https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-699-I-Hate-It-When-Kuro-Gets-Angry/13539007/
Chapter 698: A Fair Duel? What a Joke!
Chapter 698: A Fair Duel? What a Joke!
Even when fragmented, the island retained its Control power.
Though Brode had dispelled his energy, it wasn’t like the Seastone that nullifies abilities entirely. His Control remained intact. Once Kuro ceased suppressing that Power Nullification, he could act freely again.
“A battlefield?”
Smiths, perched atop a cloud, smirked slightly. The cloud descended, settling above the island, then spread outward like a thin white mist blanketing the land.
“Come on then!” Smiths taunted, his gaze brimming with feigned righteousness.
“Let’s go!”
Kuro locked eyes with him, his voice sharp. “Let’s settle this fairly!”
Their stares clashed, electric sparks crackling between them.
Both sides burned with fiery intensity.
Sazil, caught up in the fervor, rolled up his sleeves and sprang forward, leaping toward the edge of the ship.
But before he could finish his sentence, a hand yanked his collar back, yanking him off balance mid-leap.
Klah clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
Likewise, Mojas, poised to jump from the white cloud, was blocked by Brode’s raised arm. He pointed toward Smiths and also shook his head.
No one moved to descend.
“What? Scared to come down? Is the mighty Navy afraid of a pirate challenge?”
Smiths scoffed, the mist beneath them thickening.
“A joke. You proposed it first—why don’t you go first? What’s the Navy’s status? Do you expect us to act like stray dogs?” Kuro shot back.
“The Navy’s the World Government’s real dog!” Smiths snarled.
Kuro sneered. “The Navy answers to no one but the Navy. Can’t you grasp such a simple truth at your age?”
Sazil nodded fervently, chiming in:
“Vice Admiral Kuro’s right! Serving the World Government’s better than being like these strays—running around clueless about their own masters!”
The air fell silent. Lida and Klah instantly stepped back from Sazil.
Kuro, radiating killing intent, glared sideways. Sazil recoiled, his body prickling as though sliced by blades.
If you don’t know how to talk, then shut up!
Not the time to dwell on that now.
Kuro declared solemnly:
“Are you scared? The ‘White-Haired’ Smiths—World’s Greatest Pirate with a 2.6 billion bounty, Four Emperors candidate, once rivaling Shanks—scared?!”
Smiths gritted his teeth:
“Hmph! You, the Navy’s Golden Lion Vice Admiral—named like an Admiral candidate! You defeated Shanks, Lucius, Buggy the Clown, and Luo Shen! Why hesitate?!”
“You go first!” Kuro barked.
“You first!!” Smiths roared back.
“How can I go if you won’t?!”
“How can an old man go if you won’t?!”
“I’ll go once you do!”
“An old man will follow once you do!”
Kuro’s temple pulsed. “Let’s duel fairly! You’re a Grand Line legend—do you think I’d stoop to underhanded tricks?!”
Smiths bellowed: “A Navy hero, Bane of the Old Era—do you think I fear an old man’s schemes?!”
“Then come down!!”
“You go first!!”
Lida watched their spat impassively, her face a mask of disdain.
A fair duel?
Hmph.
No one would descend, but the struggle raged on.
Kuro’s left hand, hanging idle, twitched like a puppeteer’s fingers.
The island’s surface heaved, trying to swallow the mist.
Smiths’ hands moved too, striving to drape his cloud layer over the island.
This clash had lasted long—since their shouting began.
A battle for Control.
Fair duel?
Don’t make me laugh.
Since when did Navy and pirates play fair?
The island, fragmented and makeshift, could collapse at his command.
The moment they set foot on it, they’d be doomed.
Who plays fair with pirates? Only fools.
Kuro sensed Smiths’ intent clearly.
His Observation Haki screamed warnings—the white mist could entrap them. If they jumped in, they’d be engulfed, and Aokiji’s Ice Age would leave his subordinates helpless to break free.
Especially against an old man who once rivaled Shanks.
This wily bastard.
Thinks he’s the only one with tricks?
I’ve mastered the old man’s playbook myself!
Black earth and white clouds entwined, devouring each other.
Neither side dared descend without Control.
Kuro’s eyes sharpened. He gripped Autumn Water, slicing forward. A black-gold Hakि slash tore through the air.
Simultaneously, Smiths punched, his wrists sheathed in cloud mist, morphing into a colossal cloud fist laced with jet-black Haki.
Boom!!
The slash and fist collided, shattering into a shockwave that erupted across the island sky.
The clashing earth and mist below fused into a gray, stable terrain.
Now, neither side’s power would collapse the battlefield.
Kuro leapt forward, landing on the ground.
Smiths descended from his cloud at the same moment.
“I came first!”
Both shouted in unison: “I’m no shameless coward!”
They glared, neither yielding.
Lida groaned, covering her face.
“It’s time.”
Klah barked. In a flash, the crew surged forward, landing behind Kuro.
A sea breeze swept past, billowing Kuro’s Navy cloak and fluttering Smiths’ hair and robes.
Smiths struck first, legs spread, hands slamming the ground. Thick clouds erupted around him, swallowing half the island.
“Black Serpent’s Hundred Strikes!”
Clouds surged, twisting into serpents armored with Armament Haki, slithering toward Kuro’s group like an island’s worth of snakes.
This old man’s Haki reserves aren’t weak!
Kuro sheathed Autumn Water, assuming an Iaijutsu stance. With a flash, he drew his blade, cleaving forward.
“Lion!”
Countless black-gold slashes erupted, scything across half the island.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Slashes met serpents, exploding across the battlefield. Clouds dissipated, serpents shattered, their force whipping up howling winds and shaking the earth.
Like war drums heralding battle.
Bexi gripped his hand-and-a-half sword, lunging forward like a panther, leaping to Kuro’s front. He swung downward—
Clang!
A wisp-like figure materialized before him, a cold blade flashing. Bexi’s eyes narrowed. His descending sword deflected, blocking a chain-wreathed spear’s hook.
They landed with a thud. Donald smirked, tightening his grip: “I’ve been itching for this after getting beaten up so long!”
“Funny. I’m just as impatient.”
Bexi’s face was expressionless. “Arams, that idiot, was taken out by you lot. I lost the chance to kill that annoying pest myself. But killing you’ll still complete my family’s mission.”
(End of Chapter)
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