Bogard rubbed his eyes hard.
Then his pupils blew wide, his mouth hanging open—wide enough to shove a fist into—as he stared at Raifeng, katana in hand.
His gaze never left the blade.
Up close, it was unmistakable.
A thin, pale-purple glow coiled around the katana's edge.
A cold, cutting aura seeped from the steel and spread outward.
Standing right beside Raifeng, Bogard couldn't avoid feeling the pressure carried by that violet sheen—sharp, violent, as if a savage power were being compressed inside the blade, restrained only until the moment it exploded.
There was no doubt.
Bogard could say it with absolute certainty—
This was a flying slash.
A signature attack only a truly accomplished swordsman could unleash.
A flying slash.
And Bogard wasn't the only one who saw it.
Garp's eyes also narrowed at the strange scene.
"This brat…"
"He's already mastered flying slashes?"
Garp drew in a breath. His heart shook.
So many absurd things had happened around Raifeng lately that Garp was almost going numb to it.
He'd expected Raifeng's swordsmanship to be impressive.
But he never could've predicted Raifeng had already reached the realm of releasing ranged slashes.
"What an outrageous talent…"
Garp couldn't calm down.
Around them, over a thousand Marines packed the rear deck, and none of them could miss what was happening—Koby and Helmeppo included. Both of them stood frozen, eyes wide, faces pale as they stared at the purple sheen wrapped around the katana.
"W-what is that?!" Helmeppo's thoughts collapsed into chaos.
Koby's lips trembled. "A flying slash… Only a qualified, truly outstanding swordsman can release one. It's a terrifying offensive technique."
His voice dropped.
"And I never imagined… I'd see it on Mr. Raifeng."
At that instant, Koby finally, completely accepted why he'd been instant-killed.
Losing to a monster like this—wasn't that the most natural thing in the world?
In fact…
Koby felt grateful.
During their duel, Raifeng hadn't used a flying slash on him.
Otherwise—
Would he already be dead?
Koby swallowed, staring blankly at Raifeng's back.
All eyes on deck gathered on that small figure.
Then—
The katana, wrapped in violet light, lowered slowly.
Raifeng held the blade. His eyes were calm—so calm they didn't even ripple. He stared at the black shadow lurking beneath the sea ahead and gently brought the sword down.
In an instant—
The pale-purple glow burst from the blade.
The savage power that had been imprisoned along the edge seemed to find an outlet at last, surging outward like a flood.
Roaring.
Violent.
The energy poured out in a heartbeat.
The purple aura deepened, turning into a dark violet—and the power inside it grew even more terrifying.
It surged from the blade—
To the tip—
Then pointed straight at the vast sea ahead…
And released.
"Slash."
Raifeng's focus sharpened to a razor point.
The blade came down.
A terrifying violet arc was forced out from the edge of the katana—condensing into a blazing, violet sword-light that shot forward and tore across the ocean.
Brilliant.
Blinding.
Monstrous.
Those were the only words that fit.
A low hum rang out—
As if the air itself had been ripped open.
The space in front seemed to twist, warped by the tearing force inside that slash.
Then—
BOOM!
The sea was split apart.
Like cloth being torn.
The ocean—endless, heavy, absolute—was cut cleanly into two.
A vast stretch of water opened into a jagged cleft, a gaping wound carved straight through the blue.
It looked like a sea-level abyss.
Water on both sides churned violently, unable to refill the rift in time.
The flying slash pierced forward, cutting deeper, carrying on—
And the sight slammed into every witness like a hammer.
Who could imagine the ocean being cut open by a single sword strike?!
Water exploded upward.
The Calm Belt's once-silent surface was overturned, whipped into raging currents that surged outward in waves, slamming the area with violent spray.
The warship rocked hard.
On deck, hundreds—no, thousands—of Marines staggered and swayed as the hull bucked beneath them.
Under the sea, the huge black shadow had been hard to see, hidden by the water's depth.
But as the slash split the ocean—
Its full body was forced into the open.
The sea could no longer conceal it.
Because the sea had been carved through.
Only scattered sheets of water still clung to its scales. With the surface torn apart, the creature's massive body appeared almost suspended in midair—stark, exposed, lit clearly under the sun.
A twenty-three-meter Sea King.
Crocodile-like.
Fangs bared.
Armor-like scales covering its body.
A monster of pure malice.
And now it faced Raifeng's dark-violet slash head-on—
A direct hit line, straight toward its body.
The Sea King felt that power sweep over it.
And for a moment—
It looked almost… human.
Fear flashed inside its huge crimson eyes.
It panicked.
It wanted to flee.
But the sea was already split open—
Where could it run?
There was nowhere.
Water blasted skyward, thrown hundreds of meters up.
The slash reached the Sea King.
No hesitation.
It fell.
Straight down onto its head—
Perfectly—
Hit.
PUFF!
A cloud of blood erupted from the Sea King's skull.
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