After who knew how long, when the lightning light gradually faded, Shiki's figure also reemerged.
However, the sight before him made Kyle's pupils contract.
He saw that aside from the injuries inflicted earlier, no new wounds had been added to Shiki's body; Kyle's attack just now had not caused him any harm.
This result made Kyle quite surprised.
Although this move of his was a large-scale AOE skill, and its single-target damage was not very strong, against such a high volume of attacks, its power was definitely considerable.
To put it simply by comparison, if it were Wang Zhi facing this move, it would definitely be enough to give him a hard time.
Suddenly, Kyle seemed to notice something, his gaze sharpening; he perceived a layer of 'protective film' on Shiki's body surface!
That was…
"Conqueror's Haki?!"
"Did you just use Conqueror's Haki to defend against my attack?!"
Kyle asked, and although it was a question, his tone was utterly certain.
"Heh~"
Shiki chuckled lightly.
"Kid, even if you've realized it, so what?!"
"This is a technique that only an extremely small number of the world's top-tier powerhouses can master, even rarer than Conqueror's Haki infusion!"
"Back in the day, the one who used this ability most proficiently and powerfully was my former captain, Xebec D. Rocks!!"
"In that battle at God Valley, when Roger and Garp fought Captain Rocks together, most of their attacks were defended by Captain Rocks using Conqueror's Haki; in the end, those two had to pour all their Conqueror's Haki into a single point to finally break through Captain Rocks' defense!"
"My Conqueror's Haki defensive ability is naturally inferior to Captain Rocks', but it's still not something a brat like you can casually break!"
"Especially Devil Fruit abilities!!"
"Devil Fruit abilities are ultimately external things; only Haki can reign supreme over all!"
"As long as you can't break through this Conqueror's Haki defense of mine, you cannot defeat me, hahahaha!!"
"Is that so?! Can Devil Fruit abilities really not break your Conqueror's Haki defense?!"
Suddenly, Kyle's calm voice came through.
The next moment, a dazzling flash of purple lightning flickered ahead, and simultaneously, an extremely oppressive aura instantly descended upon the area.
Inexplicably, a sense of threat surged from the front, causing Shiki's body to instantly tense.
A bolt of purple lightning, thick as a barrel, shot forth from Kyle's position, blasting horizontally towards Shiki.
!!!
Shiki's hairs stood on end; he immediately wrapped Conqueror's Haki around the two swords in his hands, crossing them and slashing fiercely towards this purple lightning bolt.
Boom—
A shockwave expanded, and Shiki's figure was instantly blasted back several hundred meters.
"Hah~"
Shiki suddenly roared loudly, his arms erupting with force, cleaving the purple lightning bolt apart, dispersing it into countless purple lightning serpents that scattered; yet these lightning serpents did not dissipate directly after scattering.
Instead, as if equipped with homing targeting, they coiled back and lunged at Shiki once more.
Shiki's gaze sharpened; he slashed his swords fiercely several times, sending out flying slashes that expanded and annihilated the lightning serpents.
Zap!!
The crackling sound of electric arcs came through as Kyle suddenly appeared several tens of meters in front of Shiki, looking at him and speaking calmly:
"Didn't you say Devil Fruit abilities couldn't break through your defense? Then what are you attacking?"
Kyle's words carried a faint hint of amusement, and within that amusement was a trace of mockery.
Shiki's expression darkened; before he could say anything, Kyle spoke again:
"You blocked one of my moves and immediately concluded my ability couldn't harm you. Don't you think you jumped to that conclusion a bit too early?"
Shiki's face turned even darker, and after a long moment, he finally spoke, stubborn: "Your Devil Fruit ability is flawed!!"
"Normally, with this level of power from any other ability, my Conqueror's Haki would absolutely be able to defend against it!"
Shiki wasn't just being obstinate for the sake of it; he genuinely believed this.
The penetrating power and destructive force of Kyle's lightning were excessively beyond the norm; his Conqueror's Haki could only block a portion of its power, unable to fully withstand it.
The problem was, he had fought a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user in his youth, and that opponent's lightning simply didn't have this level of intensity.
Just changing the color makes the power mutate this much?!
"Don't blame the path if you can't walk it!"
"If you lack strength, you lack strength, and now you're claiming my Devil Fruit ability is flawed! If you swapped in Rocks, couldn't he block it?"
Kyle's tone grew more mocking, his words making Shiki's complexion flush between green and red, yet he couldn't figure out how to refute them.
Because everything Kyle said was the truth.
Many times, it's not lies that are feared, but the truth.
Falsehoods never wound people; the truth is the sharp blade!
But the problem was—
If he had Rocks' level of strength, how could he have ended up in his current predicament?
Back in the Battle of Edd Warf, he would have already defeated Roger and hung him up; there would have been no talk of a 'sworn enemy', he would have long since stood unrivaled!
As a former crew member of Rocks, he knew very well just how powerful Rocks had been back then.
The pirates on the seas at that time weren't as diverse and flourishing as they are now; back then, there was only one voice on the sea—that of the Rocks Pirates.
Several of the current Emperors on the sea were all members of Rocks' crew in their youth; the fact that he could suppress so many people showed just how formidable Rocks' strength was.
"You possess both advanced Conqueror's Haki techniques—infusion and defense. Shiki, you are indeed much stronger than that guy Wang Zhi!"
"If you were still in your prime, I probably wouldn't be your opponent, but given your current state…"
"Even though you've unleashed your power without restraint, compared to your prime self, it's still far from sufficient. So, your fate today remains unchanged!"
"You're definitely going to Impel Down!!"
Before his words even faded, Kyle's form suddenly transformed into purple lightning and launched himself, arriving before Shiki in the blink of an eye. He raised Purple Lightning in his hand and slashed fiercely downward at Shiki.
Clang!!
The sound of metal clashing rang out as Shiki once again crossed his two swords to block Kyle's Purple Lightning; immediately following was a continuous series of clashing sounds, accompanied by shockwaves even more powerful than before.
The area for over a thousand meters surrounding their battle became a sea of sword slashes, countless blades swirling endlessly within.
And within that sea, two figures flickered continuously, a chain of tremors echoing through the void.
Meanwhile, after some time and effort, Law was the first to reach the floating island. Standing on solid ground, he gazed up at the two constantly flickering figures in the sky, a profound shock evident in his eyes.
Suddenly, a single sword beam shot out from within their battle, heading straight towards his location.
Law's expression changed instantly; he immediately drew his sword and slashed, a pale blue sword beam shooting forth to clash with the incoming attack.
But the two beams only hung in the air for less than a second before Law's beam was shattered. Seeing the incoming sword beam's speed only slightly diminished, Law instantly expanded his pale blue domain.
"Room!!"
...
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