Apophis vs Koushirou

The grove at the back of the dojo is not very big, at least for strong people at the level of Apophis and Koushirou.

In the forest on a rainy night, two people stand with swords.

"He should be the kind of swordsman with brutal flow, limiting the range, which in turn is more beneficial to a swordsman with skillful flow like me. Is this because he feels that he is too strong and cannot achieve the effect of grinding without actively suppressing?"

Koushirou took a deep breath, and although it felt terrible to be underestimated, he understood that he was already at an absolute disadvantage in this sparring match.

He has not fought with the same level of power for almost ten years, and the guy opposite, look at the fierce eyes are known to fight from the sea of blood, such people, battle power is often terrifyingly strong.

The gap in combat experience is just too big.

"You're just going to fight me with a wooden sword?" Apophis said in a cold voice.

"I swore long ago that I would not use Wado Ichimonji again. What's more ..." Koushirou held his sword with both hands; the wooden sword in his hand, surprisingly, is gradually climbing a black metallic lustre, "for people like us, whatever can be a sword!"

"This kind of words to fool those weak people is fine, in a battle with me also dare to use the wooden sword, is looking for death?" Apophis waved his left hand, and he opened the invisible space.

His arm probed into it, and immediately, a black sword was taken out by him.

"Space ability, Devil Fruit ..." Koushirou's heart first sank, then his gaze could not help but be attracted to that great sword, "Could this be, the legendary demon sword Nidai Kitetsu?"

"It's a pity it's only the second generation, not fierce enough!" Apophis sighed.

Koushirou can not help, but the corners of the eyes jumped wildly; he is still the first time to see suspected demon sword is not fierce enough.

However, he could also see that the swordsman opposite did not say big words, and Nidai Kitetsu of devils known as a ferocious nuisance to the master, in that swordsman's hands as docile as a small white rabbit.

It is hard to imagine how fierce his aura will be!

Then, Koushirou saw the masked man raise his left hand, and Nidai Kitetsu spun in the air and threw himself at him.

Although the reputation of Nidai Kitetsu was not good, Koushirou could not resist reaching out to catch it out of the instinct of a swordsman.

"What do you mean by this?"

"Use that to fight me."

"One of 21 O Wazamono, Nidai Kitetsu, was delivered to me just like that, you are really generous."

"Don't care, even your body will be mine when you die."

Koushirou thought Apophis meant to take his life, and at that moment, did not care.

"Come on, then." Koushirou instantly entered a state of mind like water, and in his eyes, it was as if the whole world had turned into a greyish white, leaving only the enemy and the sword in his hand.

Then, quickly burst into motion.

Speed, at this moment, seems to transcend space.

Apophis caught the flow of air and swung his sword across the room, unpredictably blocking the sword.

The sword's blade is crossed, red and pure white waves swept around, the surrounding forest should be broken as if by the invisible sharp blade cut through.

The stalemate between the two was only for a moment, and soon Apophis was berserkly wielding his Seven Star Sword as he kept advancing.

Inward slashing, upward stirring, horizontal chopping, and groundbreaking, each sword is fierce and severe; even the escaping sword aura has left dense holes in the surrounding rocks.

If Apophis is at the peak of offence, Koushirou is at the peak of defence.

But again, there is more than just defence in his swordsmanship.

Just like the calm surface of the sea, they are often breeding turbulent and dangerous undercurrents.

In just a few minutes, this grove is already a mess.

"Not as strong as me, not as fast as me, Haki is not as good as me, even so, I can't believe you still hurt me ..." Apophis noticed the wound on his arm and couldn't help but shout excitedly, "Not a bad job! Is this the power of your one-minded swordsmanship?"

"When you protect what you want to protect, people get stronger!" Koushirou gripped the hilt of his sword hard, allowing his slightly shaking hands to calm down as quickly as possible.

The guy across from him was just a little too powerful; even in the Wano Country, he had never seen such a powerful swordsman.

"But this level of getting stronger isn't enough! You have to be strong enough to kill me!"

"As you wish."

Busoshoku Haki attached to Koushirou's blade began to flow, the edge lightly chirped, and Nidai Kitetsu, who had been vaguely resisting him, also released its restrictions at this moment.

"Moon Shadow - Flowing Frost!"

Ryuo and the crescent moon slashing mingle with each other and fly towards Apophis, just the edge's impact, both outlining a narrow furrow in the ground.

From a distance, it looks like the bright moonlight.

Apophis had long witnessed this scene by foreseeing the future, but instead of dodging, he made the same move while Koushirou was swinging his sword.

"Red-Haze!"

The red shock wave under the moonlight mapping as if a brilliant sunset;

Only, it is the evening sun with blood.

In Koushirou's incredulous eyes, the two slashes crossed and did not appear to cancel each other out as expected.

"Not good, Moon Shadow-Rotary!"

Koushirou hastily drew his sword to resist, but he was still swept away by the released wave of air.

For his part, Apophis was prepared and picked off Koushirou's slash with his sword.

"The swordsmanship is slightly stronger than me, the strength and speed is slightly weaker than me, and Busoshoku Haki is barely at the same level as me, only unfortunately, Kenbunshoku Haki and combat experience are too much worse." Apophis secretly commented.

"But it doesn't matter, as long as there is an alternative determination to dominate, these two weaknesses can soon be made up."

"It's not over yet! Secret Sword - Swallow Return!"

A radiant slash flew in.

"I can't believe I dodged that blow just now?" Apophis was also slightly surprised, "No, it wasn't dodging, it was turning my attack into the momentum of this slash!"

"Still, useless is useless." Apophis backhanded up, and the Red Blast flew out again.

This time, the two slashes did not cross each other but collided violently.

The violent wave of air in mid-air recklessly expelled, like countless tiny flying needles leaping around, even if the two Busoshoku Haki cover the whole body, as usual, can perceive a burst of tingling.

"This guy's reaction is just too sharp, it's almost as if he can anticipate my actions in advance. Could it be the legendary seventh sense of last sense that transcends time in the Wano Country?"

Koushirou thought with a heavy heart, "I can't defeat him unless I make the speed of the sword as fast as my consciousness ... surpasses time!"

PS: Considering Wano Country, Busoshoku called Ryuo, I will see the colour here also changed to the eight sense of the statement, the overexpression is not, purely because I was pretentious, you do not care (๑ŏ﹏ŏ๑).

Published in Qidian, July 10, 2019