Chapter 199

"Clang—"

The two blades collided once more,

and this time Zoro was not forced back. Locked in an evenly matched contest of strength with Lei Li, this all-out slash forced even Lei Li to brace himself in earnest.

But unfortunately......

Lei Li's power suddenly surged by a notch, sending Zoro flying once more. He slammed into the wall, bounced off the vibranium, crashed heavily onto the floor, and bounced several meters into the air again before finally slamming down and coming to a stop.

"Ugh—"

He opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, but he paid it no mind. The first thing he did upon rising was to wave repeatedly toward the observation window—or rather, toward Sima Di—indicating that he was completely fine and didn't need treatment.

Sima Di: "......"

I wasn't planning to treat you anyway, you bastard.

Zoro was temporarily unable to continue fighting, otherwise he might not be able to take part in the upcoming Summit War.

Everyone flooded into the training room.

Crocus spoke up first: "Zoro, that last move just now—was that Conqueror's Haki infusion?"

It had to be said,

that aura fused with Armament Haki did indeed look extremely like Conqueror's Haki.

But Zoro shook his head.

"It's a kind of application of aura I comprehended during this period of Conqueror's Haki training...... Lord Lei Li, that last move of yours just now was Conqueror's Haki infusion, wasn't it?"

"Hahahaha—being pushed to this extent by a junior, the new generation these days is truly terrifying." Lei Li said with a sigh.

Which could be considered an indirect admission.

Zoro's Dugu Nine Swords had forced out his Armament Haki,

and that strange aura-infused sword technique had forced out his Conqueror's Haki infusion.

The only thing was that Zoro's Haki level was a bit lower, and he still didn't know how to use Conqueror's Haki.

Otherwise, today's fight would have been a real one.

"Conqueror's Haki infusion...... Di, have you mastered it?" Crocus looked toward Sima Di.

If this question had been asked even half an hour ago, Sima Di wouldn't have known it.

But now......

"Just comprehended it, still not very proficient." Sima Di said.

Crocus, who had only asked casually, couldn't help but widen his eyes at the words!

What kind of monster are you?

Sima Di's face showed an innocent expression—wasn't I the one you asked?

"Oh? You know it too?" Lei Li grew interested: "How about a little sparring match?"

Sparring with Sima Di in swordsmanship?

The Straw Hat Pirates members all wore strange expressions—did Lei Li want to kneel?

Only Lei Li had seen Sima Di use "Magic-Forbidden Domain," forcibly forcing Borsalino into close-quarters combat with him.

Those strange and bizarre abilities would also fail within it.

However......

"Sparring? Let's forget it." Sima Di said, curling his lip: "What I rely on isn't swordsmanship or physical techniques, it's this."

He pointed at his own head.

That is, with the Summit War about to begin,

otherwise, with Dragon Jing Yu Already's cooldown complete, whatever martial art he wanted to strengthen could be manifested in an instant.

Swords, spears, clubs, axes, halberds, hooks, forks—whatever you want, it's all available.

Moreover......

Sima Di had Lei Li's Realm of the Sword Master, and with "the same school of training," just looking at sword techniques, neither could do anything to the other, so in the end it would still come down to Haki and physical techniques.

But Lei Li didn't care!

He wanted to see just how fearsome the person who could drive off Borsalino truly was.

Then......

Sima Di looked at Lei Li kneeling beneath his sword, his expression helpless.

"I already said I didn't want to spar."

Lei Li: "......"

This kid really has no respect for his elders at all!

"Kid Di, you clearly have the ability to fight normally with people, don't you?" Lei Li said through gritted teeth as he stood up.

Looking at the situation,

there would be no end to today's matter without a fight.

"Fine, then I'll have a match with you."

"Magic-Forbidden Domain!"

The moment Magic-Forbidden Domain unfurled,

Nami and the other Devil Fruit users all changed expression!

"My Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"

Chopper had it even worse,

transforming directly from his cute "human form" into a reindeer, staring down at his own hooves in confusion.

Why had he suddenly transformed?

"Don't worry, this is my ability," Sima Di explained. "Within this Demon-Sealing Domain, all Devil Fruit powers are nullified. I've confined the Demon-Sealing Domain to the training room's range — once you step outside, everything returns to normal."

Saying so,

Sima Di demonstrated by raising his sword toward Usopp. The latter's face changed drastically and he scrambled backward, only to discover he wasn't being forced to "catch a bare blade empty-handed."

"R-really no effect at all?" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.

"Is this another new move developed from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit? What an enviable Devil Fruit indeed..." Sanji marveled.

That Sima Di could also turn invisible — he already knew about that too.

"But in that case, Di, doesn't that mean your Devil Fruit powers are unusable too?" Zoro raised the key point.

Sima Di nodded in admission.

This made everyone breathe a sigh of relief — at least it was still relatively "fair."

But even so...

The control was in Sima Di's hands. Against someone with strong Devil Fruit abilities, he'd force close combat; against a physical-combat expert, he'd bombard from range.

Tch!

All the advantages fell to Sima Di.

"Let's go. I'm really looking forward to seeing whether that old fellow Lei Li or the kid Di is stronger." Crocus led the way out.

The others followed as well.

The moment Chopper stepped through the great door, he reverted to his human form again, staring in delighted surprise at his own little arms and legs.

"Awesome! I'm back!"

Sima Di looked toward Lei Li, somewhat helpless.

"Wouldn't it be better to save some strength for Marineford? Why insist on picking a fight with me?" Sima Di complained.

"Cut the chatter — sword!"

Lei Li directly wrapped his blade in Armament Haki, and without any flourish at all, brought it down in a single slash!

Sima Di drew Hyōrinmaru, likewise wrapped his blade in Armament Haki, and raised his sword to block.

"Clang—"

The two had only exchanged a single attack and defense, yet the aura they unleashed already surpassed Zoro's full-power slash from earlier. The scattered shockwaves swept through the training room, bounced off the vibranium walls, and actually formed a visible air current!

Watching this, Zoro couldn't help but grip his sword hilt tighter. So this is what a clash between top-tier powerhouses looks like?

However...

Sima Di felt quite helpless.

How could his advanced Armament Haki contend with Lei Li's top-tier Armament Haki?

Moreover, Lei Li wasn't holding back at all — clearly intent on probing Sima Di's true capabilities, he kept aiming at Sima Di's empty left hand.

He was guarding against his Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.