For Wang Zhi, this was a psychological impact unlike anything he had ever experienced.
If it had been just a handful of people, perhaps he could've brushed it off.
But what stood before him was an entire pirate crew dozens, if not over a hundred members.
Each one terrifying in their own right.
Clang!
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Gaban, gripping his twin axes, glared furiously at the man before him, Silver Axe.
Veins bulged on Gaban's muscular arms as he exerted raw force, yet both his axes were being completely held in place… by a single, even larger axe.
Silver Axe let out a shameless laugh, his silver-plated armor gleaming under the sunlight.
"Hey now, brother… You're seriously strong, no doubt about that," Silver Axe grinned slyly. "But do we really have to fight to the death?"
"Wouldn't it be more fun to just sit back and enjoy the real action?"
Gaban's expression turned darker.
The audacity of this guy to be distracted watching someone else's fight was a slap in the face. An insult to his strength. An insult to Wang Zhi.
And Silver Axe just kept running his mouth.
"You have any idea how perfect my body is under this armor? My face? I can't afford to let it get messed up! If that happens, the ladies on Hive Island are gonna cry their eyes out!"
With a sudden surge of strength, Silver Axe pushed Gaban back a step, casually striking a "this fight's boring" pose.
"Bastard…"
Gaban's teeth clenched. The man was clearly insane and his 'silver' personality matched the ridiculous armor he wore.
What a weirdo.
Before Gaban could explode in anger, Silver Axe shouted again, clearly more interested in the ongoing duel nearby.
"We're already over a hundred exchanges in, and Rayleigh's footwork is still sharp as ever! And that Tengetsu Ares kid his body's like a damn tank!"
"They're both exploiting their strengths to the fullest."
His words, though annoying, made Gaban instinctively glance toward the other fight.
His expression turned serious.
He whispered, "That blood-handed monster… Ares is this strong?"
"Even Rayleigh can't put him down?"
Gaban, of course, still believed Rayleigh would win. That man was someone he trusted with his back someone who never lost.
On the battlefield.
Ares swung a massive palm through the air, roaring wind trailing behind it.
But Rayleigh, guided by the keen sharpness of Observation Haki, easily dodged. The claw slammed into the sandy ground with a resounding boom, leaving a crater-sized palm print behind.
Rayleigh immediately countered, but Ares blocked the strike with his other hand.
The fight was locked in a stalemate.
Nearly an hour had passed since the two began clashing and neither had gained the upper hand.
In swordsmanship and Observation Haki, Rayleigh held the advantage.
But in raw physique and defense?
Ares reigned supreme.
And because of that…
Neither could overwhelm the other.
Rayleigh's face began to show a sheen of sweat, his stamina steadily draining. That was the cost of fighting someone with Ares's level of durability.
Ordinary attacks couldn't even scratch him.
So Rayleigh was forced to strike harder each time, maintaining enough force to breach those scaled defenses and the exertion was taking its toll.
"This is a first for me…"
"To face someone with this kind of monstrous defense."
Rayleigh now knew his plan for a quick victory had utterly failed.
So he stopped attacking.
He shifted his approach.
Constantly dodging Ares's relentless, earth-shattering strikes, Rayleigh began adjusting his rhythm, watching, waiting…
Looking for a true opening.
At the same time, Ares was growing increasingly frustrated.
"This guy's like a slippery eel. I can't pin him down at all."
Most of his attacks missed. Or grazed. Or struck nothing but air and sand.
Despite the roaring force of his every blow, none had landed a clean hit.
And that agitation began to build in his chest.
When he'd fought Zephyr, at least that man met him head-on.
But Rayleigh was different he was a tactician, a veteran.
And now, Ares's limited patience was being whittled away.
Rayleigh, ever perceptive, saw it clearly.
He smirked faintly.
"He's getting impatient. Good… it's working."
The tides were beginning to shift.
Ares's pupils flickered with red a wild glint rising within them.
Like a beast on the verge of madness.
"Body Art: Thirty-Sixfold Slash!"
Suddenly.
Ares's arms, legs, and his thick, black-furred dragon tail all sprang into action.
Dozens of blinding sword-light slashes exploded from his body, surging forward in a sweeping storm.
They blotted out the sky, crashing down toward Rayleigh with deafening intensity.
"Let's see how you dodge this!"
Every muscle in Ares's body bulged and twisted like serpents, even beneath his scales.
That tremendous power surged into his attacks, supercharging them with devastating force.
Each slash was several meters long.
Each carried power no ordinary swordsman could hope to match.
And among them.
The tail-generated slashes were by far the strongest.
Rayleigh's eyes narrowed.
Calm.
His mind entered a focused state.
Observation Haki surged to its maximum.
To him, each of Ares's slashes faster than the speed of sound suddenly looked… slow.
It was as if the air itself resisted them, dulling their speed.
In those tiny gaps between each slash…
Rayleigh weaved.
His body shifted left, right zigzagging like a pendulum across a battlefield.
Each movement deliberate. Controlled.
One slash missed.
Then another.
Then another.
Dozens of blinding strikes passed within inches of his skin but never touched him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
To anyone watching from the outside, Rayleigh's movements were dazzling like wind dancing through the storm.
But that kind of intense focus… the mental strain of absolute precision… was no small burden.
And when the final slash missed, all of Ares's attacks crashed into the ground behind him, kicking up enormous plumes of sand and debris.
Rayleigh's form vanished inside a rising cloud of golden dust.
Only a dark silhouette remained within.
But then.
Rayleigh's eyes lit up.
This was his domain now.
He specialized in Observation Haki.
And if both of them were fighting blind…
Only Rayleigh could truly "see."
He didn't hesitate.
With a few swift swings, Rayleigh unleashed several clumsy, erratic sword slashes.
They seemed random crude, even.
And from within the dust cloud, streaks of sword energy came flying toward Ares.
Ares's brow furrowed.
"What is this?"
"These slashes… none of them are aimed at me?"
"That can't be right. Rayleigh's swordsmanship would never be this sloppy."
His instincts screamed that something was off.
But since none of the attacks were aimed at him…
He didn't block them.
He just stood there, watching.
A mistake.
Because a moment later
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Multiple slashes detonated around Ares's feet in an instant, sending up massive clouds of sand like rising mushroom clouds.
The surrounding terrain was swallowed by dust and wind.
And then…
A low voice echoed through the haze.
"Now…"
"…you've stepped into my domain."
Rayleigh's voice.
Chilling. Calm.
And utterly confident.
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