Chapter Sixty-Three: The Opponent

Even through the chat group, Borsalino could clearly sense the eager excitement radiating from Esdeath.

However, after glancing around his immediate surroundings and having no desire to turn the Sabaody Archipelago's Marine branch headquarters into rubble, Borsalino decisively chose to decline.

[Borsalino: My current location isn't really suited for a fight. How about yours? If you have enough space to move around, send me an invitation; you can find the option in the group features.]

[Esdeath: Fine by me. Do you have any requirements for the battlefield environment? Do you need me to provide you with weapons and equipment?]

[Borsalino: Whatever you like, I'm fine with anything. Just try not to pick a densely populated area.]

[Kobayashi: Waaaaah, they're really going to fight! @PasserbyWantsToHugLuoFeng, based on what you know about the newcomers, can Borsalino-san win?]

[Fubuki: Remember to stream it! I specifically cleared away all the annoying pests, just to see how powerful this so-called strongest really is!]

[PasserbyWantsToHugLuoFeng: Hard to say. It's not that I'm afraid of offending anyone, but Esdeath is genuinely outrageously strong.]

[Haibara Ai: It's rare for you not to talk big for once...]

[Tony Stark: Too bad my iron suit isn't finished yet, otherwise I'd try to watch the live stream in person.]

[Borsalino: No worries, I'll start a live stream so everyone can watch...]

Before Borsalino could even finish his sentence, a system notification popped up in the chat group—an invitation from Esdeath.

[Ding! Esdeath has issued a designated quest, inviting @Borsalino to enter her world. Do you accept?]

[Accept / Reject]

"Leave the rest to you. I'm still in a rush to get back to Marineford."

Borsalino patted Vice Admiral Stainless on the shoulder, and after dismissing the enthusiastic branch officer, he found an empty spot and accepted Esdeath's invitation.

The next moment, Borsalino's vision blurred. When things came into focus again, he was standing on a vast expanse of pristine white ice fields, facing a beautiful woman with long, sky-blue hair and exquisitely delicate facial features.

A short distance away stood three individuals who looked like her subordinates, and further back loomed a fortress erected amidst the frozen wasteland.

"Borsalino?"

Esdeath looked with a hint of admiration at the man who had suddenly appeared before her. Her army was by no means lacking in tall soldiers, but a towering sub-giant standing nearly three meters tall like Borsalino was completely unheard of.

What thrilled Esdeath the most was the aura of extreme danger radiating from Borsalino.

It was the very same sensation she had relished the most when fighting life-or-death battles against Danger Beasts—a feeling she hadn't experienced once since becoming a Teigu wielder.

"Ah, that's me. Hold on a second, let me start a live stream first..."

***

Borsalino raised a hand to stop Esdeath, who looked ready to dive straight into battle. Once the fighting started, he might not be able to spare the attention to set up the stream.

"Not bad, you certainly look strong!"

Esdeath looked Borsalino up and down and nodded with satisfaction. That so-called dimensional chat group really had given her quite a pleasant surprise.

If every member in the group represented their respective worlds, just how many strong opponents must exist out there who could engage her in mortal combat?

The mere thought of it made Esdeath's heart race with excitement, though she would first have to defeat this man who was supposedly the strongest in the chat group!

"It's alright. I shouldn't end up embarrassing everyone in the group... Oh, so this is where it is..."

Borsalino muttered casually.

Prompted by Orochimaru—who had already experienced broadcasting before—he quickly figured out how the live-streaming feature worked.

[Ding! Borsalino has started a live stream and invited @Everyone to watch. Do you accept?]

[Accept / Reject]

[PasserbyWantsToHugLuoFeng: First place!]

[Kobayashi: Se... Ah, I got beaten to it...]

[Haibara Ai: Honestly, you're not a child anymore, yet you're still so easily amused...]

[Fubuki: Hmm? Is the battlefield in the snow? It looks freezing just looking at it.]

[Tony Stark: Oh, it's practically like Siberia or Antarctica. Is this kind of frozen hellscape really suitable for human habitation?]

[Orochimaru: Heh, quite a peculiar world. Perhaps there will be something here that catches my interest...]

No sooner had the broadcast started than the group members flooded in. It seemed that regardless of the world, rubbernecking was simply part of human nature.

"Alright, all set. Hello, everyone can see me, right?"

Borsalino adjusted his posture and angle, waving at his fellow group members in the live stream.

[PasserbyWantsToHugLuoFeng: Seen! Big Bro Kizaru! Sigh, no matter how many times I look at it, it's just absurd. Big Bro Kizaru is both handsome and ridiculously strong, are the rest of us even supposed to live?]

[Tony Stark: Too terrifying. To think there's someone in this world who is almost as handsome as me and yet possesses such immense strength—God really plays fast and loose...]

[PasserbyWantsToHugLuoFeng: Emmmm, Tony, it's better to be honest with oneself.]

[Kobayashi: It's a pity Borsalino-san is too tall. Otherwise, he'd probably be extremely popular with the girls in my world.]

[Haibara Ai: Three meters tall is indeed a bit terrifying, but his proportions are decent. You get used to it after a while.]

[Fubuki: Doesn't look particularly strong to me...]

[Kujo Jotaro: Good grief. Do your best.]

"Let me remind you first: my ability is to control ice, so fighting in this environment gives me the advantage."

Esdeath spread her palms, and a piece of ice the size of a fist materialized out of thin air. "If you feel this is unfair, I can take you somewhere without ice, though it might take quite a while."

"Hmm, it's fine. Come to think of it, I have a colleague whose ability is also controlling ice. As long as you don't feel I'm taking advantage of you, it's all good."

Borsalino shrugged and spoke at a leisurely pace.

"Shall we begin then?"

Esdeath raised an eyebrow slightly, her athletic, leopard-like physique uncoiling as she stepped forward.

"Sure..."

The moment Borsalino's voice trailed off, he saw Esdeath's small leather boots stamp down fiercely, causing the sturdy ice sheet beneath them to shatter instantly.

Countless sharp ice pillars surged from the ground, rushing toward Borsalino layer upon layer like a tidal wave.

"Yasakani no Magatama!"

Borsalino raised his hands and unleashed a dense barrage of light projectiles, shattering the countless incoming ice pillars.

However, Esdeath's figure vanished from the spot. Relying on his Kenshoku Haki perception, Borsalino quickly looked up.

Reflected in Borsalino's field of vision was a colossal ice spike exceeding one hundred meters in diameter!

Plummeting from the sky with the destructive force of a thunderbolt!

"Run!"

The Three Beasts guarding the edge of the battlefield fled in sheer panic. Who could have imagined that General Esdeath would go all out right from the start? This single blow possessed a range wide enough to engulf several square kilometers, and anyone who failed to run fast enough would meet certain death.