Staring at the charging lion heads.
Kong Tai really had no other option; his slashes were useless now, and he knew no hand-to-hand combat.
He wondered how Wang Luffy had ever defeated such a Golden Lion.
His Observation and Armament Haki were both strong.
Though the quantity might have been less, the quality was top-notch!
Even so, Luffy shouldn't have been able to win!
Especially when this guy started wielding swords, he became the absolute top-tier swordsman on the seas.
He shook his head and calmly said to the Golden Lion, "I originally intended to duel you with swordsmanship. Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant you your wish."
Upon hearing this, the Golden Lion's eyes held a mocking glint.
"Do you have some kind of god-defying Devil Fruit ability?"
A hint of madness flashed in Kong Tai's eyes. He had decided then and there that he wouldn't kill this guy until he had squeezed out every last bit of his remaining value.
It was rare to find someone on the sea who could push him to fight with all his might.
Kong Tai clasped his hands together, his chuunibyou spirit igniting: "A bag of rice needs how many floors to carry, a bag of rice needs two floors to carry..."
"Pseudo - Almighty Push!"
...
Boom—!
The two lion heads slammed fiercely into Kong Tai, who stood between them.
Under the Golden Lion's control, they formed a sphere, sealing Kong Tai inside.
He stared at the sphere, sensing the power accumulating within, and wasted no words.
He fiercely swung his right hand downwards.
The sphere instantly accelerated, smashing towards the sea below.
"No matter what your ability is, struggle in the sea!"
Just then, the rapidly descending sphere abruptly stopped in mid-air, then rapidly expanded, exploding with a "bang!" from within.
Amidst the falling debris, Kong Tai stood unharmed.
"I told you it was useless!"
The Golden Lion, exuding arrogance, stared at Kong Tai and laughed, "Hehehehehe! Kid, your ability is also not good enough!"
As he spoke, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes, and he clenched his right hand.
The debris that had been scattering outwards suddenly stopped in mid-air, then shot towards Kong Tai in the center at even greater speed.
Kong Tai looked at the rocks closing in on him again, his lips twitching.
He sighed once more.
"How did this guy defeat Luffy!"
He opened his domain, and as the incoming rocks entered it, they rapidly shrank.
Finally, Kong Tai's surroundings became like a black hole, sucking all the debris into his spatial domain.
Then, within his domain, they reassembled into a sphere, hovering by his side.
This wasn't actual shrinking; it was the space being stretched. The sphere was the same size, but from the outside, it appeared smaller.
The Golden Lion was now a little surprised.
The moment the rocks entered Kong Tai's domain, he felt he lost control, and now they had become so small.
He stared at Kong Tai and suddenly burst into laughter, "Hehehehehe! Interesting, interesting, truly interesting! To think such a monster would appear on the sea, hehehehehe..."
Kong Tai paid no mind to the Golden Lion's sudden, inexplicable bout of madness.
His figure suddenly vanished from his spot, teleporting above the Golden Lion. With his right hand, he flicked the sphere downwards at the Golden Lion like flicking a marble.
The sphere initially appeared slow, then its speed increased exponentially, leaving a fiery red trail within his domain. As the sphere continued to fall, its volume rapidly expanded.
"Old man, try my Ten Million Times Meteorite Barrage!"
The Golden Lion had sensed Kong Tai teleporting above him the moment it happened.
"So fast?"
"No, it's not speed; it's teleportation."
He stared at Kong Tai, a look of shock appearing on his face for the first time.
Although for top-tier experts, speed was no longer the deciding factor, the subtle advantage lay in reaction time.
Because top-tier experts had very strong Observation Haki, they could usually anticipate their opponent's moves, and it all came down to who reacted faster.
Of course, that was assuming the speed difference wasn't too great.
If it was too fast, no matter how quick your reflexes were, you couldn't match the speed of true teleportation.
He flicked his toes upwards, and two massive slashes flew towards Kong Tai.
They collided with the sphere, which had returned to the size of an island as it rushed out of the domain.
Pfft—!!
The sphere was instantly sliced into four pieces like a watermelon and plummeted rapidly towards the sea.
Rumble—!!!
The debris, like meteors, slammed into the sea surface, stirring up monstrous waves that surged outwards.
In an instant, Prometheus Island was completely submerged.
Kong Tai glanced at the fleet in the distance. Judging by the distance, they should be fine, so he withdrew his gaze.
The fleet had already sailed far away, and everyone on board could no longer see Kong Tai and the Golden Lion in the sky.
Only the continuous sound of clashing blades from the horizon clearly conveyed the intensity of the battle.
Just then, a world-shattering roar came from behind.
Everyone quickly looked back, only to see a colossal tidal wave, like a white city wall, rapidly approaching them on the horizon.
This made them wish they had wings to fly away from this terrifying sea.
"Faster, go faster."
The villagers on the ship urgently shouted.
Even though they were quite far away, they felt no sense of security.
"Too terrifying, these two are not human at all!"
In their limited understanding, even gods would only be this powerful.
Kong Tai stared at the Golden Lion, instantly appearing behind him, and swung his sword.
He was determined to engage the Golden Lion in close combat today, as this would quickly refine his Haki.
Clang—!
A red light flashed in the Golden Lion's eyes, and he moved faster than Kong Tai, blocking the sword's edge with his raised foot.
Kong Tai gave the Golden Lion no time to create distance, rapidly swinging his sword, "Zan Kong."
Clang clang clang clang clang!!!
"You really think of me as a whetstone, don't you?"
The Golden Lion glared at Kong Tai, his face full of anger.
With a thought, the islands suspended above them...
Except for the largest central island, all the others flew towards them.
Rumble—!!!
These flying islands crashed fiercely into each other below them, piecing together a massive island.
The Golden Lion fought and retreated, guiding Kong Tai onto the island.
He couldn't fully utilize his Devil Fruit abilities in the air.
He brought his free hands together in the middle.
"Lion's Roar: Earth Roll!"
The ground churned, and countless lion heads charged towards Kong Tai.
Meanwhile, the Golden Lion forcefully stomped his feet, cutting Kong Tai away.
He used this recoil force to retreat a short distance.
Then, he rapidly moved his feet, "Lion's Thousand Fields!"
Countless slashes flew towards Kong Tai.
Kong Tai looked up, surveying his surroundings, and his body erupted with a savage aura.
He turned his head, arrogantly glaring at the Golden Lion, as if he were looking at prey, and roared loudly.
"Old man, I told you it's useless!"