"Gurararara! Roger, you've got some nerve! Daring to poach our man right in front of me?! Seems you don't hold me in any regard at all!"
Seeing Roger so blatantly try to recruit Raiver Sky right before his eyes, Newgate's suppressed fury finally erupted completely.
He felt his dignity and the face of his pirate crew had been severely challenged.
Raiver Sky was now a member of their Rocks Pirates!
He was a future top-tier combatant that both he and Shiki had high hopes for! Where did you, an outsider, get the courage to try poaching him right in my face?!
Moreover, both he and Shiki had been openly and covertly trying to build good relations with Raiver Sky during this period, paving the way for potential recruitment in the future. How dare you, an outsider, try to cut in and steal the prize?!
Never mind whether you could actually succeed in poaching him, but doing this in front of me is slapping me in the face!
Without further ado, Whitebeard charged forward with Cloud Cutter in hand, slashing directly at Roger.
Where the blade pointed, space emitted agonized groans as if overwhelmed!
Seeing Whitebeard attacking with genuine rage, Roger's eyes boiled with fighting spirit as he fearlessly drew his sword to meet the attack!
"Ha! Just what I wanted! Newgate, let me see if you've improved during this time!"
"Divine Departure!"
It was the same "Divine Departure," but this time, Roger held nothing back!
The crimson slash collided violently with the destructive vibrational power concentrated on Cloud Cutter's blade!
"BOOOOM——!"
Two top-tier forces capable of destroying islands clashed head-on!
At the collision's epicenter, space seemed to be torn asunder!
A terrifying spherical shockwave of energy madly expanded in all directions.
Wherever it passed, the ground was plowed as if by an invisible giant plow, rocks shattered, trees were uprooted and turned to dust!
Countless crimson sword energies and white shockwaves crisscrossed the sky, weaving together into a deadly net!
Facing the cataclysmic collision between these two, Raiver Sky rapidly retreated to avoid being caught in the aftermath.
"Young man, let's not stand idle either. Let's have a match ourselves!"
With that, Rayleigh drew his sword and slashed, sending a condensed silver sword flash streaking through the air like lightning straight toward Raiver Sky!
Raiver Sky had already activated his Space Perception, monitoring the entire battlefield.
The moment Rayleigh's shoulder twitched and sword intent rose, he had sensed the warning!
Facing this sudden assault, Raiver Sky's eyes turned cold as the Supreme Grade Sharp Blade "Black Dragon" at his waist emitted a soft hum, instantly unsheathing!
Whoosh—
A spiraling, penetrating azure Wave Cut shot forth, howling as it met Rayleigh's silver ice line!
"SCREECH——!"
Two powerful slashes collided violently mid-air!
After a brief stalemate, both the silver ice line and azure torrent exhausted their energy simultaneously, dissipating into the air.
In this sudden exchange, neither gained clear advantage over the other, ending in a draw!
However, Rayleigh was the one launching a surprise attack while Raiver Sky was hastily defending. In a sense, Raiver Sky's reaction and response were already on par.
Rayleigh was slightly startled inwardly.
He hadn't expected that his probing slash, intended merely to test the waters, would gain no advantage whatsoever against Raiver Sky, being effortlessly defused by the other's exquisite variations.
This young man's comprehension of swordsmanship and adaptability far exceeded his estimations.
With the probing complete, Rayleigh's figure shot forward like a spring compressed to its limit suddenly released, charging fiercely toward Raiver Sky!
The longsword in his hand was now completely enveloped in an Armament Haki so dense and condensed it seemed tangible. Where the blade passed, the air was silently sliced apart.
How could Raiver Sky allow Rayleigh to close in so easily?
In an instant, Raiver Sky executed a Space Leap, teleporting to appear mid-air.
Simultaneously, the blade of his "Black Dragon" was instantly infused with Haki and coated with a layer of spatial power.
"Single Sword Style·Dragon's Roar!"
Pivoting his waist mid-air, Raiver Sky swung his sword in a backhanded motion, slashing downward from his elevated position!
A vividly lifelike black dragon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, pounced fiercely toward the charging Rayleigh below.
Facing the oncoming black dragon, Rayleigh neither dodged nor blocked. Instead, he raised his sword and thrust straight forward, unwavering and resolute.
A glint of cold steel arrived first, followed by the sword striking forth like a dragon!
"Shii—!!!"
The tip of his blade pierced the black dragon's forehead, then continued with unstoppable force, completely tearing, piercing through, and shattering the entire energy-formed dragon from within.
Raiver Sky frowned slightly, his heart stern but not panicked.
As expected of Rayleigh, worthy of the title Dark King.
Raiver Sky raised his right hand!
"All Creation of Attraction!"
A terrifying gravitational force that disregarded distance abruptly surged from his palm, precisely locking onto Rayleigh.
"Not good!" Rayleigh exclaimed aloud.
He felt as if his entire body was firmly gripped by an invisible giant hand.
In the next moment, he lost all control, hurtling uncontrollably toward Raiver Sky in mid-air.
"If I get caught by him, the consequences would be unthinkable!"
This thought flashed through Rayleigh's mind.
He could sense that Raiver Sky's right hand had already moved to rest on the Black Dragon at his waist.
Once pulled within that range, he would undoubtedly face a thunderous, devastating slash!
"Rayleigh!"
Roger's voice came from afar, carrying a rare urgency.
He had just repelled a heavy slash from Whitebeard and turned in time to witness the scene.
But Rayleigh had no time to respond.
He let out a low shout, and a dark red Armament Haki surged like a tide, covering his entire body.
Yet it wasn't enough—that bizarre gravitational pull still affected him, only slightly slowing the dragging speed.
"Then try this!"
Suddenly, above the dark red Armament Haki enveloping Rayleigh, a layer of flowing, flame-like aura erupted!
"Ryuo... no, an even more advanced form!" Whitebeard's pupils contracted in the distance. "That bastard Rayleigh, he's been hiding his true depth!"
"Break... now!"
Rayleigh roared, his muscles bulging as he unleashed his Armament Haki at full power, instantly shattering the gravitational bonds!
But that wasn't all. Harnessing the inertia of his flight toward Raiver Sky, he channeled the excess Ryuo Haki into his longsword and executed a diagonal slash aimed at Raiver Sky.
Raiver Sky stood impassively in mid-air, his expression cold as he slowly raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread!
"Almighty Push!"
Just as Rayleigh closed to within less than a meter of Raiver Sky, a powerful Space Repulsion erupted with explosive force!
Rayleigh's heart clenched in alarm: "Damn—"
The next moment, a powerful repulsive shockwave, like a massive barrier, slammed squarely into Rayleigh.
"BOOM——!!!"
Rayleigh's body was sent flying backward at high speed, tracing a long arc through the air before crashing violently into the sea surface a kilometer away!
"SPLASH——!!!"
Furious waves churned, white foam surging skyward.
The entire battlefield fell into deathly silence.
The crew members of the Roger Pirates stood gaping, their expressions shifting from shock to disbelief, then to utter bewilderment.
"Vi... Vice-Captain Rayleigh... was..."
"Knocked flying?"
"This can't be real!"
"Who exactly is that Raiver Sky?!"
After a brief dead silence, an uproar erupted like a boiling pot.