When Rayleigh fist slammed into Sherwin shield, he immediately sensed something was off…
The feeling of impact was completely different from before.
Previously, when he struck that shield—which, apart from being sturdy, didn't seem to have any other special qualities—it felt much like hitting a boulder or a chunk of iron.
But this time was different. Rayleigh didn't feel any rebound at all. It was as if the shield had turned into a black hole, absorbing all of his power.
Even the Conqueror Haki and Armament Haki he'd infused into his strike vanished without a trace, swallowed whole by that deceptively simple-looking shield.
Just as Rayleigh was puzzled, wondering what kind of new trick Sherwin was pulling this time, he saw Sherwin make a sweeping motion with his arm.
At that very instant, an overwhelming force surged out from the shield, traveling straight into Rayleigh fist—and it carried with it a power Rayleigh knew all too well…
Isn't this my own Haki?!
Some Devil Fruits indeed possessed the ability to reflect an opponent attacks, but to rebound Haki itself—this was a first for Rayleigh.
And he was one hundred percent certain that this wasn't the power of a Devil Fruit.
It was, just like Sherwin earlier slash and his sudden burst of speed, a special kind of combat technique.
However, no matter what method Sherwin used, the result was the same—Rayleigh was once again caught off guard and sent flying by his own power.
After successfully executing the Perfect Shield Counter, Sherwin didn't press the advantage—not because he didn't want to, but because he simply couldn't at the moment.
Although that earlier line—"If I forcefully use Link Time a second time within half an hour, I'll be bedridden for days"—was mostly to bluff Rayleigh, Sherwin wasn't entirely lying.
Using Link Time repeatedly in a short span put tremendous strain on his body. Not to mention, he'd already taken a beating before and had used Instant Link Time multiple times during the fight.
Now, Sherwin entire body felt as sore as if he'd gone through an intense workout the day before.
The main muscle groups he relied on for strength felt as though they'd been torn apart.
On top of that, a stabbing headache pulsed behind his temples—the mental toll of Link Time was no small matter.
In contrast, the side effects for the Felynes were much lighter. Their superior flexibility and dynamic vision gave them a huge advantage over humans.
For combat-type cats like Link Meow and Seijurou, using Link Time dozens of times in a row wasn't an issue—so long as their stamina held out.
On the other side, Rayleigh situation was actually a bit better than Sherwin.
Though he crashed through several mangrove roots before finally coming to a stop, that level of damage was nothing to someone with his toughness.
The real injury came from his right arm—the one he'd used to strike the shield—which had been completely dislocated by Sherwin counter.
From wrist to elbow, all the way up to the shoulder, the entire arm was out of place.
That happened because his punch had been infused with advanced Haki. If it had been an ordinary blow, he'd have just been knocked back, not dislocated.
The brilliance of the Perfect Shield Counter that Link Meow developed lay exactly in this:
the stronger the enemy attack, the more devastating the rebound. So far, Sherwin and his team still hadn't found the upper limit of this technique.
Ordinary shield counters, on the other hand, were much weaker. Whether it was Sherwin Crimson Sky End or Hua Mei Meow Falling Plum Slash, they could only deflect attacks at best.
That was precisely why Sherwin had taken the risk to find an opening for a Perfect Shield Counter—because a normal counter,
even if it blocked Rayleigh strike, wouldn't have changed the flow of battle. It would only have made the old man more cautious.
"You little brat, you really have quite a few tricks up your sleeve..."
Once again bested in an unexpected way, Rayleigh climbed to his feet, gritting his teeth as he snapped his dislocated arm back into place, sneering as he spoke.
"Hiss... if I didn't... have a few tricks... hiss... how would I dare... to challenge you?"
Sherwin replied between sharp intakes of breath, his voice trembling slightly.
Seeing him in such a state, Rayleigh—who had been itching for another round—suddenly looked disappointed.
After all, he had already beaten Sherwin to a pulp just moments ago, and most of his anger had already subsided.
Though he still wasn't fond of Sherwin because of what happened with Hatchan, he no longer intended to hold a grudge.
To be fair, Sherwin hadn't actually done anything wrong, and Rayleigh wasn't the kind of pirate who couldn't tell right from wrong.
Still, letting things go was one thing—being intrigued by Sherwin combat techniques was another.
Rayleigh was genuinely interested in continuing their sparring session.
However...
"Looks like you can't keep fighting anymore, huh? What a pity."
Remembering Sherwin earlier "confession" about his weakness, Rayleigh shook his head regretfully.
But Sherwin just chuckled, gritting his teeth as he pulled a bottle of green potion from his pouch and downed it.
Then he popped a meatball into his mouth to restore his stamina.
"I told you, using potions really does help." With the aid of a recovery potion that thankfully didn't taste weird, the pain in Sherwin body quickly faded.
He stretched a little, showing Rayleigh two neat rows of white teeth. "And I wasn't just talking about power-boosting demon drugs—the recovery potions count too."
A Hunter who specializes in item and potion tactics has only one natural advantage — they're never afraid of a battle of attrition!
"Hmph hmph hmph… You should've just admitted defeat earlier and drunk that green potion after leaving here. That way, you would've saved yourself a lot of pain."
Though Rayleigh was somewhat pleased to see Sherwin recover, there was no chance he'd show him a friendly face.
Sherwin knew that perfectly well — and he also knew there wasn't much point in dragging the fight out any longer.
He had already used up almost all his tricks, and the improvement he'd gained from clashing with Rayleigh had reached its limit halfway through being beaten down.
A Hunter who relies on items and potions isn't afraid of a drawn-out fight — as long as they don't get killed in a single combo.
But against Rayleigh, Sherwin had no time to drink potions during those relentless assaults.
Trying to outlast that old man? That depended entirely on which old man we were talking about… and Rayleigh definitely didn't count as a normal old man!
So…
"Everyone! Engage the target!"
"Meowhahaha! I've been waiting forever for this!" The little lunatic Felyne, Jinx, was the first to answer Sherwin call.
She pulled out her Boom Boom Gun and unleashed a wild barrage at Rayleigh. "Let get this party started, meow!"
Of course, Jinx bullets couldn't actually hurt Rayleigh — but nobody enjoys having bullets pelt their body, no matter how harmless.
Rayleigh frowned slightly, displeased that Sherwin had dragged these little Felynes into the fight.
Not wanting to injure Jinx, he simply flicked his fist, sending a controlled gust of force toward the blue Felyne to knock her out of the battlefield.
"I won't let you harm our companion, meow!"
Seijuro Meow flashed in front of Jinx, drawing his blade and slicing through Rayleigh gust of wind.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
(=ΦωΦ=)つ
On the other side, Link Meow fired three consecutive light arrows, forcing Rayleigh to focus entirely on evading and leaving him no time to bother with Jinx, who posed little threat.
Rayleigh immediately sensed that these three light arrows were not only imbued with Armament Haki, but also that his evasion paths had been predicted through Observation Haki.
He sidestepped the first light arrow, swatted away the next two with a powerful swing, but before he could steady his stance, Rayleigh suddenly leaped backward to dodge Link Meow lunging slash.
He quickly crossed his arms to block Seijuro Meow sudden pouncing strike.
As for Sanji Meow sneaky Day Tiger kick, Rayleigh didn't have the spare attention to react — he could only brace himself and take it head-on with Armament Haki.
After flinging Seijuro Meow away with a sweeping motion, the now slightly flustered Rayleigh hurriedly entered his "Killer Observation" state.
"Ha—!"
(=`Д=)
Huamei Meow, who had been gathering strength for some time, flattened her ears and narrowed her pupils.
A burst of Conqueror Haki exploded from her, crashing violently into Rayleigh and instantly knocking him out of his Observation state.
"As I thought, that state is connected to Conqueror Haki. I can't use it myself yet, but disrupting him from entering it isn't a problem, meow."
"Hahahahaha! That our Huamei! Well done!"
Laughing heartily, Sherwin switched out the shield on his left arm for the third-generation Kitetsu, raising both of Zoro former blades high above his head.
Monster Hunter Style · Dual Blades · Demon Mode · Beast!
"Klee Meow! Shermie!"
With Sherwin call, two Felynes—one big and one small—landed on his shoulders.
"Fire Release: Kagutsuchi Meow!"
"Lightning Release: Chakra Mode Meow!"
Flames coiled around one of Sherwin arms, while lightning crackled over the other.
Raising both Longswords high, he slashed fiercely toward Rayleigh in the distance—
Monster Hunter Style: Felyne Combination Technique — Inferno Dance, Thunderlight Below!