CLANG—!!
Two flashes of sword light met in one place, instantly producing more than ten crisp clashes that merged into a continuous sound. Then, the two figures leaped back.
The black-clad ninja, holding the wakizashi 'Nogamigiri' in a reverse grip, stared at the golden-haired man opposite him, who casually lowered his blade, his heart filled with shock. He had definitely not held back just now, swinging at least eleven times in one second, yet every single blow had been easily blocked by his opponent, almost as if he had precognition. No, wait, this man's swordsmanship wasn't very advanced; he relied entirely on that predictive technique.
And he seemed to have seen this kind of technique before, with Kozuki Oden. Could it be the same one?
"You can predict the future, just like Kozuki Oden?" The ninja slowly pulled out a large scroll with red curses painted on it from behind his waist. "No wonder you're protecting Mai Hime..."
Victor lazily rested the sword on his shoulder, a mocking expression on his face.
"You must be the country bumpkin who's never seen the world, huh? Stop making excuses. If you don't attack, I'll make my move."
The ninja put the wakizashi back into his waist, his hands wildly waving, as several smoke bombs suddenly exploded at his feet! In Victor's perception, dozens of invisible shurikens swiftly attacked his vital points from all directions, but he remained calm, standing still with the sword on his shoulder. Yet, instantaneously, dozens of zippers, large and small, opened on his body, narrowly avoiding all the shurikens.
Metal Zipper: Spotted Pockets!
Then, the hilt of Victor's long sword 'Seimasun Hime' turned into a zipper. Victor swung it like a scythe a few times in the air and then directly threw it into the smoke where the ninja was!
The sharp blade instantly cut through the smoke, but it was already empty. Below, scattered footsteps could be heard, indicating that others had noticed the commotion in the captain's cabin and were quickly approaching the top floor.
"You guys stay downstairs and protect Mai Hime!" Victor shouted towards the door, then his long sword, transformed into a scythe, sliced across the ceiling, instantly cutting out a zipper. He pushed off the ground, lightly leaping through the zippered space above his head and directly onto the merchant ship's outer deck.
"Ninja Art: Weida Bones!"
The moment he landed on top of the merchant ship, a strong gust of wind came from behind Victor. He half-spun and delivered a side kick that slammed into the chest of his assailant. The opponent, caught off guard, only managed to shield his chest with his hands before being directly kicked into the air.
But at that moment! Two long swords, one from the left and one from the right, savagely struck at Victor, who had just exhausted his move! The left sword was accompanied by lightning, and the right sword was enveloped in a sinister wind!
"Ninja Art: Thunder Swift Cut!"
"Ninja Art: Wind Luo Strict Flow Scroll!"
Victor chuckled. The tips of his right hand's five fingers turned into zippers, and he spun, unleashing a sharp vortex composed of five golden chain blades centered around himself!
Metal Zipper: Five-String Biwa - Puppet Song!
Two chain blades wrapped around the uncharged hilt of the left lightning sword, while the other three chain blades wrapped around the blade of the right wind sword, sparking intensely. Then, these two famous swords directly transformed into zippers and were retrieved along with the five chain blades into Victor's hand, where they reverted back into sword form.
"What?! Is that sorcery?!" "Brother Lightning Blade, he stole my sword!"
These were two strange masked ninjas. One had a wind bag on his back, resembling the Wind God from Wano Country mythology, while the other had a thunder drum on his back, clearly imitating the Thunder God. At this moment, they stared at their empty hands in panic, clearly not understanding how Victor had magically snatched their weapons from a distance.
"That's why I said, don't just randomly fight a Paramecia user if you don't have Armament Haki and don't know their weaknesses, you country bumpkins from Wano..."
Victor tossed the two famous swords in his hand, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Hmm? Two more Grade Swords of Fifty Quality? 'Hidari no raijin' and 'Wind Pearl'? Wano Country has a lot of good weapons. How many of you Orochi Oniwabanshu came here? All of you, come out; I don't mind having too many weapons."
As he spoke, Victor put both famous swords, 'Hidari no raijin' and 'Wind Pearl,' into the zippered space in his palm, keeping only 'Seimasun Hime' in his hand, and smiled at the three ninjas opposite him.
"I apologize, Wind Blade, Lightning Blade.
This situation was sudden, and I didn't have time to explain this sorcerer's strange magic to you, which led to you falling into his trap!" The black-clad ninja said apologetically.
"It's alright, Goemon. We can get our swords back if we just kill this brat. Let's go, all of us!" Lightning Blade glared at Victor, who was still smiling and waving at him.
"...Alright, you prepare to release the blinding ninja art to obscure their vision. I'm going to use the strongest stealth ninja art 'Hidden Kill' to silently sever this brat's head... Hm?"
Suddenly, a gurgling sound came from the black-clad ninja, called Goemon. Under the contemptuous stares of Wind Blade and Lightning Blade, Goemon's face flushed slightly as he fumbled for his Den Den Mushi, trying to justify himself: "This Den Den Mushi really won't interfere with my stealth ninja art, honestly! You guys believe me, I'm a professional!"
After a few weak attempts at explanation, realizing that not only Wind Blade and Lightning Blade but even Victor was looking at him with disbelief, Goemon could only dejectedly answer the Den Den Mushi:
"Captain Fukurokuju, this is Goemon."
"Hmph... From your tone, I can tell the mission isn't complete. The Shogun has ordered you to abort the mission and immediately return to Wano Country." The Den Den Mushi transformed into the face of a bald old man with a high forehead and sunglasses.
"Eh? Wind Blade and Lightning Blade are here too, and Mai Hime's whereabouts have been confirmed. We're about to..."
"I said, immediately, return, to Wano Country." The voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was filled with anger. "The Shogun will be meeting Joker's representative in three months and requires the Orochi Oniwabanshu for close protection. If Wind Blade and Lightning Blade are with you, that's good. Tell them to come back right away."
Click! The Den Den Mushi on the other end disconnected.
The three ninjas exchanged glances. No matter how unwilling, a ninja's nature was to obey orders.
"Sorcerer, the next time we meet, my Brother and I will take your head!" Lightning Blade said resentfully.
"Brother Lightning Blade, you stole my line." Wind Blade looked helpless. Coming out on this trip, not only did they fail to complete the mission, but they also lost two Grade Swords of Fifty Quality. This was truly...
"A man like you will surely not be content to merely linger in this weak West Blue. When you enter the Grand Line, perhaps we shall meet again, and then we shall decide who is superior." The black-clad ninja Goemon's parting words were not to be outdone. He slammed his foot down, and with a loud bang, a cloud of smoke erupted on the merchant ship's deck.
Victor looked at the sky, speechless, as the three ninjas took to the air like human kites, drifting away with the wind. Oh well, at least they contributed two Grade Swords of Fifty Quality. No need to use Steel Chain Fingers to knock them down from the sky.
Ah, I didn't get 'Nogamigiri'! A miscalculation! Victor shook his head, opened a zippered space at his feet, and slipped back into the captain's cabin
.
Mai Hime now had a temporary weapon.
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