El understood better than anyone how terrifying the Float-Float Fruit truly was.
As the number-one manipulation-type Paramecia, its power was disgustingly unreasonable.
If there were no inanimate objects around Shiki, his threat level would drop sharply.
But if everything around him was an object he had already touched—
then everything would become his weapon.
The ground beneath his feet.
The islands around him.
Even the air filled with debris.
Fighting Shiki inside his own base camp meant only one thing:
He must not be allowed to freely use his Devil Fruit.
Otherwise, this entire archipelago would turn into a weapon aimed directly at El.
That was why—
The moment Shiki underestimated him and was caught off guard during their first exchange, El seized the opportunity without hesitation.
He would never give Shiki time to adjust.
Faced with El's advanced Armament Haki, even if Shiki wanted to manipulate nearby terrain into a defensive shield, he simply didn't have enough time.
All he could do—
was slash wildly with his prosthetic sword-legs, trying to form a Flying Slash (Tobu Zangeki) to block the incoming attack.
BOOM!
The Flying Slash hadn't even finished forming—
before it was instantly devoured by a far more terrifying strike.
The Black Sword, Shusui, completely coated in pitch-black Armament Haki and wrapped in a dark-purple aura, unleashed a Flying Slash unlike anything a normal master swordsman could produce.
This was a slash that fused:
Shura-type Conqueror's Haki
Advanced Armament Haki
and El's monstrous physique
It wasn't just cutting power.
It was domination.
Shiki, who had already lost both legs and had no free weapons in hand, didn't even have time to swing his second prosthetic blade.
The dark-purple Flying Slash was already right in front of his face.
Even with the Float-Float Fruit, he couldn't escape the attack range in time.
PFFFT—!
Shiki was struck head-on.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
The Armament Haki embedded within the slash penetrated his body, ravaging his internal organs as the raging airflow dragged him violently downward, compounding the damage.
Before the slash could completely dissolve into countless wind blades—
Shiki forcibly endured the pain and seized control of the Flying Slash itself, hurling it upward with brute will.
At that exact moment—
A voice thundered into his ears.
"Spear of Elbaf—Hakoku Sovereignty!"
The name.
A name he hadn't heard in decades.
A name burned into his memories.
When Shiki looked up again—
El had somehow already appeared along the trajectory of the Flying Slash, his body positioned perfectly.
One hand gripped the hilt of Shusui.
The other steadied the scabbard.
A classic unsheathing stance.
In the next instant—
El drew.
A white beam of light erupted forth.
Hakoku Sovereignty roared across the sky.
The beam was so fast that Shiki had no chance to escape the dark-purple Flying Slash ahead of him—
and was struck squarely from behind.
Shiki, who could no longer properly use any of the three types of Haki, was forced to take El's third consecutive blow head-on.
Dark-purple Flying Slash in front.
Hakoku Sovereignty behind.
Caught between the two—
PFFFT!
Shiki spat blood again.
The internal damage escalated from injury to severe trauma.
In his prime—
these attacks would have been nothing more than greetings between monsters.
Any user capable of wielding all three types of Haki stood at the absolute peak of existence.
Just like Kaido—
who could use advanced Armament, future-sight Observation, and coat himself in Conqueror's Haki.
As Kaido's predecessors, the four legends of the previous era were no different.
If Shiki could still freely use Haki—
El's combo would have been resolved effortlessly.
But now—
Shiki was like Gecko Moria.
He knew how to use Haki.
Yet he could no longer grasp that invisible feeling.
Every attempt sent searing pain through his skull—
the steering wheel lodged in his head a cruel reminder of his battle with Roger.
The fact that he had survived at all was already a miracle.
A fallen tiger—
will be bullied by dogs.
Shiki's era had ended.
And the one pulling him from his throne—
was the representative of the new era.
With his ability to read intent and thoughts, El could already sense Shiki's next move.
Which meant—
he could strike first.
And turn a fleeting advantage into a decisive victory.
"Spear of Elbaf—Hakoku Sovereignty!"
El vanished into an afterimage.
He ascended into the sky, repositioning himself behind the dark-purple Flying Slash once more.
Just as the translucent white beam began to overwhelm it—
El slashed again.
"Hakoku Sovereignty!"
Before Shiki could regain balance—
another beam descended from a different angle.
"Hakoku Sovereignty!"
Again.
And again.
It was like the Twilight Combo.
Just as Might Guy had once overwhelmed Uchiha Madara with an unrelenting barrage—
El now did the same.
Hakoku Sovereignty was different from Flying Slashes.
It had terrifying destructive power—
yet lacked physical substance.
Which meant—
even the Float-Float Fruit, capable of manipulating blizzards and terrain, could not seize control of it.
Otherwise, Shiki would be able to control snowflakes, wind, and even air itself—
which was absurd beyond reason.
Shiki was now completely submerged.
Pinned in place.
His body continuously destroyed within the overlapping beams.
Unable to move.
Unable to counter.
Cracks began to form around the steering wheel embedded in his skull.
Blood slowly seeped out, staining his golden hair.
At this moment—
El resembled Might Guy.
And the longer the fight dragged on—
the more terrifying he became.
After three years of retreat—
the consumption of Hakoku Sovereignty was no longer a burden to him.
His physique had advanced too far.
To prevent Shiki from recovering—
To prevent him from using dimensional-scale attacks—
El continued.
Again.
And again.
Until Shiki lost consciousness—
or until El could no longer swing.
No one would have imagined—
that a duel between two master swordsmen would evolve into this.
What began as an exchange of Flying Slashes—
had turned into the systematic destruction of a legend.
And Shiki—
was losing.
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