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"This is what the rumors mentioned—a sword that can transform. What incredible power," Rayleigh said, feeling the tremendous pressure from the black crescent.
"It seems I won't succeed without using some real skill."
Rayleigh's aura suddenly intensified as more powerful Haki surged onto his blade.
"Hah!" With a sharp shout, the muscles in Rayleigh's arms swelled.
There was only a muffled sound as the black crescent was deflected by Rayleigh and sent flying toward the mountains not far away.
BOOM!
The black crescent passed over the mountains, triggering a violent explosion. In the blink of an eye, the peaks were reduced to flat ground.
"Amazing. You really deserve to be called the Dark King," Ikki said, resting his blade on his shoulder and looking at Rayleigh with admiration.
"Except for the Golden Lion, you're the first man to deal with my Getsuga Tenshō so easily."
"I'm the one who's more surprised," Rayleigh replied.
"If that attack happened a few more times, these old bones might not be able to withstand it. Come on, that sword of yours should have other abilities—let me see them."
Rayleigh smiled, and his body became a blur as he rushed toward Ikki.
"In terms of speed, I'm not afraid," Ikki said, making a flourish with his black blade as he charged forward at the same speed as Rayleigh.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged hundreds of blows, the powerful winds swirling around them shattering trees and rocks within hundreds of meters.
Deafening sonic booms continued echoing throughout the island, the sounds spreading across the entire landmass and continuing into the distance.
Several kilometers away from the island, a pirate ship pulled by two special Sea Kings was moving rapidly.
Suddenly, a violent explosion from the distant island attracted the attention of the pirates aboard.
"What... what is that?" one pirate asked.
"What's causing that commotion on that island over there?"
"Oh my God, all the clouds in the sky were blown away!"
"An earthquake? No, someone's fighting there!"
"Fighting? Wait, who could... hold on, what was that black crescent? Someone just deflected that black crescent away?"
"My Lady, did you see the battle on that island?" one of the pirates asked, turning back to where a tall, graceful woman with a charming face was approaching.
Behind her were two other tall women.
If Ikki were here, he would definitely be able to identify the three sisters from Amazon Lily.
"Sister, what came from the island just now was Conqueror's Haki," Boa Sandersonia said, lowering her head to ask Boa Hancock for confirmation.
"Not just Conqueror's Haki, but a clash of Conqueror's Haki," Hancock replied.
"There are at least two people on that island who know how to use Conqueror's Haki. And one of them was Rayleigh."
Hancock's expression was serious, and surprise could not be concealed in her usually calm tone.
With her Observation Haki, she could naturally identify the aura of her former benefactor, Silvers Rayleigh.
"Rayleigh? Someone actually fought with that man and forced him back. Who could it be?" Boa Marigold asked worriedly.
"Sister, should we go take a look? This place isn't very far from Amazon Lily. If whoever is fighting Rayleigh comes to our island..."
Hearing this, Boa Hancock held her chin with one hand and fell into thought.
After a while, realizing that the battle in the distance didn't seem to be over, she nodded and said, "Let's go take a look."
"That Ikki really is surprising," Shakky said, rolling her eyes as she looked at Kalifa, Nico Robin, and the others with curiosity.
"That black sword is quite special too. But there are rumors that the blade can also transform into a cleaver sword—I wonder if that's true."
"Do you think we'd tell you?" Kalifa asked, adjusting her cap with an extremely cold voice.
For her, Shakky, who was Rayleigh's partner, was a potential enemy. How could she reveal relevant information about Zangetsu?
Even more so considering that Ikki might later use Katen Kyōkotsu to fight Rayleigh.
Kalifa was even thinking of eliminating Rayleigh and Shakky directly to keep Katen Kyōkotsu's secrets safe.
But she also knew it wouldn't be easy to kill Rayleigh and Shakky.
"Fair enough," Shakky said with a smile. "However, although your captain is very powerful, he doesn't seem to have the advantage."
Kalifa frowned and looked up toward where Ikki and Rayleigh were fighting.
Just as Shakky said, although Ikki had released Tensa Zangetsu, it was Rayleigh who held the upper hand.
"That said, Rayleigh didn't gain any real benefits either," Shakky continued.
"That man's Observation Haki seems quite outstanding. Combined with that strange speed, he can always avoid Rayleigh's attacks. Maybe this battle will last quite a while."
However, as soon as she finished speaking, she noticed that the two swords at Kalifa's waist began trembling violently, as if some force was calling to them.
"Maybe the battle won't last too long," Kalifa said, giving Shakky a mysterious smile.
The next moment, both swords flew from her waist and fell into the hands of Ikki, who had just dodged Rayleigh's attack.
"Oh? Are you switching weapons, Ikki?" Rayleigh asked, stopping his assault slightly and looking curiously at the two swords in Ikki's hands.
After witnessing the power of Tensa Zangetsu, he didn't dare underestimate any other blades summoned by Ikki.
Particularly since there was no information about Katen Kyōkotsu in Shakky's intelligence network.
"Switch weapons? That's not quite right—why can't I use them all at the same time?" Ikki said, showing Rayleigh a wide grin as he placed Zangetsu in his mouth and bit down on it.
Katen Kyōkotsu's twin blades fell into his left and right hands respectively.
"Hey, Silvers Rayleigh, are you interested in seeing my version of Three-Sword Style swordsmanship?"