The rich district of Hannabal's East Island did not allow battles to take place. Once someone broke the rules, the enforcement team of the Oswald Family would make a grand appearance.
But even so, it was not uncommon for those hot-tempered pirates to throw hands on the streets over the slightest disagreement.
Therefore, when the Sorcerer and the Surgeon of Death were about to duke it out, the nearby pedestrians did not hesitate for a split second and turned to flee. Screams and cries of alarm echoed continuously, instantly turning the originally bustling commercial street into a chaotic mess.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on here? President, Law, is there some kind of misunderstanding between you two?"
Rovick's inner world was practically collapsing at this moment! Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that these two individuals, who were usually calm and cautious, would be so explosive upon their very first meeting!
"Step aside first, Rovick-ya."
Law extended a hand and made a gesture, giving his wrist a gentle twist. The blue-haired swordsman was instantly teleported far into the distance, while a wooden barrel appeared out of thin air right where Rovick had just been standing.
Seeing that there were no obstacles ahead, Law drew his cursed sword Kikoku and swung it forcefully toward the Sorcerer.
—Shambles!
—Mirror Reflex: Refraction!
Sherlock immediately focused his mind to maintain vigilance. The space in front of him suddenly rippled like lake water, and an invisible slash clashed against the ripple, instantly deflecting into several strands that sliced toward the café diagonally behind a certain pair of glasses.
Swish—
The collateral-damage-suffering café was silently sliced into several pieces in an instant, the cut surfaces as smooth as a mirror. Several customers inside who had failed to escape in time were not spared either.
Amazingly, however, these unfortunate souls who were hacked into pieces did not die, nor did they shed even half a drop of blood. Their scattered limbs were stuck together with the similarly sliced tables, chairs, walls, and other objects, and they were flailing and struggling with all their might—making the scene look quite bizarre and grotesque.
(A bizarre ability...)
Sherlock adjusted his glasses. This kind of peculiar slash that could chop things up without harming people made the Sorcerer deeply curious.
(He actually reflected my attack?!)
The Surgeon of Death knitted his brows slightly. He really hadn't expected the opponent to be able to disregard his ever-successful trademark technique. Just as Law was pondering how to attack next, the flintlocks hovering in midair collectively turned their muzzles toward him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!... Amidst the spitting tongues of fire, countless bullets rained down upon the furry-hat-wearing man, blotting out the sky.
—Chamber!
Law calmly made another strange gesture. A slab of hard granite was instantly swapped from underground to right in front of him, intercepting the dense barrage of bullets entirely.
At the same time, Law pointed his index finger upward, activating his ability once more.
—Takt!
As if drawn by an invisible massive hand, several shops on the commercial street slowly floated up like toys, then crashed down toward the Sorcerer with a howling, violent gale!
—Mirror Materialization: Sword!
—Magic Mirror: Great Transmutation!
Two cross swords emerged out of thin air in the sky, expanding in the blink of an eye to a size comparable to a small naval ship. With a gentle wave of Sherlock's hand, the forty-meter-long blades instantly crisscrossed in midair, hacking fiercely into the buildings that were smashing down at him!
The sharp edges of the giant cross swords minced those buildings to pieces in an instant. Debris and rubble rained down from the sky, thoroughly smashing the remaining shops on the ground into smithereens. Billows of dense smoke rose up, and the violent impacts caused the ground of the entire street to shudder uneasily!
"Cough, cough..."
Rovick used his ability to blow away the surrounding smoke and dust, and was instantly dumbfounded by the absolute wreckage around him.
"These two guys went way too far with their playing..."
Looking at this commercial street, more than half of which had been destroyed by the aftershocks of the battle within just a few breaths, the blue-haired swordsman's lips twitched slightly. He completely abandoned any thought of going forward to break up the fight.
Rovick was absolutely certain in his heart that neither of them had unleashed their full strength yet—at the very least, Sherlock hadn't drawn his terrifying, blood-red lightning spear.
"Mon... Monsters!"
"Quickly go call the enforcement team to stop them!"
Seeing this scene, the onlookers who hadn't managed to escape in time had completely broken down from sheer fright. They had merely seen those two men wave their hands and move their fingers, and then this originally prosperous commercial street completely became history.
It was truly a case of immortals fighting while mortals suffered. They believed that if these two were given just a bit more time, perhaps not just this commercial street, but the entire district would be reduced to ruins!
A cold gleam flashed, and the two giant cross swords suddenly snapped in half, then shattered like a mirror falling to the ground, slowly dissipating.
"Reflecting attacks, summoning weapons... just what kind of bizarre Devil Fruit did he eat?"
Law slung Kikoku over his shoulder and peered through the rolling smoke toward a certain pair of glasses, his eyes filled with a peculiar look.
(Perhaps I should try a different approach.)
—ROOM!
The semi-transparent dome expanded once more, and Law's slender figure instantly vanished.
At the same time, Sherlock's Observation Haki instantly lost track of Law. Right after that, a stone beside a certain pair of glasses suddenly disappeared, replaced by a furry-hat-wearing man raising his long sword high!
(It's that strange ability of his that can swap positions again.) Sherlock's expression turned serious as he concentrated on his defense.
—Mirror Reflex!
Ripples rippled through the air once more.
Seeing this, Law did not swing his sword down. Instead, he flashed a mocking smile at the Sorcerer. He then shaped his right hand like a tiger's claw and clawed fiercely toward a piece of rubble nearby.
(What is he trying to... Not good!)
Seeing the opponent's abnormal movement, Sherlock instantly understood. But just as he was about to make a counter-response, the scene in his eyes instantly shifted, and his body was forcibly swapped right in front of Law.
And the target Law's right hand was about to strike was precisely a certain pair of glasses' left chest!
—Mes!
A flash of triumph flickered in Law's eyes. He felt that since he had successfully baited out this glasses-wearing man's skill that could reflect attacks, his "black tiger stealing the heart" move should perfectly succeed, right?
—Phase!
A magical scene occurred. The Surgeon of Death's right hand passed through the Sorcerer's chest without any resistance whatsoever, but he did not feel the opponent's heart at all. That total lack of touch was like passing through a layer of air, and the expression on Law's face instantly froze.
(Logia-like transformation? Did this guy eat a Logia Fruit?)
Staring at Sherlock, whose silhouette had faintly become somewhat blurry, even someone as calm as Law panicked slightly at this moment. Without any further hesitation, he swapped his body again to appear in the distance, pulling away from Sherlock.
Sherlock deactivated his phasing ability, and a strong wave of nausea instantly surged up. Fortunately, he had undergone a certain amount of training with this phasing ability before, so aside from his complexion looking a bit pale, it didn't affect him too much.
"Your fruit ability is truly magical, Third-Generation Corazon," Sherlock said to the furry-hat-wearing man not far away as he adjusted his glasses.
Law's fruit ability was indeed troublesome, especially that final move, which gave Sherlock an extremely intense sense of crisis.
A certain pair of glasses was absolutely certain in his heart that relying on Mirror Reflex alone was no longer enough to defend against that particular attack. If he hadn't previously comprehended this phasing ability that was comparable to a Logia's transformation, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
"Likewise, Joker's little partner. It looks like Doflamingo disclosed a lot of information to you," Law fired back without holding back. After using his fruit ability multiple times, his face was also somewhat pale.
"Are we going to keep fighting? The enforcement team here is almost about to arrive."
The corners of Sherlock's mouth curled up into an elegant, slight smile as he said, "If this was a test, it should be more than enough by now. Rest assured, I am not on the same side as that madman."
"Hmph, that's not a guarantee."
Law curled his lips, but at the same time sheathed Kikoku. The gaze he directed toward the Sorcerer was still filled with intense scrutiny.
"Hey, hey, hey, what exactly is wrong with you two?"
Seeing that these two people had seemingly stopped their hands and ceased fighting, Rovick quickly walked up and asked loudly, "This is only your first time meeting, right? Is it really necessary to make it so earth-shattering?"
"Don't make a fuss out of nothing, Rovick-ya."
Glancing at the surrounding broken walls and ruins, Law slung Kikoku over his shoulder and said in a deadpan manner, "This was merely my initial greeting to 'Glasses-ya'."
"It was just a little bit 'passionate,' that's all."
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