Chapter 123 A Swordsman in One Step
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
A fierce clash unfolded.
Gion, her slash having missed, retreated rapidly while swinging her blade at high speeds to counter Zane's relentless assault.
Fists and blade collided repeatedly.
Each impact generated visible shockwaves.
Zane's offensive was incredibly ferocious.
Gion's defense was equally airtight.
The two fought at blinding speeds. Not only did their strikes clash, but they also turned into blurred afterimages, darting through the Equality Space.
No.
To be precise, Gion was constantly retreating, while Zane pressed forward step by step.
An Admiral Candidate was naturally powerful.
But the current Zane had already reached a certain level himself.
Especially after obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which gave him the qualifications to reach the very top.
By further utilizing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Zane had fully integrated the advantages of lightning into his Way of the Soldier: Killing Fist.
This allowed his every movement to not only display the divine speed of a lightning bolt but also carry the unparalleled destructive power of thunder.
'Damn it!!'
Amidst the constant retreats and collisions, Gion gritted her teeth.
Both Sengoku and she had already made a high estimate of Zane's strength before coming here.
But now that they were actually fighting, she realized she had still underestimated him.
Previously, she had rejected Zane's request without hesitation.
On one hand, it was indeed to defend her and the Marines' dignity.
But on the other hand, it was born from confidence in her own strength.
She thought that even if Zane caused trouble, her power would be enough to counter him.
But now...
His offensive was so suffocating she could barely breathe. Every collision left her hands numb, as if Konpira might be knocked out of her grip at any moment.
Not enough.
Watching Gion, who was suppressed but still stubbornly resisting, Zane took action.
He decisively activated Body of Steel, turning his arms into steel limbs.
Besides providing a defensive boost, the hardening of his fists and arms also made his punches much heavier.
Boom!!!
Another collision.
The spinning steel fist struck with even greater force, knocking the clashing Konpira high into the air.
Not good!!
The sudden surge in power from the opponent caught Gion off guard.
As Konpira was jarred upward, an opening immediately appeared before her.
The exchange of blows happened in a mere instant.
Zane showed no mercy. His iron fist tore through the distance, striking toward her exposed chest.
Armament Haki!
Unable to dodge, Gion could only focus her Armament Haki to its maximum to defend as the iron fist was about to land on her chest.
Boom!!!
The punch was violent.
A beam-like shockwave surged through Gion's body, erupting from her back.
Blood sprayed from her mouth. Even with the protection of Armament Haki, the force applied to Gion's chest was more than she could handle, sending her flying back at high speed.
Her sternum was cracked.
Even so, after flying back a distance, Gion responded immediately.
Clang!!!
Enduring the pain, she used her immense control to twist her body, stabilizing her form. She used the momentum of the rotation to quickly slash out a brilliant, tornado-shaped shockwave.
The void was torn asunder.
The brilliant tornado-shaped shockwave seemed capable of blotting out the sky, as if it could shred even a mountain to pieces.
A vertical eye gleaming with golden light watched the incoming shockwave.
Zane's third eye had opened at some unknown point.
God's Eye: Piercing Vision!
God's Eye: Vision of All Phenomena!
Pupil power flowed through the golden vertical eye, further emphasizing its natural majesty.
Under the ocular techniques of the God's Eye, Gion's counterattack was perfectly reflected in Zane's vision.
He plucked a strand of hair.
Body of Steel activated.
The hair instantly transformed into a majestic three-pointed double-edged glaive.
As the glaive swung, Zane struck out with ease just as the tornado shockwave reached him.
Boom!!!
A stunning collision erupted.
Under Zane's swing, the three-pointed double-edged glaive burst forth with a slash no inferior to that of a Great Swordsman.
Rolling airwaves and stray slashes tore up the surrounding ground.
Zane stood firmly in place, holding the three-pointed double-edged glaive in both hands, forcibly shattering the tornado shockwave.
'Expecting to become a Great Swordsman in one step was indeed unrealistic, but reaching the level of a swordsman is no problem.'
Spinning the three-pointed double-edged glaive, he held it in his right hand, pointing it diagonally at his side.
Zane looked at Gion in the distance and let out a light chuckle in his heart.
That slash just now was the result of him using the two ocular techniques of his God's Eye to peer into the secrets of a Great Swordsman.
Although he didn't fully succeed because the realm of a Great Swordsman was too profound, it allowed him to step into the domain of a master swordsman in a single bound.
Combined with Haki, Nen aura, and his own powerful physique, his slashes were now completely on par with a Great Swordsman like Gion.
'Such a slash... this guy actually has such profound attainment in the way of the sword!'
Gion landed steadily on the ground after the shockwave dissipated.
However, seeing her shockwave countered by a similar slash from Zane made her heart skip a beat.
The confirmed Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability.
The current suspected space-type Devil Fruit ability.
The Devil Fruit ability that allowed his fists to rotate during battle.
And the Devil Fruit ability that turned his arms into steel.
Gathering such an incredible variety of Devil Fruit abilities into one body was one thing, but now he was showing exceptional swordsmanship as well.
A monster!
The man in front of her was absolutely a freakish monster.
He stepped forward.
Ignoring how heavy and complex Gion's thoughts were.
Within a few steps.
Zane, holding the three-pointed double-edged glaive in one hand, went from a walk to a sprint.
Crack-boom!!!
Lightning flashed.
As he sprinted, Zane turned into an even faster bolt of lightning, appearing in front of Gion in a flash.
Clang!!
She instantly suppressed all distractions.
Her Observation Haki caught Zane's approach, and Gion didn't dare to be careless.
She unleashed a slash without hesitation, intending to seize the initiative.
However, as the blade drew near, it was immediately parried by the three-pointed double-edged glaive.
Screech!!!
When the sharp slash was blocked, the contained shockwave shot out to both sides, tearing two long fissures into the earth.
Lightning erupted.
Violent thunder spread from the three-pointed double-edged glaive to Konpira, forcing Gion to pull back her sword and retreat in a hurry.
Boom!!!
A Lightning Kick struck from behind.
"Argh!!!"
Caught off guard, Gion screamed as she was kicked away like a cannonball, shattering the afterimage Zane had left in front of her like a bubble.
Way of the Soldier: Killing Fist - Dark as the Shadow!
This move and Moving Like Thunder are both secret techniques of the Way of the Soldier: Killing Fist.
But unlike Moving Like Thunder, Dark as the Shadow does not focus on improving raw strength, but rather serves as a combat support.
This technique uses special methods to hide one's aura, thereby evading the enemy's vision and even their Observation Haki.
In terms of difficulty, Dark as the Shadow is even higher than Moving Like Thunder.
Zane was only able to further enhance this move after the successful development of the God's Eye, using the Vision of All Phenomena to gain insight into himself.
Otherwise, even with the use of Zetsu.
Given Gion's near-top-tier Observation Haki, it would have been extremely difficult for him to evade her.
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