Kenji is a Cunning Old Man?

"Armament Haki?"

Shiki looked indifferently at the 'black mist' flowing around Kenji's fist.

As a Legendary Pirate, he naturally recognized which type of Haki Kenji was releasing, but he completely ignored the words 'strongest' that the other party had said.

"You old geezer, you're getting more cunning with age." Shiki said with a look of resentment.

Evidently, he did not agree with Kenji's claim of 'Armament Haki'.

"Such powerful strength… Could it be that this old man has already learned Conqueror's Haki…" Shiki muttered to himself, guessing.

"Hmph! Even if you really possess that kind of power, how many punches can you throw?"

"The stronger the power, the greater the consumption will be!"

"You old geezer, don't tell me you think dyeing your hair actually made you younger?"

Understanding this, Shiki was not in a hurry to make a move. Instead, he took two satisfying puffs from his cigar.

The glow of the cigar flickered in the dim sky, seemingly unaffected by the stormy weather.

Then, Shiki gripped his famous swords, Oto and Kogarashi, in his left and right hand respectively. He wielded these two beloved swords quite easily to launch slashes.

There was no need to build up momentum. Slashes generated itself wherever the sharp, cold light swept.

The dazzling white glow appeared exceptionally striking beneath the heavy dark clouds, and the raindrops falling along its path were smoothly sliced by the slash.

In a flash, two slashes arrived almost simultaneously in front of Kenji.

With a thought, Kenji's Armament Haki flowed outward, blocking the slashes.

Immediately after, a heavy punch, reinforced by Armament Haki, smashed directly forward.

Crack, crack!

With just one punch, the two slashes were successively shattered, emitting a cracking sound.

The moment the slashes shattered, Shiki in mid-air attacked again, giving no chance to breathe.

"Well done, as expected of an Admiral, but… you're just a decent old man." Shiki sneered, his eyes suddenly wide open.

In an instant, an invisible yet incredibly powerful pressure erupted, covering the sky and earth.

Conqueror's Haki: Intimidation!

Shiki's control over Conqueror's Haki was clearly very strong. He precisely directed the pressure towards the Marine warship below, while the people on the surrounding pirate ships were not affected.

Of course, this might also be related to the fact that those pirate ships had maintained a certain distance from the warship.

On the warship, before Shiki released his Conqueror's Haki, Kenji had already sensed it through Observation Haki.

At this moment, facing Shiki directly, a light flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.

After his Conqueror's Haki advanced to blue, Kenji was also able to freely control his Conqueror's Haki.

Boom!

Two Conqueror's Haki collided in mid-air, their invisible pressures clashing and forming a visible flow of air.

Although Shiki's Conqueror's Haki appeared more ferocious, it ultimately failed to completely break through and defeat Kenji's Conqueror's Haki.

"It really is Conqueror's Haki!" Shiki's eyes flickered, confirming his earlier guess.

But because of this, he was even more surprised.

"I've never heard of old Kenji awakening Conqueror's Haki!"

In fact, let alone Shiki, even those within the Marine and Kenji's close associates did not know about his Conqueror's Haki awakening.

This undoubtedly deepened Shiki's mistaken impression of Kenji as 'cunning' in his heart.

"Hmm, was that just… Conqueror's Haki?"

"Ah, I think it should be Conqueror's Haki!"

"When did Admiral Shirojishi awaken Conqueror's Haki…"

On the warship, because Kenji actively released his Conqueror's Haki to counter Shiki's Conqueror's Haki intimidation, this time, the Marine soldiers did not faint as they did the last time they encountered Roger.

They were just very shocked by Kenji's sudden burst of Conqueror's Haki.

After all, Kenji's previous impression in everyone's minds was that of a very amiable and powerful elderly Marine.

This battle had a significant impact on everyone's hearts—it turned out that the amiable and approachable Kenji also had such a strong and domineering side.

At this moment, Kenji himself was not paying attention to the emotions of those around him. He was already starting to consider: Should he change the location of the fight?

"Fighting this kid in this kind of place is troublesome." Kenji looked at Shiki in mid-air, frowned, and withdrew his Conqueror's Haki.

Fighting like this, he was undoubtedly at a great disadvantage.

Shiki could move freely in the sky, fighting however he pleased, while he could only engage on the large Marine warship, which was very passive.

"I need to change the battlefield first."

Kenji did not want to continue fighting passively, nor did he want the aftermath of the battle to wreck his warship, in which case he might have to swim back.

Shiki can fly across the sea if he loses the fight, but he might have to swim back even if he wins, wouldn't that mean he won for nothing?

"Hmm, I've decided! It's you!" Kenji looked up and quickly locked onto a pirate ship floating in the air.

That ship was directly above the warship, one of the many pirate ships aiming to attack the warship from mid-air.

However, its distance from the sea surface was just right, making it suitable as a combat springboard.

"Hmph!"

The next moment, Kenji stomped his feet with force, causing the warship beneath him to suddenly sink a bit.

Utilizing the immense recoil, he shot up at high speed. The Hand-to-Hand Combat trait allowed him to ascend dozens of meters in an instant, firmly landing on the deck of the pre-selected pirate ship.

During this time, Shiki did not intervene or intercept him midway. It wasn't because he was kind. In fact, the killing intent in his eyes grew increasingly intense as time passed.

"Gyahahahaha! That's it!" Shiki said with a cold expression, his eyes wide open.

"I'm going to crush everything about you!"