The usually bustling port quickly became deserted due to the sudden battle between the two. Some bystanders fled to safety, while others found nearby shelter and remained to watch the excitement with mixtures of curiosity and nervousness.
Cavendish curled his lips dismissively, ignoring his opponent's explanation about electromagnetic force. He suspected the enemy's equipment might contain Sea Stone particles or some similar substance that could bypass his Logia intangibility.
After reaching this conclusion, Cavendish's eyes narrowed and his gaze sharpened as he decided to take his opponent much more seriously.
For months now, especially since consuming the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Cavendish had been constantly training to improve himself. His Armament Haki had not only awakened long ago but had grown significantly stronger. His secondary personality "Hakuba" had been almost completely suppressed, and he'd even begun attempting to merge their abilities.
As a result, Hakuba rarely managed to break free from Cavendish's control anymore, let alone emerge to cause trouble and subsequently get beaten senseless by Jerry.
Additionally, after their encounters with Marines and departure from South Blue, the Black Star Pirates had seldom faced battles that posed substantial threats. They'd mostly encountered minor pirate crews during their travels.
While Cavendish consistently lost during sparring sessions with Jerry aboard their ship, compared to random pirates they encountered, he could easily defeat enemies while barely trying.
Even though Cavendish understood the principle that "a lion uses its full strength even when hunting rabbits," he'd still grown accustomed to situations where enemies couldn't touch him regardless of their efforts.
It wasn't until this moment—being unexpectedly kicked across the battlefield—that Cavendish began facing his opponent seriously and reflecting on his previous overconfidence.
Cavendish sidestepped gracefully, easily avoiding Niji's follow-up kick, then drew his sword and slashed fiercely. A lightning-enhanced blade appeared in Niji's hand at some point, meeting the attack.
"You're more capable than I expected," Niji acknowledged. "Let's see how many of my attacks you can handle."
Before finishing his sentence, Niji's figure vanished from sight.
"What?!" Cavendish startled momentarily, then felt powerful wind pressure approaching rapidly from behind. He instinctively twisted his body to counterattack, but found no visible enemy in his field of vision.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Cavendish activated his Observation Haki, turning toward an apparently empty area and whispering, "There you are."
Sure enough, an invisible attack came rushing forward. Cavendish no longer hesitated, stepping back while striking with his sword.
"Beautiful Sword: Lightning Strike!"
His blade traced a semicircle with his wrist movement, combining with lightning descending from above to slash directly toward the seemingly empty space before him.
"Clang!" The sound of metal clashing rang out as a blue figure suddenly materialized where Cavendish's sword had struck. Thunder crashed down, precisely enveloping the blue-haired man in electrical energy.
Cavendish smirked confidently. "Invisibility? That won't work against me!"
His Observation Haki had developed in combination with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities, granting him sensing range similar to Enel's, with functions including voice recognition and electromagnetic detection. Niji's invisibility technology couldn't conceal information perceptible through advanced Haki.
However, despite being struck by lightning, Niji seemed relatively unaffected. He exerted tremendous force with his backhand, swinging his sword to knock Cavendish backward.
"If invisibility won't work, then I'll defeat you through direct confrontation!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Niji disappeared from everyone's sight again.
"Want to compete with me in speed?" Cavendish sneered, launching himself forward like a lightning bolt.
As both fighters began their high-speed confrontation, countless metallic collision sounds suddenly rang throughout the port square, like rapid drumbeats during a thunderstorm.
Simultaneously, onlookers witnessed two lightning-fast flashes moving across the open space. Every time they heard collision sounds, brilliant sparks flashed in seemingly empty air.
"Beautiful Sword: Pegasus Meteor!"
"Streaming Light Slash!"
After their fierce exchange, both combatants attacked simultaneously. A sharp golden clang echoed as two figures flew backward through the air.
Cavendish transformed into lightning mid-flight, instantly dissipating the impact force. Then he snapped his fingers, launching a thunderbolt toward his opponent.
Without waiting for the lightning to strike, his eyes gleamed as he flashed forward again in renewed pursuit.
This relentless combination attack was something Cavendish had developed through extensive training aboard their ship. He'd rehearsed it countless times mentally, hoping to one day surprise Jerry with the technique.
Cavendish appeared before Niji instantaneously. The Germa prince had just stabilized his position, his attention drawn by the descending lightning.
"Beautiful Sword: Celestial Strike!"
Faced with this devastating blow descending like divine judgment, Niji's pupils contracted sharply. He gritted his teeth, swinging his sword upward to meet Cavendish's tremendously powerful strike head-on.
"Bang!" Niji couldn't completely block Cavendish's furious assault and was knocked heavily to the ground within seconds.
"You really like targeting my face, don't you?" Cavendish snarled angrily, preparing to continue his offensive.
At that moment, powerful wind pressure approached from the side, disrupting his attack rhythm. Cavendish leaped swiftly, leaving a flickering electrical trail as he retreated more than ten meters.
"Hmm? The first one had blue hair and blue clothes, and now here comes another with green hair. They both have those distinctive curled eyebrows."
A man with left-curving eyebrows and green hair and clothing retracted his fist, looking sideways at the blue-haired man who was smoking and breathing heavily while clutching his chest. "Niji, are you alright?"
"Yonji, step aside—I can still fight," Niji replied, gently wiping blood from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to stand.
Though Niji appeared calm outwardly, he knew that if his abilities weren't also electricity-based, granting him higher electrical resistance than ordinary people, he might not be able to stand at this moment and would be writhing helplessly on the ground.
Cavendish's recent sword strike had contained not only powerful Haki but also the destructive force of high-voltage electrical current. While most of the electrical energy had been absorbed by Niji's combat suit, it had still damaged his body.
Combined with the physical trauma from that sword strike—even though it hadn't completely penetrated his combat uniform and enhanced defenses—it was sufficient to inflict serious injuries instantly.
However, Niji felt no fear. He simply believed Yonji would fare even worse against Cavendish in single combat.
Barely suppressing his anger while maintaining one of his few calm moments during battle, Niji continued addressing Yonji: "Handle our business first. I'll deal with this guy."
Niji and Yonji hadn't come here to fight some powerful pirate who'd appeared unexpectedly. They were here because Germa 66 was conducting the arms deal that "Joker" had arranged.
The reason Law had received yesterday's intelligence was that Germa 66's commander, Vinsmoke Judge, had been occupied with other affairs and had postponed the transaction by one day.
This decision had inadvertently caused the Heart Pirates to miss their target. As soon as Law's crew departed, Germa had arrived on the island.
In response to Niji's suggestion, Yonji chuckled. "Don't worry—our soldiers already transported the goods back to our ships. We'll handle him together."
Full of confidence, Yonji didn't believe it would take long to defeat their enemy.
Just as Yonji was preparing for combat, laughter suddenly echoed across the battlefield: "Yohohoho! Mr. Cavendish, if there are two enemies, please allow me to take one!"
As soon as those words faded, another familiar voice added teasingly: "Brook, are you sure? Those are both men—there's nothing there you'd want to see."