Boom!
The violent shockwave continued to surge outward.
As the billowing dust was swept away, Isuka finally snapped out of her daze.
When she looked back at the battlefield, she saw that Silvers Rayleigh had already broken through the invisible shockwave and was once again standing before Lucas.
His famous blade rang with a sharp metallic cry as he brought it down in another devastating slash.
Seeing the attack so close to its target, Isuka’s heart leaped into her throat.
She desperately wanted to see how Lucas would respond.
But before the thought had fully formed—
A dazzling golden light burst from Lucas’s body.
The seemingly unstoppable slash was halted less than a foot in front of him by a gigantic golden hand.
No—
More accurately, it had been stopped by the benevolent golden Guanyin that had manifested behind Lucas.
Throughout the entire exchange, Lucas remained standing exactly where he was.
His expression never changed.
Other than casually drinking from his bottle, he hadn’t even lifted a finger.
It completely overturned everything Isuka thought she knew about combat.
Was that really the legendary Dark King Rayleigh?
Lucas’s effortless composure made her question whether any of this was real.
Yet no matter how hard she searched her memory, she couldn’t think of a second person capable of standing completely still while effortlessly blocking an attack from someone like Rayleigh.
"A-Ain..."
"Has Admiral Lucas... actually made a move yet?"
Ain was briefly stunned before giving a wry smile.
"I honestly don’t know whether that counts as making a move."
"Just keep watching."
Isuka became even more confused.
Then, at last—
Lucas moved.
Or rather...
He made the smallest movement imaginable.
It was so casual that Isuka nearly thought she’d imagined it.
Lucas simply raised his right hand ever so slightly.
Rayleigh’s expression changed instantly.
Without the slightest hesitation, he retreated at full speed.
Only an afterimage remained where he had stood.
The next instant—
Invisible blades of wind erupted around the spot like a raging cyclone.
Rayleigh’s afterimage was shredded to pieces.
Even the debris drifting through the air was instantly pulverized into dust the moment it entered the vortex.
A chill ran down Isuka’s spine.
When she’d seen Lucas make such a small gesture, she’d assumed nothing significant would happen.
She never expected it to become an invisible killing zone.
If she had been standing there herself...
She probably wouldn’t even have known how she died.
Her thoughts immediately returned to their earlier conversation.
Had I accidentally offended him somehow?
If she ever had to stand in front of Lucas again...
She’d have to be far more careful.
Otherwise...
She might truly die without ever understanding what happened.
Such an incomprehensible fighting style...
Against the legendary Dark King Rayleigh...
And Lucas still hadn’t truly moved.
Could Fire Fist Ace really be stronger than Admiral Lucas?
At this point, she found it impossible to believe Ain’s claim that Lucas was merely "a tiny bit" stronger.
Countless thoughts raced through her mind.
But the instant she looked toward Lucas again—
Every one of them was blown away.
The compassionate Guanyin behind him suddenly transformed into a towering, wrathful guardian over seven meters tall the moment Lucas quietly uttered a single word.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze.
An overwhelming pressure descended from above like the heavens themselves.
Standing beneath it, Isuka felt as though she had become prey laid upon a butcher’s block.
What shocked her even more was that after unleashing one terrifying technique after another—
Lucas still hadn’t taken a single step.
Not one unnecessary movement.
It completely shattered her understanding of battle.
Looking at the colossal wrathful guardian radiating overwhelming pressure, she couldn’t help wondering—
If this fight truly continued...
How far would it go?
A rookie who could stand perfectly still while trading blows with the Dark King...
Was that really someone Fire Fist Ace could compare to?
"No, no."
"That’s enough."
Rayleigh’s voice suddenly rang out.
"You little monster... fighting you is completely unfair."
"You just stand there bullying an old man like me."
"These old bones of mine can’t take much more of this."
As the dust settled, Rayleigh could be seen over a hundred meters away, now standing beside Shakky.
After sheathing his famous blade, he pulled out a bottle of liquor, took a hearty swig, and laughed.
"But just as the rumors say..."
"You possess materialized Conqueror’s Haki."
"I’ve only ever seen that kind of Haki from two people."
"One was my captain."
"The other... was the legendary pirate emperor, Rocks."
Both Ain and Isuka were stunned.
"Rocks?"
As Marines of the new generation, neither of them had ever heard that name before.
Yet anyone whom Rayleigh could mention alongside the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, could never have been an ordinary person.
"Mr. Rayleigh, you’re praising me far too much."
Lucas took another sip of his strong liquor as the wrathful guardian behind him gradually faded away.
"If word of that gets out, a lot of people are going to want me dead."
"I’m just an ordinary newly appointed Admiral."
"This time, Vice Admiral Garp asked me to come because he hoped the two of you could help locate the runaway members of CP9."
"I trust you won’t mind?"
An ordinary Marine Admiral?
Isuka and Ain stood there speechless.
The abandoned shoreline around them had been completely flattened by the brief exchange.
Lucas had fought the legendary Dark King Rayleigh without moving from where he stood.
If that counted as "ordinary"...
Then what did that make everyone else?
Even Rayleigh and Shakky found themselves momentarily speechless.
Compared to Lucas’s humility, they had truly met their match.
Recalling the battle from moments ago, Rayleigh sighed helplessly and rubbed his aching temples.
"That old fool Garp hasn’t changed at all."
"He’s never cared about the difference between Marines and pirates."
"Back in the day, he’d constantly board our ship just to drink with Captain Roger."
"And now the Marine he’s trained has come asking pirates for help."
"I also heard that not long ago, you called Kaido and extorted him just to track down Whitebeard."
"Your way of doing things is even wilder than Garp was in his younger days."
"I suppose he’s finally found someone worthy of inheriting his style."
Rayleigh grinned.
"Fine."
"I’ll make an exception and help you this once."
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