East Blue Battlefield.
On the beach were Giyu Tomioka and Muichiro Tokito in a confrontation against a third party.
He was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in an elegant black suit, black leather boots and wielding a long sword.
"My name is Morgan William. May I ask if there is any possibility of cooperation between us?"
His tone was kind and his attitude courteous.
"Cooperation?" Giyu and Muichiro looked at each other, feeling confused. They thought they were going to fight.
"My name is Giyu Tomioka, from Demon Slayer World, currently a major in the Navy Headquarters."
"Muichiro Tokito, from the same place as him, currently a member of Cipher Pol - 8."
William was an opportunist, a follower of the law of the jungle who did not hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve his goals. Furthermore, when he confirmed the origins of Giyu and Muichiro, his ambition was completely ignited.
"Anyway, let's fight first and then we'll talk."
William preferred to judge people by their strength, and he also wanted the other party to know how they should treat him.
"Okay!"
Giyu and Muichiro responded.
They looked at each other once more, before Muichiro stepped forward.
"Oh?"
"Aren't you going to attack together? It's really considerate. Thank you very much." William said, smiling slightly as he unsheathed his sword.
Muichiro also unsheathed his light blue single-bladed sword.
"Then, I will attack first." Muichiro announced, moving with surprising speed and advancing with a frontal thrust. At the same time, a thick white mist enveloped his figure, obscuring his movements.
"Mist Breathing, First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze!"
In an instant, the mist devoured William completely. When the mist dissipated, Muichiro appeared behind William.
However, William remained in place. There was only a hole on his left side, from which a faint white mist emanated.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you, I'm a Devil Fruit user, specifically the Steam Logia type." William said as he touched his chest that had returned to its original form and looked at Muichiro in surprise.
"However, you are really fast, and that sudden mist, are you also a user of some devil fruit?"
But Muichiro obviously had no interest in saying anything more, and once again launched a swift stab at William.
"Mist Breathing, First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze!"
William generated an explosion of white mist at his feet. His legs transformed into hot steam that shot backwards.
[Clang!]
The pale blue blade wrapped in wisps of white mist and the blade wrapped in a layer of high-temperature steam collided with each other.
Two streams of white fog continued to mix together.
Each clash produces a sharp screech and bright sparks.
The two quickly rushed, collided, and fought back and forth fiercely in the white mist and steam.
As time passes, the sounds of Muichiro's labored breathing become more noticeable.
Muichiro is drenched in sweat, and every breath is painful as if he were swallowing flames.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Muichiro is extremely tired and suffering from the heat of the steam generated by William and his consciousness was already beginning to blur.
Although each swing of his sword clears the steam around him and gives him a brief respite, he feels like his sword is becoming extremely heavy.
And the most frustrating thing is that no matter what he does, he can't hurt his opponent even a little.
But at this moment, William was shocked to discover that a light blue cloud mark began to appear on Muichiro's forehead and right cheek.
In the next instant, Muichiro's eyes, which were still somewhat scattered, immediately become sharp. His body moves quickly and turns into a shadow that escapes from the steam-covered area.
Its speed was so fast that William had no time to intercept it, and then it plunged into the sea water.
[Boom!]
Suddenly, a column of water emerges from the sea, in which there seems to be a blurred figure.
"Water Breathing, Whirlpool, Flow!"
Muichiro actually used the Water Breathing sword move in the sea, drawing in a large amount of seawater, turning into a water tornado heading towards William.
Meanwhile, William chose to dodge using steam jets.
But just as he moved at high speed to the right, he was shocked to find that the waterspout had predicted his movements and crashed towards this side as if by coincidence.
At that instant, Muichiro's vision and sixth sense became extremely sharp, and his attention was highly concentrated.
In his eyes, everything in the world became very slow.
In the next moment, William, seeing that he could not dodge, used all his strength to face the whirlpool of water with steam at the highest temperature.
[Boom! Boom! Boom!]
The high-temperature steam and the cold water waves collided with each other, producing a large amount of steam.
[Clang!]
Suddenly, the sound of swords clashing rang out again.
William, surrounded by hot steam, suppressed his complicated emotions and looked at Muichiro.
"It's a pity. The amount of water you control is not enough. After most of it was evaporated by me, the remaining amount cannot affect my ability."
Muichiro did not speak, because he was now trying his best to breathe.
"But I am very interested in these strange abilities of yours. I must introduce them to me later~"
With that, William put away his sword and stepped back a few meters, allowing Giyu to hold Muichiro, who was about to fall.
"Well, now that we have a deep understanding of each other, let's talk about cooperation, how about it?" William showed a friendly smile.
"Cooperation?"
Giyu and Muichiro were puzzled.
"Yes, as people from another world who have come to our world, I suppose they can also return to their world from time to time, right?" William's eyes flashed with expectation.
"Yes."
Giyu was cautious and did not say how many times a year or how long each time.
"So you can bring the items from this world back to your own world, or bring the items from your own world to this world, right?"
William became excited as he spread his arms and smiled.
"That is their value. When I obtain the Dimensional Gate Pass, we will be able to collaborate to establish an inter-world trade venture in this period when most people are restricted from entering and exiting the dimensional gate."
"Imagine how much profit you could make if Starfish World's products were sold in your world. And those profits will also bring you abundant wealth and resources."
Giyu and Muichiro looked at each other as William continued speaking.
"You guys work in the world government, so you won't have much time, but I will take care of the supply and transportation of the products in Starfish World. You just need to help transport some products and set up distribution channels in your world."
After listening to William's thoughts on the future, Giyu and Muichiro also understood what he meant.
"I will convey your proposal to Lord Ubuyashiki in detail. Now we can exchange Den-Den Mushi numbers and contact each other later."
Giyu looked at William calmly.
"Ubuyashiki?" William raised his eyebrows and asked in confusion. "Is he your leader?"
"Lord Ubuyashiki is the lord of our Demon Slayer Corps."
Giyu briefly explained the situation of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"I see." William touched his chin and pondered for a moment, then smiled even happier. "So, in your world you already have a force that has maintained its power for almost a thousand years."
"I assume that even though you all have moved to our world, there is still a large portion of your staff remaining there, right?"
"That's right." Giyu hesitated for a few seconds before nodding.
"So, it's easier for you. After this World Tournament is over, make sure Lord Ubuyashiki speaks with me. I am sure this matter will benefit both parties."
William looked at the two of them sincerely.
"I know."
Giyu, of course, wouldn't refuse. William was pleased to see that they accepted.
He didn't expect that this World Tournament would bring him such a great opportunity, but William also knew that in order to make the most of this opportunity, he must first obtain a place in the top 100.
William, maintaining a gentle smile, suggested: "According to the rules of the tournament, each region has a forty-day selection period, until the hundred participants for the final competition are selected."
"That is to say, even if we pass this first round, there will be a second round, and the opponents will be experts who have excelled in their respective initial rounds."
"Among them, there will undoubtedly be powerful Grand Line fighters or Devil Fruit users. How about we form a small team?"
Giyu and Muichiro looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
...
Time passed day by day, and in a blink of an eye, it was already the end of June.
The Four Blues' qualifiers were close to ending.
At this moment, in the Room of Authority, Bulwer Gabriel was respectfully reporting to the Five Elders about the numerous problems discovered in this round of eliminations.
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