To Be The Strongest

Both men stared at each other, waiting for the other to move.

After a while, Lafitte made the first move, as he drew a pistol and began to shoot at Ryuma. Ryuma easily dodged to the side, sometimes deflecting the bullets with his sword. The way he moved was skillfull and fast, every action transitioning smoothly into another.

"I am not suited for sword fights."

Lafitte murmured, as he continued to shoot. He was able to keep the swordsman at a distance, but he had no confidence once Ryuma came close.

'I need to drag this out. Long enough for Ban or the captain to wake up and interfere. I'm more inclined to the captain to interfere.'

Having these thoughts, Lafitte didn't keep quiet, making a lot of noice and hoping for some back up.

Ryuma noticed. Lafitte didn't seem to be comfortable in this battle, as he kept him from engaging in close combat.

Frowning, Ryuma suddenly drew back his sword, thrusting in forwards in quick succession.

Feeling a sense of danger, Lafitte dodged to the side.

He was just in time, as the place where he had previously been standing was transformed into a deep gully.

"You have a decent sense of perception. But you are not a worthy opponent."

Ryuma followed his words up by another long range attack, forcing Lafitte to continuously move about just to make sure he wouldn't be hit.

'This isn't going as I had hoped..'

Lafitte thought as he again moved to dodge. His observation haki was used to the extreme, but he could also feel it improve as time went by. His control was noticeably getting finer, as he could perceive the attacks clearer.

As Ryuma coninued his ȧssault, the ways Lafitte dodged became easier, more fluid and relaxed. From time to time he seemed to even predict an attack, as he would have already moved before Ryuma had finished his motion.

Maybe if this continued for a little longer, he might be able to discover a new aspect of this haki variant he hadn't seen before.

"Ara, you are really loud."

Unfortunately his impromptu training session came to a quick end as on the bow of the ship, the smiling yet unsmiling figure of Shinobu was seen. A small tick mark was even visible and Lafitte knew he was out of luck today. He had hoped for the captain to appear, only for a poisonous demon to reveal itself instead.

"Lafitte, you are thinking something rude, aren't you~"

Lafitte shook his head fiercely as he fled from the scene into the hold of the ship, avoiding Shinobu's dead eyes.

"My, mister swordsman. You really know how to interupt a girls me time. I wonder if you can man up to the consequences~"

Even in death, Ryuma could feel a cold sweat appear on his back. He could sense it. This woman was dangerous. VERY dangerous. Even more dangerous than the dragon he had fought when he was alive.

Even so, Ryuma readied his stance as he was prepared to face her.

"Ara? Quite brave, aren't you zombie-kun. Then you won't mind testing something for me, do you?"

Shinobu smiled brightly as she drew her sword. It's edge was covered in a bright green sheen, a lethal substance no doubt having been smeared on it.

"I will have to decline."

Ryuma responded, making the first move as he attacked Shinobu. The sword Shinobu had in her hand was slender, only the tip the usual size a katana had. That meant it wasn't capable of dealing a lot of damage, nor was it as durable as a normal sword.

Following that deduction, Ryuma went for the attack.

The only thing he didn't count for was Shinobu being faster than him. One moment she was there and the next she was already behind him, falling down slowly from above to land on her feet.

"You really are slow. Who can ask for anything better though, if their body is a corpse~"

Shinobu commented, resheathing her sword.

Ryuma had nothing to say to that. He might be a strong swordsman when he was alive, but now that he was dead, his body was not what it used to be.

Looking down, Ryuma could see multiple cuts running along his arms, which were rotting at a visible pace and falling to the ground, a sickly green color permeating from the flesh. Not hesitating for a second, he cut of the infected parts, stopping the corosion as soon as possible.

"This is my loss."

Ryuma said, sheathing his sword as well. Glancing once more at Shinobu, Ryuma returned to the mansion, no doubt heading back towards Hogback to treat the gaping holes in his arms.

"My~ That is too bad. Guess I should find Lafitte for now."

With a brighter smile on her face than before, Shinobu followed after Lafitte.

What happened afterwards wasn't spoken of. The only signs of what happened were the massive black circles underneath his eyes when morning came.

***

Having explored the island for as far as their interest were aroused, the crew soon went on their way. The Log pose hadn't adjusted, indicating that the place they had been wasn't an island. Or it should have taken more than a two days, but no one cared.

The fog soon lifted as the normal sea was once again visible. There was no sign of any marines or pirates, mellowing out the mood even more than it was before. They spotted the same 'treasure' barrel from before, but paid it no mind. They had other thoughts in mind as they wondered what the next island would look like.

They followed the log pose to their next destination.

Saboady Archipelago.