"Haha... haha! You..."
"Can you keep up... with my speed!?"
In the midst of the battle, 'Roman's' mocking voice echoed intermittently, as he used 'Soru' to move at high speed without any cooldown! Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji's attacks frequently missed, leaving them helpless.
A quick touch and go, as fast as lightning!
A fleeting glimpse, and already injured!
"This won't work."
Nami frowned and looked at Chopper beside her.
"Chopper, you go up and hold him off first."
???
"Ah, ah, ah, I can't do it~~"
Chopper was almost in tears on the spot. How strong was Roman? During their usual training battles, Chopper had never lasted more than three minutes against him! Not to mention now, when Roman was clearly 'three times stronger' in his darkened state..."Just hold him off, not defeat him!"
Nami looked at the battlefield with frustration. It was supposed to be a three-on-one attack, but with 'Roman's' high-speed movement, it often turned into one-on-one duels. Against this 'darkened version' of Roman, the Straw Hat crew's three main fighters, who had just gone through a battle, were struggling...
No, they were even in a precarious situation.
"Luffy, come back first!"
As Chopper, transformed into his half-beast form, joined the battle, Nami called Luffy back.
"What are you doing, I still—"
Pfft,
Munch, munch~~Luffy lost his ability to speak as large chunks of meat were stuffed into his mouth. Nami grabbed Luffy's collar and poured food from the Swallow-Swallow Page into his mouth like dumping garbage.
"Hurry up and eat, then fight!"
"Besides your 'Gear Second', no one else can keep up with Roman now."
Through the book in her hand, which shared the same origin, Nami had 'seen through' Roman's high-speed movement: a layer of rapidly flowing 'wind' surrounded him, derived from Crocodile's 'Sand-Sand Fruit' power.
This gave Roman's figure a strange rhythm and frequency, making him appear blurry, hazy, and... natural! Like a stream flowing around rocks in the water, creating ripples; like a breeze brushing through willow branches, dancing gracefully.
But this natural frequency not only increased Roman's speed but also caused the high-speed flowing wind on his body to automatically deflect any attacks that weren't strong enough. — Just like how Chopper's punch inexplicably slid off and hit the ground!
"Transform..."
At the same time, 'Roman's' body was also crackling with tiny lightning bolts, stimulating every muscle, nerve, and cell! This kept him in a state of peak performance that was hard to achieve normally. Then:Facing Chopper's missed attack, 'Roman' unhesitatingly delivered a knee strike to his blue nose, leaving Chopper's mind blank, while 'Roman' had already flipped back, raising one leg high!
"Food..."
"Danger!"
Sanji immediately kicked towards Roman, intending to divert his attention! However, a sly look flashed in 'Roman's' eyes; his target was Sanji all along.
"Gravity Kick!"
Roman's descending right leg suddenly changed direction to meet Sanji's right leg. As he activated the '100,000 kilograms' effect, a thin layer of black appeared on Roman's calf! Their legs collided fiercely.
At the same time, a wild, brutal, crazy, domineering Haki! Unrestrained, viewing living beings as ants! This Haki, capable of evoking primal fear from the cellular level, suddenly impacted Sanji's mind.
In the face of this Haki, all acquired willpower, determination, and emotions seemed incredibly fragile! Even Sanji couldn't help but blank out, his fierce kick technique instantly faltering! The result was:Crack,
With a clear sound of bone breaking, Sanji's entire right leg bent into an exaggerated angle! The blond chef, just recovering from the Haki impact, blacked out.
"Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!"
The tiger-like sword energy crashed down in front of Sanji, but 'Roman,' who had just severely injured Sanji with one move, had already flashed to the other side, looking at Zoro with a teasing gaze.
"Sword...?"
Swish, a broad sword fell into 'Roman's' hand, adorned with beast patterns and intricate carvings. As he swung it, it carried a grand and imposing aura towards Zoro.
"I can do that too!"
"Bring it on!"
Facing the strange state of 'Roman,' only Zoro remained unfazed. For him, surpassing powerful opponents was his sole pursuit, and Roman, with his complex techniques, was one of his targets!
Unfortunately, since Zoro's strength had skyrocketed, Roman hadn't sparred with him properly, leaving Zoro quite dissatisfied.
Today, let's have a good fight!
Roman's heavy sword was powerful and forceful, while Zoro's three swords danced nimbly; Roman's speed was ghostly, while Zoro's body was like a beast; for a moment, the two were evenly matched, turning into a ball of light like a firework, emitting a series of ear-piercing clashing sounds!
This dangerous situation lasted only for a brief two seconds.
Then came a loud explosion!
Where they stood, countless sword marks and cuts appeared, spreading over dozens of meters. The ruined Judicial Tower turned into various geometric shapes of rubble, slowly floating as if gravity had been lost. Then, a terrifying explosion, like dozens of warship cannons firing, sent shockwaves and debris flying in all directions—"Good!"
After a passionate exchange of blows, both retreated simultaneously. Compared to the blood-covered Zoro, 'Roman' was also injured, but his wounds quickly closed up after spraying blood. Each wound, while spraying blood and shattered tissue, expelled the rampant sword energy and killing intent, minimizing the damage caused by the opponent.
Seimei Kikan, such a practical skill!
Otherwise, why did the injuries of those experts disappear during battles? Because they had already actively healed.
"Not bad... swordsmanship,"
'Roman' looked Zoro up and down, his killing intent greatly reduced, with a hint of respect in his voice: "A fair duel... between swordsmen..."
"I wouldn't have it any other way!"
However, just as Zoro charged again, 'Roman' gave a mysterious smile and suddenly disappeared.
"Just kidding..."
Clang!
The heavy sword suddenly clashed with Zoro's three katanas, but this time it wasn't just swordsmanship, it was:Crackle!!
As the swords collided, blue electric sparks jumped along the weapons and instantly crawled onto Zoro. Although the Straw Hat crew had been training with electricity recently, the training electricity was like warm water compared to the magma-like intensity of this one! Zoro's muscles twitched, and with a trembling face, he bit down on Wado Ichimonji and uttered half a word.
"I—"
In a duel between experts, every second counts!
The current situation was like an intense battle where someone suddenly had a 460ms delay. The outcome could only be one:Slash!
With one strike, blood sprayed high from Zoro's chest! He was sent flying backward, and it was only his abnormal physical condition that prevented him from being cut in half.
"Sanji, Zoro~~"
It sounds long, but it was only a few seconds. Chopper had just recovered from the dizziness caused by the severe blow to his nose, and now he saw the disastrous situation of Sanji's broken leg and Zoro's wound. Determined, Chopper took out the third Rumble Ball.
"Roman!!"
Facing Chopper's cries, the response was a pair of cold eyes and a fleeting figure.
I'm sorry—
Just as Chopper was about to fight even if it meant losing control, a red figure suddenly filled his vision, causing Chopper to almost drop the Rumble Ball into his mouth.
"Luffy?"
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Whip!"
Smack!
A kick landed on Roman's raised right leg, and the steam-emitting Luffy looked seriously at 'Roman'.
"'Roman', you've gone too far!"
Sanji with a broken leg, Zoro with a chest wound, Sogeking buried in the rubble, and Chopper on the verge of collapse..."I'm going to beat you up! Beat you until you wake up!!"
In response to Luffy's words, 'Roman' grinned.
"Arrogant..."
Zoom—Zoom—The two figures disappeared simultaneously, leaving only the second half of 'Roman's' arrogant sentence in the air.
—————— ----
You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu