No one—least of all Shiki himself—had expected it.
That El would be able to spot such a minute flaw, seize the instant, and actually draw blood.
That kind of perception, talent, and reaction speed…
it made even Golden Lion Shiki genuinely interested.
"To think Captain Shiki actually acknowledged him… Looks like we've got another monster joining the crew!"
The Rocks Pirates were already overflowing with monsters.
But even among such terrifying figures, someone like El stood out—
so young, yet already strong enough to wound a Great Swordsman.
To call him a monster was no exaggeration.
"But I don't think that's your limit, is it?"
Shiki's smile widened. "If that's the case… then I'll start taking this a little more seriously."
Although El had gone all-out during their clash,
Shiki could feel it—
that the "all-out" El had shown wasn't truly the full extent of his power.
A man like him must have a hidden trump card.
And Shiki intended to draw it out.
"Ching!!!"
With a flash of motion, Shiki drew his second sword.
The second of his two famed O Wazamono-grade blades, Sakura and Kogarashi,
now gleamed menacingly in his hands.
The instant the second blade left its sheath,
Shiki's entire presence changed—
his aura spiked, sharp and crushing.
This was the true Dual-Blade Style of the Golden Lion—
his genuine swordsmanship, the form that made him feared across the seas.
Even if he still wasn't going all-out,
his power now was several times what it had been before.
"Come, El!"
Shiki stood tall, both blades crossed before him, waiting.
"Gladly," El replied with a feral grin.
Just recently, El had found a Devil Fruit aboard a pirate ship.
Through it, he had awakened a strange and terrifying power—
the Power of the Nine-Tails.
He had been wondering when he'd get the chance to test it.
Now, that chance had arrived.
With a thought, red mist surged from his body, swirling and coiling around him.
Behind him, a single crimson tail unfurled and swayed violently in the air.
The tail of the Nine-Tails.
At this point, El had unlocked only one tail's worth of its power—
but even that small fraction was enough to massively boost his strength.
He could feel raw energy flooding through him,
burning hot, intoxicating.
"A red tail? He's using a Devil Fruit ability?"
"Doesn't look like any ordinary fruit… His aura's completely different!"
"Probably a power-enhancement type. But even so—now that Captain Shiki's using dual blades,
no amount of Devil Fruit power will help him! Not against that."
"Exactly! When using one sword, Shiki might show a sliver of a gap,
but when both swords are drawn—forget it.
Unless that kid's a Great Swordsman himself,
he'll never find an opening again!"
Seeing El's transformation, Shiki burst out laughing.
"Jihahahaha! I knew it! You've been holding back, haven't you?!
Come then—show me everything you've got!"
Excitement gleamed in his eyes.
Shiki was now completely satisfied with this young swordsman.
Once the fight ended, he had already decided—
he would recruit El to his own crew.
He could see it clearly:
El's talent was terrifying.
Given time, he could become a key commander under his flag.
The thought alone made the Golden Lion's blood boil with anticipation.
El gripped his sword tighter,
the blade now wrapped in a thick layer of Armament Haki.
"Step!"
He exploded forward—
his speed far beyond what it had been before, leaving an afterimage in his wake.
In the blink of an eye,
he was right before Shiki.
Muscles tensed, veins bulged,
El poured all his strength and swordsmanship into a single, devastating strike.
"CLAAANG!!!"
The clash rang like thunder,
a storm of sparks erupting from the point of contact.
A violent shockwave swept across the deck,
forcing nearby crew members to stagger back several meters,
faces pale from the pressure.
It was as if two ferocious beasts were roaring,
their killing intent colliding head-on.
"Not bad," Shiki said, smiling faintly.
"You've gotten quite a bit stronger."
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
"Screech! Zing! Shhhh!!!"
Their swords clashed again and again—
dozens of times within seconds,
each impact sharper and more explosive than the last.
At this level of power and skill,
El's strikes could easily tear through rock and split mountains.
With the Nine-Tails' strength coursing through him,
he was confident he could slay a pirate with a 300-million bounty in a single blow.
And yet—
No matter how fierce his assault,
no matter how heavy his swings,
every attack was effortlessly parried by the Great Swordsman before him.
Shiki's blades danced with deadly grace,
nullifying every strike as though swatting away a breeze.
Under such pressure, El could barely defend himself—
finding an opening was out of the question.
He was reminded, once again—
of what it truly meant to stand before a Great Swordsman.
With his current level,
he still couldn't bridge that gap.
Uuuu… Brothers!
Please, I'm on my knees here—send flowers! Send any free support data you can!
I beg you! 🌸
Chapter 9 – The Tailed Beast's Ultimate Attack (Revised)
The battle raged on.
Minutes passed—hundreds of exchanges had already taken place.
Though Shiki's swordsmanship was as sharp and deadly as ever,
he was still clearly holding back.
Even so, El was far from relaxed.
Every blow honed him further.
"You… are improving as we fight?"
Shiki narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
It wasn't an illusion.
As a Great Swordsman, he could sense every subtle shift in sword aura—
and El's was indeed growing stronger mid-battle.
To improve in combat—
to refine one's swordsmanship in real time—
that was something even Shiki had never achieved.
"...Impressive."
El suddenly leapt backward, putting distance between them.
He had already learned much—
new insights, new understandings of the sword.
Enough to keep him busy for a long while.
There was no point continuing the duel for now;
the gap between them was too vast.
Any further, and he'd simply stop learning.
"Let's see…" El murmured with a faint smile.
"How about testing the power I inherited from the Nine-Tails?"
What he referred to was—
the Tailed Beast Bomb (Bijūdama).
The ultimate attack of the tailed beasts—
an S-rank technique from the shinobi world itself.
Normally, he would need at least four tails unlocked to use it.
But thanks to the system's enhancement,
he'd gained access the moment he obtained the Nine-Tails' power.
And El already knew, from the anime he'd watched in his past life—
just how utterly terrifying this move could be.