"Hey, hey, hey, this is really intense! It's been a long time since I've seen a scene like this."
Sommers watched the two men clash fiercely. The aftershocks of their battle whipped his cloak into complete disarray.
"Kehehe~ This is my first time going head-on against a Celestial Dragon. I didn't expect they aren't all bubble-headed idiots."
Moria drew his curved blade, and his shadow warrior had already been summoned.
Fujitora slowly unsheathed his cane sword.
"The World Government that controls this world—if it relied only on the Marines, that would be strange indeed… The Celestial Dragons are the malignant tumor of this world."
Around Sommers' body, coils of thorns surfaced and wrapped around the sword at his waist as he pulled it free.
"Hey, hey, hey. If you two are going to talk like that, I can't just pretend I didn't hear it."
Sommers was someone who hated trouble and hated work.
To him, today's mission was mainly a test for Shamrock. All he needed to do was hold the line and make sure no one interfered with their fight.
But with both Moria and Fujitora openly insulting the Celestial Dragons, as one himself, he naturally had to respond.
"Then let's fight. I dared to slash that bastard Kaido—why would I be afraid of a Celestial Dragon like you?"
"I would also like to experience the techniques of God's Knights."
Pitch-black shadows, violet gravity, and winding thorns… After a brief standoff, the three forces collided violently, erupting in a tremendous crash.
...
On Vane and Shamrock's side.
The two withdrew their Conqueror's Haki and began clashing with Armament Haki and techniques instead.
"Hellfire!"
The Cerberus could unleash flame-based attacks… So the Flame-Flame Fruit really was eaten by a dog.
"Ice Beam!"
One wielded fire, the other ice—mutually restraining forces.
The ice beam struck the flame tinged with black impurities. The fire resisted for two seconds before being pierced through.
How could the Hellfire released in blade form possibly compare to the ice energy unleashed from Vane's true body?
Shamrock hastily dodged, but the remaining beam still grazed the blade in his hand. The Cerberus Blade and part of his arm were instantly frozen into solid ice. If not for his Armament Haki covering it in time, his hand would have already suffered severe frostbite.
Crack—
With a surge of Armament Haki, the frozen arm and blade quickly returned to normal.
"Shamrock… Back then, I left the Red Line in a hurry because I was wary of the old monsters inside Pangaea Castle. Do you really think I was afraid of you?!"
Vane was lying. Two months ago on the Red Line, he truly might not have been Shamrock's opponent—especially with the Cerberus Blade in his hand.
But now? His strength had risen by two whole tiers. He had a Mythical Zoan weapon too. For this idiot to travel thousands of miles just to find him—wasn't that just courting death?
With a beat of his Articuno wings, heavy hail began pouring from the sky, and the surrounding temperature continued to drop.
The shattered ice layers from their earlier clash had released large amounts of seawater, but under the violent hailstorm, the rising sea froze solid once more.
"Netherworld Clone!"
Vane's figure blurred. In Shamrock's eyes, Vane split into two—both with nearly identical auras. Under the hailstorm, his Observation Haki and eyesight were severely hindered.
This wasn't merely an afterimage created by speed. It was a genuine clone technique—using Pokémon energy to create a combat-capable duplicate.
"Cerberus!"
Shamrock hurled the sword from his hand.
This sword had been passed down through generations of the Figarland family. It was a Mythical Zoan weapon with awakened power. Its strength was no less than his own. Releasing it into battle was equivalent to doubling his combat power.
"Ruff—!"
With three ferocious heads and black flame clouds coiling around it, the Cerberus reappeared.
"What a joke! Like I'd be scared. I'll show you how a loli trains a dog. Lilith, keep that stupid mutt busy."
Vane tossed Lilith out. She appeared in human form.
Unlike Cerberus, she wasn't surrounded by flame clouds. Awakening a Zoan was difficult—especially for a weapon. She had only eaten her fruit one or two months ago. Even though Vane fed her with his blood, awakening wouldn't come that quickly.
But Lilith had her own advantages.
She could fly… and she possessed Blood Demon Art.
"Stupid doggy!"
When Lilith appeared, she was slightly different from before. Words had emerged in her eyes.
In one eye: [Upper Rank].
In the other: [One].
"Roar!" "Roar!" "Roar!"
The Cerberus's three heads roared at Lilith simultaneously.
"Three heads are such a big deal? Blood Demon Art… Mirror Self!"
A faint mirror materialized before Lilith. She passed through it—and two Liliths emerged from the other side.
Her Blood Demon Art was also a cloning ability. With two Liliths present, each possessed ninety percent of the original's strength.
With three, each would drop to seventy percent.
Of course, her Mirror Self could also create illusionary clones with no power at all, which wouldn't divide her strength.
"Come on, you big stupid dog!"
Both Liliths spread bat-like wings and teased the Cerberus in midair, which lacked sustained flight ability.
Shamrock felt numb. Were fruit-eating weapons this common now? And Mythical Zoans at that? Was this brat some lost descendant of the Celestial Dragons or something?
Still, Shamrock remained confident. From childhood, physical techniques had been a vital part of his training. In pure Rokushiki, he was a master.
Vane was known for swordsmanship and fruit abilities. It was said he had learned some Rokushiki techniques—but only within this past year.
Shamrock was several years older and had trained in Rokushiki since childhood. How could he possibly lose to Vane in that area?
"Let me show you what a Rokushiki master looks like!"
The two Vane figures charging toward him suddenly began moving differently.
One took a sharp opening stance.
The other moved fluidly.
This wasn't Rokushiki? What kind of wild, unorthodox martial art was this?
In Shamrock's eyes, all other physical arts were crude improvisations—usable only for individual cultivation, incapable of the universal application and growth potential that Rokushiki offered.
Vane One: "Whirlwind!"
Vane Two: "Flowing Water!"
Together: "Whirlwind Flowing Water Sky-Cleaving Slash!"