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Chapter 557: Face? Come and Take It Yourself!
Chapter 557: Face? Come and Take It Yourself!
A shockwave erupted beneath Silvers Rayleigh’s feet, sending rubble flying. He shifted his right foot backward, gripping his blade with one hand, his expression darkening slightly. The strength behind that slash had been no joke.
The blade in Silvers Rayleigh’s hand now radiated a swirling aura like a tempest, clashing with the golden electric sparks dancing across Kuro’s blade. The two forces collided violently. If he hadn’t countered with Haki of equal rank, his sword would’ve shattered on the spot. This meant the opponent before him was finally serious.
Kuro’s slash was blocked, but he immediately pressed down with his free hand while launching a brutal kick toward Silvers Rayleigh’s abdomen. Silvers Rayleigh bent his knee, channeling Haki into his leg to parry the strike.
Bang!
Using the momentum of the kick, Kuro flipped upward, twisting his body to land behind Silvers Rayleigh. The black blade of Autumn Water scraped against Silvers Rayleigh’s sword, sending a wispy spark flying as it slashed toward his opponent’s neck.
Silvers Rayleigh ducked low, spun his body, and seized Kuro’s wrists mid-strike, hurling him backward. Kuro’s blade missed, and as his body was thrown, he lashed out with a sudden kick to Silvers Rayleigh’s face.
Crack!
Silvers Rayleigh staggered back, clutching the spot on his face where his Haki had faded, a wry smile forming. “Guess I’m getting old.”
Kuro twisted mid-air, landing gracefully and retracting his foot as he sheathed Autumn Water. He flicked his blade, his voice icy. “The debt from two years ago? Time to settle it.”
“Hey, you’re a Vice Admiral now. Holding a grudge this hard—really the best use of your time?” Silvers Rayleigh quipped.
“Old Man’s the one with the small heart?!” Kuro shot back, gesturing wildly at the ruined base around them. “Look at this place! Who in their right mind does this? I’ll let the Shabondy chaos slide—it was just a nuisance. But you tore apart Old Man’s base so badly it’s practically rubble! If I let you off easy, where does that leave my reputation?!”
“Can’t you just give this old man a break?” Silvers Rayleigh asked.
“Break?!” Kuro scoffed. “What face do you think you’ve got that deserves my mercy? I’m Lucius Kro, Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, an Admiral candidate, and you expect me to show Golden Lion that much respect?!”
With a sharp motion, Kuro unsheathed Autumn Water. A chaotic Haki-infused slash roared through the air.
“Want face? Fine! Come and take it yourself!”
The slash tore through the space, forcing Silvers Rayleigh to leap back. He intensified the Haki on his blade, gripping the hilt with both hands as he swung at the incoming attack.
Boom!
The clash shattered the slash, sending a shockwave rippling outward.
Crash after crash!
Silvers Rayleigh’s blade slashed repeatedly, deflecting or dispersing each incoming strike. The deflected slashes tore into the fortress, carving massive gashes. One sliced through a distant load-bearing wall, collapsing the entire structure above it.
Rubble rained down, shockwaves rippled across the ground, and the ruins expanded further.
Silvers Rayleigh cleaved through the last slash, only to see a flash of Black Radiance laced with golden lightning. He barely managed to release his Haki in time.
Bang!
Autumn Water’s blade struck, accompanied by an afterimage attack from below. Silvers Rayleigh couldn’t dodge in time—the kick slammed into his gut, sending him flying.
“Telekinesis Blade!”
Kuro slashed again, his ability surging from the blade to distort the air along Silvers Rayleigh’s trajectory, twisting and slicing the space around him.
Silvers Rayleigh spat a curse, his body erupting with Armored Haki. Sparks flew as his upper body shredded into tatters. He forced himself to land, planting his foot to escape the lion’s-bite slash.
“This destruction’s getting even bigger,” he muttered.
“Your fault for blocking!” Kuro growled.
“You’re blaming me for defending? If I didn’t, you’d have killed me!”
“Exactly!”
Kuro bit down on his cigar, exhaling a plume of smoke as he shot forward, trailing Black Radiance. Silvers Rayleigh steadied himself, exhaled sharply, and charged.
Clang!
To onlookers, the two became blurs of afterimages, colliding repeatedly and unleashing shockwaves that shook the base to its core.
Klah glanced upward, adjusting his glasses as he watched the half-destroyed base crumble further. “At this rate, even half won’t survive.”
Even Klah himself could’ve leveled the base in a fight. But Kuro’s combat? At this level, battles were always apocalyptic—and never quick.
Kuro was furious. Beyond furious.
He’d never wanted to fight this old man in the first place. The Grand Line’s top tier was full of stubborn bastards—some with unmatched power, others with unbreakable bodies, or swordsmanship that defied reason.
At their level, with equal Haki mastery and combat techniques, gaining an edge wasn’t something you could force in a moment. Silvers Rayleigh might’ve aged, but his combat prowess was still among the elite.
And now, Kuro was fighting on his home turf—Shabondy, his stationed island. The more intense the fight, the more the island itself would suffer.
But holding back?
Impossible!
Kuro slashed downward, Silvers Rayleigh dodging at the last second. Kuro sheathed Autumn Water mid-motion, then lunged forward, his blade flashing like a crescent moon.
“Crescent Moon Slash!”
Clang!
Silvers Rayleigh blocked with both hands, the force vibrating through his blade. The shockwave tore through the wall behind Kuro, reducing most of the base to rubble in one strike.
Silvers Rayleigh retaliated instantly, cleaving through the remaining structure. Kuro’s pupils contracted as he flickered backward in a series of afterimages. The slash obliterated the last standing fragment of the base.
The entire Navy base was now ruins.
“This is a disaster…”
Ju Geng and Fen Ni arrived, though they’d had no choice. The moment Kuro unleashed his killing intent, they’d felt it. With the base shaking apart, staying put would’ve buried them alive.
“The lab’s gone,” Fen Ni wailed. “I was about to test a new recipe!”
Ju Geng glanced at the battling Kuro and Silvers Rayleigh, realization dawning. “That’s Pluton? No wonder Vice Admiral Kuro’s so enraged. Lida’s fighting too?”
While Kuro and Silvers Rayleigh clashed fiercely, Lida’s battle on the other side was far more relaxed. She sent Chopper flying with a single punch, then stood over the fallen three main fighters, a chasm of power between them.
“Can’t get past me, raccoon dog.”
“I’m a reindeer!” Chopper shouted back.
(End of Chapter)
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