https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-393-Elderly-People-Should-Be-Careful-About-Intense-Activities/13537057/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-395-You-re-No-Match-for-Old-Man-Shanks/13537063/
Chapter 394: The Empty Throne Must Be Claimed
Chapter 394: The Empty Throne Must Be Claimed
Advanced Haki!
Kuro's eyes narrowed, his blade speed increasing rather than decreasing. In that instant, the Armored Haki around his throat solidified further.
The blade struck Lucius.
Simultaneously, the Bat Umbrella pierced Kuro's throat.
Boom!!
The two separated once more. Lucius grunted, retreating over ten meters this time. His shoulder, waist, and chest were slashed open despite the Armament Haki reinforcing those areas. Even with hardened Haki, the cuts still tore through.
His clothes seemed sliced by countless fine blades, leaving countless gashes across his body.
In one strike, the gentleman’s elegant appearance became tattered and ruined.
Kuro merely tilted his head back, a faint bloodshot mark appearing on his throat. He twisted his neck, his expression darkening.
His force had been scattered by that blow.
This old man truly lived up to his reputation—experienced and cunning.
This wasn’t like Shanks’ incomplete state back then. It had taken ages to sever one arm, and even then, pulling a ship’s rudder had left him no match.
But now? Times had changed.
"Recoil strength?"
Lucius frowned at the delicate wounds across his body. "Can Haki truly reach such intensity?"
"Not pleasant, is it?" Kuro sneered.
The 'Nailsfist Technique' he’d researched from Sazil wasn’t for nothing. His Haki now carried a counterforce through External Release’s diffusion properties—any strike against him rebounded.
An eye for an eye—striking him meant striking oneself.
"Lion Summoning!"
Kuro extended his hand. The debris shattered by Lucius earlier reaggregated into massive lion heads, biting down from the air.
"Told you this move’s useless. Even Shanks wouldn’t dare slack against me back then."
Lucius gripped his Bat Umbrella, ready to shatter the lion heads again, when he paused. Looking down, he saw his ankle bound by ejected rock.
"Abilities must be combined with physical prowess!"
Kuro’s voice echoed closer. Autumn Water, sheathed moments ago, now slashed out as a black radiance—a thin, straight line of death.
"Crescent Moon Slash!"
The black blade flashed.
"Iaijutsu?"
Lucius twisted his ankle, shattering the rocky binds. His body became a wispy afterimage, evading the lightning-fast drawcut.
"Tch. Poison Snake."
Kuro flicked his hand, unleashing a wave of rock surging forward.
Boom!
The Stone Waves shattered instantly. Lucius moved like a teleporting shadow, flickering through space. He leapt skyward, cleaving through the giant lion heads before vanishing again, evading Kuro’s tracking.
Kuro’s eyes darted, locking onto the flickering figure.
"Can’t catch me, can you, old man?"
Haki, swordsmanship… Perhaps his Armament Haki lacked Kaido’s raw dominance, but his Observation Haki was monstrous. Against such a foe, Kuro couldn’t track him unless he stilled.
Kuro’s grip on Autumn Water shifted. The blade, previously swung outward, now faced forward. His fingers twitched, and the shattered lion heads rained down, forming a semicircular barrier ahead.
"Telekinesis Blade!"
The sword swept outward, howling winds spiraling into the barrier.
Hiss! Hiss!
The ground bore a dense network of delicate cutting scars. The winds surged, relentlessly pursuing the flickering afterimages.
Let’s see you dodge this!
"This is truly—"
Lucius halted his flickering. The Bat Umbrella swirled with purple aura, a full-body slash erupting around him. The clash of slashes and winds rang with metallic clangs.
This brat’s slightly troublesome.
"But if that’s all—"
The winds still roared. Lucius raised his Bat Umbrella defensively, adopting a knight’s stance.
"Far from enough, little brat!"
"Watch out!" Lida instinctively shouted as he took the stance.
Something about the posture made her skin crawl.
He’ll die!
"Thrust!"
Whoosh!
The hooded figure became a blood-red streak, piercing the raging winds at blinding speed. The umbrella tip, charged with concentrated Haki, gleamed purple.
One strike to break the formation!
"Shinmeiryu Style Mystic Art: Black Tortoise!"
Kuro reacted instantly, his two fingers gliding over Autumn Water. Golden light flared along the blade, summoning a Black Tortoise’s shadow to coil around him. The tortoise shell blocked the strike, its serpentine aura glaring at the crimson onslaught.
"Oh? Mythical beasts? Impressive swordsmanship."
Lucius hesitated briefly but barely slowed, the umbrella tip piercing the tortoise shell.
Crack!
The shell splintered under the point, fracturing like glass.
"Lion: Thousand Cutting Valleys!"
Kuro slashed backward, the blade becoming a blur. A hundred golden slashes erupted, howling winds pelting Lucius like rain.
"Oh? Shanks’ technique. So he didn’t just die quietly."
Lucius danced through the slashes, his afterimage evading effortlessly. Not a single strike landed.
At such close range…
His speed was a different caliber entirely. No, in short-range evasion, he surpassed Kuro.
This wasn’t just about Observation Haki anymore.
With this speed…
No wonder he once rivaled Roger and Whitebeard.
"No wonder he once rivaled Roger and Whitebeard?"
Kuro’s brief lapse let Lucius read his thoughts. The Bat Umbrella thrust forward, met by Kuro’s blade. Lucius’s free hand clenched—spikes of earth erupted from his palm.
"Not quite."
Boom!
Lucius flickered away, shattering the spikes. He reappeared behind Kuro, voice calm. "I’m not their equal. Never was."
"But you—"
The Bat Umbrella pointed at Kuro, his voice thundering. "Are even less worthy! These brats now are so arrogant, unaware of how mighty Roger and Whitebeard truly were—how they earned trust effortlessly and believed in their comrades without hesitation. That strength of heart is beyond you!"
"You’ve met Shanks, haven’t you? That’s why you know ‘Thousand Cutting Valleys.’ That fool’s confidence was mere bravado. Even he pales next to Roger and Whitebeard, yet he’s already rare in the Grand Line."
"Ugliness! This world is so vile!"
Lucius’s face darkened. "The Throne at the Grand Line’s end has no worthy claimant, but it cannot remain empty. So I shall take it! I’ll replace Roger and Whitebeard as the ultimate king!"
"Restoration Youth! Rule the Grand Line, become the world’s strongest!"
"Only then—only then—will you vile wretches understand! The Grand Line is no game for despicable fools like you!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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