Chapter 343 - 182

Chapter 182: Sanji and Law!!Deep within the dense jungle on the outskirts of Amazon Lily, the roar of metal and energy tore through the midday silence.—Clang!A colossal crash, far deeper than the clash of metal, exploded, and a materialized shockwave spread in a ring, shearing off a layer of branches and leaves from the ancient trees around them.Two figures met and separated in the center of the blast. One of them, Trafalgar Law, was violently flung back by an irresistible force.He flew backward rapidly, breaking several thick vines with his back, yet there was no panic in his eyes.Just as he was about to smash into a rock wall, he slammed a single hand onto the ground—"ROOM!"With a low shout, a spherical, ethereal blue force field erupted from his palm as its origin point!The scale of this domain far surpassed previous ones, expanding and extending almost instantaneously, like an inverted sky, enveloping most of the island's forest.Within the domain, the air became thick and deadly; the "rules" of all matter seemed to fall into the hands of the God of Surgery.Using the recoil from the domain's expansion, Law forcefully halted his retreat, his feet pushing off the void.His cursed sword, kikoku, hummed excitedly, and a tide of dark Armament Haki spread from the hilt, instantly staining the long sword an lightless, inky black.Even more astonishingly, under the extreme activation of the Ope-Ope no Mi's ability, countless tiny, flickering green electric snakes burst forth from the blade,entwining with the Armament Haki and emitting destructive crackling sounds.—Whoosh!In the next instant, Law's figure vanished.It wasn't merely fast movement, but a near-distance-ignoring flash achieved through the spatial displacement ability of "ROOM: Slaughterhouse"!He appeared out of thin air diagonally above another figure, his kikoku, wreathed in green lightning and Armament Haki,transformed into a deadly black line piercing through space, striking straight down!This strike, a convergence of Haki and Devil Fruitpower, was a true killing blow.Opposite him.Sanji hovered in mid-air, the air waves beneath his feet slightly distorted by the intense heat.His hands were still in his pockets, the coattails of his fitted suit flapping in the strong wind, and his face held a composure that seemed out of place in the fierce battle.Even though Rayleigh had instructed him to only use Haki and kicking techniques in this fight, he showed no sign of fear.Facing Law's astonishing thrust, which fused Devil Fruit, Haki, and spatial power, Sanji's gaze merely sharpened, like a precision instrument locking onto its target.His hands remained in his pockets, but his right leg elegantly and steadily bent and lifted.With this movement, a profound, heavy, almost light-absorbing blackness spiraled up from his calf!It wasn't a simple covering, but an exquisitely precise coiling, the spiral patterns like living things, compressing and concentrating power to a single point at his knee, making it radiate a dense luster and unmatched hardness comparable to obsidian.No roar, no preparation.Just as the tip of kikoku was mere millimeters from touching his brow—Sanji's raised knee, like a meteor falling to earth or a volcano erupting, slammed upward into the rapidly descending green lightning.Before his leg even connected, the terrifying pressure, generated purely by his ultimate Armament Haki and martial arts mastery, caused the air between them to emit an unbearable cracking sound.The flow of time seemed to be compressed to its limit in that instant.The obsidian-like spiral knee strike and the tip of kikoku, wreathed in green electric snakes, collided with a thunderous crash after one ten-thousandth of a second of absolute silence!—Boom!!!There was no sound of metal clashing; it was more like the collapse of two invisible mountains.An unimaginably massive energy erupted from the point of contact, first a blinding white light,then transforming into a destructive energy ball mixed with black and green arcs, rapidly expanding!Law's pupils suddenly constricted.His thrust, poured with Haki, Devil Fruit power, and his entire strength, could not advance even a millimeter.Even more terrifyingly, from the spiraling Armament Haki on Sanji's knee came a strange and powerful rotational tearing force, which not only firmly resisted his thrust,but also began to frantically erode and grind away the Armament Haki and green lightning condensed on the tip of kikoku!"What?!"Alarm bells rang in Law's mind. He could feel the power he had imbued into his sword being rapidly consumed and disintegrated."Haki isn't just about hardness, you idiot surgeon."Sanji's indifferent voice cut through the energy roar, clearly reaching Law's ears.He still maintained his posture of one leg suspended and hands in his pockets, as if the impact capable of destroying a small island was merely a breeze to him."Flow, penetration, internal destruction... have you only learned 'coating' in your application of Armament Haki?"Before his words finished, the spiral Armament Haki on Sanji's knee suddenly intensified its rotation!"Meat Grinder: Spinning Kick!"The knee pressing against the sword tip did not retract, but insteadAt the same time, Sanji's other suspended leg moved.It was faster than the eye could follow, as if it disappeared and instantly reappeared, carrying the same spiraling, inky-black Armament Haki.It transformed into a whip-like shadow that tore through space, striking from bottom to top with ruthless precision, targeting Law's wide-open chest and abdomen due to his full-force thrust!A moment of life and death!Law's battle instincts surged to their limit.He decisively abandoned the struggle, clenching the five fingers of his left hand."ROOM: Command Stick!"The space at the tip of kikoku suddenly twisted.Instead, a tiny reverse repulsive force was generated, using the immense power of Sanji's knee strike to send him rocketing backward as if shot from a slingshot.At the same time, his right wrist twisted impossibly in the opposite direction, and kikoku drew a sharp arc, barely deflecting Sanji's incoming leg strike.—Bang! Crack!First, a dull thud, followed by a subtle, teeth-grinding sound of bone cracking.Although Law barely managed to block the upward kick with the side of his blade, the terrifying penetrating power and rotational tearing force of the spiral Armament Haki still transmitted through the sword.His wrist trembled violently, his tiger's mouth split open and bled, and his arm bones groaned under the unbearable strain.He was struck like by a battering ram, plummeting backward and downward at an even faster speed than he had arrived!"Boom!" Law's body slammed violently into the rock layer below, creating a crater dozens of meters in diameter, with smoke rising into the sky and shattered rocks scattering like rain.In mid-air, the aftershocks of the energy impact slowly dissipated. Sanji slowly lowered his leg.Hovering above the gradually settling dust, he patted his suit trousers as if to remove non-existent dust, a nearly imperceptible curve seeming to play on his lips.He finally understood Luffy's actions yesterday; bullying weaker opponents might not grant experience or be moral, but... it felt good!!———————On the edge of the battlefield, in stark contrast to the fierce fighting in the forest, was a small area with an atmosphere so leisurely it was almost like a vacation.Rayleigh, dressed in a loose linen casual outfit, lay comfortably on a wicker lounge chair he had acquired from who knows where.Next to him, on a crude wooden stump, sat a pot of steaming sake and a ceramic cup.He squinted, occasionally taking a sip, but his gaze, like the most precise ruler, measured every detail of the clashes in the distance."Hahaha, well fought! Very spirited!"Seeing Law's earth-shattering "ROOM" domain expansion collide with Sanji's effortless spiral knee strike, Rayleigh did not hesitate to let out a hearty laugh and praise.The strong sake went down, spicy with a sweet aftertaste, much like the battle of these two young men in his eyes—sharp and aggressive, yet full of infinite potential.'Trafalgar Law...'Rayleigh silently assessed in his mind.This kid's development of the Ope-Ope no Mi had reached an astonishing level.The vast range of his domain, precise spatial displacement, and the technique to initially combine his abilities with Armament Haki and swordsmanship, all demonstrated his exceptional intellect and profound understanding of the Devil Fruit.'Devil Fruits involving spatial rules are all monster-level in potential. This Devil Fruit has found the right master in his hands.'In terms of swordsmanship, Law's kikoku was used with sharpness and cunning, integrated with the characteristics of the Ope-Ope no Mi, making its trajectory unpredictable, already standing at the peak of the'Swordsman' realm.'However,'Rayleigh took a sip of sake,'from Swordsman to Great Swordsman is not about accumulating techniques, but a breakthrough in 'intent'. He needs to find a swordsmanship unique to the'Surgeon of Death', rather than just using his sword as an extension of his abilities.'His weaknesses were equally obvious.Law's movement and strength, enhanced by his Devil Fruit and techniques, seemed extraordinary, but were essentially still within the realm of "ordinary people."Against a truly top-tier martial artist's relentless barrage of attacks or prolonged battles, his shortcomings in stamina and recovery would be exposed.His two types of Haki had been cultivated for a relatively short time, and there was still a gap in foreseeing the future, perceiving extreme killing intent, and so on.'Overall,' Rayleigh concluded in his mind,'excluding the extreme tactical value of his Devil Fruit ability, his pure frontal combat power is roughly at the level of a top Vice Admiral.''He's an extremely tricky tactical core and assassin, but not yet an 'absolute powerhouse' who can decisively end a fight.'His gaze shifted to the golden figure in the air.'Sanji...'Rayleigh's eyes deepened slightly.This kid, even he felt a bit surprised by him.The speed of his progress in both types of Hakiwas astounding.He had glimpsed the true path of Armament Haki's "flow" and "internal destruction,"and the keenness of his Observation Haki far surpassed ordinary people.He was almost at the threshold of that "top-tier" breakthrough, needing only an epiphany or the pressure of life and death.Even more troublesome was his body.The Germa bloodline factor modifications had endowed him with abnormal bone hardness, muscle strength, and recovery ability; as long as he wasn't instantly killed, he could recover quickly like an immortal cockroach.Coupled with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, hailed as "invincible"... 'The superposition of four systems—martial arts, Haki, Devil Fruit, and bloodline—has produced a qualitative change.'Rayleigh saw clearly that Sanji's fighting style was merging: high-speed movement carried the paralyzing properties of lightning, his kicking techniques contained the penetration of Haki and the explosive power of the Devil Fruit, and the bloodline factor provided the confidence to unleash his power without restraint.'What he lacks now is the experience to fully integrate all of this into a unique 'fighting style', and exposure to even higher-level Haki. But even so...'Rayleigh tilted his head back, finishing the remaining sake in his cup, his smile deepening.'His overall strength has already firmly reached the'strong Yonko Commander' level, even touching the edge of a higher realm. What a monstrous prodigy... Hahahaha, this sea is getting more and more interesting!'"Hey! You two!"Rayleigh suddenly put down his sake cup, his voice not loud, but clearly cutting through the battlefield's roar, reaching Sanji and Law's ears,"Don't just focus on clashing! The rhythm of battle, timing, and—the instinct to find that sliver of 'possibility' in desperation! That's the key to a life-or-death battle!"