Shiki's face darkened once more, and after a long moment, he gritted his teeth and spoke.
"Kid, I'll just have to see if your actual strength is as tough as your mouth is!"
As he finished speaking, Shiki suddenly swung his right leg toward Kyle.
"Cutting Wave!!"
A terrifying, massive sword slash surged forth violently, rushing toward Kyle.
Boom——
The sword slash landed directly on Kyle, but the envisioned scene of flesh being torn apart did not appear.
The moment the slash touched Kyle's body, his form scattered into countless bolts of purple thunder.
The massive sword slash passed straight through Kyle and swept toward the distant clouds.
The thick cloud layer was instantly cleaved apart, continuously splitting toward the horizon.
Amidst the surging thunder, Kyle's figure reemerged, a faint smile on his lips.
"Don't be so worked up, Shiki!!"
"A Logia ability?"
"Heh, kid. If your Devil Fruit power is the sole source of your confidence, then I'll personally shatter that confidence!!"
With those words, Shiki instantly lunged, closing the distance to Kyle in an instant, and swung his right leg with tremendous force.
Clang!!
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Two blades met in midair, scattering sparks in all directions.
"I'm also a swordsman, you know, Shiki! Let me see how much of your former Great Swordsman strength remains!!"
As he spoke, Kyle pulled Purple Lightning back, then immediately slashed out again.
!!
Shiki's eyes focused sharply as he met the strike with his own bladed leg.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!
The sound of colliding metal echoed continuously, and with each clash, sword energy scattered, wreaking havoc all around.
The peak Kyle had been standing on had been carved away countless times, its height reduced by over a hundred meters.
"Awakening!"
Kyle transformed into a flash of lightning and streaked past Shiki with blinding speed.
Rip!!
A line of blood instantly burst open across Shiki's chest, and even his thick mane was severed clean through at the midpoint.
"Guh ah!!"
Shiki coughed up blood and couldn't suppress a pained grunt. He spun around sharply, fixing Kyle with a gaze tinged with gravity, speaking each word deliberately.
"A Great Swordsman!!"
This realization caught Shiki off guard.
Just how old was Kyle? And he was already a Great Swordsman?
Back in his own day, he had endured untold hardships before finally breaking through to that very realm.
Kyle gave Purple Lightning a few swings, his gaze settling on the gash across Shiki's chest, a faint smile curving at his lips.
With two years of triple Zoro's swordsmanship training feedback, breaking through to Great Swordsman was practically effortless.
"Shiki, if this is the extent of your strength, then unless something unexpected happens, you're headed back to Impel Down today!"
"I wonder if you still have what it takes to escape from Impel Down this time around?"
!!
Shiki's eyes narrowed sharply, his voice dripping with cold menace.
"Don't get too cocky, you brat!!"
"You really think drawing my blood means you've got what it takes to beat me?"
"Besides, do you even know where this island of mine is headed?"
"Might as well tell you—I'm almost at my destination. There's a real troublesome bastard there. Our history ain't deep, but when it comes to dealing with a Marine like you, I reckon he'll be more than happy to team up with me!"
Upon hearing this, a strange look crossed Kyle's face. He looked at Shiki and asked, testing the waters.
"You're talking about Hachinosu? And the troublesome bastard you mean is Wang Zhi?"
⊙∀⊙!
"How do you know?!"
A bewildered expression appeared on Shiki's face as he blurted out the question.
Kyle was silent for a moment before he finally spoke.
"Is there a chance I came here specifically because I saw your floating island from Hachinosu, and another possibility is that Wang Zhi has already been defeated by me and is currently waiting for someone to take him away?"
…
Shiki's mouth hung slightly open. He fell silent.
After a long moment, he spat out:
"Well, shit!!"
Kyle immediately shot him a sharp glare.
"What's that for? At your age, such crudeness—have you no decorum? ?"
"Don't give me that crap. So what if I've got no decorum? What are you gonna do about it?"
"I can send you to Impel Down and have you enjoy the grand luxury package, dear~"
Before his words faded, Kyle swung Purple Lightning in a fierce downward slash.
A terrifying purple blade beam shot forth, intermixed with wild purple thunder.
The air split apart, and in an instant, it reached Shiki.
"Lion's Earth Rend!!"
The ground was torn up, and under Shiki's control, it coalesced into massive lion heads that lunged at the incoming purple blade beam, tearing and biting.
Rumble!!!
A series of tremendous roars rang out as the colossal lion heads shattered upon contact with the blade beam, scattering into countless chunks of rubble.
Shiki's expression hardened at the sight as he continued commanding endless lion heads to surge against the blade beam.
Only after countless lion heads had been obliterated did the slashing wave Kyle had unleashed finally dissipate.
Seeing this, Kyle cast a flat glance at Shiki and spoke.
"In your current state, you can't even match that guy Wang Zhi!"
"That being the case, I'm done playing around with you!"
"Flash of Light!!"
Suddenly, countless bolts of thunder erupted from Kyle's body, then continuously extended outward.
Kyle's form grew ethereal, and one by one, phantom images of him materialized across the void.
!!!
A chill surged from Shiki's back, climbing straight up his spine.
An overwhelming sense of threat enveloped his entire being.
*This move…*
Before Shiki could react further, the countless phantom images of Kyle suddenly moved, all transforming into streaks of lightning that surged toward him at tremendous speed.
Shiki's expression shifted. Instantly, he wrenched up the ground, wrapping it around himself entirely.
He sought to block Kyle's attack this way.
But clearly, he had underestimated the situation.
The moment Kyle's phantoms struck the stone barrier, it exploded into pieces. Countless afterimages reached Shiki with virtually no resistance.
A blinding purple lightning flash blazed across the heavens.
On the ground below, a bolt of lightning descended, and from it emerged Kyle's form.
And high in the sky behind Kyle, Shiki remained frozen in his original posture.
Perhaps a long time passed, or maybe just a second.
As a crackling peal of thunder rolled out, countless purple lightning scars appeared across Shiki's body.
Guh ah!!
A great gush of blood spilled from Shiki's mouth as his body instantly lost all strength and plummeted from the sky to the ground.
Crash!!
His body slammed into the rubble, kicking up a faint plume of dust.
Blade in hand, Kyle slowly turned and swept his gaze toward Shiki. He now lay sprawled atop the debris, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air in large, ragged breaths.
"Shiki, in your current state, you're no match for me. Submit quietly, and you'll spare yourself further suffering."
---
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