Chapter 251: Fierce Battle
SHIIIIING!
A dazzling, magnificent golden sword slash burst forth from the blade, instantly cleaving through the void with an incomparably sharp whistle as it hurtled toward Rhodes.
Even before the attack arrived, the overwhelming sharpness of the technique had already reached heaven-piercing intensity. Sharp tearing sounds echoed from the ground before the temple as the very air was rent apart.
Furthermore, a vast sword intent enveloped Rhodes from afar—ordinary people subjected to this pressure would be paralyzed with terror even before the sword slash arrived.
Golden Lion's swordsmanship had clearly reached a state of absolute perfection.
Even though he'd lost both legs and wielded swords as prosthetic limbs, a Great Swordsman's essence lay in profound comprehension of swordsmanship at the deepest level—allowing him to unleash devastating strikes even in this compromised condition.
"Ha!"
Rhodes simply unleashed a distant slash in response.
While his pure swordsmanship remained inferior to Golden Lion's, his lightning-enhanced power was extraordinary.
A dazzling silver sword slash suddenly streaked across the sky, moving with incredible velocity and leaving trails of afterimages as it collided head-on with Golden Lion's attack.
BOOOOOM!
The two sword slashes met in spectacular fashion.
Above the temple, it was as if thunder itself had detonated. The immense force surged outward in all directions, stirring up violent winds, creating massive craters in the ground, and even causing the majestic temple structure to tremble ominously.
The clash between these two warriors resembled a collision of meteors—earth-shattering and resonating for miles in every direction.
"Hm?"
Golden Lion's expression shifted slightly. Hovering in midair with nowhere to dissipate the tremendous force, he inevitably floated upward several meters. Meanwhile, Rhodes—standing firmly on solid ground—didn't retreat a single step, though his feet subtly sank several inches into the stone beneath him.
This exchange resulted in a complete draw!
"This lightning enhancement..."
Golden Lion's brow furrowed with concentration.
He could clearly perceive that Rhodes, despite being inferior as a pure swordsman, was able to fight him—a legendary Great Swordsman—to a stalemate entirely due to that exaggerated lightning augmentation.
"Is this the extent of your strength?"
Rhodes stood with his blade held casually, faint silver electrical discharge shimmering across his skin. His long black hair whipped dramatically in the residual energy, a hint of calculated arrogance crossing his expression.
"Seems rather unimpressive. Compared to Whitebeard, you fall far short."
Hmph!
Hearing this deliberate provocation, Golden Lion couldn't help but sneer contemptuously.
"Arrogant brat!"
He decided to teach this youngster a painful lesson.
WHOOOOSH!
Golden Lion moved explosively, descending like a hunting hawk—swift and ferocious.
In mere moments, he traversed dozens of meters, materializing directly before Rhodes and slashing downward with devastating force. Both blade-legs were wrapped in terrifying Armament Haki, radiating a chilling, murderous aura.
Sword slashes were ultimately a swordsman's ranged attacks—far less lethal than direct blade contact at close quarters.
That chilling sword intent descended from above like judgment itself, as if attempting to freeze the very earth.
Witnessing this, Rhodes felt not concern but satisfaction.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi made Shiki exceptionally proficient at aerial combat—even more agile than natural birds. Rhodes had deliberately used provocative words to goad him into ground-level combat.
Perhaps Whitebeard's name had stirred old competitive instincts, or perhaps Shiki's mind had grown somewhat erratic after his catastrophic injuries and imprisonment, or perhaps he simply considered himself a senior swordsman confident in defeating Rhodes through close-quarters combat.
Regardless of the reason, Shiki had taken the bait, charging toward Rhodes for direct engagement.
And in close-quarters combat, Rhodes never feared anyone.
FLASH!
A burst of silver lightning, and Rhodes dodged Shiki's descending charge, repositioning to the side and slashing toward the upper body—the legendary pirate's potential weak point.
With both swords replacing his feet, targeting the upper body might prove more effective.
"Hm?!"
Startled by Rhodes' explosive speed, Shiki nonetheless remained composed. He'd wielded sword-legs for many years and had thoroughly mastered related combat techniques.
Almost the instant his Observation Haki detected Rhodes' movement, his body suddenly inverted mid-flight, then struck out with tremendous force.
CLAAANG!
The blades collided, instantly creating a deafening metallic ring as brilliant sparks erupted in all directions.
Rhodes' Armament Haki and pure swordsmanship were inferior to Shiki's, but he utilized his overwhelming speed advantage to achieve another draw. Both combatants retreated several meters, warily confronting each other with newfound respect.
Though they'd only exchanged blows twice, both warriors already understood precisely how formidable their opponent truly was.
One careless mistake, and death would follow instantly!
"Exhilarating!"
Rhodes laughed with genuine excitement, his body suddenly surging with crackling lightning before slashing downward with his blade.
"Rairyū—Thunder Dragon!"
KRAAAAAKOOOM!
A massive, lifelike thunder dragon burst forth from his sword, baring electrified fangs and claws as it charged toward Shiki with devastating power.
Faced with this technique, Shiki coldly snorted, his body floating slightly higher.
"Zan-geki—Slashing Wave!"
He performed a handstand in midair, then suddenly swung his right leg with explosive force, unleashing a colossal sword technique.
As he executed the strike, a terrifying golden sword slash—exceeding one thousand meters in length—ripped through the very earth itself, heading straight for the approaching thunder dragon.
BOOOOOM!
When the massive sword slash collided with the thunder dragon, an absolutely deafening roar followed.
An invisible shockwave rippled outward violently in all directions.
Golden Lion's strike possessed tangible, physical form—displaying astonishing sharpness in the collision. However, the thunder dragon proved equally relentless, its raging lightning constantly tearing at and eroding the golden sword energy.
Finally, with a tremendous explosion, both attacks dissipated simultaneously in a brilliant flash.
At that exact moment—
Rhodes, utilizing the ground for explosive propulsion and creating sharp sonic booms, suddenly materialized before Golden Lion and slashed downward with blinding speed.
Golden Lion remained utterly unfazed, meeting the attack with his own blade. However, Rhodes merely feinted—as if teleporting through space itself—instantly appearing at a completely different angle.
"The same trick won't work twice, boy."
Golden Lion sneered confidently. His combat experience was extraordinarily vast, and he'd already anticipated Rhodes' incredible speed, reacting with practiced efficiency.
With a light spinning motion, the blade on his foot deflected the attack perfectly.
CLANG!
The weapons clashed again, sparks flying dramatically.
Although Golden Lion had declined from his absolute prime due to age and injury, his Armament Haki remained superior to Rhodes', so he felt no concern about direct confrontations.
"Tch..."
Suddenly, Golden Lion's expression shifted as he sensed something distinctly wrong.
Rhodes' blade was actually cutting through the Armament Haki coating his sword-leg!
How is this possible?!
His swordsmanship and Haki were clearly superior—so how could Rhodes' blade demonstrate such impossible sharpness?
Despite his profound shock, Golden Lion maintained perfect composure. He pushed explosively off Rhodes' blade, using the momentum to retreat several meters with practiced grace.
As he withdrew, his sharp gaze fell upon the sword replacing his leg, discovering that during their previous clash, a small but noticeable nick had been carved into Kogarashi itself!
"Some kind of unique cutting technique...?"
Golden Lion took a deep, steadying breath, his eyes growing deadly serious.
He understood instinctively that with such extraordinary sharpness, even a single clean strike could prove fatal!
His already weakened life force—diminished from his catastrophic injuries years ago—couldn't withstand such a devastating attack.
"Shishi: Senkiridani—Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
Seeing Rhodes charging toward him once more, Golden Lion propelled himself higher into the air, then kicked wildly with both legs in rapid succession—instantly unleashing a storm of golden sword slashes that rained down upon Rhodes like divine judgment.
While these individual sword techniques weren't as overwhelmingly powerful as his Slashing Wave, their sheer number was absolutely staggering—blocking out all possible escape routes and leaving nowhere to dodge.
In an instant, Rhodes found himself in genuinely grave danger.
(End of Chapter)
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