A massive slash tore through the air.
Moria, without a second thought, nimbly dodged to the side with his huge body.
The next moment, the blue-white slash, like a hot knife through butter, boomed as it carved a long, bottomless crack in the scorched earth, even splitting the sturdy main gatehouse down the middle.
"He only swung it once!" Perona's eyes bulged in shock at the twenty-meter-long crack on the ground, and she involuntarily let out a shriek.
"Shut up! Get out of the way!" Moria snapped angrily. He held a large scissor-shaped blade in one hand, and a shadow clone materialized beside him, flanking the landing Cross from left and right.
"Scáthach!" Cross glanced over and sternly called out. A female shadow figure also appeared beside him, splitting into two paths to confront their respective opponents.
Pirate versus Marine, Doppelman versus Scáthach!
Soon, Cross and Moria closed in on each other and, with surprising 'understanding', simultaneously swung their blades.
Clang—
Half of the large scissors spun and flew into the air, while the sharp katana left a shallow scar on Moria's chest.
However, Moria's expression didn't change at all. His left hand, which wasn't holding a blade, clenched into a fist and fiercely slammed towards Cross.
Cross parried with his sword, taking a direct hit from Moria's punch on the blade. With a loud thud, he instantly felt a powerful force wash over him, making the long sword in his hand tremble uncontrollably.
At the same time, the ground beneath his feet crumbled and collapsed, forming a cracked crater several meters in diameter, with a surging gust of wind spreading outward, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"Kishishishishi~" Moria let out a sharp, joyful laugh, sweeping his broken blade with his right hand.
Cross's brow furrowed. He forcefully tightened his grip on the trembling Kagehide and leaped backward, avoiding Moria's slash.
"Brick Bats!!!"
Immediately, Moria violently waved his hand. The shadow clone, which had been entangled with Scáthach, suddenly split into countless bats, flapping as they swarmed towards Cross.
Scáthach quickly reached out to grab them but only managed to catch a few shadow bats.
"Armament Hardening!!!"
Seeing this, Cross immediately let out a low roar.
Pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly covered his entire body, instantly transforming him into a dark metal figure, exuding an indescribably astonishing aura.
However, the next second, a large swarm of shadow bats, like a black dragon, instantly engulfed Cross's figure.
Thud-thud-thud sounds echoed as if these shadow bats were hitting a steel plate, yet they couldn't stop his forward momentum in the slightest.
In a flash, Cross broke through the obstruction of hundreds of shadow bats, charging towards Moria like a cannonball. Many shadow bats still clung to his body, trying to bite him with their pointed teeth, but they not only failed to bite through but also broke their own teeth.
"Moria!"
"You damned brat, die!"
Cross looked up and met Moria's gaze. The latter couldn't help but shriek in fury, immediately swinging the broken blade in his left hand to cleave down on Cross's head.
"One-Sword Style: Hawk Assault!!!"
Faster than words could describe, Cross gripped Kagehide with both hands, adopting a thrusting stance. His charging speed suddenly increased by a third, the long blade pointed directly at Moria's thick neck, even producing a whistling sound as it cut through the air.
Whoosh—
Thud—
In an instant, Moria dodged sideways but was pierced through the left shoulder by the sharp long sword. Crimson blood splattered out, making him let out a groan and instantly spit out a mouthful of blood.
But Cross, the wielder of the blade, was also struck on the shoulder by the opponent's sword. He was knocked flat onto the ground, creating a spiderweb-like crack in the very earth.
A visible shockwave spread in a circular pattern, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Moria-sama!" Perona's face was aghast, and she instinctively covered her mouth. No one had expected both sides to go head-to-head, trading blows.
"Huff... huff... Kishi... shishishi..." Moria panted, looking at Cross on the ground with a strange laugh. He then staggered back two steps, grabbed the katana embedded in his shoulder with his left hand, and forcefully pulled it out, a wisp of steaming blood splattering onto the ground.
Then, the blood-stained Kagehide was casually tossed onto the ground with a clink.
"Ugh... Almost... knocked me out... What immense strength..." Cross, lying on the ground, struggled to lift his head, shaking it a bit to clear his dizziness.
He had to admit, even with Moria's severely diminished strength, he still nearly knocked him unconscious with a single blow just by sheer brute force. Even his 'Armor-Hardening' Armament Haki was almost not enough to defend against it.
"What troublesome Haki!" Moria panted, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. Then he said to Perona beside him, "He's all yours. Subdue him. I want to cut off his shadow!"
"No problem, Moria-sama!"
"Negative Hollow!"
Perona floated in mid-air. After giving Moria a worried glance, she released two white, transparent ghosts, like Sunny-Go dolls, from her body. Although they stuck out their tongues, they didn't look scary at all; instead, they were somewhat cute.
"Hey, that's going too far!"
Hum—
Cross half-closed his eyes, slowly getting up from the ground. His gaze at Perona's eyes suddenly widened, and a terrifying, almost tangible aura erupted from his body, making the air tremble.
It was like a fierce gale sweeping out in all directions, almost engulfing half of Thriller Bark. At this moment, the sky and ground seemed to fall into a bizarre, grayish-white space, and everyone present, whether the zombies, Perona in her spirit form, or Moria himself, experienced a second of mental blankness.
Immediately, the surviving dozen or so zombies' eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground, having fainted. Perona, in her spirit form, and the two ghosts beside her, disappeared with a pop like bubbles.
"Conqueror's... Haki?!" Moria snapped back to reality, his expression horrified as he stared at Cross. He felt his throat go dry, and for a moment, even his voice became deep and hoarse, filled with disbelief.
He'd truly lived long enough! He actually witnessed 'Conqueror's Haki' from a mere Marine; it was like a joke!
"By the way, my hand-to-hand combat isn't bad either!" Cross rotated his neck a few times, his bones making a crunching sound. Then he took a step towards Moria, speaking in a flat tone.
Boom—
Suddenly, Cross stomped the ground, shattering it. He shot towards Moria like a cannonball, kicking up a fierce, whistling gale.
"So fast..."
Thud—
Moria only felt a blur before his eyes. Before he could even finish his words, a violent pain shot through his abdomen, as if his internal organs had split apart, making him involuntarily hunch over.
After punching Moria in the abdomen, Cross then jumped up, bending his knee for a ferocious and brutal knee strike, making intimate contact with Moria's face.
Another thud.
Moria's features twisted, blood spilling from his nose and mouth simultaneously. His upper body suddenly tilted backward, and he fell straight onto the ground.
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!