Chapter 79: Lion Might
Chapter 79: Lion Might
Kuro’s expression darkened. He confirmed it—this old man might have aged, but his Armament Haki and Observation Haki remained terrifyingly potent.
“Hmph.”
Kuro inhaled sharply, drawing his sword again. Armament Haki surged over the blade and climbed onto his arms, gradually encasing his body. It wrapped his hands, legs, and neck, black Haki floating across his cheeks, forming two fierce warlike markings.
At a glance, he looked clad in a jet-black armor.
“Oh? Haki Full Release, huh? How long do you think you can sustain that?”
Shanks chuckled. “Fools.”
In his eyes, releasing Haki fully was absurdly foolish. Haki was a force of will, but its “quantity” was limited, requiring physical strength to sustain. No matter how powerful one’s Haki was, a mere drop was enough when applied precisely.
Techniques like Haki Full Release were useless—they only wasted physical energy.
And with this level of power, did he really think his sword couldn’t cut through it?
“Still, you’re not bad. Hey, Navy, what’s your name?” Shanks asked.
“Lucius Kro.”
This time, Kuro gave his full name.
Because today, he would kill Shanks.
If he didn’t kill him, his own reputation would be ruined.
Who would know he had defeated Shanks?
Sensing the Killing Intent in Kuro’s eyes, Shanks grinned. “Let me introduce myself properly. I am ‘Red-Haired’ Shanks, user of the Float-Float Fruit, a Devil Fruit. I’m a Floater—I can freely manipulate myself and any inanimate objects, like this!”
He clenched his fist suddenly.
“Lion Might!”
Boom!
The earth quaked as if torn asunder. Countless stone fragments lifted and reassembled into several lion-shaped mountains towering over the battlefield. The tremors roared like lion’s growls, surrounding Kuro from all sides.
Before these colossal lion mountains, Kuro seemed as small as an ant.
“Devil Fruit users are all freaks!”
Kuro cursed inwardly, gripping the hilt as he assumed an Iaijutsu stance.
“Slash!”
A massive crescent of black and gold energy shot toward one lion mountain. Empowered by advanced Armored Haki, the slash carved through the terrain, reducing the mountains to dust.
Kuro drew his sword repeatedly—【Huazhou】—sending wave after wave of slashes that shattered the encircling lion mountains into rubble.
“Oh? So those are the islands I created earlier that you destroyed.”
Shanks feigned surprise. “But… it doesn’t matter.”
He clenched his fist again. The fragments Kuro had slashed apart reassembled instantly, reforming into colossal lion mountains.
In the face of a power that could manipulate objects freely, even reducing something to dust wouldn’t destroy it completely. Unless reduced to nothingness, any attack would be futile.
“Slash!”
Kuro cleaved another incoming lion mountain into pieces. Then, stepping on the air itself, he shot upward like a wisp of afterimage toward Shanks.
A fool would fight the ability itself—just kill the Devil Fruit user, and the threat vanishes.
“Hahahaha!”
Shanks laughed, his body soaring faster than Kuro. The blade aimed at him sliced through empty air.
One man merely stepped on air, the other flew freely. As long as Shanks didn’t wish to fight, Kuro could never catch him.
Landing on the ground, Kuro gritted his teeth, glaring at the airborne Shanks.
“Come down here!”
“You come up!”
“Come down!”
“You slash wave first!”
Shanks kicked out, sending a golden slash soaring. As he delivered the kick, Kuro sensed the attack and countered with a golden slash of his own.
Boom!
The slashes collided mid-air, triggering a shockwave that exploded outward.
“Lion·True·Thousand Slash Valley!”
Shanks’ eyes narrowed cruelly. His feet lashed out rapidly, unleashing a barrage of Haki-enhanced black-gold slashes toward Kuro.
“I can do that too, you bastard!”
Kuro’s eyes flared with fury. His blade swept back and forth in a blur, unleashing a storm of black-gold slashes to intercept the onslaught from the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shockwaves rolled. The clashing auras crushed the lion mountains into dust, whipping up a storm of debris that swallowed both figures.
Flying stone fragments pierced the jungle, impaling a tree with a Crack.
A shard struck Kuro, but his Armored Haki shattered it instantly.
Kuro slashed his blade, sending a wisp-like slash through the smoke. It cleaved the dust away, though Shanks evaded it effortlessly.
“Lion Might!”
Shanks clenched his fist again. The floating sea surged, lifting a massive wave from the surface. It coalesced into a floating lion-shaped head of seawater.
“Lion Might!”
With his other hand, he summoned another lion mountain from the earth.
One of earth, one of water. One below, one above. One in front, one behind. Both lunged at Kuro simultaneously.
“Moonstep!”
Kuro stepped on air, soaring straight up.
But at that moment, Shanks dove in. Feet together, blades united, he shot forward like a shuttle.
Kuro’s eyes blazed red. His Observation Haki had already sensed the attack. He sheathed his sword, facing the charging Shanks.
Since Shanks could fly, he’d make sure he couldn’t keep flying!
“Ichiryu Style·Swallow Return!”
Flash!
Shanks felt a chill. Blades seemed to encircle him from all directions.
“This move…”
Shanks’ pupils contracted. Covering his arms in Armament Haki, he crossed his legs to block. One foot bent, the other thrust forward.
Clang!
Shanks’ foot-blade blocked Kuro’s strike, but his other blade and wrist were slashed in response, emitting a sharp crack.
Boom!
Shanks kicked hard, pushing Kuro away mid-air. Spinning, he reclaimed the high ground, staring down at Kuro bouncing lower.
“Sword techniques, huh? To this level… fascinating.”
As Kuro separated, he slashed backward. The seawater lion head behind him cleaved in two.
“Useless!”
Shanks gestured. The divided seawater dispersed around Kuro, then surged toward him from all directions.
Kuro narrowed his eyes. His two fingers trailed the blade, coating it in golden Haki.
“I’m no Devil Fruit user. Shinmeiryu Style·Mystic Art·Azure Dragon!”
【Huazhou】lifted high, gripped in both hands. He slashed downward.
The seawater closing in on Kuro, forming a lion shape, transformed mid-swing. From the lion’s body erupted several Azure Dragons (Jiaolong), entwining as they surged toward Shanks in the sky.
Kuro pivoted, slashing downward again, cleaving the lion mountain beneath him. Landing on its fragment, he glared upward at Shanks.
“Fly? Let me show you how to fly!”
He was a Devil Fruit user, but the Azure Dragon Mystic Art could control seawater.
“Try this same move back at you!”
(End of Chapter)
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