A sword light soared to the heavens, the black blade aura magnificent and fierce.
As the blade cut forward, the ground split apart, the earth upheaving and shattering.
Drawn by the sword aura, the broken earth surged backward like a flood, merging with countless wailing specters to crash toward Barkley.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Barkley's sword aura surged, releasing a biting chill as he sent forth a massive pale-blue slash to resist.
But it was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree—utterly futile.
The slash was instantly pulverized.
The black blade aura, carrying the torrent of rubble, smashed into him and sent his body flying.
For a moment, he felt as though his soul had frozen, half his body refusing to move.
The attack's momentum did not stop there—it destroyed several streets and carved deep into the nearby White Sea, splitting the water's surface apart.
In the distance…
Countless onlookers swallowed hard, staring at the scene in horror.
One strike had gone clean through Birkia City and into the White Sea itself.
Barkley's heart shook violently. It was as if something had struck his very spirit. His lips moved, mumbling:
"Sword God… the Realm of the Sword God!"
This was the supreme state his family had pursued for generations—the Sword God's Realm!
The opponent had just displayed the unique sword presence that only the legendary Sword Gods were said to possess.
A state he had trained half his life for but never reached, a door he had knocked upon endlessly but never opened.
Sword God?
Creed tilted his head slightly. He figured they were talking about what, in the Blue Sea, was simply called a top-tier master swordsman.
Who would have thought it was called Sword God on Sky Island?
Barkley staggered up from the ground, his appearance utterly miserable.
That slash hadn't even hit him directly—if it had, he'd have been seriously injured and unable to stand.
Then his eyes froze. He looked to his right hand.
In it, he held half a sword.
The other half lay broken on the ground.
He opened his mouth slightly, dazed.
Broken?
The blade that had accompanied him for most of his life… was gone.
He stood there for a long while, swaying slightly, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.
"I… I've lost!" Barkley said at last, his whole being suddenly deflated. The spirit that had filled his three-meter frame seemed to vanish, leaving him small and hunched.
In the distance, the kingdom's guards fell silent.
Defeated.
Their commander.
The guardian of Sky Island, their strongest man.
Defeated!
"Your sword path has gone astray," Creed said calmly. "A swordsman should not see only the sword before his eyes. If you do, your path will narrow more and more. Spinning in circles down a dead end will get you nowhere."
Such pure swordsmen were rare—the type who believed that as long as they held a sword, they could be invincible.
In other words… sword fanatics.
"Gone astray…?"
"That's right." Creed scratched his head. "Hard to explain, but if you cling only to your sword, you'll meet someone stronger and won't even be able to protect it, let alone clash on equal footing."
Barkley glanced at the broken sword in his hand.
Yes… it was true.
"Fight more. Only in battle will you understand. Only in battle will you grow," Creed continued. "And as for this Sword God title? In the Blue Sea, we call it top-tier master swordsman. Plenty of people have reached it. Down there, there are countless sword styles—One-Sword Style, Two-Sword Style, Three-Sword Style, even Six-Sword Style."
Barkley's eyes lit up again, his fighting spirit rekindled.
"The Blue Sea, huh…" he murmured.
…
"By the way, I'm heading to the Birkian Royal Palace. You won't stop me, will you?" Creed asked with a grin.
Barkley froze, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
He had already lost. What more could he say?
With the opponent's strength, wiping out the entire Sky Island would only take more time, nothing more.
Besides, he could feel there was no malice.
If there had been, he would already be a corpse.
"I'll take you there," he said. He was worried someone in the palace would fail to read the situation and provoke the man, bringing ruin upon them all.
"Then lead the way," Creed said, turning to Ain and Enel. "Let's go."
"O-Oh," Enel replied, as if waking from a dream. He quickly followed, glancing back at the street left in ruins and recalling the terrifying fight. His mind spun. The two people he'd met… were monsters of unimaginable power.
Even the strongest man on Sky Island couldn't stand against them.
The group made their way toward the Birkian Royal Palace…
Creed had decided to go there on the spot. Partly to see what the palace looked like, but more importantly—for the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit).
At this point in time, Enel hadn't eaten it yet.
According to the original timeline, Enel destroyed Birkia six years before Luffy set sail—that is, two years from now.
He must have eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, spent two years mastering it, and then destroyed Birkia.
If there was one place most likely to hold the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, it was surely the Birkian Royal Palace.
(End of Chapter)
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