In the small town, Garp, seated atop the church, set down his donut.
With Haki flowing through his arms, he grinned at the charging sword energy and incoming colossal rocks, saying,
"This is quite intense."
He stomped his foot, and the church roof instantly cracked and sank in a circle.
Garp appeared in mid-air, treading on the Geppo, and shattered the incoming sword energy and massive rocks.
Boom boom boom boom—
----
At the mountain peak.
Clang!
Rudeus's longsword clashed with Kong's fist once more.
He leaned back slightly, prepared to dodge at any moment, and suppressed with the sword energy erupting from his blade.
Kong, resisting the sword, flipped his lead elbow and turned his fist into a palm, striking the sword.
Simultaneously, he raised his right hand into a sword finger, like a sharp blade, thrusting towards Rudeus's heart.
Under the immense, uncontrollable force, Rudeus's longsword was deflected to the right.
A sharp streak of light flashed.
The mountain peak where they stood was instantly severed.
Under the tremendous impact, the severed upper half of the mountain lifted slightly.
Sensing the incoming sword finger,
Rudeus abandoned his prepared backward lean and retreated. Kong, stepping on the air, pursued relentlessly.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The slightly elevated half-mountain plummeted, causing the earth to shake.
Rudeus's heart jolted, his body wavered, and he couldn't stabilize himself in time.
Kong's sword finger had seized the opportunity and arrived before him.
Discarding all pretense of composure, he fell backward, rolled to the side, and then half-knelt.
He plunged his longsword into the ground, unleashing sword energy.
The ground churned instantly, surging towards Kong.
At close range, the hundred-meter-high wave of rock and soil swept Kong towards the distant ground.
Boom—!!!
The ground trembled.
Rudeus got up, gripped his sword with both hands, and stomped his foot.
He lunged at Kong like a grounded projectile, his sword-wielding hands moving behind him to gather power.
A streak of sword light flashed.
The layer of rock and soil that had buried Kong was instantly split in two.
Boom!
A massive dark shadow erupted from within the rock and soil, soaring into the sky.
Kong, holding a rock dozens of meters in size in one hand, appeared in mid-air.
Buzz—
Black Armament Haki instantly coated the colossal rock, dozens of meters in diameter.
He tightened his grip with his five fingers, gripping the giant rock, and forcefully swung it down.
The dark giant rock plummeted like a meteor towards Rudeus.
Rudeus, watching the descending rock, slashed with his left hand coated in Haki.
The giant rock was instantly split in half. He thrust his sword-wielding right hand forward.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed.
Kong, following the falling rock, met Rudeus's punch with his sword.
Rudeus could only block it for a moment before being forced back by the immense force, step by step.
A series of explosions followed.
His retreating footprints were like bombs, and several craters appeared where he had stepped.
The instant Rudeus stabilized himself, having dissipated most of the force, he raised his left knee.
It directly struck Kong's chin.
Kong's head and body were uncontrollably flung upwards.
Rudeus's longsword slashed towards Kong's neck.
As Kong flew upward, his right foot rapidly kicked out, striking Rudeus squarely in the chest.
Boom!!!
The two separated.
Kong broke out in a cold sweat, panting slightly, half of his spiky hair sliced off.
Rudeus's chest was slightly caved in, and a trickle of blood flowed from his lips, struck by Kong's belated kick.
He had been unable to control the sword's trajectory and had only managed to shave off Kong's hair.
It had caused no effective damage, but he himself had broken three ribs.
Rudeus lightly brushed the dust from his clothes and said indifferently,
"As expected of a Marine Admiral, Steel Bone Kong."
Admiral Kong's arms flowed with Armament Haki:
"Are you going to surrender?"
Rudeus raised his longsword, pointing it at Kong.
Whoosh—
He became like a giant sword tip, carrying sword energy, and thrust directly at Kong.
Rudeus's incredible speed was so great that even Kong, a top-tier martial artist, couldn't fully evade it.
A dazzling, colossal sword gleam broke through the mountain peak, cleaved the island, split the ocean, and stretched endlessly.
----
In the small town, Garp's crane stood beside him, sensing the battle between the two with Observation Haki.
Looking at the sword gleam that split the sky and sea, Garp couldn't help but say,
"This is getting a bit out of hand, this kind of swordsmanship."
"Much stronger than Shiki."
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned:
"Be prepared."
"We absolutely cannot let Rudeus escape."
"Alone, with nothing to fear."
"If he gets away, it will be quite troublesome."
Garp laughed heartily:
"Don't worry, he definitely won't get away."
He continued to gaze at the distant battlefield.
----
At the mountain peak.
The two separated as they passed each other.
Kong looked at the deep, bone-revealing sword marks on his arm and instantly coated them with Haki.
"How many times can you unleash an attack like that?"
Rudeus once again raised his longsword, pointing it at Kong:
"How many times can you dodge?"
Suddenly, Rudeus chuckled:
"I see."
"Eight times, huh."
Kong frowned, reading minds... troublesome...
However, what Kong didn't know was that Rudeus, with a smile on his face, felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
He had mastered the power needed to wound Kong.
But to unleash it eight times like this... it was impossible.
After another five uses, he would likely have no strength left.
At that point, he would be at Kong's mercy.
He spun his longsword, and Rudeus changed his thrust into a slash.
A scarlet sword energy, hundreds of meters long, shot out. The ground it passed through developed deep, circular ravines.
Like a red dragon, it twisted and rolled towards Kong.
Seeing the charging scarlet sword energy, Kong raised his fist to smash it.
"Haaah!!!!!"
The sword energy collided with his fist, sparking lightning.
Kong's arm suddenly grew three times its size and pressed down.
The scarlet sword energy instantly changed direction, shooting back towards Rudeus at several times its previous speed.
Rudeus snorted, and sword energy erupted from his longsword.
Boom—!!!
A mushroom cloud nearly a kilometer high ascended.