Chapter 252: Determination
The battle between these two legendary fighters was incredibly intense—each clash utterly earth-shattering in its magnitude.
Because the clouds had been completely dispersed by their earlier Conqueror's Haki collision, all the residents of Skypiea could vaguely observe the catastrophic battle unfolding above the temple grounds.
Rhodes had brought unprecedented peace and prosperity to Skypiea, and stood as their divine protector. Everyone desperately hoped he would emerge victorious.
"He must win!"
Conis and the other Skypiea residents clasped their hands together in fervent prayer, their voices rising in unified supplication.
Gan Fall had retreated to Jinbe's side, his weathered expression filled with profound worry.
Jinbe shared similar concerns. He secretly clenched his fists, mentally preparing to intervene if Rhodes found himself overwhelmed. With his strength, he could at least buy Rhodes some crucial time or create an opening.
Meanwhile, facing the devastating sword slash net unleashed by Shiki's Thousand Slice Valley technique, Rhodes released a soft snort of determination and actually charged directly toward it.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
He'd already pushed his body to its absolute limit, his speed becoming truly extraordinary. Simultaneously activating his Observation Haki to its fullest extent, his figure flashed multiple times in rapid succession—weaving through gaps in the golden sword slashes like threading a needle, bursting through the deadly net and charging straight toward Shiki.
"Your Observation Haki is quite refined, I'll admit."
Golden Lion's eyes flashed with grudging respect as he met Rhodes' attack with a powerful counter-strike. However, they separated almost instantly—Shiki using the momentum to create distance, refusing to give Rhodes another opportunity to exploit that mysterious cutting technique.
Rhodes remained unconcerned, pressing forward relentlessly with his blade, his fighting spirit burning high.
He'd now roughly gauged Golden Lion's current capabilities.
While Shiki remained a Great Swordsman in terms of pure offensive technique, having lost both legs and substituting sword-prosthetics significantly compromised his overall combat effectiveness. His current attack power roughly equaled that of a Marine Admiral like Aokiji.
His Haki intensity also measured similarly to Admiral-level.
His raw speed was inferior to Rhodes', but his ability to maneuver freely through three-dimensional aerial space made him extremely difficult to pin down.
In summary, Golden Lion's present strength roughly equated to a Marine Admiral's level.
Such an opponent—a legendary Great Swordsman—was precisely what Rhodes craved: an opportunity to hone his skills against supreme-tier competition.
At this moment, Golden Lion—wary of Rhodes' electromagnetic cutting technique and explosive speed—found himself forced to retreat repeatedly. For the first time in decades, he'd been pushed onto the defensive.
This mounting frustration triggered his old head injury, causing sharp pains to flare up periodically and disrupting his concentration.
"An opening!"
In clashes between masters, victory often hinged on microseconds.
Rhodes keenly sensed the fleeting instant of Shiki's mental fluctuation and explosively unleashed his lightning abilities.
"Raijū—Lightning Sphere!"
Over a dozen crackling spheres of condensed lightning suddenly burst forth from Rhodes' body, hurtling toward Shiki with devastating intent.
This represented an upgraded version of the lightning techniques he'd employed during the Paramount War.
These spheres contained far more compressed and concentrated lightning energy, dramatically enhancing their paralytic effects.
If they struck Shiki directly, Rhodes felt confident he could paralyze the legendary pirate for at least half a second.
And for a combatant of Rhodes' speed, half a second was more than sufficient to end the entire battle.
However, Shiki was, after all, a legendary pirate possessing immense combat experience and honed battle instincts. Witnessing the attack, he instantly pushed his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi abilities to their absolute limit, retreating explosively and barely evading Rhodes' lightning spheres.
But in that critical instant, the spheres detonated.
KRAKABOOOOOM!
A terrifying electromagnetic shockwave rippled outward violently, instantly striking the unprepared Shiki and blasting him backward through the air.
Affected by the residual lightning discharge, Golden Lion wasn't fully paralyzed, but his magnificent golden hair stood completely on end—pointing straight toward the heavens and making him resemble some kind of Super Saiyan transformation.
He ignored this indignity entirely, focusing all his attention on Rhodes while secretly exhaling a puff of black smoke from his cigar to steady his nerves.
This is proving more troublesome than expected, Rhodes assessed, recognizing the inherent difficulty of battling peak-level experts.
Opponents at Admiral-level—also classified as peak-tier combatants—meant they'd reached the absolute pinnacle in every relevant category: speed, strength, Haki mastery, stamina, combat experience, and more.
They possessed no obvious exploitable weaknesses, like Aokiji, Kizaru, and Golden Lion himself.
According to Rhodes' personal classification system:
Fighters like Jinbe, Doflamingo, the Calamities and Sweet Commanders, Whitebeard's top division commanders, and Admiral candidates were either second only to Admirals in all aspects, or had reached Admiral-level in one or two specific areas.
Such individuals could engage Admirals in combat, but their probability of victory in prolonged battles remained very low.
Once someone reached Admiral-level across all relevant parameters, they possessed genuine Admiral-class strength.
As for the Four Emperors...
Based on Rhodes' understanding and personal combat experience, they must have achieved Admiral-level across all aspects, with at least one characteristic being exceptionally outstanding—surpassing even Admiral standards.
For example, Whitebeard's utterly unreasonable offensive power that could literally crack the world itself, or Kaido's absurdly immortal physique that defied all conventional logic...
In this respect, Rhodes' own strength classification remained somewhat ambiguous.
His raw physical power, Haki intensity, and even pure swordsmanship hadn't quite reached true Admiral-level—though his lightning enhancement's potency certainly had. From these perspectives alone, Rhodes wasn't actually that formidable.
However, his speed was absolutely exaggerated—nearly surpassing Admiral-level entirely and approaching Yonko-class velocity.
Therefore, throughout his various battles, he'd fought with remarkable ease, able to advance or retreat at will. When he chose not to sustain injuries, virtually no one could prevent his escape or dictate engagement terms.
Golden Lion Shiki, at this precise moment, felt genuinely troubled by this reality.
In martial combat, overwhelming speed breaks all defenses.
Rhodes' velocity was simply too extreme, which severely limited Shiki's various tactical options and forced him into purely defensive responses.
Crackle—BOOM! Crackle—BOOM!
The distinctive sounds of clashing blades and explosive energy filled the air as the two warriors exchanged blows repeatedly under Jinbe and the spectators' watchful eyes, creating astonishing shockwaves with each collision. Occasionally, stray sword slashes would shoot outward, cleaving distant cloud formations cleanly in two.
However, Rhodes maintained offensive pressure throughout while Shiki could only defend and counter.
As the ancient saying went: prolonged defense inevitably leads to mistakes. If this pattern continued, the legendary Shiki might genuinely be slain here on Skypiea.
Shiki felt sharp pain from a fresh sword wound across his chest—a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he recognized it as the result of a momentary lapse in concentration that Rhodes had ruthlessly exploited.
I must change tactics, the thought flashed through his tactical mind, and without hesitation, he rocketed upward into the open sky.
Shiki finally acknowledged—and had to admit—that this youngster, an entire generation removed from his era, had genuinely reached comparable strength levels.
He needed to utilize his aerial superiority advantage to have any realistic chance of turning this battle's tide.
"Taking to the sky?"
Rhodes frowned with concern. Aerial combat was fundamentally different from ground-based engagement.
It was analogous to transitioning from two-dimensional to three-dimensional warfare—the enemy's attack angles and evasive maneuvers would become exponentially more unpredictable and erratic.
Most critically...
Rhodes' only reliable method of aerial mobility was Geppo—Moonwalk—which not only consumed considerable stamina but also lacked the fluid agility necessary to match a Fuwa Fuwa no Mi user's capabilities.
However, having fought this intensely already, Rhodes refused to simply let Shiki escape or dictate terms.
He'd always eliminated enemies with absolute finality when facing genuine threats.
Therefore, Rhodes decided to take the calculated risk.
Otherwise, with one combatant airborne and the other grounded, constantly exchanging long-range energy attacks, neither could deliver a decisive killing blow.
So after only the briefest hesitation, he stomped the temple ground with explosive force and launched himself toward Shiki using Geppo.
"Seeking death!"
At this moment, Shiki—now comfortably positioned in his element—finally felt secure. He gazed down at the approaching Rhodes, his eyes bloodshot with accumulated frustration, and coldly snorted with contempt.
Being forced into aerial retreat by Rhodes had clearly wounded this proud legendary pirate's ego severely.
"Die here!"
"Jūmonji Zan—Cross Slash Wave!"
Shiki swung both legs with tremendous force, displaying a Great Swordsman's technique to its absolute fullest extent—unleashing a massive cross-shaped golden sword slash that descended toward Rhodes with annihilating intent.
(End of Chapter)
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