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Chapter 20 - Clash Between Swordmasters

As Ren's aura surged, Gion suddenly felt a dangerous sense of dread.

A sharp intuition surged in her chest — if she didn't dodge, she'd die.

This brat… really wants to kill me?!

But Gion wasn't someone who would back down easily. Her own sword pressure erupted in response, clashing directly against Ren's.

She drew her blade — the Konpira — its snow-white edge now coated in dark Armament Haki.

With the force of an unstoppable avalanche, her sword flashed through the air and slashed toward Ren with lightning speed.

Ren didn't retreat.

He also wrapped his sword with Armament Haki, and with a powerful thrust of his right arm—

Clang!

Two silver sword lights collided midair, erupting with a piercing screech of metal.

A fierce shockwave exploded outward, as violent as a Category 8 hurricane, hurling everything within dozens of meters into the air.

A sandstorm of debris swirled through the training ground.

The reinforced stone tiles beneath Ren's feet shattered instantly.

Gion's footing wasn't much better — cracks spiderwebbed across the floor beneath her from the sheer force.

"What insane strength… This brat has no gentlemanly manners," Gion muttered in astonishment.

"Heh. Men are supposed to be strong, aren't we? Your sword's pretty fast, though, Gion-senpai."

The exchange had ended in a stalemate.

Ren's power was clearly greater, while Gion had the edge in speed.

That was the natural difference between men and women — unless you're someone like Big Mom, who's a whole different breed altogether.

But the result still left Gion unsettled.

Swordsmanship was her strongest area, and yet she couldn't suppress Ren.

Both of their blades clashed in midair, coated in Armament Haki.

Sparks flew violently with every collision.

The sheer pressure from their duel caused the ground beneath them to fracture like glass.

Within a hundred meters, the entire area trembled — and neither had even used full power yet.

It felt like a localized earthquake had struck Marine Academy.

Suddenly, Gion boosted her strength and forced Ren back several meters.

She took that moment to leap backward, opening distance between them.

Upon landing, her expression turned serious.

With a sweep of Kompira, she unleashed a brilliant pink slash, easily over ten meters long, tearing through the air as it surged toward Ren.

In their brief exchange, Gion realized something — Ren's swordsmanship was at her level.

Since they were evenly matched, she had to take the fight seriously.

The incoming slash moved at incredible speed — if Ren hadn't recently awakened Observation Haki, he probably wouldn't have reacted in time.

He quickly raised his sword to block.

Boom!

The power behind that slash forced Ren back a step.

This was the strongest ranged strike he'd ever encountered — but he managed to block it.

Holding the Xuanyuan Sword, still coated in Haki, Ren's golden eyes flashed with a sharp glint.

"Shave!"

A burst of air erupted at his feet. Ren vanished.

"Cross Slash!"

His figure reappeared like a phantom. Two glowing arcs of sword light shot forth.

Gion's expression changed slightly. She activated Observation Haki and swung Kompira in a defensive flourish.

Blades and swords filled the air, engulfing both of them in a maelstrom of flashing steel.

Their movements were too fast — only Zephyr could keep up visually.

Within ten seconds, Ren had slashed over a hundred times.

Each strike was faster, sharper, and more violent than the last.

His glowing sword beams sliced the air with ease.

The sound of blades howling through the air echoed through the area.

Within fifty meters, there wasn't a single intact object left.

In just thirty seconds, the entire area looked like a battlefield.

From the sidelines, Zephyr grumbled.

"These damn kids are out of control. All my equipment's wrecked — I'm gonna make them pay!"

They'd destroyed Marine Academy's public training grounds. It hurt to even look.

Zephyr sighed — he didn't even know how many brain cells he'd lost for this academy over the years.

And now he had to worry about maintenance costs too? His head hurt.

And to think… this was them holding back.

If they really went all out, half of Marineford would be in ruins.

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