Chapter 298: Fierce Battle
Swoosh!
Rhodes's speed was too fast—the air exploded. He could clearly feel a special barrier before him. Having once outrun sound, Rhodes knew that was the sound barrier.
Being able to clearly perceive the sound barrier, Rhodes's speed at this moment was undoubtedly subsonic!
At this terrifying velocity, the distance of several hundred meters was covered in the blink of an eye.
"So fast!"
Issho couldn't help but show surprise.
Fortunately, he was accustomed to using Kenbunshoku Haki, not the slightly slower visual perception. Although surprised, he remained calm and reacted in time, swinging his shikomizue horizontally.
CLANG!
The terrifying speed transformed into surging impact force. Almost the instant their weapons made contact, Issho was forced backward.
His arm trembled, and veins bulged on his forehead, clearly indicating he'd used full strength. Two deep gouges were left in the ground by Issho's feet.
"Admiral Issho is being suppressed!"
The spectators on the periphery finally saw the situation clearly and couldn't help but exclaim. Some CP agents even raised their weapons, but without orders, no one dared fire.
Electromagnetic Shock!
With one sword strike suppressing Issho, Rhodes's other blade suddenly vibrated. The air around the sword became blurred, faintly shimmering with aurora-like light—beautiful yet chilling.
Issho gritted his teeth, unable to release his gravity in time, and could only resort to his previous tactic, raising his scabbard to block.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Kongōmaru clashed with the scabbard, but the sound wasn't of weapons clashing, but of metal cutting!
Kongōmaru, imbued with electromagnetic vibration, was simply too sharp. Even though it was essentially just an O Wazamono grade sword, it was still unparalleled in the world.
Even with Issho's peak-level Busoshoku Haki,
he couldn't withstand it. The glossy, deep Busoshoku Haki, like an abyss, was torn apart almost visibly.
The surrounding Busoshoku Haki fluctuated, trying to compensate, but it was too late.
Anyone with eyes could see the scabbard would break in seconds.
Then, Issho would be in serious trouble.
Faced with a situation threatening his immediate life, Issho showed no worry or panic. Instead, a smile crept onto his lips.
"Got you!"
he muttered to himself, and the ground beneath him suddenly burst into dazzling purple light.
Whoosh!
This light, almost tangible, formed a circle with a thirty-meter radius, centered on Issho's location, appearing from afar like a purple magic circle.
A gravity trap!
This was a countermeasure Issho had prepared beforehand—or rather, a trap.
Gravity was concealed underground, held back until someone approached; with a single thought, it could be activated, creating a large-scale gravity field!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under the terrifying purple light, the ground beneath them sank almost instantly by half a meter, the earth becoming compacted.
Rhodes only managed to dodge twenty-three meters before being pressed to the ground with a thud.
The gravity trap was too sudden and too vast. Rhodes only had time to avoid the core of the strongest gravity fluctuations, but not completely.
"..."
There was no time to marvel at Issho's cunning and mastery of his Devil Fruit ability.
Rhodes's Kenbunshoku Haki had already detected a terrifying force rapidly approaching.
Almost without thinking, he braced himself against the terrifying gravity and dodged.
It was only thanks to his powerful physique, just a step below peak level, and the fact that his body, evolved through Faith Power, seemed to possess supernatural qualities, that he barely managed to dodge within the gravity field.
He sensed that even Jack, with his massive Ancient Zoan physique, would probably be crushed to the ground, unable to move.
"Jigoku Tabi!"
Issho's combo attack failed to connect, only striking where Rhodes had been standing.
Silently.
A bottomless pit appeared in that location, pitch black, as if it truly led to hell itself!
It was unimaginable how terrifying the gravity there must have been.
"Cough."
After dodging Jigoku Tabi, Rhodes dodged again, finally escaping the gravity field, and couldn't help coughing up blood.
His internal organs had been severely injured in the gravity trap.
Of course,
Issho was in even worse condition.
At the last moment, Rhodes had severed the scabbard, leaving a deep gash across Issho's body. Without this wound, the subsequent attacks from the gravity trap wouldn't have been so easily dodged by Rhodes.
Huff!
Taking a deep breath, feeling the burning pain in his chest begin to subside, Rhodes, dual swords in hand, faced Issho.
He realized the surprise attack tactic seemed ineffective.
Issho's Kenbunshoku Haki was simply too powerful.
It was frighteningly sensitive, perhaps due to his long-term blindness and constant reliance on Kenbunshoku Haki, resulting in extremely high proficiency.
After all, ordinary people, like Rhodes, were more accustomed to relying on their sight.
It was human instinct.
It wasn't a matter of which was better, but Issho's habits clearly proved effective against Rhodes.
Watching Issho slowly approach, Rhodes felt somewhat frustrated, realizing he had to avoid close combat. Who knew how extensively Issho had developed his Zushi Zushi no Mi powers? He could
avoid the gravity traps this time, but not necessarily next time.
Rhodes even had to frequently shift the battlefield, since no one knew if Issho's gravity traps could only be placed at ground level.
"Raijin no Yari!"
Rhodes sheathed Kongōmaru, his left hand forming a fist, arcs of electricity appearing, then gathering into an even more intense burst of light, finally forming a long spear, terrifyingly blazing.
BOOM!
Rhodes hurled it, deciding to employ mid-to-long-range attacks.
While sword waves were impressive, they couldn't match the speed of pure lightning.
The lightning condensed into a spear, more dazzling than the sun, piercing the sky—to outsiders, it was merely a blur.
Even Issho's Kenbunshoku Haki could only barely detect its trajectory.
His expression changed, and he suddenly let out a soft shout, releasing gravity suppression within a ten-meter radius around him.
Although the Thunder God Spear was almost tangible, it was ultimately an energy construct, and gravity's effect was negligible.
But in duels between experts, this slight difference was enough for Issho to react.
CLANG!
He slashed with his sword, striking the lightning spear, producing a metallic clang. Sparks flew as the spear was deflected by Issho.
But almost in the next instant,
another lightning spear pierced through the void.
Issho's expression shifted slightly—he had to stop his advance and continuously parry with his blade.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Spears streaked across the sky, one after another, shooting toward Issho.
Rhodes remained calm. Without Busoshoku Haki, the lightning spears could be formed quickly and consumed relatively little energy.
However, Issho couldn't afford to underestimate them. His defense was average—if struck by the lightning spears, he would certainly be injured.
Most importantly, he might be affected by the accompanying electricity—perhaps not paralyzed, but likely impacting his performance.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Issho pushed his Kenbunshoku Haki to its limit, tracking the lightning spears' trajectories and continuously striking them, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Because, under Rhodes's control, some of the lightning spears that had been deflected were actually shooting back.
Rhodes could remotely control lightning!
Issho had no choice but to slash with full force, scattering the incoming lightning spears.
This was a tremendous test of his stamina.
Issho understood he had to change his approach, otherwise he would be worn down to death by Rhodes, and it wouldn't take long.
Issho understood the principle that prolonged defense inevitably leads to mistakes.
(End of Chapter)
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