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OPI Chapter 259: The Giant Fox's Escape and the Duel to Come
🕑 Added 2024-11-10 16:48:56 +0000 UTCWorld of the Titans, Noah's Ark.
Imu was watching the battle between Sakazuki and the Giant Fox on the big virtual screen, accompanied by Esdeath.
However, Historia wasn't there. As usual, she had left for Paradis Island with Mikasa, Levi, several maids, and Cipher Pol's security officers to visit the children in the orphanages.
“How do you like this battle? What do you think?” Imu asked as he smiled at Esdeath.
“I just think Admiral Kuzan is a lot stronger than I thought.” Esdeath replied with a complex expression, looking at the image on the screen.
“Very well. To become stronger, the first thing is to recognize how weak one is. Sakazuki and that Giant Fox have given you an excellent demonstration.” Imu said.
Imu had felt that the impression Kuzan had left on Esdeath had not been deep enough. He had not shown everything that someone of the general level could truly do.
“What do you think of this giant fox? It should be the owner of the Teigu’s lifeblood inside you.”
"What do you mean?" Esdeath asked, raising an eyebrow, somewhat confused.
"Don't you think this fox is pretty? It would be nice to catch it and have it as a guardian beast."
Esdeath was stunned for a moment, and then her face showed a shocked expression.
"It shouldn't be that easy to catch, and even if it is caught, wouldn't it be more appropriate to use such a powerful force on the battlefield?"
Imu answered her calmly: "If the World Government under my command lacks such a big fox to fight, how useless would they be?"
Esdeath was speechless.
“When we capture the Giant Fox, you will be in charge of taking care of it. And when you have the strength of a general, it will be under your control.” Imu indifferently decided the fate of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
...
The next few days passed and the battle between Guren and Sakazuki continued.
They have completely destroyed the northern part of the Snow Mountain Range, and the rolling magma lakes are flowing everywhere.
At the same time a fierce snowstorm had begun to envelop the battlefield.
Although the snowstorm seemed less intense than the one Esdeath had launched against Kuzan, its force was still terrifying.
Despite having created such a powerful storm, Guren now still found herself being crushed by Sakazuki, who had assumed the form of a gigantic lava being.
Although Guren resisted fiercely, her wounds multiplied, and her beautiful white coat of fur was stained with ash and magma.
"How is it possible? Why is there such a powerful human!"
Guren was almost mad with anger.
But Sakazuki simply responded by throwing a huge ball of magma towards her.
Due to her growing anger, Guren had become distracted, so Sakazuki's attack managed to hit her in the head, before sending her flying through the air.
"Aaahhh!!!" Guren, covered in wounds and furious, screamed as she rose from the crater created after her fall.
“All things in the world, freeze before me!”
A torrent of spectral blue light erupted from every corner of her body, spreading like an unstoppable current throughout the entire northern region.
Suddenly, everything was caught in a state of absolute freezing, even the sun's rays were suspended.
"Impossible!!!"
But in the next instant, Guren let out another cry of astonishment.
Guren saw Sakazuki, whose skin had turned black at some point, fly out from the lava giant's body.
Surprisingly, the nine-tailed white fox turned around and escaped towards the north without hesitation.
“...” Sakazuki stopped with a depressed look on his face. Because he knew that at his current speed, he would definitely not be able to catch up.
"Ahlalala~ She ran away. Now, how are we supposed to catch her?" Kuzan said in a mocking tone, as he walked over and looked at Sakazuki who had a displeased expression.
"Why are you here?" Sakazuki asked, changing to his usual stern expression.
"Of course I'm afraid you can't beat that big fox~" Kuzan joked cheerfully.
"Well, it's actually an order from above. We were asked to try to capture her alive." Kuzan added when he saw Sakazuki looking at him expressionlessly.
"That fox has some value if we capture it alive." Sakazuki agreed, though he pointed out the problem. "However, it has an ability that freezes space. Even if I use all my Haki to cover my body, it affects me quite a bit and capturing it will be difficult."
"Indeed, I was actually slowed down by its ability on the way here just now." Kuzan was thoughtful. He remembered that Esdeath had used a similar technique before.
"To catch her, we not only need to find her, but also enough Busoshoku Haki to protect ourselves." Kuzan exchanged a glance with Sakazuki, and they both thought of the same person.
"Admiral Garp!" Kuzan said loudly, while Sakazuki nodded. "With the level of his Haki, he probably wouldn't be affected, but first we have to locate the fox, who is hiding."
"Ahlalala~ let others solve it, that's not my job."
Kuzan smiled indifferently, putting his hands in his pockets.
"By the way, Borsalino is about to arrive in this world. You should go back to greet him, I'll take care of cleaning up here."
Kuzan looked at the terrifying scene like a lava hell and sighed.
"Hey, it seems that it will take a lot of effort, and those active volcanoes you created are also troublesome."
"Thank you." Sakazuki replied bluntly, heading towards the base like a lava-erupting projectile.
'Speaking of which, who is that guy named Mihawk? I should have asked him earlier.'
Kuzan thought as he watched Sakazuki's figure disappear over the horizon.
As Kuzan began to deal with the lava lakes and six active volcanoes in the area, in the vast waters east of the Empire...
With the deployment of the World Government Navy to this world and the increase in warships, troops, and officers, the intensity of the naval war against the forces of the Kingdom of the Gods Islands continued to increase.
Not only that, the Navy had managed to transport flying warships transformed into aircraft carriers and fighter planes onto the battlefield, providing air support that devastated the enemy navy.
If it weren't for the flying sword slashes and sea beasts blocking their way, the Navy would have already begun bombarding the enemy's capital.
In the midst of this situation, both forces decided to stop the conflict for this day. The Kingdom of the Gods Islands had sent a message a few days ago in which their legendary Saint Sword Master challenged the best swordsman of the World Government to a one-on-one duel.
If the Saint Sword Master won, he requested that the World Government not interfere for the next twenty years. If he lost, they would agree to surrender on the condition of maintaining their system of government and political autonomy.
Upon receiving the message, the Vice Admiral in charge couldn't help but sneer. With his clear advantage in the war, why accept such a proposal?
But to everyone's surprise, the World Government accepted the challenge and agreed to send one of its best swordsmen. The surprise was even greater when a young man with eagle eyes and a huge black sword in the shape of a cross on his back appeared on the deck of the main ship and said in a calm voice: "Hello, I am Mihawk, please notify the other side's swordsman to meet at sea at ten o'clock tomorrow"
...
Mihawk's appearance was actually at Imu's instruction.
Mihawk had already reached the level of a great swordsman last year in Wano, which was truly amazing.
When Imu learned that there was a Sword Saint in the Teigu World, he paid attention to it. Because his current realm of swordsmanship is also called a Sword Saint by himself. However, according to the reports from the vice admiral in charge of the war, that Sword Saint was at a higher level than the swordsmen of the Starfish World but had not yet reached his own level. To be more precise, he could be called a half-step Sword Saint, which made him lose interest… until that same Sword Saint sent a formal challenge to the World Government.
It was then that Imu came up with the idea that Mihawk could take him on. Having the chance to measure himself against someone who is at the pinnacle of the sword in another world is something truly priceless.
As expected, upon receiving the news, Mihawk showed great interest and delegated all his responsibilities of the Sword Hall to Gion. And without wasting any time, he headed to Teigu World.
As for the strongest swordsman of the World Government required by the Sword Saint, no one cared.
...
“Have you ever met that Sword Saint?” Imu asked.
Esdeath, who was sitting next to him, shook her head at the question.
"No, I've only heard about him. The highest-ranked swordsman I faced was a ninth-level great swordsman."
"In the Starfish World, only a level nine swordsman could be considered a true great swordsman, like the Kingdom King of the God Islands, Zuou."
"Zuou possesses a Heavenly Wolf Armor, a kind of Teigu that allows his body to transform into an untouchable spirit, an ability he used to confront my Mahapdama. Although there, apparently, they call the Teigu, Meihou."
Imu raised an eyebrow; it was information she really didn't know. He had only read the Akame ga Kill manga, so he didn't know many of these things mentioned by Esdeath.
Imu also didn't know that according to the original timeline, the Kingdom of the Gods Islands wasn't supposed to be unified and was supposed to be the 22 nations of Wakoku. But due to the intervention of the Saint Emperor, by marrying a princess from the ancient nation of Tenrou, this nation managed to unify all of Wakoku and attracted the Eastern Cloud Dragon to be one of its protectors.
Meanwhile, while Imu was lost in his thoughts, Esdeath watched Mihawk on the screen, sitting on a small boat on the high seas. Curiously, in broad daylight, he had lit two white candles on his boat that emitted a greenish fire.
...
In the Teigu World.
In the middle of the vast eastern ocean, waves pushed a medium-sized boat towards a small desert island, the agreed place for the duel.
"Grandpa, look, that's the strongest swordsman on the other side? He's so young, and both the ship and he are very strange." Yomihime looked at the small sailboat emitting a green light in the sea in the distance.
"Honestly, I doubt he's really their strongest swordsman." Yami Tsukahara replied. With a surprised expression, he added: "Well, we'll find out soon enough."
"Grandpa, I will wait for you on the boat!"
The sea breeze moved Yomihime's hair, who looked at her grandfather with a look full of confidence.
"I know," Tsukahara replied, then turned to her and added seriously: "Remember what I told you: even if I lose, you must not think about revenge."
"I know that very well, Grandfather." She replied, her voice determined. "Rivalry between swordsmen should never be a reason for hatred. If he defeats you, I will find a way for him to accept me as his disciple and, one day, I will become the strongest swordswoman."
“Very well said!” Tsukahara exclaimed, laughing with relief. “That is what I expect from my granddaughter!”
Ten minutes later.
Yami Tsukahara descended from the deck and, moving at high speed over the waves, reached the shore of the island. There, Mihawk was already slowly advancing towards him.
The extremely sharp eyes of both of them met in the air. Their momentum was also rising with their steps.
'That's incredible... He's really reached the level of a great swordsman.' Tsukahara thought, surprised to see Mihawk's young face, while a feeling of threat invaded his heart.
Finally, the two of them stopped at a distance of about 40 meters. At the same time, the invisible momentum emanating from the two of them collided in the air, causing sand and rocks to fly away.
"I am Yami Tsukahara, Sword Saint of the Kingdom of the Gods Islands. I have just turned eighty-two years old. Can you introduce yourself before the duel?"
"Nerona Mihawk, Master of the World Government's Sword Hall. I just turned twenty-two."
Mihawk's calm words left the old man bewildered, with a feeling of wonder that was hard to describe.
"Excuse me, what is the Sword Hall?" Tsukahara asked curiously.
"It is an organization of the World Government created to oversee all swordsmen and sword arts of all worlds." Mihawk replied.
Mihawk then unsheathed his sword Yoru, which he carried on his back.
"This sword is called Yoru. It is one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades and is a permanent Black Blade. Please prepare yourself."
"Oh?" Tsukahara said, beginning to draw his sword. "What a coincidence… My sword's name is called Yami."
