A cold wind whistled past a hollowed-out section of cliff, where the rocks gave some shelter. Two figures in white suits stayed low in the shadows.
"Damn it... the wind in this place cuts like a knife."
The tall agent, code-named Raven, couldn't help but complain. However, his hands didn't stop moving. He was sweating as he adjusted a special surveillance Den Den Mushi mounted on the rock. The lens was locked onto the distant wasteland, where thunder continued to roar and lightning kept flashing.
"How is it? Did you get it? That last clash?"
"Get what?! It's too fast!"
Raven cursed in frustration, his voice shaking slightly. "What kind of speed is that?! This equipment is the newest model, and it can't even catch an afterimage! Is this really a fight between humans?"
Beside him, the shorter agent, Owl, held high-powered binoculars. His eyes were fixed on the battlefield from behind his mask, his body tense.
"Forget the equipment. I can't even see it clearly with my own eyes."
Owl's voice was cold, but there was a slight tremble in it. "Both of them are moving faster than sound. Every collision creates a shockwave that changes the terrain. Are these two really humans?"
Owl took a deep breath and lowered his binoculars. His expression became very serious. "Now we finally know why the previous agents sent to this country disappeared without a trace."
"Against people like that, they never even had a chance to run."
"If that's the case, why are we wasting time here?" Raven pointed toward the battlefield. "While that man is busy fighting Rear Admiral Aiden, shouldn't we just sneak into the palace and assassinate the King?"
"No, we can't move yet." Owl shook his head and raised his binoculars again. His tone became even more serious. "We have another, more important mission. These are direct orders from the Five Elders, and they are top secret. We have to evaluate whether Aiden can be controlled."
"Controlled?" Raven paused. "Isn't he the rising star of the Marines? Even if his style is a bit aggressive..."
"That is exactly why."
Owl pulled an intelligence file from his coat. It had a photo of Aiden. "Executing the legendary pirate Shiki without permission could be called 'justice.' But afterward, he privately gave the rare Float-Float Fruit to his colleague Gion instead of handing it over. Giving away a strategic Devil Fruit like that has already crossed the line."
"Even though the order to execute the King of Blacksteel came from the World Government, the higher-ups are worried. This blade is too sharp, and it moves according to its own will."
"A Marine with his own will and massive power..." Owl paused and said in a low voice, "The higher-ups are worried he will become another Garp."
"Garp?!"
Raven gasped. The "Hero of the Marines" who refused a promotion to Admiral at Mary Geoise and showed no respect to the Celestial Dragons was the biggest headache for the high-ranking officials.
"If that's true, it really is a huge problem..."
"Exactly."
Owl raised his binoculars again, staring at the battlefield. "So our most important task right now is to evaluate Aiden's danger level. If he wins, he will be the one to execute Friedrich."
"To be honest, I doubted his strength before. I thought the newspapers had exaggerated him. But now..."
"The fact that he can fight that man head-on means the praise was not empty."
"Keep watching. Every second of footage from a battle like this is priceless."
"I know, I know," Raven muttered, refocusing on the equipment. "I just hope I can get some clear shots so I have something to turn in when we go back..."
However, while they were focused on the distant battle, Owl suddenly froze.
"What is it?" Raven noticed and asked. "Did you see something important?"
Owl slowly lowered his binoculars, his voice filled with confused disbelief. "That's strange... just now, I felt like Rear Admiral Aiden looked right at me during a gap in the fight."
"Huh?" Raven rolled his eyes. "Are you so nervous you're hallucinating? You're so far away, and he's busy fighting an opponent like that."
"Besides, you're using high-powered binoculars to see him. Can he really see this far with just his eyes?"
"...True."
Owl shook his head, thinking his eyes must have played a trick on him.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking it." He didn't think about it further and went back to his surveillance work.
The Red Wasteland.
The rain of fire finally ended. The shattered pieces of the meteor hit the ground as burning stones, leaving the wasteland covered in scorching heat.
Heatwaves distorted the air. On the ground, layers of crystals formed by the high heat reflected the moonlight with a strange, cold glow.
However, the battle was not over.
"Huff..."
In the center of the ruins, the dust cleared. Issho stood on the hot, crystallized ground, leaning on his cane sword.
He had blocked most of the explosion with his gravity field, but the shockwave had still rattled his internal organs. His purple coat was covered in dust and scorch marks. But his strength had not faded. He only seemed heavier and harder to move.
"Your sword is very sharp."
Issho breathed slightly. His fingers were white from gripping his blade. His voice was raspy but steady. "But that is not enough to make me step aside."
Purple gravity waves suddenly burst outward.
Issho swung his cane sword. The purple glow moved like a huge whip, cutting a giant semi-circle through the air.
Rumble!
The ground seemed to break free. As he swung his sword, countless burning meteor fragments were torn from the ground and pulled into a purple storm.
This strike was not just a sword slash. It carried hundreds of burning rocks with it!
Under the pull of the horizontal gravity, they turned into a dense rain of stone. They flew toward Aiden with enough force to smash through almost anything!
"Still want to fight? You really are a stubborn old man."
Aiden floated in mid-air. Looking at the incoming attack, his desire to fight only grew stronger.
He held his swords with both hands and charged forward.
"If that's what you want, I'll fight you to the end!"
Crackle!
Blue electric arcs jumped around Aiden, pushing his body faster. In the next second, he turned into a flash of light and charged straight into the rain of stones!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rang out one after another.
Aiden's figure moved through the flying rocks. He didn't stop for a single second, his two swords flashing around him.
Using his Observation Haki, he cut every rock that flew at him. Every gravity wave that tried to trap him was torn apart by his lightning.
In a flash, he broke through the storm of stones and reached Issho!
Issho had expected this.
The moment Aiden came through the smoke, Issho gripped his sword with both hands. Veins stood out on his forehead as he swung a horizontal slash.
A heavy wave of gravity burst from his blade and rushed straight toward Aiden.
ROAR!
The air seemed to carry the roar of a tiger.
A visible purple gravity wave formed a horizontal wall of force. With enough power to crush the ground below, it slammed into Aiden!
"Stepping aside is something I only do once!"
Aiden's eyes turned sharp. The electricity in his body burst out, forcing his body to move beyond its normal limits.
"Break!"
He stepped hard into the air, making it burst beneath his foot. Using that explosive force, he pushed through the horizontal gravity bit by bit!
Crackle!
Because of the constant high-voltage current, the blades of Oto and Kogarashi glowed red. They gave off intense heat, as if they had just been pulled from a forge.
Aiden crossed his swords and slashed hard against the gravity wave!
Sshhh!
The two red-hot blades tore through the purple gravity wave!
The distance between them closed instantly.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
Three meters.
Issho's Observation Haki warned him.
He knew what it meant for a swordsman known for speed and power to get this close.
Without hesitation, Issho pressed his palm toward the ground where Aiden was!
However.
In the brief gap before the gravity field could fully form.
Aiden moved.
A red light flashed in his eyes.
His Observation Haki had seen the next moment!
"I see it."
Aiden smiled.
He didn't try to fight the incoming gravity. Instead, a moment before the pressure hit, he leaned forward and used the power in his legs to explode ahead.
Aiden shot forward in a sharp zigzag of lightning, slipping through the gap in Issho's gravity.
Zap!
Aiden's figure vanished.
He was so fast he became a bolt of lightning.
His path cut through the air in a sharp Z shape!
The first turn dodged the center of the gravity field.
The second turn broke through Issho's Armament Haki defense.
The third turn...
A flash of a blade passed by.
Aiden appeared behind Issho, his back turned, holding his pose after the swing.
The red heat on the blades began to fade, leaving behind trails of white steam.
Issho remained in his pose, his palm pressing down, but the gravity that was about to burst out suddenly stopped.
Pfft!!!
With the sound of tearing cloth, two wounds opened across Issho's chest in the shape of a cross.
"...Such a fast blade."
Issho whispered to himself.
He knew that if Aiden hadn't held back, he would have been cut down.
He could no longer hold his cane sword. It hit the ground with a CLANG.
The burden that had kept him standing seemed to vanish with that strike.
As if a heavy weight had been lifted, he let himself fall backward.
He lay flat on his back on the wasteland.
At that moment, the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.
Golden sunlight pierced the thick clouds and fell on the ruined wasteland, and on Issho's tired face.
He had lost.
But strangely, he didn't feel the pain or frustration of defeat.
Instead, under the warm morning sun, a relieved smile slowly appeared on his worn face.
He looked like someone who had spent a long night alone and finally saw the morning.
"Your thunder..."
Issho's voice was soft, as if he were talking to himself or saying goodbye to the old world. "It woke me from this... long nightmare."
The guilt he had carried for helping a tyrant just to keep his people fed, and the pain of seeing others suffer while he did nothing, all seemed to loosen with this defeat.
Since he had lost, he no longer had to carry that burden alone.
For him, this was a form of freedom.
Footsteps approached.
Aiden walked to his side. He didn't say anything; he just knelt down.
Issho closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow. He had no regrets.
However, the cold blade did not fall.
Aiden flipped his wrist and took out a porcelain bottle. He spread medicinal powder evenly over the two rough wounds on Issho's chest and quickly stopped the bleeding. The moment the powder touched the wounds, a cool feeling replaced the burning pain.
Issho opened his eyes in surprise, his face full of confusion. "Why... did you not kill me?"
He was a guard of the Blacksteel Empire and an enemy in Aiden's way. Leaving him alive could become a problem later.
Aiden stood up. He did not act like a proud winner. He only showed respect for the man in front of him.
He took a bottle of wine from his Storage Ring and tossed it beside Issho.
Thud.
The bottle stood steady among the rocks, the liquid inside glowing amber in the sun.
"If a man like you died here, it would be a loss."
"Live, Issho."
"See for yourself. Watch this land and decide whether something better can grow after the old order falls."
After saying that, Aiden didn't look at him again. He stepped over Issho's body.
His black boots clicked against the crystallized ground.
Aiden left without pity and without looking back.
Issho was left alone in the ruins with a bottle of strong wine and a clear sky above him.
After a long time.
A trembling hand reached for the wine.
Gulp... Gulp...
The strong liquor burned his throat, making Issho cough hard. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes, mixing with blood and dripping into the dust.
"Cough... good... wine."
To Be Continued
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