"ROOAAARRR!!"
Ares let out a thunderous cry that pierced the heavens like a divine dragon's roar shaking the skies.
In the world of pirates, there had always been myths of the so-called Sky Islands, lands floating thousands of meters above the clouds. Because they were so difficult to reach, most people believed they didn't exist at all.
But in truth, Sky Islands were real.
And there weren't just one or two. There were many scattered high above the world, hidden in the vault of the sky.
At that very moment when Ares's roar echoed across the heavens on an island called Visalia, floating in the upper atmosphere nearly ten thousand meters above the sea, every single resident heard that roar.
It carried an indomitable will that sent chills down their spines.
On that island...
A white-haired, kindly looking old man had just stepped out of his home when the roar struck his ears. His face turned pale in an instant.
"What a terrifying sound... to think it could pierce through the Sea of Clouds formed by the Emperor Cumulus and reach all the way to the upper sky."
"And it's still so clear and deafening..."
"I can't even begin to imagine what kind of monster could produce a sound like that..."
The voice alone carried enough pressure to make one's soul tremble. The elderly man was gripped by a deep, primal sense of unease.
Then, without hesitation, he grabbed several knotted ropes from inside his house and muttered:
"Wind, come!"
As he untied the knots, a gust of fierce wind abruptly surged around him.
The floating island of Visalia held aloft by air currents began to drift faster and faster, carried away by the summoned wind.
"I need to get the hell out of here. I don't even want to think about what's happening down below..."
The old man muttered to himself, his heart still racing.
Meanwhile, back below the sky island...
The full-force slash of the Judgment of the Underworld descended upon Ares.
It carried with it the wrath of a true master a power capable of obliterating all in its path.
The ground beneath Ares fractured like dry clay, massive chunks of stone launched into the sky from the impact.
The spiraling wind currents that Ares had just conjured scattered chaotically in all directions.
And then, the ultimate slash landed squarely on the mighty body of the azure dragon.
Ares had already shielded his vulnerable abdomen, coiling his body tightly. The rest of him covered in gleaming, diamond-shaped scales braced for impact.
Clang!!
The moment of contact sent out a deafening screech, like a giant circular saw tearing through solid steel.
The pirates scattered across the island winced and groaned in pain, clutching their ears to block the unbearable noise.
It was enough to rupture their eardrums.
Pain!
That was Ares's first sensation.
Next came the burning a scorching, searing agony erupting across every inch where his body met the slash.
Scale after scale shattered into the air like glass, glinting crimson under the sun.
Blood thick and bright red sprayed out like an opened fire hydrant, gushing in waves.
Even dragon scales, which were said to be ten times harder than steel, were no match for Rayleigh's devastating slash.
This... this was the strongest slash Ares had ever endured in his life.
No doubt about it.
Not even Mihawk the man hailed as the world's greatest swordsman during the war atop Marineford had unleashed something like this.
Because that had been a probing strike.
This... was an execution.
Rayleigh's true power as a Greatsword Master.
Now Ares truly understood what that meant.
And yet, despite the agony despite the blood pouring from his body he did not stop.
He continued to spin.
He forced himself to endure, grinding down the force of the slash through the momentum of his spiraling body.
He kept repeating to himself:
"This is my only chance. If I hold on... I can strike back."
No one likes pain.
Ares was no exception.
He was still human not some invincible god.
But pain... was something he had learned to live with.
Over the years, Ares had come to understand agony better than anyone else. His pain tolerance had long surpassed that of ordinary men.
He had even grown familiar with the sensation of death.
In countless dreams, he had felt the suffocating grip of dying. Felt the terror, the helplessness.
He had died many times in those dreams.
And then one day, in those dreamlike fragments visions he couldn't explain he had heard a quote that etched itself into his very soul.
"When do you think a person dies?
When their heart is pierced by a bullet?
No.
When they're struck by an incurable disease?
Also no.
Or when they eat a poisonous mushroom soup?
Wrong again.
A person dies... when they are forgotten by the world."
- Dr. Hiriluk
Some people live, yet are already dead.
Some die, but live on forever.
Ares had staked all his hope on a single belief.
On a dream.
That one day, he would forge his body into a blade that could surpass even the Supreme Grade Blades becoming a living legend that would never be forgotten.
A sword named Ares.
A name that every swordsman in the world would look up to.
A mountain they could never climb over.
The pinnacle of the sword.
This was the legacy of his clan the dream etched into the blood of the Tengetsu family.
Blood sprayed from Ares's massive body, staining the sky with a dark crimson mist.
So much blood had been lost, it could easily have come from dozens of men. And yet... he did not stop spinning.
In fact if anything he spun faster.
Fueled by the pain. The fury. The will.
And behind him, the winds began to twist and surge again.
Tornadoes took shape dozens of them spiraling upward with a thunderous roar, each one like a cry of vengeance from the heavens.
It was a sound that rattled the soul.
Rayleigh watched this unfold, breath shallow.
How much longer can he endure...?
Even Rayleigh his opponent couldn't help but feel a flicker of awe.
Ares's body was torn and shredded. The injuries were horrific.
And yet... he did not fall.
If it had been Rayleigh in his place, he wasn't sure he could've kept going either.
But Ares wasn't just standing he was ready to strike back.
There was a silent bond that formed between true warriors.
A recognition.
Respect born not out of kindness, but out of battle.
Tengetsu Ares, for all his unpredictable moves and relentless aggression had earned that respect.
His persistence, his insane tolerance for pain, his unwavering spirit… all of it left a mark on Rayleigh.
"The wind is rising again…"
"Is it time for his counterattack?"
With his powerful Observation Haki, Rayleigh sensed what was coming.
The pressure behind Ares's tornadoes had reached a peak.
This would be the turning point.
Rayleigh, face pale from blood loss, steeled himself.
He gripped his sword tighter.
And prepared for the storm.
Then just as the wind reached its crescendo.
From the blood-soaked dragon's maw came a furious cry:
"Dragon Twister, Gale Ruin!!"
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