"Tengetsu… Ares?"
Roger's gaze shifted slightly as he caught sight of the awe-inspiring azure dragon looming overhead. He murmured in a low voice, "That guy left quite the impression. I'll remember his name."
He didn't know why, but somewhere deep in his heart, Roger felt a powerful premonition.
One day in the future, he was certain he would cross blades with this man named Ares.
It was a feeling that defied reason a sixth sense that only men like them could possess.
Fate moves in mysterious ways.
"Divine Wrath!!"
This was not the same technique as "Divine Departure." It was even more devastating. The surging Conqueror's Haki around Roger's body formed a black and crimson net of lightning that crackled wildly around him.
It was as if the heavens were being torn apart rifts split across the sky, jagged and wide.
"Lion Might, Imperial Sky Scroll!"
In the next instant, Shiki activated the powers of the Float-Float Fruit. The atmosphere compressed and condensed violently, forming the shape of a massive, translucent lion.
The explosive force generated by compressed air could rival that of a bomb but this wasn't just any air cannon. This was a colossal blast that could easily match the firepower of a missile.
Shiki ruled the skies like a king among the clouds.
Roger stood tall upon the earth, like a monarch reigning over the land.
"ROAR!!"
The towering transparent lion dozens of meters in height opened its maw with a thunderous roar that shook the heavens. It bounded forward, paws stepping on the very air itself, charging head-on into Roger's "Divine Wrath."
BOOM!!!
The moment the two devastating techniques collided, the world seemed to erupt in a primordial explosion. A massive shockwave blasted out in all directions, sweeping across the battlefield and beyond, stretching toward the distant horizon.
This was not a battle of men.
It was the clash of titans.
A duel between two of the strongest beings this world had ever seen.
And their unleashed power was enough to obliterate the island beneath them… perhaps even the entire world.
It was like watching the apocalypse unfold.
Far out at sea, dozens of nautical miles from the island…
A top-class Marine battleship was speeding toward the conflict zone.
Even from this great distance, the shockwaves from Roger and Shiki's clash reached the open sea fierce winds howled, and tidal waves rose in their wake.
Sitting on the deck, Garp casually picked his nose with his pinky finger, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"To cause waves like this from so far away… must be Roger and that damn lion again," he muttered.
Compared to Shiki, he was far more eager to give Roger a good beating.
Chuckling darkly, Garp said, "This time, I'll capture both Roger and the Golden Lion in one fell swoop."
His face brimmed with excitement.
Beside him, Zephyr stood with a serious expression, eyes fixed on the turbulent sea ahead.
"Fleet Admiral Kong knew exactly where Shiki was going…"
That thought weighed heavily in Zephyr's mind.
"There must be a highly placed informant within the Rocks Pirates."
"But that's not something I should speak of openly."
The fact that they were able to mobilize so quickly and that both he and Garp were dispatched immediately made the truth obvious.
Infiltrating pirate crews with undercover agents was nothing new in the world of the Marines.
Zephyr turned to the officer at his side and issued a calm order.
"Judging by the scale of the shockwaves, the enemy is in the middle of an intense battle. We'll wait until they're exhausted."
"Have the ship reduce speed. Stop thirty nautical miles from the target."
He knew well that fights between top-level combatants didn't end quickly. Maintaining distance and swooping in to clean up after the dust settled was the safest tactic.
The officer nodded and immediately relayed the order to the helmsman.
Garp furrowed his brow as he heard this, his expression thoughtful.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Back on the island…
The battle had raged for a full two hours.
It had reached a fever pitch.
Ares, in his azure dragon form, was covered in fresh wounds dozens of slashes cut deep into his flesh, revealing bone beneath, blood pouring freely.
His incredible regeneration ability was the only reason he was still standing.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh's body bore several burn marks. Even with his skill, evading the wide-area effects of dragon fire wasn't easy.
Their fight had reached a stalemate.
Hovering high in the sky, Ares suddenly recalled something Kaido had once said to him aboard the ship a suggestion for how to further develop the Azure Dragon Fruit's power.
"Maybe I can give it a try…"
A spark of inspiration flashed in Ares's mind. His golden eyes lit up.
He began coiling his massive dragon body into a circular spiral head at the top, tail below then started to spin rapidly in place.
As Ares twisted like a cyclone, the atmosphere around him warped and churned. Air currents began to swirl violently in tandem with his massive form.
Whirlpools began to appear in the sky.
Seeing this, Rayleigh's eyes shot open.
"He's charging up an even more powerful move… I can't let him finish it!"
The air trembled from the violent motion. Miniature twisters had begun forming already.
Rayleigh could sense it clearly this incoming attack would be catastrophic. Its destructive power might rival a natural disaster.
He couldn't allow it to land.
In the very next second, Rayleigh's aura exploded outward like a geyser. He closed his eyes, pouring his entire being into this one technique.
He raised his Supreme Grade Blade, "King of the Underworld."
"One-Sword Style, Judgment of the Underworld!"
In that moment, Rayleigh seemed to become Hades himself the god of the underworld.
Even with his eyes closed, it felt as though the world itself fell under his dominion.
He had merged with the flow of the universe, drawing upon its power for his attack.
Even a fraction of that harmony was enough to elevate the strength of his strike.
This was the realm of a true "Greatsword Master."
A master of the sword who stood at the very top.
The blade descended.
A dazzling arc of sword light, hundreds of meters long, carved its way through the sky like a divine blade delivering final judgment upon the coiled dragon above.
In the sky…
Ares's golden vertical pupils constricted. Every scale on his body bristled.
He felt a mortal threat something deeper than instinct a terror that gripped his soul.
This was no ordinary attack.
It was an execution.
Ares had not anticipated how long this new technique would take to charge.
The spiraling wind currents hadn't yet formed into a full-blown natural disaster.
And now, Rayleigh's judgment was falling.
The smaller tornadoes ten meters wide were shredded instantly upon contact with the incoming slash. The surrounding atmosphere itself began to fracture.
Half the sky remained calm. The other half descended into chaos.
And the calm half the one under Rayleigh's blade was expanding rapidly.
Ares knew he couldn't afford to stop spinning.
Changing techniques mid-spin was impossible he wouldn't have time to charge another attack to counter Rayleigh's.
There was only one choice left.
He had to use his own body reinforced by terrifying wind currents and meet the strike head-on.
His body turned crimson as Blood-Armament Haki coated his massive form.
The only option was to endure it.
To use his own flesh and blood to resist this godlike slash.
Ares's eyes narrowed.
"This next exchange… will decide it all.
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