A terrifying and overwhelming aura erupted from his body.
The world seemed to lose its color, the sky shifting into sudden darkness, as if nature itself had been startled.
Creed's eyes narrowed, and his Conqueror's Haki burst forth like a dam breaking.
It was like a violent storm, surging outward from him in all directions.
The wave of pressure came quickly and vanished just as fast.
Moments later—
Thud~ Thud~ Thud!
Like a row of dominoes toppling, the densely packed kingdom guards fell one by one to the ground, eyes rolled back, unconscious.
On the battlefield, aside from Creed, Ain, and Enel, fewer than ten kingdom guards remained standing.
These few were clearly the officers of the guard.
They stared wide-eyed, terror written across their faces as they looked at the unconscious bodies littering the ground.
Their gazes turned toward Creed, filled with disbelief.
What they had just witnessed was terrifying—mere seconds ago there had been thousands of kingdom guards, but now, fewer than ten were left conscious.
"What did you do to them?!"
"What ability did you use?!"
"Die!"
Hands trembling, they roared and charged at Creed, as though the act could drive away the fear gnawing at them.
The long swords in their hands came down in fierce arcs, unleashing bursts of sword energy aimed at Creed.
"How interesting."
Creed noted that this sword energy wasn't born from their own skill, but from the shells fixed to the hilts of their blades.
These were Slashing Dials, shells that could store compressed air and release it in the form of devastating slashes.
As the sword energy raced toward him, Creed didn't even lift an eyelid. Forming his fingers into a sword shape, he whispered:
"Mutouryuu: Zangeki (No-Sword Style: Slash)."
A single arc of sword energy burst forth from his fingers, instantly shattering the four slashes coming toward him.
Without losing momentum, it continued on, cleaving the opponents' weapons clean in half and sending them flying as if struck by a hammer.
"Stand down, you're no match for him."
A voice rang from above.
A figure descended from the sky—a man around forty, plain in appearance but towering nearly three meters, carrying a massive sword on his back. His eyes were piercing, razor sharp.
"C-Commander!"
Relief washed over the surviving guards as they saw the man.
"Blue Sea man, where is your entry permit?" the man asked.
"Entry permit? I don't have one."
He nodded slightly. "As I thought, you must be one of those who came via the Knock-Up Stream—a Blue Sea warrior."
There were only two ways to reach Skypiea: one was the safe Cloud River Sky Route, which required paying a hefty fee; the other was the Knock-Up Stream, a deadly route where only the strongest survived.
The man placed his right fist to his chest. "Blue Sea warrior, I am Barkley, Commander of the Birkian Kingdom's military forces."
Then his gaze sharpened. "Now, it's time to settle the matter of you injuring my kingdom's soldiers."
Slowly, he drew the massive sword from his back. A powerful sword aura began to radiate from him.
Creed studied him with interest—so, the Sky Island had its own strong fighters after all.
Using the system, he probed Barkley's strength:
[Name]: Barkley
[Abilities]: SS-rank Kenjutsu (Swordsmanship), S-rank Taijutsu, S-rank Mantra (Observation Haki)
[Overall Strength]: S+ Rank
A pure swordsman.
A true Great Swordsman
But there was something odd—despite his high overall rank, he didn't possess Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki).
Creed finally understood why, despite having a strong warrior like this, the Birkans had still been destroyed by Enel in the original timeline—without Armament Haki, they couldn't touch a Logia user like the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) Enel.
And Sky Island probably didn't have Seastone either.
"Come, then!"
Creed's voice was calm, but the air between them grew heavy and cold.
Barkley's eyes narrowed slightly—worthy of a Blue Sea warrior. He turned to his men and ordered, "Fall back, all of you."
The guards who had been knocked unconscious by Creed's Conqueror's Haki quickly scrambled to retreat; this was not an opponent they could face.
The two warriors' auras collided in the air.
Then Barkley's sword aura surged violently. Gripping his blade with both hands, he swung, unleashing a pale blue wave of sword energy.
Clang!
Creed's arm turned jet-black as Armament Haki coated it. He threw a punch forward—
The sword wave shattered instantly.
Barkley's heart skipped a beat—he'd destroyed it barehanded?
"What is that?" he asked, staring at Creed's blackened arm.
"Busoshoku Haki—an ability of the Blue Sea. You call your 'Mantra' Observation Haki."
"Hmph, flashy tricks!" Barkley replied. "I see you're a swordsman as well—then let me witness the swordsmanship of the Blue Sea!"
"Oh? You want to compete in swordsmanship with me?"
Creed slowly drew Rinne from his waist, his eyes sharpening, a cold light flashing within.
"In that case… as you wish."
Boom!
A massive surge of sword aura erupted from his body, sweeping across the field.
(End of Chapter)
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