Chapter 7: The Weight of a Soul
"No, it's impossible!" Vice Admiral Momonga's voice was a strained rasp. "His Conqueror's Haki wasn't even focused on me! So why… why is it this heavy? My Armament Haki can't bear it at all! How is this possible?!"
To him, it felt as if the very air in the room had been given a crushing density. It was no longer a wave of intimidation, but a physical weight settling onto his shoulders. As he spoke, his body bent further, muscles screaming in protest, until his palms slammed against the polished floor to keep him from being pressed flat. His face was a mask of pure horror, sweat dripping from his brow to strike the ground with audible plinks in the sudden silence. The suddenness of it, the sheer, violating power, left him mentally reeling. One relaxed moment in the safety of headquarters, and the next, this.
Levi's initial, wide-range release could have been dismissed as a fluke, a surprise attack they were unprepared for. This was different. This was targeted, controlled, and infinitely more terrifying.
The expressions of the other officers mirrored his shock. What kind of monster is this? their eyes screamed. How can Conqueror's Haki, even at close range, feel like this?
"It feels… different from Conqueror's Haki," Garp mused, the only one seemingly able to speak without strain. "Stronger penetration. More… domineering. Like my soul itself is trembling. A proper little monster. To be this strong, so young… the future will be something else."
Tsk!
Time seemed to stretch and compress. Gion's blade was a mere ten centimeters from Levi's throat. But there, in that empty space, her sword met an invisible, solidified wall of force. Sparks erupted in a furious cascade as her razor-sharp edge ground against the barrier, sending waves of concussive energy pulsing outward. The entire reinforced conference room shook violently; deep cracks webbed across the walls.
This room was built to be a vault—strong as steel, sealed for secrecy, incredibly costly. And it was fracturing from the backlash of a single blocked strike. It was a testament to the frightening power Gion had poured into her attack.
"How…?" Gion breathed, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You didn't even move… you blocked my strongest strike?!"
"Conqueror's Haki given tangible form!" Sengoku whispered, awe and excitement warring on his face. "As I suspected. He has developed it to an ultimate degree!"
Then, the pressure bearing down on Gion intensified. It was no longer just a barrier; it was a mountain descending upon her spirit.
"No!!" The denial was ripped from her throat. To be defeated without even touching her opponent? To be crushed into the ground? It was unacceptable!
She gritted her teeth, every fiber of her being rebelling against the spiritual weight. She refused to be weak!
Crack!
A sharp, sickening sound came from her forearm as bones protested the unnatural strain. Yet, she refused to yield. In that moment of extreme pressure, a strange clarity seized her. It felt as if, by enduring this, by holding on for just a few more seconds under this soul-rending force, the edge of her sword spirit could be sharpened, honed against this impossible whetstone. She might even breach the threshold she had chased her entire life—the realm of the World's Great Swordsmen.
"More…" she gasped, her eyes locking onto Levi with a blazing, desperate hunger. "Let it come harder!"
Levi felt a flicker of genuine respect. So this is what it takes to stand at the top, he thought. Even a candidate's will is unbreakable steel. To force her to kneel like Momonga would be a dishonor, not a victory.
He decided to offer a different end. He needed to appear to act, lest they think his power was entirely passive. He extended a single finger, a casual, almost dismissive gesture.
A concentrated swell of that light-blue, heavy Reiatsu coalesced at his fingertip and then pushed outward in a horizontal wave.
BOOM!
The impact wasn't sharp; it was a vast, irresistible shove. Gion's body was lifted off her feet and hurled backward. She blasted through the shattered conference room wall like a cannonball, tearing across the courtyard and crashing through the sides of two adjacent barracks buildings before the momentum finally dissipated in a cloud of dust and debris.
A profound silence reclaimed what was left of the conference room. The officers stared at Levi as if he were a natural disaster given human form. He hadn't moved from his spot. He had blocked a Candidate Admiral's full-power strike with an invisible shield, then flicked her halfway across the base with a finger.
He doesn't know how to hold back at all… some thought, aghast. Against a woman, in a spar… Others shuddered. He must be single.
"It seems I used a bit too much force," Levi murmured, more to himself. "I still need to practice control." He was being honest; his mastery of Reiatsu's fine modulation was still new.
To everyone else, it sounded like absurd humility. Too much force? You weren't even trying? And you need to practice? The mental outcry was nearly universal. Where did the Marshal dig up this monster? No wonder he didn't want the position!
Sengoku nodded, a deep satisfaction on his face. The doubt in the room had been utterly vaporized.
Garp side-eyed Sengoku, his expression clearly demanding later explanations.
It was then that Admiral Kizaru slowly set his teacup down on the remnants of the table. The delicate clink was loud in the quiet.
"My hand is feeling a little itchy too~," he drawled, his voice languid as ever. "Levi-boy~, if you don't mind… I'd like to give it a little try~"
As soon as Kizaru spoke, the atmosphere snapped taut again. An Admiral was stepping forward. Not just any Admiral, but the unpredictable, immensely powerful Borsalino.
"Kizaru…" Sengoku's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't forbid it. A part of him wanted to see this.
"Please," Levi said, his calm returning. He felt the same curiosity. How does an actual Admiral measure up? Here, there was no real danger.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony~. Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi!" Kizaru's lips curved into his familiar, inscrutable smile. Light gathered, condensed, and solidified in his hands, forging into a brilliant longsword of pure, solidified photon energy.
There were no flourishes. He simply raised the blade of light high and brought it down in a straightforward, devastating vertical slash. It was a move that embodied complexity within simplicity, carrying immense destructive force.
Boom!!
Levi's mind moved. This time, he didn't just release pressure. He shaped it, sharpened it. Soul Strike.
His Reiatsu, previously a crushing weight, transformed. It became a focused, violent tempest—a thunderstorm of spiritual force aimed not at the body, but at the spirit within. It met Kizaru's falling sword of light not with a barrier, but with a concentrated blast of sheer soul-rending power.
The collision was cataclysmic. A deafening BANG echoed, followed by a shockwave that finished what Gion had started. What remained of the conference room's walls and ceiling were blasted outward, leaving them standing in a circle of rubble under the open sky.
Kizaru was forced back a single step. He looked down at his feet, then back at Levi, a genuine note of surprise in his usually flat tone. He glanced at the glowing sword in his hand, which flickered slightly from the spiritual backlash. A slow, easy smile spread across his face.
"Well now~," he said, letting the sword dissolve into motes of light. "You are the Fourth Admiral~."
(End of Chapter)
Hey guys!! 🌟✨ This is my new fanfic 📖🔥If you enjoyed it 💖, please don't forget to add it to your collection 📚 and drop your thoughts in the comments 💬😊Your support means everything to me 🥹❤️