"Rumble—!!!"
The clash between their Conqueror's Haki over the sea finally reached its breaking point.
A violent boom rang out. The thick storm clouds split open, leaving a long rift across the sky. Sunlight poured through the gap and fell over the dark, churning sea.
The shockwave did not stop there. It spread outward from the center of the clash.
The seawater within several thousand meters was pushed down at once, forming a huge hollow in the ocean. The sea roared as it tried to rush back in, but the force from the Haki clash kept it pressed back.
The Storm Reaper sat at the edge of the storm, tilting hard as the waves and air currents slammed against its hull.
"What... what is this power..."
Kane's eyes rolled back before he could finish his sentence. He foamed at the mouth and passed out. The ordinary Marines around him had already lost consciousness during the first shockwave. They lay scattered all over the deck.
This clash between two Conqueror's Haki users was far beyond what normal people could endure.
The three Hancock sisters had good potential, but they had no way to resist that force yet. They all fainted.
Issho sighed beside them. He tapped his cane sword lightly, and purple gravity ripples spread around the unconscious people.
"Go inside and take cover for now."
Guided by gravity, the unconscious crew members were safely moved into the sturdy cabin so they would not be blown away by the shockwaves.
"Jinbe! I'll leave the sea to you!"
"Leave it to me!!"
Jinbe leaped and splashed into the churning ocean.
As a Fish-Man, he was completely in his element in this violent sea.
"Fish-Man Karate: Water Heart - Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!!"
Underwater, Jinbe drove his arms through the current and forced the water to move with him.
The towering waves began to change direction under his control.
The chaotic seawater shifted around the Storm Reaper, creating enough lift to right the tilted ship and keep it from rolling over.
But Jinbe alone could not counter the pressure created by the clashing Conqueror's Haki.
"Gravity Blade: Suppress!"
At almost the same time, Issho swung his cane sword again on the deck.
"Bzzzt—"
A ring of purple gravity ripples instantly covered the entire ship.
The Storm Reaper, which had been shaking violently from the shockwaves, was suddenly pressed down against the sea. It stayed steady despite the huge waves around it.
"Hmph."
On the opposing ship, Harald only scoffed. He did not attack the Storm Reaper.
His black-gloved right hand finally gripped the sword hilt on his back.
"Clang—!!"
Harald finally drew the giant sword from his back.
The blade was an ominous dark red, covered in scars left by years of battle. Two roaring beast heads were carved into the handguard.
In Elbaph legend, this was a weapon carried by warriors who challenged kings and giants.
"Since you won't come quietly, I'll break your limbs and drag you back," Harald said.
He held the sword with one hand. The air around the blade compressed from that simple starting stance.
"Sea Cleaver."
There was no flashy buildup or dazzling light.
Harald only flexed his arm and swung his sword at Aiden.
"Boom!!!"
As the sword fell, raw strength compressed the air into a visible white wall. It tore forward across the sea and rushed straight toward Aiden.
The ocean sank dozens of meters under the force of the swing, forming a massive fan-shaped trench.
"This pure physical strength..."
Aiden floated in midair, feeling the violent wind pressure slam against his face. As expected of the man who had once clashed with Rocks.
He could release a slash on that scale using only physical strength and Haki. Even a casual swing from Harald was more dangerous than a serious attack from an ordinary Vice Admiral.
Aiden did not dodge.
Because the Storm Reaper was right behind him.
"Bzzzt—"
Aiden pressed his right hand on Oto's hilt at his waist. Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly wrapped around it. At the same time, high-voltage blue-and-white lightning covered the blade like flowing liquid.
Aiden hadn't drawn his second sword yet, but this strike, fused with lightning, still had enough sharpness to cut through Harald's compressed slash.
"Clang————!!!"
Aiden's human-sized body crashed hard against the kilometer-long white wall of air.
Compared to the attack in front of him, his body looked impossibly small.
However, Aiden planted himself in the air and forced Oto against the incoming wall.
Oto's blade firmly blocked the air wall's advance. Sparks and lightning burst out at the point of impact.
"Break...!!"
Aiden shouted. The veins bulged on his forehead as his arm muscles instantly tightened.
"Boom!!"
With a violent explosion, Aiden forcefully sliced the massive air wall right down the middle!
The split airflow turned into two raging hurricanes that roared past both sides of the Storm Reaper. They cut two deep trenches into the ocean for several kilometers behind the ship.
"Phew..."
Aiden shook his slightly numb right hand. He flew backward in the air for dozens of meters before steadying himself. His feet kicked against the air to slow himself down.
"You've got quite the strength, old man."
Aiden checked the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. It wasn't torn, but the shockwave that had traveled into his body made his bones ache slightly.
Is this the natural talent of the Ancient Giants?
In a pure clash of strength, he was actually slightly inferior right now.
"You blocked it?"
Harald paused for the first time. He knew exactly how heavy that swing was. Even a Marine Admiral would break a few bones trying to catch it.
"It seems... the Five Elders didn't exaggerate their assessment of you."
Harald slowly raised his giant sword and grabbed the hilt with both hands.
If that was only a one-handed swing, then now, he was getting serious.
Aiden understood the situation at once. Fighting over the sea was a disadvantage for him. Even with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and his sense of ocean currents, not having solid ground under his feet limited how much force he could release. Meanwhile, Harald's massive warship was practically a moving island under his feet. The battlefield favored Harald.
"Bzzzt!"
With the speed of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Aiden instantly turned into a bolt of blue-and-white lightning. He crossed the distance by force and descended right above Harald's head.
Oto was wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki and blinding high-voltage lightning.
Aiden shot toward the giant's neck. The blade came down in a brutal arc, and a violent bolt formed along the edge, following the slash as the air cracked apart around it.
This strike was extremely fast.
Fast enough to leave only an afterimage.
However.
Facing this lethal strike, Harald did not panic. He didn't even look up.
He simply turned sideways and brought the giant sword to his side with speed that looked impossible for his size.
"Clang————!!!"
The sound of clashing metal rang out across the sea.
A shockwave swept out with the two of them at the center. It peeled away the special steel deck of the giant warship layer by layer.
Aiden felt his hand shake. It felt as if Oto had struck a wall of iron.
"Oh?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow. He hovered in midair, holding the sword with one hand, pressing hard against the flat of the giant blade.
He kicked the air below him, making loud cracking noises. The veins on his arm bulged as he tried to overpower his opponent in strength.
But the giant did not move an inch.
Harald held the sword with one hand and stood there without retreating.
"Good Haki."
Harald spoke to the human in front of him:
"Even back in Rocks' era, you would have stood among the strongest. Even Rocks himself probably didn't have this kind of edge at your age."
"Pity..."
Harald suddenly flicked his wrist. A brutal burst of physical force erupted from that small movement.
"You are no match for me right now!"
"Boom!!"
It was a clean display of pure strength.
Aiden felt an irresistible force hit him. He was blasted backward like a cannonball, tumbling a dozen times in the air before barely steadying himself. He landed on top of a mast several hundred meters away.
"Don't look away."
Harald pressed his advantage.
He gripped the giant sword with both hands, raised it high over his head, and swung it hard in Aiden's direction!
"Spear of Elbaph: Ikoku!!!"
"Rumble—"
A cylindrical spiral shockwave dozens of meters wide pierced the air. It carried enough force to tear through the sea as it rushed straight toward Aiden.
The power of this strike could bore through solid rock and keep going.
Aiden immediately elementalized, scattering into a sky full of lightning.
"Boom!!!"
The shockwave brushed past the lightning and blasted hard into the sky behind Aiden.
The heavy storm clouds were pierced and torn apart instantly. A massive hole several kilometers wide opened in the sky and took a long time to close.
Aiden reformed his body in midair. He saw the path the attack had carved and slowly breathed out.
"Just as I thought..."
He looked down at the Giant King below. Aiden smiled because he understood the gap in raw strength.
"Clashing blades with someone this strong puts me at a disadvantage."
"In that case..."
Aiden slowly relaxed his furrowed brow. Excitement cut through the pain in his body.
"Since you want to see my power so badly, I'll show you..."
"Bzzzt—"
Before he even finished speaking.
The lightning around Aiden changed.
The voltage broke past its limit in an instant!
"Boom!!!"
A massive blue-and-white lightning pillar shot up with Aiden at the center, reaching into the clouds and down to the sea.
Inside the blinding lightning, Aiden's elementalized body began to expand rapidly.
Endless electrical currents rebuilt his body, forming bones, muscles, and armor out of lightning.
In just a moment, the tiny Aiden had transformed into a giant body of blue-and-white lightning dozens of meters tall.
Thick electric arcs wrapped around his body. Blinding light poured from his face, and two towering greatswords made of condensed lightning formed in his hands. His size now stood close to Harald's.
The light around his head was so bright that his features were almost impossible to see.
The lightning giant looked down at Harald. Aiden's voice echoed through the lightning and shook the sky:
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Now I can fight you properly."
Harald raised his head toward the lightning giant.
"Elemental gigantification? Getting bigger just makes you an easier target. This kind of flashy move is meaningless."
Harald scoffed and raised his giant sword again.
"Hum—"
An even heavier Conqueror's Haki began to wrap around his blade. Black-and-red lightning covered the giant sword completely.
Harald roared. His muscles bulged as he swung his sword coated in Conqueror's Haki at the lightning giant!
Aiden's lightning giant form also roared. He crossed his two lightning swords, and black-and-red Conqueror's Haki wrapped around them as well.
Backed by hundreds of millions of volts of violent electricity and Conqueror's Haki coating, Aiden swung his dual swords and clashed right back!
"Boom————!!!"
The two giants slammed into each other.
It was no longer a simple clash of swords. It was a direct collision between two giants over the sea.
A shockwave swept across the battlefield. It flattened the waves around them and scattered the storm clouds overhead.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
They didn't stop after the first strike.
Although he had grown massive, Aiden's speed hadn't dropped because his body was made of lightning. Instead, due to his larger size, every movement crossed more distance than before.
The contrast looked completely absurd. He was now dozens of meters tall, but he still moved with the same lightning speed as before.
He turned into a blue afterimage, circling Harald and attacking from different angles.
He swung his dual swords one after another, each hit carrying violent lightning and Haki.
"What's wrong? Can you still keep up with my speed?!"
Aiden shouted.
At equal sizes, the lightning gave him enough strength to clash with a giant, while the Rumble-Rumble Fruit gave him overwhelming speed.
Harald had greater raw strength, but he could not follow all of Aiden's attacks.
He swung his giant sword as if it weighed nothing, but under Aiden's violent attacks, he was forced into a defensive position.
"Boom!"
Aiden kicked the side of Harald's giant sword. The massive force sent the Giant King stumbling back several steps, his huge body crashing hard into his giant warship.
"Crack!!"
The ship's side dented and collapsed from the impact, turning a large section into ruins.
In the distance on the Storm Reaper, Jinbe, who had returned from the water, watched the battlefield while sweating heavily.
He wanted to help, but the shockwaves from a battle of that level alone could tear the Storm Reaper apart right now. He could only stand on the deck with Issho and watch the two giants fight.
"We can't interfere..."
Even Issho did not move.
In the center of the battlefield.
Harald steadied himself. He checked the damage to his warship, then turned back toward the lightning giant in front of him.
Harald's expression hardened.
"I can't take him down quickly."
Harald was a veteran warrior of many battles. He knew clearly that if this dragged on, even a victory would cost too much, and his ship might sink first.
Losing a ship out on the vast ocean made survival hard even for him, not to mention the other Giant warriors still on board.
"If that's the case..."
Harald suddenly looked past Aiden, toward the Storm Reaper rocking in the stormy waves in the distance.
He was here to carry out a mission, not to spar.
Harald stopped fighting like a warrior enjoying battle and returned to the cold judgment of a soldier carrying out an order for the World Government.
As long as he achieved his goal, the process didn't matter.
He remembered clearly during their very first clash. When his initial, probing "Sea Cleaver" slash came down, Aiden could easily have used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's speed to dodge.
But he didn't.
He chose to take it head-on, risking injury just to block that strike.
Why?
Because that ship was right behind him.
"Once I destroy that... you'll have nowhere left to protect."
"Bzzzt!"
Aiden swung his swords again. The two lightning blades crossed into an X shape, heading straight for Harald's chest.
But this time, Harald didn't block!
"Slash!!"
The high-voltage lightning swords pierced deeply into his shoulder and chest. Blood burst out, but it was instantly burned away by the heat.
Harald endured the intense pain. His muscles tightened, locking Aiden's dual swords inside his own body.
"What?!" Aiden was startled.
"I've got you..."
Harald bared his teeth.
He knew full well that if he aimed his attack at Aiden now, Aiden would likely scatter into lightning again. It was too hard to land a clean hit.
To deal real damage, he had to make dodging impossible.
So, he didn't attack Aiden right in front of him. Instead, he used this chance to grip his giant sword tightly with both hands. Channeling all his Haki and strength, he unleashed his strongest strike toward the Storm Reaper bobbing in the distant waves!
"Spear of Elbaph: Demise!!"
"Rumble————!!!"
A dark red spiral shockwave, several times larger than the previous Ikoku, instantly tore through the empty space.
This was no longer a normal slash.
It was a destructive beam capable of wiping out everything in its path.
Target—the Storm Reaper!
"Bastard!!!!"
Aiden shouted in fury.
He didn't expect this Giant with a king's pride to use such a dirty trick just to achieve his goal.
Dirty bastard.
At this distance, if the attack hit, not only the Storm Reaper, but Jinbe, Issho, the three Hancock sisters, and the Marine soldiers on board would be vaporized in an instant!
Dodge?
He couldn't dodge!
And he wouldn't!
"Bzzzt!!"
A blinding flash of lightning shot out instantly, crossing the space and appearing right between the destructive slash and the Storm Reaper.
There was absolutely no room to evade.
Aiden stood with his back to the Storm Reaper, facing the dark spiral shockwave. He crossed his dual blades in front of his chest.
In this moment, he poured all his Haki and stamina into his two swords without holding anything back.
This time, he didn't even have a second to adjust his posture or gather power to block like before.
He could only rely on instinct to raise a rushed defense!
"Block it...!!!"
A second later.
"Boom————!!!"
The destructive beam hit Aiden squarely.
Light and spray swallowed the deck.
A violent explosion spread across the sea and shook the Storm Reaper from bow to stern.
Even Aiden's giant lightning form cracked under the force.
"Crack..."
A sharp breaking sound rang out.
Aiden's lightning giant form was covered in cracks under the impact, and then it completely shattered!
"Pfft!"
The lightning filling the sky scattered. Aiden returned to his original body. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was smashed hard onto the Storm Reaper's deck by the shockwave.
Aiden struggled to prop up his upper body and vomited a large mouthful of blood. Even though he had blocked the attack using his strong physique and Haki, the massive Haki damage carried in Harald's full-power strike couldn't heal immediately, despite the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's strong recovery ability.
The lightning glowing on his skin turned very dim. His normally neat black coat was now in tatters, and his body was covered in scorch marks.
"Cough, cough..."
Aiden coughed violently, forced down the metallic taste rising in his throat, and scanned the deck.
The area was a total mess.
The once tidy deck was full of cracks. Shattered splinters and twisted steel were everywhere.
Fortunately, Issho had already used gravity to send Kane, the regular Marines, and the three Hancock sisters into the cabin for protection before the fight escalated. Otherwise, the consequences under that destructive shockwave would have been unthinkable.
On the entire ship, only Jinbe and Issho were left standing.
"Boss Aiden!!"
Jinbe ran over from the steering wheel. Seeing Aiden's severe injuries, he stopped beside him, shocked by the wounds. He wanted to reach out to help him up, but worried about making the injuries worse.
"Leave me be... I won't die."
Aiden gritted his teeth and used the handle of his sword to pull himself up unsteadily. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face hard with anger and pain.
"Jinbe! Weigh the anchor! Move!!"
"We can't stay here!"
Aiden knew clearly that in his current condition, if he took another "Demise" from that madman head-on, this ship would definitely break apart.
"Yes!"
Jinbe didn't delay. He immediately turned and rushed to the winch at the bow, using his full strength to force up the heavy alloy anchor.
"Creak— Creak—"
The winch let out an ear-piercing metal grinding sound, but it didn't move an inch.
"Damn it!!"
Veins bulged on Jinbe's forehead as he yelled:
"Boss Aiden! It won't work! The shockwave earlier bent the winch gears! And the anchor chain seems to be stuck fast in a rocky crevice on the sea floor! I can't pull it back!"
If the anchor couldn't be pulled up, the Storm Reaper couldn't move at all.
"It's not over yet..."
Aiden looked into the distance.
On that black giant warship, Harald hadn't paused for a single second just because his attack was blocked.
"Still alive..."
Harald stood at the bow of the giant ship, looking at the Storm Reaper still floating on the sea.
But he didn't pursue them right away.
"Cough..."
Dark red blood trickled from the corner of Harald's mouth. In order to forcefully lock Aiden down earlier, he had taken Aiden's strike head-on. The wounds on his chest and shoulder, pierced by high-voltage lightning, were now smoking. The intense pain made his hand gripping the sword tremble slightly.
On top of that, his all-out "Demise" had drained a massive amount of stamina and Haki. Even he couldn't fire off another full-power slash like that in a short time.
"However... a normal slash is enough to deal with you right now."
Harald slowly raised his giant sword again.
Facing an immobile, fixed target, even a slash coated in Conqueror's Haki was enough to destroy them.
Haki gathered on his blade once more.
Aiden glanced over at the bow. The thick alloy anchor chain was pulled tight, stuck deep in the rocky crevice below.
"Break!!"
Aiden didn't hesitate. Oto flared with lightning as he swung it backward into the anchor chain!
"Snap!!!"
With a sharp metal snapping sound, the special alloy chain—thicker than a man's thigh—broke instantly.
The Storm Reaper jolted violently. Free of its constraints, it shook hard in the raging waves.
"Issho! I leave the rear to you! Just block him for a second!"
Aiden didn't stay on deck to act tough. He knew clearly that their top priority wasn't killing the enemy, but getting the ship moving.
As long as they started moving, the Storm Reaper's speed could definitely shake the enemy easily.
"Understood."
Issho nodded and drew his cane sword.
He walked to the stern alone, facing the terrifying Giant King.
"Bzzzt!"
Inside the engine room.
Aiden wiped the blood from his mouth and slammed both hands onto the core crystal.
Boom!!!
A huge amount of electricity flooded into the power furnace at once.
The gear assembly let out an overwhelmed screech. The gauges instantly pushed past their safe limit.
At the stern of the Storm Reaper, four sets of thrusters simultaneously shot out blue-and-white exhaust flames hundreds of meters long. The massive thrust raised the bow high, and the whole ship shot forward across the sea!
Watching the Storm Reaper launch across the sea, Harald finally looked shocked.
Too fast!
That didn't look like a speed any ship could achieve.
The black giant warship beneath his feet was much faster than a regular Marine ship, but compared to the Storm Reaper, it was in a completely different league.
In just a few breaths, the distance between them grew too wide to chase.
Harald immediately gripped his giant sword with both hands, raised it over his head, and planned to swing it down at the escaping Storm Reaper.
Right at that critical moment.
Issho's hand slowly gripped the hilt of his cane sword.
"Shing—"
The blade slipped an inch out of its sheath.
Purple gravity ripples spread from his blade in a fan shape toward the ocean behind the ship.
He did not aim at Harald's body. Breaking through that level of physical defense quickly was too hard.
His target was the sea.
"Gravity Blade: Reverse - Sea and Sky Inversion!!"
Issho fully drew his blade and performed an upward swing at the ocean beneath Harald's warship.
"Vmm!!!"
A second later, the sea beneath Harald's warship rose upward.
The entire section of ocean under the black warship surged into the air, pulled up by Issho's reverse gravity.
"Rumble—!!!"
The seawater shot into the sky with a roar. It formed a reverse-flowing sea wall hundreds of meters high and slammed hard into the bottom of the black warship!
"What?!"
Harald's stance broke for the first time.
Slammed by this sudden massive force, the island-sized warship actually lost its balance. The bow tipped high, and the entire ship tilted violently backward, almost flipping over!
Harald slipped on his feet. The slash he had locked onto the Storm Reaper instantly went off course.
"Boom!!!"
The shockwave brushed past the Storm Reaper's port side and blasted heavily into the sea hundreds of meters away.
The massive explosion kicked up a thousand-meter-tall wave, but this giant wave actually pushed the Storm Reaper forward from behind!
"Jinbe! Hold on tight!!"
"Whoa!!!"
Riding this thrust, the Storm Reaper's speed surged again, racing across the sea.
By the time Harald stabilized the warship beneath him, the Storm Reaper had already rushed completely out of his sight.
"They escaped..."
Harald slowly sheathed his giant sword on his back. He didn't make a pointless pursuit.
He looked down at the smoking scorch mark on his chest. It was the wound left when Aiden's dual swords pierced him. The intense pain constantly reminded him that the fight earlier wasn't an easy hunt, but an evenly matched deathmatch.
"Phew..."
The Giant King slowly exhaled a hot breath of white steam.
When the Five Elders handed him this mission, he thought it was just a routine sweep, capturing a slightly tricky rebel.
But now it seemed... the Five Elders had clearly underestimated the young man's danger level.
"What a dangerous man."
Harald looked in the direction the Storm Reaper vanished and fell silent.
It had been many years since he met an opponent who could make him feel threatened.
For a moment, Aiden reminded him of someone from his past.
"He's exactly like you were back then... Rocks."
His fingers tightened around the sword hilt. Regret slipped into his words:
"Back then you asked me for help... if I hadn't refused that time, maybe you wouldn't have died there, old friend..."
That was the greatest regret of his life.
After a long time, he sighed deeply and hardened himself again.
"Aiden..."
He muttered the name and turned toward the broken cabin. His black cape dragged behind him in the rain.