Above Pirate King - Chapter 119
Vilamoura Island
“Huff, huff!”
Two heavy panting sounds echoed in the center of the island.
By this time, the place was already in ruins, with sword marks crisscrossing everywhere.
Two figures stood on opposite sides of the chaotic ground. One was an old man with a bald head, dressed in a kimono and leaning on a sword. The other had long golden hair that reached the ground, a ship’s helm inserted on top of his head, and two knives in the place of his legs, also dressed in a kimono.
“I say, old man Shigekuni, did you really have to go this far? I just invited you to join me in something big. Was it necessary to start a deadly battle right away?” Shiki gasped and spoke intermittently.
“Hehehe, ever since I left the kingdom, I had no intention of going back alive!” Shigekuni also stood there, panting, his eyes fixed on Shiki, with a cold smile on his face.
“Did I offend you? Did I provoke you? Why are you doing this?” Shiki said with some frustration.
Wasn’t he just looking for some allies to do something big? It wasn’t like he wanted to frame or harm Shigekuni. Did they really have to fight to the death right from the start?
“No reason, it’s just your bad luck. I decided a long time ago that when my grandson grows up and the kingdom no longer needs me, I’ll find a strong opponent for a swordfight to the death. And you happened to fall right into my trap!” Shigekuni explained in a deep voice.
This explanation didn’t make much sense. It was just an inexplicable death match. They could just fight, couldn’t they? Wasn’t he, the Golden Lion, feared by everyone?
But with this explanation, he, the Golden Lion, seemed like an unlucky fool who happened to fall into someone else’s trap.
“Damn it! Shigekuni, do you think I’m easy to bully? I swear, after I kill you, I’ll destroy your grandson and your kingdom!” Shiki roared.
“Hehe!” Shigekuni sneered disdainfully. “If you had said that during your prime, I would have believed you. But look at what’s on top of your head now. Just you? You’re exhausted from fighting me, and you still want to fight my grandson? Are you tired of living?”
“You!” Shiki pointed at Shigekuni, anger rushing to his head.
He had never encountered such a frustrating situation in his life. He invited someone to join him, and if they didn’t get on his boat, that would have been fine. But this guy inexplicably challenged him to a death match, and on top of that, he mocked him, saying he couldn’t even defeat his own grandson!
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish!!!” Shiki was furious, his voice trembling.
“Lion’s Roar Whirlwind!”
Suddenly, the ground around them was lifted, forming multiple lion-shaped heads roaring towards Shigekuni.
“One-Sword Style Flame Slash!”
Shigekuni held his swords with both hands and made a horizontal slash, sending out a fiery red sword aura.
“Boom!”
The two attacks collided instantly, with the sword aura cutting through the lion heads and the lion heads stopping the sword aura, and both attacks came to a halt.
Seeing this, Shiki flew into the sky, kicked his feet, and instantly released a giant sword aura.
“Slash Waver!”
“One-Sword Style Flame Slash!”
Shigekuni gripped his long sword in reverse, swung it fiercely, and a massive blazing sword aura flew out.
“Boom!”
The two collided, creating a huge shockwave that traveled several kilometers, but the sword auras canceled each other out.
“Huff, huff!”
After exchanging only a few blows, Shigekuni, who had just recovered, started to pant heavily again, while Shiki, on the other hand, was in a slightly better state, only breathing lightly.
Shigekuni knew he couldn’t continue like this!
“Shiki, this is my strongest attack, my final attack. If you can withstand it, then I have lost!” Shigekuni slowly raised his long sword, gripping it horizontally in front of him, his eyes firmly fixed on Shiki.
A sense of crisis!
A deadly sense of crisis!
“Hey, hey, hey, old man, what are you doing? Don’t go crazy!” Shiki started to panic.
To be honest, he wasn’t afraid of death, never afraid. He had even been recklessly dominating on the path of self-destruction. But he was afraid of meaningless death!
Especially a death match like this, with Shigekuni, for some inexplicable reason, challenging him to a one-on-one fight, without anyone else knowing, without the world watching!
That made him a bit panicked!
However, Shigekuni didn’t care whether he was panicking or not!
He held his swords and placed them horizontally in front of him, his aura continuously rising. The essence of the sword, the sword aura, and the momentum, all the vital energy in his body converged. His eyes were locked onto Shiki in mid-air.
“Damn it!” Shiki cursed inwardly. He knew he couldn’t change Shigekuni’s mind anymore. He could only respond to his moves.
But he wouldn’t just wait for Shigekuni to accumulate his power.
Shiki’s body twisted heavily in the air, and his feet swung repeatedly.
“Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!”
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
Numerous powerful slashes shot out, heading towards Shigekuni.
Watching the incoming slashes, Shigekuni’s mouth curled up slightly, a relieved smile on his face. Without hesitation, he gripped his swords and made a powerful slash.
“One-Sword Style: Flame Heart!”
Instantly, an immensely powerful sword aura shot out from his hands, heading straight for Shiki in the sky.
This sword aura was fiery red, radiating a dazzling light no less intense than the sun. When it met Shiki’s slashes, it was like the sun shining on snow, melting away all the slashes in its path.
“Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!”
Shiki watched this scene with utter horror. He swung his feet continuously, increasing the speed of his slashes, constantly consuming this sword aura.
He wanted to dodge, but there was no way. He felt that the aura of this sword had firmly locked onto him. No matter how he tried to dodge, the sword aura would still come at him. He could only withstand it!
In the end…
“Boom!”
Shiki couldn’t dissipate this immensely powerful slash.
The sword aura struck him directly, causing him to lose consciousness on the spot. He spewed blood from his mouth and flew backward for hundreds of meters before crashing down from the sky.
“Bang!”
The place where he fell created a small pit, and Shiki lay inside with his eyes tightly closed, uncertain of life or death. A huge burn-like scar appeared on his chest.
Time slowly passed.
One hour!
Two hours!
Three hours!
Twelve hours later…
Suddenly, Shiki in the pit moved, and he abruptly opened his eyes.
“Hahaha! Shigekuni old man, in the end, I won! Cough, cough.” Shiki sat up, his face contorted in a grim smile. He couldn’t help but cough a few times, and a trace of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, indicating his severe injuries.
Ignoring his wounds, he flew out of the pit and headed towards the battlefield.
When he arrived there, what he saw was Shigekuni standing there, leaning on his sword with his eyes closed, motionless.
“Uh…” Watching this scene, Shiki’s mouth slightly opened, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
He had already sensed it. There was no aura left on Shigekuni’s body, which meant he was dead!
Shigekuni’s final strike not only contained his sword intent, sword aura, and physical strength, but also condensed his spirit and life force together, releasing them in that dazzling strike.
At that moment…
“Crack!”
Shigekuni’s sword couldn’t withstand the pressure and instantly shattered into pieces, and his body slowly fell to the ground without support.
Witnessing this, Shiki waved his hand and quickly used his Devil Fruit ability to lift Shigekuni’s body, preventing it from being cut by the sword fragments.
“Ah, forget it. I’ll send your body back to your kingdom later!” Shiki looked at the body in front of him, feeling a mixture of excitement and admiration. He really wanted to curse angrily, but in the end, he sighed and gave up.
He admired the old man in front of him but also felt helpless. He admired how the old man could go to such lengths to uphold his own way of the sword. Helpless because this old man chose him for no reason, causing him to be dragged into this battle and almost defeated.
However, it seemed that he had gained some inspiration from this experience. It seemed that before he died, doing something grand and spectacular wouldn’t be a bad idea?
After Shigekuni’s death…
He immediately felt an inexplicable pulling force taking him to an indescribable place.
It was completely silent here!
It was dark here!
And there was the exclusive entrance to the Kingdom of Saint Martin!
Wait a minute!
Something seemed off!?
The exclusive entrance to the Kingdom of Saint Martin???
After his death, could he still be experiencing hallucinations?
If not, what kind of place was this?
Before he could figure out what was going on…
He was pulled into a white whirlpool.
The next moment, he appeared in a massive city, filled with beautiful buildings, pavilions, towers, and palaces, all exuding the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Wano.
“This, this…” Shigekuni looked at the scene in shock, unable to find words to express his astonishment.
“Old man Shigekuni!?” Suddenly, he heard a voice filled with astonishment.
He turned his head and saw a handsome young man wearing golden armor.
Immediately, Shigekuni recognized him. Wasn’t he Cancer Deathmask, his own grandson’s personal guard?
Wait, did he also die?
Shigekuni couldn’t fully process what was happening. His brain seemed to have crashed!
Then, someone else appeared in front of him.
“Shigekuni?” Several voices of surprise rang out.
Shigekuni focused his gaze and recognized those figures. Weren’t they his former colleagues?
If they had died, Shigekuni could understand. After all, when he left the kingdom, these people were already on the verge of death.
Before Shigekuni could gather his thoughts…
A mysterious force appeared in the center of this city and pulled him towards it.
He traversed half of the city and arrived in a luxurious courtyard in the city center.
As he entered the house, a light sphere entered his body, and a large number of spiritual particles poured into him, causing his spiritual power to soar.
Shigekuni couldn’t help but sit down in the center of the room, closing his eyes tightly. He absorbed the spiritual particles while experiencing the memories brought by the light sphere.
In those memories, he experienced the life of a powerful individual whose name was similar to his own. Starting as a despicable scoundrel who would do anything, sweeping away enemies like dust, and being called the “Ghost of the Sword,” he gradually grew into the captain of the Gotei 13, burdened with many things.
After a long time…
Shigekuni suddenly opened his eyes and extended his hand, grasping the air. A sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. His hand gently caressed the blade, and in the next moment, fiery flames burst forth from the sword, blazing and dazzling!
He looked at the blazing flames and whispered, “Ryujin Jakka, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. Well, since I’ve come here, it represents a new life. Then, let’s have a new name! From now on, I shall be called Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni!”
As he spoke, a tremendous flame soared into the sky, illuminating the entire Soul Society!
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