NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: C27
When Weiss first set out to sea, he had already decided how to deal with the powerful figures he'd encounter. He had two different approaches—one for those who wielded swords, and another for those who didn't.
If they didn't use a sword—if they relied on other forms of combat—he'd either fight head-on if he could win, or run if he couldn't. For example, if he encountered someone of admiral-level strength at this stage, he'd just slip away without hesitation.
But if the opponent used a sword—someone like Koushirou or Flower Blade Vista—it didn't matter whether he could win or not. He would fight them regardless.
He wasn't exactly hiding away from the world. He wasn't blindly charging into every battle either. If someone stood in his path, he would yield—unless that person was a swordsman.
What Weiss didn't expect was to encounter a swordsman of Bogard's caliber here in the East Blue. Since they had met, there was no way he could back down—not when the other man was also a swordsman. He didn't care if Bogard was a Marine.
There were already very few true master swordsmen in the world. Even fewer within the Marines. For someone like Weiss who pursued the way of the sword, that wasn't a good thing.
"Are we going to fight?" Weiss asked.
"I can't. I'm on duty," Bogard replied. He wanted to fight too—after all, pure swordsmen were rare. In the entire Marine force, only Gion (Momousagi) was stronger than him.
"Hahaha! Bogard, it's rare to meet such an interesting opponent. Go ahead and fight. I'm just here on vacation anyway. I told you to rest back at HQ, but you insisted on coming with me," Garp laughed heartily, bits of donut still stuck to his mouth. He knew how hard it was to find an opponent of equal skill, especially among sword users.
...
"Then let's find an island to fight on. I trust the Marines can locate one?" Weiss turned his head and said to Jack, telling him to hide Ace well—deep and for as long as possible.
Sure enough, even though Weiss had sailed for half a month without encountering an island, the Marines only needed to glance at a map to find a small one just two hours away by ship.
A cruise ship and a Navy warship changed course and headed for it.
...
The "island" was really a cluster of jagged black reefs, stretching across a few miles of sea. They had been pounded by waves for years, their surfaces hardened like iron. Moss covered the slick surfaces, making it easy to slip if one wasn't careful. It was more a reef field than a true island.
Not even a single blade of grass grew there. Seawater flowed through the cracks in the rocks, soaking everything. It likely wouldn't take long before the whole area sank back below the waves.
"Hahaha, what a naturally perfect battlefield," Garp laughed, chewing yet another donut, a full-on spectator.
Weiss and Bogard stepped onto the reef together. The terrain meant nothing to them. They distanced themselves from one another and unsheathed their swords, focusing completely on each other.
Waves crashed violently against the rocks. Bogard's Justice cloak billowed behind him, while Weiss wore his trademark beach shorts and T-shirt.
"Look! The water's receding!"
The seawater that had been splashing against the rocks suddenly stopped, as if held back by some invisible force. It churned and gathered, forming ring after ring of water currents like massive flowing pipes, circling the reef field.
The pressure from both swordsmen continued to rise. Faint echoes of swords clashing filled the air. Invisible blades sliced through the atmosphere. Streams of sword energy clashed midair, scattering and fragmenting the very air between them.
The swirling sea around the reef was constantly being shattered by invisible sword strikes. Even the seemingly indestructible rocks began to show cracks.
The pressure alone from their standoff had already transformed the area into a domain of sword aura.
Crack!
A section of reef couldn't withstand the force and crumbled completely into dust.
They moved!
Each left an afterimage where they stood. In the blink of an eye, they clashed.
Boom!
Just one exchange sent a shockwave tearing across the reef. A crack split the hardened ground from one end of the island to the other, cutting it clean in half. The impact sped up its inevitable sinking.
The rift didn't stop there—it shot into the ocean, splitting the sea in a long, jagged scar that refused to close.
"Pull the ships back! Too dangerous to be this close!" the Marine captain shouted repeatedly.
"Vice Admiral Garp, why haven't they used flying sword slashes yet?" the captain asked, breathless with excitement.
"It's not time yet. They're still testing each other's strength."
"This is just them testing each other?" the captain's heart trembled. He'd just been transferred from one of the Four Seas to Marine HQ and had come along on Garp's 'vacation.' He had never seen what a real battle between top-tier powerhouses looked like.
Their swords quivered. Their auras erupted without restraint. Armament Haki had already coated their blades—Weiss didn't think his ordinary sword could withstand Bogard's strikes otherwise.
"Dual blades, huh? You don't see that often."
"Rare doesn't mean nonexistent!"
Their twin swords clashed again. A flurry of sharp sword energy rained across the reef, reducing many of the rocks to rubble.
"A worthy opponent."
"A worthy opponent."
They said it almost in unison.
Then both of them leapt back at high speed.
"Winter Night."
Bogard unleashed a chilling slash. The sword aura it carried could cut through 90% of the swords in this world.
As Weiss faced the strike, the world around him changed completely. The clear sky turned pitch-black, devoid of light.
Dark rays swallowed at his consciousness, threatening to drag his mind into eternal darkness—until death.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Weiss' mouth. Now this… this is an opponent worth facing.
He remembered watching anime and wondering how a sword slash could summon all those flashy effects—tigers, demons, dragons...
After becoming a true swordsman, he understood. It was the manifestation of a swordsman's will and comprehension—projected through their blade.
"Basic Attack: One Slash."
Weiss swung.
The gleaming slash tore through the air like lightning, slicing directly through Bogard's attack. The sword aura was like light itself, cutting through the darkness in a moment of divine judgment.
Night shattered—light poured down upon the sea.
Aside from Garp, none of the spectators even saw how the two exchanged blows. The battlefield was nothing but a space of terrifying despair. Anyone who stepped into it would surely die.
Sword energy flew in all directions. Shockwaves carved the island apart. The reef couldn't withstand the power of two master swordsmen. It was collapsing—soon to vanish beneath the sea.
But no one was paying attention to that.
The only thing in both fighters' eyes was each other—their will, their blades, their unrelenting pursuit of the sword.
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Currently at chapter 160 on Ko-Fi
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27