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The air itself still shimmered, heavy with the cold sting of Sword Energy. The afterimages of countless blades still lingered, circling high above the void, only finally dissolving into nothing two breaths later.
"Hiss…!"
A collective, sharp intake of breath hissed across the battlefield. Every Marine who looked at the calm, young figure standing three hundred meters away felt a chill of pure, instinctive fear crawl through their hearts.
Terrifying. This power was far too terrifying!
What kind of power unleashed that first attack, a single strike that caused such devastation?
"W-What in the world is this guy!?"
The five Vice Admirals' faces were ashen. They themselves had escaped the worst of the Sword Energy storm, but the loss of their troops was catastrophic.
"Let's move, take him down, together!"
The Vice Admirals were not cowards. They readied themselves to strike, confident that the combined might of five elite fighters, all masters of Haki, would be enough to subdue this man, even if he had once fought an Admiral to a standstill.
Their speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, they closed a hundred meters, and in a few heartbeats, they were upon him.
Rojen, who had just lowered his sword fingers, now stood with his hands clasped behind his back, utterly composed.
Facing five Vice Admirals closing in from all sides, his expression remained perfectly calm, his body exuding the ethereal, untouchable air of an Immortal Sage.
"Get him!" "Die!" "Knock him down!"
The Vice Admirals struck simultaneously, some punched, others kicked, one drew his blade. Their combined assault was swift, merciless, and utterly precise. Against a man who commanded such overwhelming power, they dared not hold back.
But then, Rojen's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly glared.
A monstrous, silent "Wong!" exploded from Rojen's presence. The tyrannical, overwhelming force of his Conqueror's Haki (Haoshoku) crashed against their spirits like a tidal wave, momentarily shaking their very minds. For a critical instant, the Vice Admirals' motions stalled.
That invisible pressure then expanded outward, sweeping over the Marines charging from the rear base.
"Ugh!"
The Marines were struck by the domineering force. One by one, their eyes rolled back white, and they collapsed unconscious to the ground.
They fell like wheat before a sickle, dozens at a time. Within a single second, the battlefield lay still, a horrifying sea of fallen, silent soldiers.
"Haoshoku!"
The five Vice Admirals' faces twisted in shock and renewed fury. So he possessed Conqueror's Haki as well! Their rage deepened. Refusing to be intimidated, they immediately resumed their assault, striking with even greater force.
Rojen only murmured softly, his tone a quiet, absolute command:
"Heed my words, around me stands a wall of divine defense, impervious to all harm!"
In an instant, a strange, shadowy energy swelled outward. A circular barrier of pitch-black light formed around him, enclosing his body in a solid wall. The next moment, he vanished from sight behind the shield.
"Bang!" "Crrrk!"
A thunderous collision resounded. The Vice Admirals' attacks smashed into the dark wall, but it didn't so much as tremble. Sparks flew, and frustration contorted their faces.
"What the hell is this wall?!" one of them roared.
It was too sudden, so sudden that they hadn't even had time to pull back their attacks.
When the black barrier finally dissipated, Rojen reappeared, completely unharmed.
The Vice Admirals snarled, preparing to strike again.
But with a single, graceful step, Rojen vanished from their encirclement and reappeared ten meters behind them, as effortlessly as a shadow passing through mist.
Calm. Graceful. Utterly untouchable.
"Rojen! This is not a place for you to run wild!" the five Vice Admirals roared in unison, feeling completely mocked by his serene composure.
Rojen didn't even glance at them. Instead, he extended his right hand again, two fingers raised.
"Heed my words, let this space form a cage, trapping all within for one full day!"
A ripple of unseen energy surged forth. The Vice Admirals' eyes widened as the ground beneath them shuddered violently.
In an instant, an immense, thick metal cage erupted upward, sealing them within its towering confines.
"Cut through this thing!" one Vice Admiral barked, swinging his blade down with every ounce of his power.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the sword struck the bars. The cage trembled slightly, but not even a scratch appeared on its surface.
The special metal that composed it was utterly unyielding. They were trapped, completely and undeniably trapped.
"Seastone!"
The Vice Admirals stared at Rojen, their eyes wide with disbelief.
How was this possible?! With a single, simple command, a fortress of the rarest material had manifested and trapped them completely! What terrifying reality-bending power did this man truly possess?!
Moreover, Seastone was so rare that even the Marines struggled to acquire enough for small handcuffs. Where in the world had this massive prison come from?
The five Vice Admirals didn't give up easily. They swung their fists and slashed with their blades, but the structure didn't even tremble. It was immovably heavy, as though anchored by ten thousand tons, holding them firmly in place, utterly immobile.
Meanwhile, Rojen slowly turned, his attention already drifting away from the trapped elite fighters.
After possessing Dugu Sword Saint, his mental power had grown tremendously. At this point, relying solely on his Devil Fruit ability, he was already an Admiral-level threat, capable of unleashing catastrophic destruction with just a few words.
However, that same ability consumed his mental energy rapidly. If he used it recklessly, he would exhaust himself after only a few strikes.
Besides, those five Vice Admirals weren't even his real target this time.
At the Marine base gates, a formation of soldiers was stepping out. Leading them was a middle-aged man with sharp purple hair, none other than Admiral Zephyr himself.
"So, you've come…" Rojen spoke lightly. His right hand, which had been resting behind his back, lifted with deliberate slowness. Two fingers extended, and flicked.
"Clang!"
The jet-black longsword on his back suddenly trembled and screamed free, shooting out like a divine cyan dragon. In an instant, it soared thirty meters high, let out a piercing shriek, and dove straight toward the purple-haired man at the gate.
"This sword is called Seven Stars."
"Zephyr, witness its power!"
His tone was calm, but his aura surged skyward like a roaring storm.
Though Rojen still stood a full three hundred meters away, his attack arrived in an instant!
Manipulating Sword Arts! A legendary cultivation technique said to "take an enemy's head from ten thousand miles away." At that moment, it bloomed in Rojen's hands with a brilliance that was entirely his own.
"Admiral Zephyr!!" the Marines at the base gate shouted in alarm as they saw the cyan light streak across the sky, too fast for the eye to follow.
"Rojen!"
Zephyr's sharp gaze locked on the young man standing far away, hands behind his back. His pupils shrank.
Just one glance, and he realized the Rojen before him was nothing like the man he had fought days ago. His entire presence was different, like an entirely new, ascetic being.
But before Zephyr could analyze further, a flash of cyan light filled his vision. The blade gleamed with lethal Sword Energy, sharp enough to cut through the void, moving faster than light, aimed directly for his throat.
"Kenbunshoku!" "Busoshoku!" "Tekkai!"
In an instant, Zephyr's instincts screamed danger. His body tensed, every defense he knew activating simultaneously. He drew back his massive, powerful arm and punched forward with full, Haki-infused force toward the incoming sword light.
"Bang!!"
A single breath later, the two forces collided midair. For a brief moment, they were locked in a stalemate, both trembling with power.
"Yin!"
The cyan glow flared, revealing a vintage azure longsword, vibrating violently with an ear-piercing hum.
Zephyr's pupils contracted. He felt a grim certainty: the raw, terrifying force emanating from that sword was enough to pulverize a small mountain instantly.
And this terrifying attack… came from the same Rojen he had fought only days ago?
(End Of This Chapter)