Chapter 68: Swallow Return
Chapter 68: Swallow Return
"You want to stop me? Then come and try."
Klah bounded higher into the air, adjusting his glasses as he glanced at Kuro.
He still had one final technique—one he'd kept hidden to truly impress Kuro.
Looks like it's time to reveal it.
Whoosh!
Klah vanished, reappearing midair as a faint dome materialized around him.
"If swallows can evade danger by sensing air currents, what happens when those currents are overwhelmed? If the attack is dense enough, you won't dodge this!"
Slash after slash erupted within the dome—blazing trails of claw blade strikes that filled the entire space!
"Air Chain Flash!"
"Oh?"
The technique actually startled Kuro.
"Accelerated Razor Wind, combined with Moonstep. He’s blended his Spoon Devil Fruit abilities brilliantly", Lida remarked.
Calling Lida a genius wasn't an exaggeration. Though she was a glutton with abilities riddled with side effects, her Haki-type Devil Fruit had granted her unparalleled insight.
Any unarmed combat technique—no matter how complex—became transparent to her after a single viewing.
She couldn't always replicate them, but she understood their mechanics instantly.
Klah's new move was already impressive in her eyes.
Using maximum aerial mobility to unleash a saturation strike across an area? That alone would earn him a place among the Navy's top tiers.
Yet for Bullet Swallow, this indiscriminate assault was still too slow.
The swallow weaved through the blade storm effortlessly, every strike missing by inches as Klah collapsed onto the ground. He knelt, palms pressed to the earth, drenched in sweat.
He'd pushed his body to its limits with this move. "Air Chain Flash" demanded more physical stamina than he possessed.
Still, even this assault failed to graze Bullet Swallow.
No wonder it's called a terror legend.
Whoosh!
The swallow dove like an arrow, aiming straight for Klah’s head.
But Klah showed no fear.
After all, he wasn’t alone.
"Frontal Rush!"
Lida transformed into her teenage form, appearing between Klah and the predator. Her fist, coated in Haki, lashed out in a shockwave that forced Bullet Swallow to veer off course, spiraling back into the sky.
"Tch, still can't hit it."
Lida withdrew after a single strike. Her Observation Haki dwarfed Klah’s, letting her grasp the futility of the situation.
Bullet Swallow’s evasion was like an enhanced Surface Scan, but with a body far smaller than a human’s. It possessed every advantage humans lacked—agility, precision, and a lethal edge.
Its razor-sharp beak could pierce even Armored Haki users if their defense wasn’t perfected. One strike drained Haki, a second stole life.
The terror legend of East Blue—a black swarm demon.
Lida preferred quick victories. Facing Bullet Swallow’s endless evasion held no appeal.
Besides, it was a transformed human. She couldn’t eat it.
"Essence Feedback."
She pressed her palm to Klah’s chest, flowing essence into him. He coughed violently, then stood—his strength restored.
"Can't handle this one, Kuro. Your turn."
No need for Kuro to move. Buggy, caught in Lida’s shockwave, realized this woman was trouble. He spun and charged toward Kuro instead.
Unarmed techniques were risky, but a mere blade’s trajectory couldn’t catch Bullet Swallow!
Not even Flying Slash worked! One strike pierced Buggy’s skull clean through!
Bullet Swallow accelerated downward, targeting Kuro.
Slash!
Kuro’s blade arced horizontally. Buggy sensed the air shift and tilted his wings, evading the strike before altering course to dive again.
Slash!
Slash!
Horizontal cuts, vertical strikes, diagonal slashes—the dance of steel continued, but none touched Bullet Swallow.
Kuro’s speed was a blur to ordinary eyes, but to Bullet Swallow, speed meant nothing.
"Scree!"
Buggy wanted to laugh, but his avian form only screeched wildly, reveling in the mockery.
This terror legend was in a league of its own!
"Regular swordplay won’t cut it", Kuro muttered, sheathing his blade. He scratched his head. "Actually, this creature originated from this island. Back when I trained here, those swallows tormented me daily! My days weren’t just about carving mountains—I spent more time dodging them!
Back then, my swordsmanship was raw. Facing them terrified me—scared I’d end up a skeleton. For years, I relied on Mystic Arts to defend. But as my skill matured, Bullet Swallow became... manageable."
"Scree!"
Liar! Bullet Swallow circled, then dove again.
Lida blinked. "You’re saying Bullet Swallow lived where you trained? What about the ordinary swallows?"
"Their survival secret", Kuro gripped his hilt, eyes fixed on the incoming predator, "was sensing air vibrations to evade attacks—unrelated to the attack’s speed.
Beyond their ability, any physical strike—fist or blade—disturbs air. They read those vibrations to change course. So, any single strike—a punch, a sword—travels one direction, one line. Predictable."
As Bullet Swallow neared his head, Kuro remained calm. "After I carved mountains, I pondered defeating them. I realized—what if you block their escape routes? Strike one direction, then another to intercept their evasion. But Bullet Swallow’s reflexes are too fast. Even my speed left the second strike trailing. To succeed, you’d need three blades simultaneously—blocking all escape routes."
Slash!
Three blades gleamed at once, cutting off Bullet Swallow’s three escape paths. Buggy couldn’t dodge—every air current the swallow relied on was sealed!
Like a closing cage, the slashes converged, leaving no room to flee.
Pierced!
Bullet Swallow crashed to the ground, blood staining the earth.
Click.
Kuro sheathed his blade. "Coincidentally, after carving mountains, I had nothing better to do. I obsessed over slicing swallows until... I perfected it."
Thus was named [Swallow Return]—a technique that transcended mortality.
One strike. Divine.
He turned to Lida. "Eventually, the swallows went extinct."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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