my Armament, huh?"
He looked down at the cut, then up at Ain.
Her breathing was a little rough, but her eyes were bright.
White-bro was right, she thought.
If my Haki is strong enough, I can cut through theirs…
Vista let out a low whistle.
"Not bad at all. That slash just now could definitely kill a weaker swordsman."
He smiled, genuinely impressed.
"I acknowledge you. Keep growing, and you will become a Great Swordsman one day. You're already stronger than that vice admiral from earlier."
Ghost Spider took another mental hit and almost coughed blood on the spot.
Ain just clicked her tongue.
"Who asked for your acknowledgment?"
She raised her blades again and charged.
Vista laughed lightly and met her head-on.
"Then try your best to survive my swords today, Marine girl!"
And on the torn, frozen battlefield at the edge of the New World, the clash between a rising Swordmaster and a veteran Great Swordsman intensified, their blades singing amid the roar of quakes, magma, and thunder.
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