Chapter 355: The Valkyrie Beats Borsalino
As Scáthach spoke, she moved. The magic spear in her hand turned into a flash of red light, slicing past Borsalino's cheek at incredible speed, leaving a small cut on his side.
"…!" Borsalino immediately stopped his other thoughts, focusing entirely on responding to Scáthach 's next move.
A slight stinging sensation spread across his face, and warm red liquid began to slowly drip from the wound.
"That's an incredible speed for a strike, even I was surprised~" Borsalino's tone was still casual, but inside, he was fully alert and prepared.
"That was just a warning shot. The real show begins now," Scáthach released her left hand from the spear's grip, letting another identical spear manifest like an illusion in her palm.
In that instant, Scáthach struck again, the spear's blade slicing the air with a sharp screech as it aimed directly for Borsalino's abdomen.
Borsalino activated his Observation Haki to its utmost limit, and his abdomen became elementalized, creating a hole to avoid the overwhelming strike.
After missing, Scáthach didn't retract the spear. Instead, she adjusted her grip and swung it upwards.
Borsalino, shocked by this unexpected attack, broke into a cold sweat as his body turned into a flash of yellow light, quickly retreating to avoid being disemboweled.
"Ah~ 'Magic Spear,' your double spear technique is really unfair..." Borsalino's tall, slender figure just emerged from the yellow light.
Scáthach 's right boot stomped hard on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust as she leapt into the air, chasing Borsalino with a trail of stars shooting toward him.
Borsalino raised his sword to block the devastating blow, spinning his wrist to redirect the Amatsukami sword and deflect the second strike.
"Such frightening spear skills~" Borsalino sighed in relief, but before he could finish, dozens of magic spear illusions appeared behind Scáthach , turning from virtual to real and shooting toward Borsalino under her control.
Borsalino again transformed into a streak of yellow light, retreating swiftly, but the magic spears followed him like an unshakable curse.
"Clang clang clang"
The sword in Borsalino's hand danced like a flurry of light, deflecting every spear aimed at him.
"Shadow Mage!"
A dark figure emerged from the ground, catching two spinning spears that had been sent flying, and with Scáthach 's body charging from another direction, they closed in on Borsalino from both sides.
Scáthach had already merged with her spear, becoming a blur that appeared right in front of Borsalino.
"If two attacks come at the same time, that's really troublesome~ Magic Spear!" Borsalino swung the Amatsukami sword at Scáthach .
"Shadow Warrior!"
Just before their attacks collided, Scáthach 's body and the shadow's position switched places. The shadow's spears crossed to block Borsalino's powerful downward slash.
"What?!" Borsalino was taken aback, his body poised to act.
"I am the spear!"
In the next moment, a spear-like light appeared, moving like lightning and thunder, with the spear's force cutting through the wind and overwhelming Borsalino.
Borsalino tried to sidestep but couldn't fully avoid the strike. The red thunderous impact crashed into his abdomen.
The massive force sent Borsalino flying, his body turning into yellow light and slamming into a building.
"Oooh..." Esdeath, who was healing nearby, furrowed her brows, observing the collapsing structure.
Suddenly, brilliant light exploded from the ruins as Borsalino shot out from the fallen building, making a beeline for Esdeath. Without hesitation, he summoned another Amatsukami sword and aimed a decisive strike toward Esdeath, who was seated and healing.
"Mahapadma !" A cold blue light flashed, freezing time for a moment. Esdeath dodged the fatal strike, thrusting her rapier through Borsalino before pulling it back and stepping away.
"Poof-hah——!" As time resumed, the sharp pain flooded Borsalino's mind, and the sight of Esdeath disappeared. His abdomen was punctured with two holes, and the injury was compounded by internal bleeding, with icy frost spreading over the wounds.
"You used a time-stop technique..." Borsalino's lips twitched, "You didn't pierce my heart or cut off my head?"
"Sorry~" Esdeath ignored Borsalino's question and turned to apologize to Scáthach , "This guy suddenly attacked me, so I instinctively fought back."
"It's my fault, I didn't expect him to insist on eliminating one of us first." The sound of steel boots echoed from behind, and Scáthach 's spear poked the ground slowly.
"To just kill you would be too much of a waste, Borsalino." Esdeath smiled cruelly and said, "Let me enjoy this a bit longer!"
"Really scary~" Borsalino's eyes widened, "Aren't the members of the Dawn Pirate Crew afraid of this person?"
Esdeath immediately responded, "Why would we be afraid? Eric actually enjoys this kind of play."
Scáthach : "…"
Borsalino: "…"
"Since this guy attacked me, let me join in the fight between you two."
"That's unavoidable." Scáthach sighed without expression and stood side by side with Esdeath.
"Ah~" Borsalino shrugged, "Did I just poke a hornet's nest?"
[Life Return] Borsalino silently controlled his torn intestines, sealing the wound that continued to bleed.
Esdeath asked, "Are you ready?"
Scáthach replied, "I'm ready to go."
"Then—" Both of them shouted at the same time, "I'll go!"
A circular wave of air formed around them, and despite the sword wound on Esdeath's chest, it didn't hinder her movements. She was faster than her previous assault, and her figure disappeared from her original position in an instant.
Scáthach 's shadow attached to her body, and her purple bodysuit was covered by a layer of black markings. With her enhanced physical abilities, Scáthach broke through the sound barrier, and the white airflow exploded in front of her.
The two warlike Valkyries of the Dawn Pirate Crew launched their most ferocious attack toward Borsalino.
A massive wave of white freezing air surged forward like a giant wave, and countless red spear shadows shot toward him like a towering wall.
"Yata no Kagami!" Borsalino's index finger glowed brightly, and in an instant, countless dazzling light bullets exploded outward, creating a barrage of light that collided violently with the giant wave and the wall of spears.
The light roared, the air churned, and the shadows howled. The three forces clashed, and the explosion that resulted seemed to shake the entire island.
…
Kurumi's clone led the group, walking down the corridor toward the data storage warehouse.
The group paused, sensing a slight tremor in the ground. Erza frowned and asked, "What is this? An earthquake?"
"No." Eric , who was always monitoring the battle, replied, "It's the residual shockwaves from Esdeath and Scáthach 's fight with Borsalino."
Porche mumbled softly, "Only a monster can stop a monster."
"I'll be sure to tell Esdeath exactly what you said."
"No!" Porche immediately threw himself at Eric 's legs, tearfully begging, "Don't tell General Esdeath!"
"You have that kind of hobby?" Erza's gaze turned cold.
"Of course not!" Eric quickly grabbed Porche, "Just kidding, stop crying."
As they walked down the corridor, the lights flickered due to the shaking, and the group finally reached their destination.
"This is it." Kurumi fired a shot to break the door's lock.
When the door to the warehouse opened, Miku 's eyes widened in shock at the pile of white papers stacked high. "So much data?!"
"After years of being an experimental base, it's not surprising to have so much research data." Eric turned to Reiju and asked, "Can you understand any of this?"
Reiju picked up a research plan and read it carefully, but, unfortunately, she only had superhuman strength and didn't inherit Judge's intelligence, so she shook her head in disappointment, "Sorry."
Kurome sighed, "With so many files, even if I summoned all my puppets, I wouldn't be able to carry them all at once."
Gin volunteered, "I can turn into a giant dragon and carry all the files."
Artoria clapped her hands, "That's a good idea."
"Ah, I'll take care of the file moving," Kurumi elegantly stepped forward. Her shadow stretched toward the pile of files, and once the shadow engulfed them, the pile slowly sank into it, the height of the files steadily decreasing.
"Our secondary mission is complete, time to head back to the ship."
As the group exited the experimental base, they felt the ground tremble, the shockwaves reverberating in the air. The wind swept toward them, and the earth beneath their feet shook, coming toward them from both directions.
"They're still fighting..." Artoria's battle spirit flared up, "I want to join in too."
…
"That's Esdeath and Scáthach fighting, right?" Deidara , standing on the back of the explosive clay giant bird, turned his head toward the direction where the air was trembling.
"The other presence—Borsalino, no wonder they need two people. Hm," Deidara casually threw a few explosive clay bombs into the air, flapping his wings as he drilled into the cannon, "Hah!"
"Boom!" There was a massive explosion, and several coastal defense cannon barrels immediately exploded.
"Alright, this is the last coastal defense turret. Hm."
"We're done here too." A voice from the headset, from Chiron, said, "All Marine warships have been sunk."
"Then I should head back," Deidara stretched, finally satisfied after blowing up the Marine base's defense system single-handedly.
The steel warship slowly moved through the sinking Marine ships on both sides, ignoring the Marines in the sea, making its way toward the port.
Watching the Marines swim, Yoshino flinched slightly and shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't be afraid," Wendy comforted her, "We'll protect you!"
Yoshino whispered, "But the fighting is so brutal..."
"After all, they're the enemy." Kuina, once again playing the villain, said, "If we don't defeat them, they'll capture you and do **..."
"That's right!" Yoshino's doll in her left hand screamed loudly, "If we don't beat them, how will Eric and the others come back?"
"Yes, yes..." Yoshino whispered, motivating herself, "I'll... I'll fight hard in the future!"
…
The air above Punk Hazard was boiling with intensity as Borsalino's Amatsukami sword continuously clashed with Esdeath's rapier and Scáthach 's double spears. The shockwaves of their battle built up, tearing apart the white clouds in the sky.
The ground cracked and sank, and the once beautiful scenery was now ravaged by storms and earthquakes.
Surrounding buildings collapsed under the constant shockwaves, and the unrelenting tremors affected the entire Punk Hazard island.
Borsalino was in peril, narrowly avoiding defeat against Esdeath and Scáthach 's combined assault. If he wasn't using the speed of the Light-Light Fruit, he would have fallen in this battle.
Borsalino's Amatsukami sword shone brilliantly, its light so dazzling that even the sun seemed to lose its radiance.
In the face of this massive light pollution, Esdeath's famous sword slashed toward Borsalino with the power of wind and thunder, no flashy moves, just raw power as light and ice clashed between them.
Scáthach 's red magic spear, like a dragon, crackled with Haoshoku Haki and electric arcs, striking Borsalino with overwhelming force.
When the spear pierced Borsalino, his form exploded into light and reformed a few meters away.
"Truly terrifying~ Only two of you and I'm almost powerless."
"Don't joke," Esdeath's rapier pointed directly at Borsalino, "You haven't even shown any will to fight."
"True," Scáthach said without expression, but Borsalino could hear the implied anger in her voice, "Is this really what you call a warrior?!"
"Ah~" Borsalino scratched his head, "I'm just a Marine Admiral, not a war god. I follow orders, and basic manipulation is enough, no need to take the blame."
"Hah?"
"My task was to protect Punk Hazard, but the primary target has already fled, so I no longer have the motivation to fight."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean—" Borsalino's body transformed into yellow light and shot off toward the opposite direction from the two women, his voice echoing as he left, "My mission is complete, I can leave now!"
"Damn it!" Esdeath gritted her teeth in fury.
"So that's why he forced you to use 'Mahapadma '," Scáthach realized, "If he hadn't forced you to use that technique, he would've escaped before you could stop him."
"Ugh—!" Esdeath clicked her tongue, "He's really dug deep into my nature, knowing I wouldn't take advantage of the frozen time to kill him."
"It's also possible he used Armament Haki to protect his vital spots in advance," Scáthach continued analyzing calmly, "And he was sure that your strike wouldn't be lethal."
At that moment, Artoria walked quickly over to the two of them, "Where is that guy?"
"He ran away," Scáthach replied expressionlessly, "If you had come a few minutes earlier, you could have blocked him."
"Such a pity."
"Did Eric find what he was looking for?"
"Yes," Artoria answered, "We found an artificial Devil Fruit. Gin ate it, and we also found a lot of documents and research that need Da Vinci to sort through."
"Let's go," Scáthach turned and walked toward the Fearless.
…
Borsalino stood at the top of a mountain, watching as the Dawn Pirate ship sailed away. He finally breathed a sigh of relief, enduring the pain in his abdomen as he raised his wrist and spoke into the black snail: "Moshi moshi?"
Borsalino looked puzzled, "How strange…"
(END CHAPTER)
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