Chapter 37: Ability Clash!
Instinctively kicking out would, at most, just slice this damned brat's body apart. Not only would that be useless, but it would also create more openings for himself.
There was no helping it; after this brat's body was cut, he could still move freely within a certain range.
After two rounds of exchanging blows, Shiki understood Buggy's tactic. It was simple: relying on his youth and fearlessness of being cut, Buggy was going for a relentless, close-quarters fight, trying to overwhelm the old master with a flurry of punches.
Kid, you're still a bit too young, too simple! Let this old man teach you what a battle between ability users is really like!
As the third round began, Shiki intentionally started to move while fighting, not only descending lower and lower but also getting farther and farther away from his lair.
During this process, Buggy didn't notice Shiki's change at all, single-mindedly focusing his main effort on attacking.
When the two separated again for the third time, Shiki suddenly pulled away from Buggy.
"Damn brat, let me teach you how a battle between ability users should be conducted!" After speaking, Shiki, who had landed on the ground at some unknown point, raised his right hand and slammed it fiercely onto the earth. A rumbling tremor immediately came from all directions.
In the distance, Buggy, with a look of astonishment, watched as Shiki unleashed one of his signature moves – Shishi Odoshi: Chijuan (Lion's Threat: Earth Coil).
With a boom, the ground around Buggy instantly shot upwards. After breaking through a height of fifty meters, the top instantly transformed into eight lion heads, which then pressed down on Buggy from eight directions.
And as the eight lion heads formed, Shiki had already flown up, slightly higher than those lion heads, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the only weak point before the lion heads completely closed in – the empty gap above Buggy's head.
To be honest, Shiki wasn't very confident about this move he was using. Although he had only fought Buggy for a few minutes, Shiki had some understanding of Buggy's explosive power. He knew that it would be absolutely no problem for Buggy to break out from the empty gap before the move's power fully erupted.
It was precisely because of this that Shiki waited slightly above the empty gap. If Buggy tried to break out, Shiki would deliver a devastating blow.
But contrary to Shiki's expectations, Buggy didn't try to break out, as if he had calculated that attempting to break through the empty gap would meet with an ambush.
Of course, this is even better. Brat, you're still a bit too green after all. In a battle between experts, if an absolute advantage to crush the opponent hasn't been achieved, continuously depleting the opponent's Haki is the most important means to victory.
My move indeed can't trap you. Let alone this ordinary rocky ground, even the hard rock strata of the Red Line definitely can't trap an expert who has mastered Armament Haki.
But to break the encirclement, you have to use Haki. Otherwise, just wait to suffocate to death. Hmph, in a prolonged battle, Haki consumption must be carefully managed. But you damn brat, even if I teach you this valuable lesson, you won't have a chance to use it again.
And on the ground, looking at the already closed-in lion heads, what was Buggy doing at this moment?
Rubbing his hands. Yes, you didn't misread. Buggy wasn't anxious at all right now. Instead, a smile of a successful scheme hung on his face as he rubbed his already somewhat numb hands.
I finally dragged the battle into the second stage I set. Speaking of which, this old fellow truly lives up to his name as a legendary expert. We've only fought for a few minutes, and both my hands are already numb from the clashes.
It seems my guess was correct. After being severely beaten by Garp and Sengoku combined ten years ago, plus spending over seven hundred days in the Great Underwater Prison, Impel Down, and losing a great deal of vitality from severing his own legs, the Golden Lion's strength is far from what it used to be. High-intensity battles like head-on clashes are already somewhat strenuous for him.
Otherwise, with his dominant personality, why would he voluntarily end the close-quarters combat and switch to ability-based fighting?
Six minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Even if he was holding back some strength, it's an undeniable fact that the Golden Lion is no longer the force he once was.
If the Golden Lion still possessed the formidable strength he had when he took on Garp and Sengoku ten years ago, Buggy wouldn't have come looking for this abuse even if it killed him.
Looking at the eight lion heads continuously pressing down, a disdainful smile appeared on Buggy's lips. He extended his right hand, pressed it against the rock wall beside him, and with a light release of his ability, huge cracks instantly appeared on the rock wall.
Kicking at the crack, Buggy immediately flashed out from the hole he created.
Looking up at the sky, Buggy was somewhat stunned because Shiki was no longer in the space above his head.
Turning his head, following the aura, Buggy found that Shiki had already flown quite far, heading towards a nearby island.
Damn it, this old bastard ran off a bit too early!
Resisting the urge to use his trump card, Buggy pushed off from where he stood and fiercely pursued. A gut feeling told him that now was absolutely not the time to use his trump card. This old fellow's escape was very strange; it definitely wasn't to flee for his life, at most it was to change the battlefield.
That's right, Shiki's current objective was precisely to change the battlefield. Fighting in his own lair, some of his more powerful moves couldn't be used at all. Unless he planned to destroy his lair as well, it was better to switch to another island as the battlefield.
With a comprehensive plan, Shiki had two purposes for using Shishi Odoshi: Chijuan. The first was to deplete Buggy's Haki, and the other was to delay Buggy slightly, giving himself time to leisurely set up his next move.
"Old bastard, don't run if you have guts! Oh no, old cripple, don't fly if you have guts!"
Hearing the words from behind that made him want to punch that face flat, veins bulged on Shiki's forehead, but he ultimately endured it.
Damn brat, I'll let you know my true strength soon enough.
Thinking of this, Shiki accelerated towards the edge of another island and, in a flash, disappeared into the dense jungle at the island's edge.
"Not retracting your aura, you call that hiding? Old bastard, are you looking down on me?!"
Not quite understanding Shiki's tactics, Buggy could only chase after him. Because Buggy had his own tactics. To defeat a legendary expert, he had to follow the tactics he had simulated countless times. Before achieving his goal, he absolutely could not let Shiki escape his sight.
For this reason, even though Buggy knew there might be a trap if he pursued, he couldn't afford to care. Buggy knew he had to display eager fighting spirit to deceive the old fox who was currently moving through the jungle not far away.
As the chase continued, after entering the central part of the island, a strong sense of unease suddenly rose in Buggy's heart.
Is the trap finally about to appear? Buggy, now on high alert, was prepared to deal with it. But what he never expected was that the trap wouldn't come from the ground, but from the sky.
As a shadow blotted out the sun, Buggy, caught in the center of the forest, only felt his surroundings suddenly darken.
Looking up at the sky, apart from the ever-expanding black shadow, there was only the ear-piercingly howling, powerful wind pressure.
Swallowing hard with difficulty, Buggy had never imagined that the trap Golden Lion Shiki had prepared for him would be so extravagant and costly.
Boom... Rumble!
(End of this chapter)