Chapter 131

A blade of azure sword-light swept through where Kapu had just been, and the shattered wasteland-island was cleaved clean in two; a small peninsula could no longer hold itself together and collapsed with a roar into the sea.

"You little punk, you're a swordsman too?!" Kapu exclaimed in surprise.

His hand-to-hand skill has reached such heights, and his swordsmanship is actually not bad either?

This kind of talent......

Truly a monster!

Zoro, watching from afar, narrowed his eyes and unconsciously rested his hand on his sword-hilt.

"That sword...... why does it look so familiar?"

Of course it looks familiar!

Sima Di's Ittoryu Iai — Slash, Phantom Three Thousand — is copy-pasted straight from him.

The battle on the field was still going on,

Kapu refused to fight Sima Di head-on, nimbly dodging his slashes, then closing in to slam a fist into the Susanoo; the tremendous force always made the Susanoo stagger back several steps. Though its surface was webbed with cracks, it did not shatter, and was quickly repaired by azure energy.

"The Susanoo can take a blow from a physical-combat Vice Admiral without breaking, but repairing the cracks eats up way too much stamina — it's a bit of a losing trade."

"Destructive power is more than enough, but agility is lacking — easy to dodge."

"In a top-tier one-on-one fight it's a bit Cumbersome; looks like only the Complete Body Susanoo is worth using."

Sima Di dismissed the Susanoo; a Mangekyo Sharingan surfaced in his eyes, and he glared straight at Kapu!

As if he had a premonition, Kapu twisted his body, and black flames ignited in the empty air, spreading toward Kapu along Sima Di's gaze.

"Amaterasu!"

Though he felt no temperature at all, Kapu was chilled to the bone!

His premonition told him — absolutely do not let that thing touch him!

"Soru!"

"Soru!"

"Soru!"

Kapu went sprinting all over the wasteland-island, his speed so fast it left afterimage after afterimage.

Sima Di raised a hand,

a golden halo manifested behind him; he reached out and gripped Hyourinmaru in his palm, while the rest of the ordinary blades rained down on Kapu.

"Clink-clink-clink—"

They struck his Armament Haki and couldn't budge him an inch.

Sima Di had no intention of defeating Kapu with that — just tying up his attention while he took the chance to release Hyourinmaru's Bankai!

"Seated upon the Frost-Sky! Hyourinmaru!"

"Daiguren Hyourinmaru!"

Twelve crimson-lotus ice-crystal shards manifested, and a two-winged ice dragon coiled around Sima Di; with him at the center, the wasteland-island and the seawater both began to freeze, and soon Kapu had nowhere left to set foot.

He didn't dare to step on the obviously dangerous frozen domain either, so he simply stepped on the air itself, sprinting in circles through the sky with Geppo.

This went on for the better part of half a minute,

and Sima Di finally shut down the pointless "Amaterasu"; the black flames burned fiercely on the frozen island, yet did not melt Bingdao in the slightest.

As if they posed no threat at all.

But Kapu still didn't dare to land, treading air in place as he stared at Sima Di with a strange look.

"Kid, aren't you a little too Xie Sect?" Kapu snarled. "Hand-to-hand, swordsmanship, and now you've even developed your Devil Fruit power this far — the reward I gave you earlier isn't nearly enough! You......"

"Whoosh—"

A blue beam pierced through Kapu's afterimage, petrifying a patch of cloud in the sky and sending it tumbling down toward the sea.

"Kid! No sneak attacks!" Kapu roared in fury. "Now I'm getting serious! Don't blame me if you die!"

Kapu's figure flashed,

and the next instant he was three meters from Sima Di; his furious black fist slammed into the two-winged ice dragon's head, but failed to shatter it — instead, the frost crept up his fist and clawed toward his arm.

"Crack—"

Kapu erupted with killing intent and shattered the frozen ice; both fists swung like pile-drivers, pounding the dragon's head again and again!

"BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—"

In the end, the two-winged ice dragon couldn't hold out — it was blasted apart into a skyful of ice shards scattering in every direction.

Kapu finally got his chance to strike at the heart of the matter; his unstoppable black fist swelled in Sima Di's eyes.

At the same time,

the last of the twelve crimson-lotus ice-crystal shards behind Sima Di quietly wilted away.

The Complete Body Daiguren Hyourinmaru had arrived!

"Freeze...... the world!"

The lethal cold spread through space itself; wherever it passed, even the air froze solid. Kapu himself was coated in ice crystals, and his invincible black fist was intercepted layer upon layer, its speed growing slower and slower until it finally stopped one centimeter in front of Sima Di's eyes.

Kamui Shikai: Freezing of the Four Realms!!!

Only the fully released Daiguren Hyourinmaru can use it — the absolute power to freeze everything in space!

However......

"Crack— crack—"

Cracks split across the surface of the ice-statue Kapu; by the look of it, breaking free was only a matter of time.

But......

Sima Di could swing Daiguren Hyourinmaru at any moment and deliver Kapu a fatal blow!

—Of course, whether it could break through his defense is another matter entirely.

Half a minute later,

Karp finally broke free from the ice, gazing at the surrounding landscape now transformed into a world of snow and ice—yet perfectly contained, sparing Luffy and the others watching.

This power... this control...

Is that all that brat Kuzan has got?

"I have to admit, you've grown strong," Karp said seriously. "My next punch will be full power—don't you dare die!"

"Boom!"

"Crack-crack—"

Karp stomped down, shattering the ice island beneath his foot, and launched himself toward Sima Di, swinging his black fist again.

Sima Di hurled the Great Crimson Lotus Ice Wheel aside—his ultimate technique had failed to restrain Karp, so...

Let's go head-to-head!

No flashy tricks—just a single black fist thrust forward!

"Fist Bone!"

"Dominion? Hake? Coupling?!"

"Boom—boom—boom—"

The ice island beneath them shattered and collapsed instantly, spreading in an instant to the Straw Hat Pirates and the spectators, flinging most of them into the punch's wind and hurling them far away.

Only Kurokasi, the elemental Nami, and Robin, protected by the Golden Little Bell, remained where they stood.

And then...

The three watched in shock as the shattered seabed appeared!

This punch clash didn't just erase the island—it overturned the sea and shattered the seabed?

Just...

Insane!

Fortunately, the battlefield wasn't in Water Seven—otherwise, who knows how many people would've been caught in it.

Looking again at Sima Di and Karp,

they still held their fist-to-fist stance, neither retreating an inch.

"What's going on? Who won?" Nami asked Kurokasi.

"I'd say... it's a draw," Kurokasi said. "Both still have strength left, but they can't keep fighting here—Water Seven would be destroyed half or more."

"What?"

"How is that possible?"

"You're kidding!"