"Such powerful Haki."
Rayleigh pushed up his glasses, the shock in his eyes lingering, "And you've even mastered Supreme King Entanglement. Are you really not even twenty yet?"
Shano walked in with steady steps, his black hair fluttering in the aftermath of the Haki.
With each step he took, the uneven ground beneath his feet retreated automatically to either side, opening a chasm as if paving a road for him.
"Regret it yet?"
He grinned, "Thought I was just a rookie you could easily handle, pretending to be a seasoned veteran, only to realize something's off now?"
"..."
Rayleigh was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed heartily, "I indeed misjudged!"
He came to honor a promise, but didn't intend to be so overpowered.
As for Shano's strength being beyond expectations, if there was any regret...
Perhaps, but there's no such thing as a regret potion in this world!
Since he chose to take this step, there's no turning back.
Today, even if a Navy Grand Admiral and a Four Emperor were standing in front of him, he would still demand an explanation for Hachi's soul.
"Then let's fight, let our strengths speak!"
Rayleigh clenched his long sword, laughing loudly, "Let me personally test just how far the junior who's turned Paradise upside down has come!"
Buzz!
The moment he said that, Rayleigh's surroundings suddenly erupted with Supreme King Haki, his silver hair dancing wildly in the shockwaves, and countless thick black and red lightning bolts spreading out in all directions!
Boom!
The two terrifying Supreme Kings clashed fiercely beneath the sky. In an instant, the previously sunny Shampodi Islands were shrouded in dark clouds and rolling thunder.
The entire Gr 1 was engulfed by a storm, plunged into darkness.
"Follow them, all of you follow!"
"Arrest all troublemakers, whoever they might be!"
The large group of guards in the auction house, led by their captain, was just rushing toward the main entrance with great momentum at that moment.
They wanted to see what kind of fool would dare to cause trouble in the well-connected human auction house.
However, as soon as they reached outside.
What met their eyes was a scene reminiscent of the end of the world.
"This... this is..."
They were all dumbfounded, standing there dazed, not having a chance to react before the aftermath of the Supreme King clash surged toward them.
Thump!
Over a hundred guards immediately rolled their eyes, collapsing like harvested wheat, falling to the ground and fainting at once.
Rumble—!!
The clash of the two Hakis grew fiercer.
The ground trembled, the air twisted.
Even distant giant red trees started cracking under this pressure, emitting groans of strain.
The front wall of the auction house completely collapsed under the close-range impact, revealing the scene inside—
The vast auction house interior.
The audience had almost completely fled.
Yet the slaves on the stage, with special collars that would explode if they left the auction's vicinity, didn't dare move at all.
They could only cower and gather in the corners of the auction stage, trembling in fear as they watched the events unfold outside.
Among these slaves were less common races like the Long-armed Race, Fishmen, Half-Giants, and the Snake-headed Race;
There were also beautiful and charming, or strong and competent humans.
A diverse group of dozens gathered together conspicuously, immediately catching the attention of Shano and Rayleigh.
They both reacted in an unusually similar way.
Swoosh!
Almost simultaneously, they withdrew their auras and rushed towards the auction stage using Moonwalk.
One went left, one went right, moving swiftly, landing on either side of the stage in a flash.
It was then that they turned their heads to exchange glances.
"..."
Rayleigh squinted his eyes.
Ultimately, he didn't say anything, starting to help unlock the slaves' collars one by one.
His method was simple and crude, crushing the collars with sheer force, then quickly tossing them to an empty space behind to let them explode harmlessly.
But Shano was even more efficient.
A mere touch of his fingers over the collars on the slaves' necks would unlock them, without triggering an explosion.
"Saved, we're finally saved!"
"Thank you, thank you both!"
The slaves were in tears, expressing endless gratitude, but the two merely waved them off, urging them to leave the area quickly.
The large empty space centered around the auction house was an ideal battlefield. Both of them tacitly chose to continue their fight here, knowing ordinary people would inevitably get caught up if they stayed.
By the time Rayleigh was done busying himself.
Shano had already been quietly waiting there for some time.
"If it weren't for the grievance with Hachi, I think you and I could have become great friends." Rayleigh said after pulling out a bottle of wine from who knows where, taking a swig, and speaking leisurely.
"But since he was kind to you and wronged me, from the moment you drew your sword against me, some things became irreversible."
Shano shook his head, speaking calmly.
After waiting for a while longer, he slowly clenched his right fist, black and red lightning once again entwining it, and his mouth gradually curved into a smirk:
"Those people have run far enough, and you've probably drunk enough, right? Stop wasting words, old man, let's continue!"
"Just what I wanted!"
Rayleigh laughed aloud, tossing the empty bottle aside, his long sword suddenly drawn, the blade similarly entwined with blinding black and red light!
"Kamusari!"