In the initial days, although Raiver Sky possessed considerable mastery in the Sword Skill Realm, his lack of life-and-death combat experience often left him struggling to keep up with the seasoned Shiki in terms of adaptability and rhythm. He frequently had to rely on his Devil Fruit Ability just to hold his ground.
However, as their sparring sessions continued, Raiver Sky's hundredfold-enhanced learning and adaptation abilities began to manifest in terrifying fashion.
His grasp of sword moves, timing, and sword aura improved at a staggering pace.
Now, without using his Devil Fruit Ability and relying solely on swordsmanship, he could already fight Shiki to a standstill, occasionally even launching brilliant counterattacks that forced Shiki to take him seriously.
As for his Space-Space Fruit Ability, Raiver Sky hadn't neglected it either.
Every night he would engage in deep cultivation, attempting to develop new applications or refine existing techniques.
The only slight regret was that the system hadn't issued a single mission over the past month, meaning he hadn't received any new rewards.
But he also understood that constantly relying on system rewards to improve his strength wasn't feasible - steady, solid training was the true path to power.
"Kid Raiver, you training maniac, still want to fight?"
Shiki took a swig of liquor, looking at the steadily-breathing Raiver Sky with eyes mixing shock and approval:
"Your rate of improvement is simply terrifying."
To be honest, the speed of Raiver Sky's growth secretly astonished even an experienced veteran like him who had weathered countless storms.
Those who stood at the pinnacle had all built their strength and experience through mountains of corpses and oceans of blood, tempered over time.
Yet Raiver Sky had only been with the Rocks Pirates for a month, and especially during these recent sparring sessions, the combat experience he'd accumulated and his control over power had already surpassed most officers in the crew who relied on seniority.
This guy was practically a monster born for battle.
What was more frightening was that he was still so young.
His potential seemed bottomless.
"Shiki, our swordsmanship is now on par."
Raiver Sky sheathed his sword, gazing calmly at the setting sun on the horizon.
"If we continue sparring purely with swordsmanship like this, I'm afraid neither of us will make much progress in the short term."
"Hahaha! Kid Raiver, what big words you speak!"
Golden Lion Shiki roared with laughter. Though secretly shocked by Raiver Sky's rapid progress, he absolutely refused to admit it verbally.
"You've barely scratched the surface! You're still far from reaching this master's true level!"
To admit with his own mouth that he was evenly matched with a "newcomer"? That would be more painful than killing him.
"Hmph—"
A deep, thunderous snort suddenly cut in.
"Is that so, Shiki? Why do I feel that over this past month, your strength hasn't improved, but your face has grown thick enough to block cannonballs?"
Whitebeard leaped down from the high ship's bow, his massive body carrying astonishing presence as he landed beside the two, making the ground tremble slightly.
He truly couldn't stand Shiki's attitude.
First boasting about being the "Strongest Swordsman" at the previous banquet, and now after dozens of exchanges with Raiver Sky where every fight ended in exhaustion and stalemate.
With ironclad facts right before his eyes, he could still spout such nonsense without batting an eye?
Was this guy's face thicker than the Red Line?
The more Whitebeard thought about it, the angrier he became. Sometimes he really wanted to wrap his Cloud Cutter with vibration waves and slash this bastard along with his ship to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.
"Newgate, what trouble are you stirring up?" Shiki's face darkened as he retorted without courtesy:
"This is a sword exchange between Raiver Sky and myself. What right does a brute like you, who doesn't comprehend the essence of swordsmanship, have to interrupt?"
He never had a pleasant expression for this guy who always loved to undermine others. Even when he wanted to maintain some dignity in front of his junior, this fellow had to disrupt it. How detestable!
"Gurararara! A brute?"
Whitebeard laughed instead of getting angry, crossing his arms and looking down at him with even stronger mockery.
"Raiver Sky is only twenty, yet he's already reached the ranks of the top swordsmen on the high seas through his own strength.
How many people in history have possessed such talent?"
He then shifted his tone, striking right at the vital point:
"And you? After roaming the seas for ten years, in this past month of sparring with Raiver Sky, have you ever truly won a single match?
With such mediocre skill, how dare you claim that Raiver Sky is slightly inferior to you?"
Each word pierced right to the heart.
"Damn it! Whitebeard, what the hell do you know!" Shiki instantly flushed red, his golden hair practically standing on end:
"I practice the profound and unfathomable Two-Sword Style!
Using two blades simultaneously, integrating offense and defense, with infinite variations - it's countless times more difficult than your clumsy method of gripping a single sword with both hands!
The mental energy consumed, the precision required for coordination - they're simply incomparable!
Don't speak recklessly if you don't understand the true essence of swordsmanship! You're just relying on that Tremor-Tremor Fruit of yours!"
Furious from shame, he "clanged" as he grabbed Cherry Ten and Withered Tree that were planted nearby, ready to strike at Whitebeard.
Today, he would definitely make this guy shut up!
Seeing that Shiki had been provoked into making the first move, Whitebeard's lips curled slightly, revealing a hint of triumphant smile.
He had been feeling the itch to fight, and now was the perfect opportunity to teach this fellow a lesson.
"Easy now, easy now. It's not simple for either of you," Raiver Sky acted as peacemaker. "Besides, Shiki just finished an intense battle with me. Winning against him now wouldn't be a fair victory."
Whitebeard thought this made some sense and snorted coldly: "Shiki, dare to fight me tomorrow?"
Shiki crossed his arms: "Bring it on! Do you think I'd avoid your challenge?"
Then Raiver Sky spoke up: "Shiki, our earlier sword competition didn't determine a winner, and continuing to fight won't settle it either.
How about this - we each use one of the other's most skilled Sword Moves.
Whoever can imitate it more exquisitely, capture its essence more perfectly, or even improve upon it or demonstrate deeper understanding will be the winner.
What do you think? This can reflect our comprehension of sword techniques while also indirectly illustrating the difficulty of cultivation, since the more difficult the swordsmanship, the harder it is for outsiders to imitate its essence."
"Hahahaha! Perfect!" Shiki laughed heartily as he stood up.
After a month of intense battles with Raiver Sky, he had already figured out most of his opponent's sword style.
With his years of swordsmanship experience and keen eye, replicating sixty to seventy percent of the skill level would be no difficulty at all.
But for Raiver Sky to imitate his complex and ever-changing Two-Sword Style? Difficult!
"Hahahaha! Since you proposed this contest, I'll demonstrate first and let you see what we call the foundation of a senior!"
"Watch carefully - this move of yours, 'Sea Severance'!"
Shiki took the lead. To show his ease and confidence, he even gripped only Cherry Ten with a single hand.
Taking a deep breath, a sharp light flashed in his eyes as he imitated Raiver Sky's starting posture and power application method, then suddenly swung his sword!
A cold gleam appeared instantly as a hundred-meter-long Sword Energy Beam shot out vertically, tearing through space and splitting the sea!
Quite satisfied with his masterpiece, Shiki turned back proudly:
"How about that? Although single-sword techniques are fierce, their move structure is indeed relatively simple.
I've already grasped seventy to eighty percent of the essence of this move of yours."
"In the end, my Two-Sword Style is far more intricate and profound, making it far more difficult to practice and imitate!"
Raiver Sky gave a faint smile, not even bothering to comment on the flawed imitation full of holes.
"Is that so, Shiki? Watch closely now."
Before his words fully faded, Raiver's figure moved like a phantom.
Shiki felt a sudden lightness at his waist—the other Great Grade Sword, "Withered Tree," had already fallen into Raiver's grasp.
Holding a blade in each hand, Raiver slightly bent his waist, his gaze instantly becoming focused and sharp.
Hum—
A faint, unsettling sword hum arose, not from the blades themselves, but from the Sword Intent coalescing around Raiver's entire body.
Strands of tangible, tearing Azure Sword Energy, like living entities, swiftly swirled and converged around the blades of "Black Dragon" and "Withered Tree," emitting a low, roaring howl!