His massive hands were placed in front of him, then brought together with a metallic clang, transforming into two shields that protected his entire body.
Boom boom boom boom!!
Countless sword auras slammed into the giant shield formed by his arms, like endless cannon blasts, the deafening roars resounding without pause.
For a full several dozen seconds, the bombardment continued before finally stopping.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the scene within was revealed.
The onlookers' eyes went wide in shock — the entire ground of the port was covered in dense, fine cracks, with not a single spot intact.
And yet, the arm-shield of the Iron Arm Madman was completely unscathed.
His arms returned to normal, then morphed back into mechanical form as he looked at Creed.
At that moment, Creed's figure ghosted in front of him, the Rinne blade coming down in a vertical slash.
The Iron Arm Madman covered his arm in Busōshoku Haki (Armament Haki) and raised it to block.
Clang~thud!
Blade met fist, sparks bursting in all directions.
The two once again engaged in fierce combat, the terrifying clash echoing outwards.
They collided at extreme speed.
In less than thirty seconds, they had already exchanged nearly a hundred blows.
They broke apart.
"En… Zan!! (Flame Slash)"
A pitch-black slash shot forth, igniting into flames, its speed terrifying as it streaked toward the Iron Arm Madman.
Boom!!
The Iron Arm Madman's hands came together again, blocking Creed's Flame Slash.
"You'll never break my defense. All my years sailing the seas, no swordsman has ever pierced it," the Iron Arm Madman said.
"My defense comes from my Devil Fruit ability — it doesn't cost me much stamina. But every slash you swing drains yours. When your stamina runs dry… that's when you die."
Creed's expression didn't change. He knew the man was right — his defense was from a Devil Fruit, and blocking Creed's attacks cost him little effort.
Whereas every slash Creed swung drained his own stamina.
In that case… best to end this quickly.
"Is that so? Then let's see if there truly is no slash you can't block!"
He took a deep breath, sword intent surging. Lightning arcs faintly danced across the Rinne's blade.
"Since you can block my Flame Slash… try this one!"
His lips parted slightly, all sword intent focusing into a single point as he swung horizontally.
"Kyō… Rai!! (Frightening Thunder)"
Zzt!
A streak of black lightning tore through the air, filling it with the stench of scorched ozone.
The Iron Arm Madman's face changed drastically as he hastily shifted his arms into defense mode.
Sss~bam!
But this time, it didn't hold.
The black lightning pierced his arm, leaving a small, finger-sized hole with charred edges.
Feeling the damage, the Iron Arm Madman's heart burned with shock and rage.
Impossible — his defense was breached!
Flame Slash focused on raw power, while Frightening Thunder focused on speed and penetration.
The Iron Arm Madman's face twisted. "Brat, so you can wound me — don't get cocky!"
Creed ignored him.
In truth, this fight was showing him many of his own shortcomings.
Indeed — only by battling an opponent of equal strength could one refine themselves.
He was now in an extremely strange state.
His five senses were sharper than ever — he could hear the breeze's whisper, fish swimming in the sea, the faint chirp of insects in the earth, the Iron Arm Madman's heavy breathing.
At some point, the sky had begun to drizzle.
The rain was thin, soft, endless — fragile, yet yielding.
Though it took long to describe, only seconds had passed.
Creed opened his eyes.
At that instant, his sword intent burned so brightly it was almost blinding.
"Your defense is indeed formidable. I should thank you — you've allowed me to perfect my second technique. So, with the move I just completed… I'll send you to the afterlife."
He spoke calmly, slowly gripping the Rinne. The movement was unhurried, yet flawless, without a single opening.
His sword intent now felt neither sharp nor aggressive.
Instead…
Instead, it felt soft, gentle — without any killing edge.
Yet the primal instinct buried in human genes made the onlookers' hair stand on end, their scalps prickling.
"In the third month of the human world, spring rain falls unbroken. Rain is soft, yet most wounding."
Creed tightened his grip on the Rinne, his sword intent flowing gently — then he suddenly swung.
"Rinne · Ningendō!! (Human Realm)"
Before everyone's eyes, his sword intent transformed into countless threads of soft rain, endlessly drifting toward the Iron Arm Madman like cotton — harmless in appearance.
But…
Seeing this, the Iron Arm Madman's eyes bulged in terror, his body staggering back several steps as he roared without dignity:
"Sword Intent!? Impossible!! How could you have Sword Intent!?"
That was the realm only top-tier master swordsmen could reach.
How could this boy possibly…!?
Though it was only the barest embryonic form, Creed truly possessed his own Sword Intent!
The Iron Arm Madman's heart trembled.
Looking at the endless rain-like sword qi, he knew there was no way to dodge. Despair flared into madness.
So what if he had Sword Intent? His defense was invincible!!
"Come then!!"
His arms transformed once again into two thick shields, covering his entire body, Busōshoku Haki surging to coat them.
The rain-like sword qi merged with the drizzle, falling toward him — impossible to distinguish rain from sword.
The fine rain finally touched the Iron Arm Madman.
No earth-shaking roar, no grandiose spectacle.
It was like a soft breeze passing, spring rain landing upon one's face.
Everything seemed unchanged, as if nothing had happened.
"Hahaha! I knew it wasn't possible — you couldn't have mastered Sword Intent!"
The Iron Arm Madman laughed, glancing around. Nothing had happened. A false alarm.
"Hahaha, scared me for a moment!"
Not far away, his crew members of the Giant Shield Pirates sighed in relief. The rain-like sword qi had also drifted to them.
Suddenly—
One crewman's laughter stopped abruptly, like a duck's quack cut short by a hand on its throat. His eyes went wide in horror, as if struck by something terrifying.
His body slowly crumpled to the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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