One Piece: Starting with Breathing Techniques

Chapter 132 Fists fear youth and strength, and so does the sword!

Half an hour later.

On a remote, deserted island dozens of nautical miles from the Sabaody Archipelago, Kiro and Rayleigh stand facing each other.

A light drizzle fell, and the sky above was ever-changing. A huge vortex of dark clouds formed, slowly rotating, with flashes of red lightning occasionally streaking across it.

Two invisible energy fields intertwined and collided in the air, creating shockwaves that sent debris flying across the surrounding ground.

"boom--!"

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck from afar, its bright light illuminating the two men's faces as they stood ready for battle.

With a flick of his right hand, Kiro drew the Dragon Slayer sword instantly.

An invisible vortex inexplicably swirled around the blade, which was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the extremely sharp edge trembled slightly, emitting a crisp sword sound.

It seemed to share its owner's desire for a fierce battle of equal strength.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh, on the other side, had somehow acquired a light and elegant rapier in his hand.

The long robe had long been thrown aside, and Rayleigh's smooth, lean, and highly defined muscles were faintly visible under his vest.

He adjusted his glasses, a smile playing on his lips. "There's a saying—oh, it's 'Youth has the upper hand in a fight!'"

"Youth and strength are a threat to fists, and the same applies to swords!"

"Kilo, you have to give way to this old man."

Kiro was speechless, then shook his head with a wry smile. "Even the legendary Rayleigh, the King of the Underworld, would cheat like this?"

"Enough talk, bring it on!"

He lowered his body, and a vortex of air suddenly appeared around him as he exerted force with his feet.

Suddenly, Kiro's pupils contracted, and his figure, which was about to rush forward, stopped abruptly. His pupils reflected a rapidly enlarging figure.

Rayleigh, who had been far away just moments before, had somehow appeared in front of him, radiating an extremely dangerous aura.

The seemingly light rapier gleamed with a chilling light that gave Kilo a warning, and was coated with a thick, inky armor color as it suddenly thrust towards Kilo's face.

"So fast!"

Kilo was startled and quickly held his longsword horizontally.

"Clang clang clang!"

In just a second, several almost imperceptible sword lights flashed and collided violently with the Dragon Slayer Sword.

The rolling sound waves spread out, and the powerful wind generated by the slash instantly blew away the surrounding weeds and pebbles, and also made Kiro's black hair stand on end.

Feeling the immense force coming from his hand, Kilo's expression changed, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

Rayleigh's figure flickered before him, his rapier slicing through layers of air currents, leaving countless afterimages as it attacked Kiro's face, a hazy sword light enveloping Kiro within it.

"Bang bang bang!"

The clanging of metal on metal was deafening, and for a moment, Kiro was forced to retreat step by step by Rayleigh's pressure.

However, the opponent's relentless attacks showed no sign of stopping, with each strike becoming increasingly heavy, causing the veins on Kiro's right hand, which was holding a sword, to bulge.

Feeling the suffocating, chaotic sword light before him, each strike was extremely tricky, blocking all his escape routes.

Kiro narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought. "Are you a swordsman too? —"

Realizing he was being constantly suppressed and forced back, Kiro did not hesitate. He mustered all his strength and slashed forward against the sky full of sword light.

"boom--!"

An even more exaggerated slashing sword beam suddenly took shape, and the resulting sword energy condensed into a huge sword aura in the air, rushing towards Rayleigh's direction.

Through his Observation Haki honed to its peak, Rayleigh clearly sensed that the giant sword aura had locked onto him, leaving him no chance to dodge.

He narrowed his eyes, gripped the rapier with both hands, and instantly pressed the blade against the giant sword energy, preparing to deflect the sword energy and continue to press forward against Kiro.

The moment the rapier touched the giant sword aura, Rayleigh's expression changed drastically as a terrifying force emanated from the sword.

"laugh--!"

He was caught off guard and forced to retreat by the sword energy, leaving two deep marks on the ground with his feet. It was only after retreating dozens of meters that he managed to completely dissipate the sword energy.

Glancing at his trembling hand, Rayleigh gasped, his eyes filled with apprehension. "What kind of power is this—are you a giant sea king who has become a spirit??"

As the right-hand man of the Pirate King, Rayleigh has fought countless battles throughout his life, but the power he felt from that giant sword aura was something he had only experienced from a handful of opponents.

And those opponents were all powerful Devil Fruit users, such as Kaido, who was known as the "strongest creature," whose pure strength was among the best he had ever seen.

But when a powerful strike came down in front of Kiro, he also felt an unimaginable force.

Rayleigh looked up, panting, and saw several crimson marks that had appeared on Kiro's face at some unknown time.

These chaotic, fiery red patterns added an eerie touch to Kilo's fierce aura.

On the other side, Kiro shook his slightly numb right hand. "I was just thinking, your physical abilities are just too strong!"

Without activating his Demon Slayer Mark, he couldn't keep up with Rayleigh's speed in his normal state, and his strength was also suppressed by Rayleigh.

If it weren't for his exquisite swordsmanship, he would have almost failed to keep up with Rayleigh's relentless and overwhelming attacks, and nearly suffered injuries.

The opponent's understanding of Haki is far too profound, possessing a superior level of Armament Haki.

In addition, the opponent can use their top-level Observation Haki to anticipate Kiro's counterattack, thus blocking any possibility of Kiro's counterattack.

"What a monster! No wonder he's Rayleigh, the King of the Underworld." Kiro took a deep breath, becoming even more excited. As a swordsman, he felt a surge of exhilarating fighting spirit from the bottom of his bones.

Seeing this, Rayleigh smiled and said, "It's a pity I'm old now and my stamina isn't what it used to be, otherwise I really wanted to have a good fight with you."

Although he didn't know why Kiro's strength had suddenly increased, Rayleigh's keen combat instincts made him realize that he couldn't let the battle become a stalemate.

Unlike those with a wide variety of abilities, the swordsman's combat is more direct and pure, and any slight flaw can be magnified infinitely.

Given their current level of skill, the battle could end in an instant.

He suddenly gripped the sword hilt with his right hand, and a surge of Armament Haki, almost solidified, instantly enveloped it.

In addition, a subtle, almost imperceptible aura of dominance also faintly appeared on the rapier.

After taking a deep breath, Rayleigh lowered his body, and a terrifying aura emanated from his body.

Kilo, standing opposite him, narrowed his eyes, his heart sinking slightly as he sensed a resolute aura emanating from the other man that was different from before.

"—Are we getting serious now?"

Rayleigh raised his head, his sharp, hawk-like gaze fixed on Kiro.

The next moment—

"Thallium Blade of the Other Shore!!!"

In an instant, Rayleigh's figure vanished from his spot, and a huge circular crater, tens of meters in diameter, suddenly collapsed, appearing where he had disappeared.

He transformed into a blurry afterimage, traversing a thousand meters in an instant, appearing before Kilo. His sharp sword light flashed with cold light as he slashed straight at Kilo.

A huge white slash appeared out of thin air, tearing through the air and emitting a terrifying wail.

The blade of the rapier was wrapped in jet-black Armament Haki, and Kiro even vaguely sensed a familiar aura from it—Conqueror's Haki?

Feeling the overwhelming sense of threat, Kiro's body tensed up instinctively, and his Observation Haki sent a pricking sensation through him.

All of this demonstrates that the threat posed by this attack is unprecedented.

Faced with such a perilous situation, Kilo was not alarmed but delighted, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Well done!"

He stomped forward with his right foot, and the Dragon Slayer sword spread out in the air, its blade trembling and blurring, with two invisible, terrifying fluctuations swirling around it.

The next moment, the two extremely sharp blades clashed and collided with a loud crash.