Chapter 149 Fate is Meant to be Broken
Rayleigh realized his slashes couldn't break through the defense, so he immediately switched his approach.
Arcs of light flashed repeatedly!
Moving with incredible speed, he delivered a series of diagonal slashes with his double-edged sword. In an instant, Zane seemed trapped within a dome of arc-shaped blade-light.
"Revolving Reverse Slash!"
Gripping the weapon's shaft tightly, Zane spun violently. The blade swept out in a horizontal arc, erupting into a circular shockwave.
The expanding circular shockwave collided with the dense web of sword arcs, triggering a violent clash of impacts and roars.
Ultimately, Zane's slash possessed greater momentum. It forcibly shattered the encirclement, compelling Rayleigh to retreat in haste.
Seeing the shockwave still expanding and chasing him, Rayleigh once again utilized the Paramita Blade, slicing the oncoming wave apart with a single strike.
His form blurred into an afterimage.
With a sudden burst of speed, Zane appeared directly in front of Rayleigh.
"Star Piercer!"
Carrying the momentum of his explosive speed, the three-pointed double-edged glaive lunged forward with ferocity.
'So fast!!'
Rayleigh's pupils constricted.
He continued his rapid retreat, yet he couldn't create distance. He was forced to block with his double-edged sword.
Boom!!!
The three-pointed double-edged glaive slammed into the sword, instantly unleashing a terrifying pressure.
Flowing with the momentum.
Rayleigh chose not to engage in a direct contest of strength. Instead, after a brief parry, he used Zane's power to propel himself backward.
He flew through the air for some distance. Upon landing, the residual impact caused his feet to shatter the ground, plowing two deep trenches.
Leaping upward.
Just as Rayleigh steadied himself, Zane attacked again, swinging his glaive downward toward the top of his opponent's head.
'Am I really fighting a young man?'
'Not some old monster like Whitebeard?'
Faced with Zane's relentless continuous assault and the staggering strength that left his palms numb and aching, Rayleigh's heart pounded.
"Divine Departure!!"
Gripping his sword with both hands, Rayleigh looked up at the diving Zane. With a solemn expression, he thrust his sword upward to meet the strike.
Boom!!!!
The three-pointed double-edged glaive and the double-edged sword clashed in mid-air once more.
One sought to press down, while the other fought to repel.
Crackle!
Black lightning flickered wildly in the void.
Centered around Rayleigh's feet, the earth undulated like waves, forming layer after layer of ripples before crumbling into dust under the terrifying vibrations.
The entire coastline shook.
The violent impact swept toward the ocean, whipping up massive waves that radiated into the distance.
"Hah!!!"
Veins popped on Rayleigh's forehead, and the muscles in his arms bulged to their absolute limit to withstand the crushing pressure radiating from the sword.
Finally.
Because the mid-air Zane had no point of leverage, as the peak of his explosive power passed, Rayleigh managed to withstand the slash through persistent effort.
But Rayleigh didn't get an opportunity to counterattack.
Once the peak of his strength waned, Zane decisively used the momentum to float backward, away from the strike.
As he retreated, Zane swept his blade out, releasing a brilliant shockwave to intercept any pursuit.
Rip!
The earth split open.
Even as a mere deterrent, the shockwave from the glaive displayed terrifying power, carving the coastline in two and creating a massive, shocking fissure.
'He really doesn't give a single opening.'
Rayleigh, who was just about to advance, was forced to stop by the intercepting shockwave.
Seeing that his hard-earned effort to repel the opponent was so easily neutralized, Rayleigh felt a sense of helplessness, yet he couldn't help but feel admiration.
This young man was not only as strong as Whitebeard but also had a flawless grasp of the combat's rhythm.
In terms of martial prowess, calling him perfect wouldn't be an exaggeration.
'Thank goodness I'm retired!'
Rayleigh added silently to himself.
The battle raged on.
Neither Zane nor Rayleigh backed down.
The two of them were soon locked in combat once more.
During the fight, whether it was to defend the pride of the older generation or to further probe Zane's upper limits...
Though it was called a spar, Rayleigh was fighting with exceptional intensity.
Zane was quite cooperative in this regard.
To further draw out the old man's swordsmanship.
He consistently maintained a specific baseline: always being one step ahead of the other.
Exactly.
Zane was holding back his score.
It had to be said that even though Technique was a secondary attribute...
After plundering Garp's Technique attribute, his strength had truly received a significant boost.
At his current level, even a minor improvement was a massive leap forward, let alone a significant one.
With his current power, even without using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit or other abilities, he was no less capable than Rayleigh.
This was partially because Rayleigh had aged and moved past his prime.
But it was enough to prove that Zane was no longer just entering the top tier of combatants; he had already taken several steps forward within that realm.
The battle had begun at noon.
By the time it ended, it was already evening.
"Ah... that's enough!"
Propping himself up with his sword, Rayleigh, whose body was drenched in sweat, breathlessly called out to stop Zane, who was about to attack again.
One really has to accept growing old.
Looking at Zane, who still appeared energetic and spirited, Rayleigh couldn't help but feel a hint of bitterness.
The battle had lasted for half a day.
Under the premise of a spar, both sides had been relatively restrained, so no obvious injuries were sustained.
However, their physical stamina showed a stark contrast after the prolonged engagement.
Compared to Rayleigh's disheveled state.
Zane only had a bit of dust on his clothes and a light sweat on his brow.
"Fair enough!"
Seeing the heavy depletion of the other's stamina, Zane didn't insist and lowered his three-pointed double-edged glaive, though he still looked as if he hadn't had enough.
Regardless, the battle had already allowed him to see through most of Rayleigh's swordsmanship.
All that was left was to spend some time turning it into his own nourishment.
The God's Eye on his forehead closed.
The three-pointed double-edged glaive transformed back into a hair and drifted away in the wind.
Zane stepped forward to help Rayleigh up, and they headed back to the Rip-off Bar.
"What's going on? Got discouraged by a youngster?"
At the entrance of the Rip-off Bar, Shakky, who had finished tidying up and now had several bandages on her, watched the three departing figures.
Seeing that Rayleigh hadn't moved for a long time, she couldn't help but step out and pat the somewhat dazed man.
"Yeah!"
Rayleigh looked back at Shakky and sighed quite frankly in response to her words.
Though he was retired, as someone who had reached the summit, seeing a member of the younger generation surpass him made it impossible not to feel some melancholy and loss.
But his daze actually had a more important reason.
Looking once more in the direction Zane had left, Rayleigh couldn't help but say, "Tell me, must Joy Boy really be Nika? Could someone outside of destiny appear?"
As his partner and someone who knew quite a bit of the inside story, Shakky immediately grasped her man's meaning.
"Who knows? But destiny is a vague and elusive thing. Stubbornly chasing it is actually a bit foolish," Shakky said subtly, also looking toward Zane's departure.
Rayleigh fell silent.
'Roger, what do you think?'
'If you were to meet this Zane, I wonder what you would feel.'
'Would you think Joy Boy's destiny is unbreakable, or that destiny is meant to be broken?'
"Destiny is meant to be broken. Otherwise, why would I have gone out to sea in the first place!" Rayleigh suddenly burst into laughter.
Shakky turned to look at her man. Seeing that the confusion from before had vanished and he had regained his usual spirit, she smiled softly.
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