NOVEL WEB Chapter 98: CHAPTER 98
"Join your pirate group? That depends on whether you're strong enough to earn my allegiance." The Van der Decken IX, now possessed by the revenant, responded with a half-smirk. Despite his words, a storm of thoughts churned within. If he could use this body to ally with a powerful warrior like Rin, perhaps it would be a wise move. But the cursed blade—the Bone Erosion Knife, a weapon infamous even among the darker tales of the Grand Line restricted much of his strength.
"Then let's find out." Rin surged forward again, this time moving with a speed that crackled like thunder. Van der Decken IX, refusing to fall behind, raised the Bone Erosion Knife and rushed to meet the challenge. He slashed first his downward arc heavy and fast but Rin parried with his Thunder Blade, the clash shaking the surrounding water. Van der Decken followed up with a low sweep kick aimed at knocking Rin off balance. Rin flipped over the leg with ease, countered mid-air with a spinning roundhouse—targeting the revenant-possessed Decken's chest.
Reacting quickly, Van der Decken IX raised the Bone Erosion Knife horizontally across his chest. Rin's kick struck the blade, not the flesh, yet the sheer force still sent the revenant stumbling backward.
"I'm curious," Rin said, lowering his stance. "How did they kill you decades ago?" His sharp eyes scanned Van der Decken's face those eyes weren't the cowardly, squinting ones of the original Decken IX, a man known for his erratic obsession with Shirahoshi. No, these eyes were calculating, sharp eyes that saw through deception and cut straight to the soul.
"You don't need to worry about how I was defeated." The revenant smirked darkly. "Just prove you can do it again. Defeat me and I'll tell you everything you want to know." His voice echoed with dark confidence, certain Rin wouldn't reach that point especially while the cursed Bone Erosion Knife continued suppressing his true power.
"You're awfully sure of yourself. Let me show you what real strength looks like." Rin gripped his Thunder Blade tightly, its edge glowing faintly with stored lightning, and lunged.
"Hmph so you are done holding back." The revenant-possessed Van der Decken met Rin head-on, unleashing the fraction of his strength not sealed by the cursed blade. His movement split the water like a war drum beating from the deep a haunting sound that echoed like a call from the abyss.
Their blades clashed again and again the ferocity growing with every strike. Their fists and feet joined the fray, a whirlwind of martial strikes and swordplay. The water above Fish-Man Island boiled with the storm of their battle.
Below, a crowd had formed residents of the island, drawn by the furious clash overhead. Eyes were wide with awe, tracking the blurred silhouettes of the duelists.
"Move it! Don't block the way!" shouted Guard A of Ryugu Palace, elbowing through the onlookers.
"Who the hell are those two?" Guard B asked, his eyes fixed on the chaotic dance in the sky.
"Wait isn't that Rin-sama?" Guard A recognized the figure mid-air, having seen him days ago in the audience chamber of King Neptune. The other fighter, however, was unfamiliar at least to most. Few had ever laid eyes on the original Van der Decken IX. The man had remained hidden for years, his crew handling most affairs. His reputation was infamous, but his face was rare.
"Return to Dragon Palace City immediately—inform King Neptune of this battle," Guard A barked. "The rest of you, hold the line here!"
"Yes, sir!" Guard B turned on his heel and bolted back toward the palace. He understood well delays could mean punishment, especially with the safety of Fish-Man Island at stake.
Above, the fight reached a new crescendo. Rin's blade sliced clean through part of Van der Decken's cloak tattered fabric swept away by the current.
The revenant let out a chilling laugh, then retaliated. His blade blurred as he unleashed a flurry dozens of slashes, all aimed at turning Rin into a pincushion. Rin responded by mimicking the assault, slashing back with a rapid wave of sword strikes. But Rin's attack lacked the refined deadliness of his opponent's. Several of his weaker strikes were sliced apart mid-air by the revenant's attack, but the stronger ones collided with Decken's sword aura in a burst of energy. Still, some slashes slipped through Rin's guard.
"Cross Chop!" Rin shouted, slicing a radiant cross mid-air in a desperate bid to block the incoming wave. But it was too late. One blade of energy carved across his upper arm blood billowed out, dyed crimson by the sea.
"Imitation falls short of mastery," sneered the revenant-possessed Van der Decken IX. He had clearly seen through Rin's mimicry of his sword technique. Rin's version, though valiant, lacked the chilling precision and raw malice of the original.
"I let my guard down," Rin muttered, gritting his teeth. "Come again, if you dare!" Quickly, Rin reached into his dimensional space ring, pulling out a bottle of hemostatic medicine and a vial of hydrostatic gel—the same method Enel had once used to treat Artoria's sea-inflicted wounds during their expedition in the upper New World. Without wasting time, he applied the hydrostatic gel to neutralize the seawater's corrosion, then smeared on the hemostatic agent to stop the bleeding. He knew well—if untreated, even a minor wound underwater could turn fatal, especially when facing an opponent like this.
---
50+ advanced chapter on patreon....Visit patreon now to read my exclusive content... posting 5 chapters per day, Our collection is now available on PATREON
visit patreon.com/Mgoldtranslation to view 50+ advanced chapters
Please subscribe guys