Beat you? Uncle Bone Erosion, you said we have similar sword techniques how exactly do you expect me to defeat you!" Rin groaned in frustration. They had already sparred for quite some time, and their skills were nearly matched how could he possibly find a decisive edge over someone like that?
"If it weren't for the fact that part of my power was sealed away by the Bone Erosion Blade, you'd have already lost," Uncle Bone Erosion replied sharply. "And you still think you could have traded so many strikes with me? If I had unleashed even a few more advanced forms of the Sakura Sword Style, you would've been flat on your back already." What he said wasn't wrong Rin knew that. If not for the Bone Erosion Blade sapping its wielder's strength similar to how Enma drained haki from Zoro, Uncle Bone Erosion's mastery of the Sakura Sword Style would've overwhelmed Rin with a single precision slash.
"Then teach me Sakura Sword Style!" Rin demanded, eyes blazing with frustration and ambition. Ever since hearing about it during Uncle Bone Erosion's story, he had wanted to learn it. He had even caught glimpses of it during their fight, it flowed like petals in a storm but struck with the precision of a samurai lord.
"When you defeat me only then will I pass it on to you," Uncle Bone Erosion replied calmly, standing firm. It was an intentional challenge, one designed to test not just Rin's power but his resolve. He didn't think Rin could beat him not yet, anyway.
"Alas, Uncle Bone Erosion, do you really want someone to surpass you that badly?" Rin muttered, half sarcastically. Uncle Bone Erosion's overconfidence was maddening, but in truth, it only fueled Rin's own determination. He clenched his fists and made a vow to himself one day, he would defeat the man before him, surpass him, and wield a sword style worthy of the world's greatest masters.
"To break the curse, you must seek the one who cast it." Just then, Uncle Bone Erosion, who had been silently scanning their surroundings, uttered the phrase calmly, as if realizing something in the moment.
"What? Did you notice something?" Rin snapped to attention. The way Uncle Bone Erosion spoke meant he must've spotted some anomaly in the enchantment surrounding them.
"Did you notice?" the older swordsman asked, keeping his tone measured, eyes still trained on the barrier wall.
"Notice what?" Rin replied, eyebrows furrowed.
"Look carefully at the barrier wall." Uncle Bone Erosion pointed at the transparent layer that sealed them in.
Rin followed his gaze, eyes narrowing. "What's so special? It's just a clear barrier, isn't it?"
"No," Uncle Bone Erosion said, voice lowering. "Look again look at the smoke. Everywhere else in this cave, the purple-black smoke flows freely. But in this enclosed space? It's trapped just like us. The smoke is sealed inside the enchantment as well. It isn't escaping through the wall."
Only now did Rin notice it indeed, the smoke wasn't swirling out of the barrier. It lingered thickly inside, barely moving, as though sealed by the same magic that trapped them.
"So what?" Rin tilted his head. "It's just some smoke, it's not like that helps us break free."
"You still don't get it." Uncle Bone Erosion's voice grew serious. "That smoke… it's the same toxic essence that's been eating away at my body for years an unnatural miasma. If it was placed here with us, that means someone didn't just trap us randomly they wanted us to be in here with it. That tells me the enchantment was deliberately woven to contain the smoke as well. That's a clue."
Rin looked back at the smoke, this time with fresh suspicion. It wasn't just a byproduct of the cave, it was part of the trap. And if it was deliberately sealed inside, then maybe… maybe there was a flaw they hadn't seen yet.
"Remember what I just said 'To untie the bell, you must seek the one who tied it.' These purple-black smokes are not just residual energy they're remnants of a will embedded in the enchantment itself. The two of us can use that to our advantage. We'll trigger Ghost Slash again—amplify the corrupted aura and when the density reaches its limit, it will force a rupture in the barrier!" Uncle Bone Erosion's eyes sharpened as he observed the way the noxious smoke coiled within the sealed space. The idea came to him like a flash similar to how haki-based techniques could trigger reactions in cursed objects. The plan was to use the density and aggression of the smoke in tandem with their slash to create an overload.
"Burst it? Like a balloon?" Rin tilted his head in confusion, the visual a bit silly, but he got the basic idea. Still, he hadn't expected something so abstract.
"Yes something like that. But I can't channel enough force on my own. My Ghost Slash isn't potent enough solo because the Bone Erosion Blade saps my lifeforce, like how Enma drains Zoro's haki. But if we synchronize—merge our flows we might just have the strength to trigger a collapse." Uncle Bone Erosion's tone was serious. This wasn't just about slashing, it was about timing, power, and spiritual pressure.
"Is it really doable? Sounds a little far-fetched…" Rin frowned. The whole idea sounded unstable as if it might backfire.
"We don't have many options. But keep this in mind overusing Ghost Slash comes at a cost. Even Zoro was nearly overwhelmed when first using Enma. If you push your body past its limit without the proper control, you'll burn from the inside out." Uncle Bone Erosion warned with a grim tone. He needed Rin to understand the danger. This wasn't a game, it was a battle between survival and collapse.
"Tch…" Rin hesitated, knowing the risks. He had barely recovered from the earlier fight, and now they were talking about using that same technique again stronger, deeper.
"This is our only shot. Do you want to rot in here, waiting for salvation that might never come?" Uncle Bone Erosion's voice dropped—he wasn't scolding, but it was a sobering reminder. Sometimes in the One Piece world, even the strongest had to gamble.
"…Alright. Let's go for it." Rin clenched his fists, his resolve solidifying like steel. He wasn't going to die in this cursed fog—he'd bet everything on this last strike.
"Then brace yourself!" Uncle Bone Erosion unsheathed the Bone Erosion Blade, now humming with a cursed resonance, the aura thick like Enma's presence when unleashed. The purple-black mist curled tighter around it as if alive.
"Ghost Slash!" both of them roared at once. Thunder crackled faintly around Rin's blade, and the Bone Erosion Blade glowed with a cursed hue. In that instant, both swords were engulfed in writhing purple-black spiritual energy, the air around them distorting from the pressure like how advanced Conqueror's Haki caused visible rips in the battlefield.
The ground trembled, and the smoke inside the enchantment surged drawn into a vortex by the combined pressure of the Ghost Slash. It was like a living thing now, snarling and expanding as the resonance between the two blades spiraled out of control.
Then, Rin and Uncle Bone Erosion charged, their blades cutting through the density of the smoke and crashing toward the inner layer of the barrier. The impact released an explosive force, like two haki-infused slashes colliding at full tilt.
The enchantment groaned and pulsed then began to shake violently, as cracks splintered across its translucent surface.
———
Outside the barrier, Artoria, Enel (Anilu), and Kasa stood at a safe distance. They'd been waiting for any sign of movement from within the swirling, cursed vortex that had entrapped Rin for so long.
The area had cleared slightly as dusk fell. Locals who had gathered to witness the spectacle had all returned home, uninterested in staying through the eerie quiet. The tornado of smoke remained, a visual scar above the seafloor.
"BOOM!" The purple-black tornado enchantment suddenly erupted with a thunderous shockwave, sending tremors through the water around it. The sea floor rumbled violently as the currents twisted from the force.
"What the?!" Enel jolted upright from his crouch, startled by the sudden quake. His senses sparked instantly as he stared at the disturbance. "What the hell just happened?!"
"Rin." Artoria's eyes didn't leave the swirling epicenter. Her tone was calm but certain. "He's making his move."
The enchantment strained to its limit shattered at last with a booming roar. The explosion was so intense that it churned the water around it into a spiraling abyss. From within, energy pulsed outward a storm born from will, steel, and desperation.
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