Chapter 153

Among the crowd beneath the giant screen on the Shichibukai Islands, the silver-haired old man in a tattered white coat and glasses, Rayleigh, his eyes flickered with admiration and nostalgia as he smiled.

"You've really grown a lot, Luo En."

……

On an island in the New World.

Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, drank with his crew in a bar, watching the screen inside.

Beckman stared at the black-clad boy on the screen and exhaled a smoke ring.

"Captain, what do you think?"

"What do I think? Hmm… good prediction."

Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, chuckled as he drank.

Laki Lu, who was eating, nodded: "His evasion speed is fast too."

"But his attack isn't fast enough."

Jesus Boy smiled, "It'd still be tough to take on Huang Yuan."

……

137, Gu Yina's Thunder Flash — a desperate situation (combined)

Drum Island.

On the mountain of Drum, now severed in half.

The battle between Luo En and Huang Yuan intensified.

Luo En used the power of the Pika Pika no Mi to control three other swords, their blades dyed purple-black by Haki, and swiftly summoned countless slashes and sword qi, weaving them into a labyrinthine sword array that crisscrossed and sliced through everything, engulfing both of them to prevent Huang Yuan from turning into photons and fleeing at his terrifying speed.

Huang Yuan raised his hand and fired streams of laser beams from his glowing fingers — beams of immense penetration and destructive power.

The drawback is that they're easy to dodge.

Luo En used the Pika Pika no Mi to control vast blizzards into several giant ice dragons that lunged at Huang Yuan, but they too were sliced apart by Huang Yuan's blade of condensed photons — the Tengun Cloud Sword.

In this back-and-forth clash of abilities and strikes, the remaining half of Drum Mountain was gradually stripped away layer by layer.

On another battlefield.

The battle had reached its most intense point.

Xiao Qi and Luo Bin and the others finished off the elite marines and began concentrating their attacks on Daoberman.

Daoberman could block most attacks with his full-body Armament Haki, but under the relentless, continuous assault from the group, he struggled to counterattack and had to remain wary of the young woman with pink hair.

Her ability was extremely troublesome — if she touched you, you might lose your ability to fight.

Clang!

As Gu Yina's twin blades clashed with Ghost Spider's six swords, a web of crisscrossing slash qi flashed through the air.

The ground beneath them instantly shattered into countless fragments, resembling a spiderweb.

After this fierce clash of slashes.

Both retreated backward, separating by more than thirty meters.

Ghost Spider's helmet was shattered; his fierce face and chest bore multiple slash wounds. Gu Yina's shoulder and Hukou bled.

Evenly matched?

No — from the trembling of her arms, Gu Yina was slightly weaker.

"Again!"

Ghost Spider, enraged by the blows, roared at Gu Yina with boiling battle intent.

Gu Yina's Yu Guang flickered toward Konis's side.

It seems the time is nearly here…

She thought to herself, then exhaled a long breath, and under Ghost Spider's confused gaze, she sheathed her twin blades.

"Huh…"

Gu Yina drew a deep breath, her right hand gripping the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji at her waist, her body slightly crouching into a drawing stance.

Her entire sword aura and sword intent violently condensed, flowing into the blade, and golden lightning began to crackle around her.

A sense of danger rose in Ghost Spider's heart.

But his face broke into a grin of excitement.

"Going for a single sword to decide victory… interesting!"

He too assumed a sword stance; black Armament Haki instantly coated all eight of his blades, and a furious, violent sword aura erupted from him, soaring into the sky.

One outward, one inward.

Their completely opposing auras collided, thickening the air into something oppressive.

A breeze passed.

Ghost Spider stomped his foot — the ground shattered — and he slashed through the air with eight black blades hardened by Armament Haki, his entire sword aura enveloping him to form a colossal, death-oozing black spider that lunged at Gu Yina.

"Eight Spider — Death Slash!"

Wherever it passed.

The ground, the air — all were torn apart by sword qi.

"Lei Zhi Breathing, First Form."

Eyes closed, golden lightning shimmering around her, Gu Yina slammed her right foot hard against the ground; the earth beneath her sank, then cracked outward in fragments.

With a thunderous explosion that ripped through the air and deafened the surroundings —

Her figure vanished from where she stood.

A streak of golden lightning flashed through the air, slicing through the giant spider's body.

Gu Yina appeared where Ghost Spider had been, the Wado Ichimonji, coated in Armament Haki, slowly returning to its sheath.

"Pika—flash."

Gathered to a single point, brought to absolute perfection.

The pinnacle of Iaido swordsmanship, an eruption none could surpass.

Whoosh!

Apart from the blades in Spider-Man's two hands, the blades in his other six hands all snapped clean in two.

A single slash wound spread from his shoulder down to his waist, fresh blood gushing forth.

His eyes gradually lost consciousness, and before the stunned, awestruck gazes of countless people in front of their screens, he toppled downward.

The name of the vice-captain of the Air Disaster Pirates, the female swordsman Kuina—from this slash onward, her fame shook the seas!

"Hiss hiss hiss! What a terrifying Iaido slash—to think such power lurks inside that slender body, simply astonishing!"

"I think I just saw a bolt of golden lightning…"

"A Marine vice admiral… was defeated?!"

"That female swordsman of the Air Disaster Pirates is incredibly strong!"

"What happens next? Will the Marines lose?"

"Don't talk nonsense—how could the Marines possibly lose to criminals?"

"Hard to say—those guys aren't ordinary criminals…"

Just as the people before their screens were reeling over Kuina's victory and the vice admiral's defeat—

The next second, a scene no one could have anticipated unfolded!

A massive figure appeared beside Kuina as if by teleportation, a bear's paw swinging down toward her.

Kuina did react in time, but because of that all-out slash just now, she had no strength left to dodge—she could only watch helplessly as that bear's paw came crashing down on her.

In the instant that bear's paw struck her—

Whoosh!

Kuina's entire body vanished from the spot in a flash.

This sudden turn of events left everyone before their screens slack-jawed, staring dumbly at the bear holding a Bible on the screen.

"It's… one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew the Tyrant Bear!"

"He's finally made his move?"

"Just one strike, and that female swordsman vanished…"

"Is she dead?"

"No way…"

On the other side of the battlefield, Luo Bin and the others were still joining forces against Dauberman, paying no attention to what was happening on Kuina's end.