Chapter 49 : Smoothie's Swordsmanship, Little Garden

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"What--"

On the vast sea, a pirate ship slowly sailed forward.

"Moonwalk!"

"Crack, crack..."

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Above the deck, a tall, somewhat bulky figure stepped on the air.

White smoke rose from beneath his feet, and he moved at incredible speed in mid-air.

He wielded a long sword, constantly clashing with a tall, graceful figure floating nearby, surrounded by lightning.

"Clang...clang..."

On the other side of the deck, sparks flew as the sound of metal clashing echoed.

There, Simon, drenched in sweat, swung her long sword as she sparred with Wilhelm, who was intentionally holding back, matching her strength to guide her swordsmanship training.

She put away her sword, stood up, and took a deep breath.

Watching Reiju run effortlessly in the air as if walking on solid ground, she couldn't help but marvel, "Tsk tsk, she's getting better and better... not only running through the air but her speed is amazing!"

"With the power of the Paramecia Jumping Fruit, Sister Reiju's leg strength and jumping ability have far surpassed the limit of ordinary long-legged people. It's natural," Wilhelm said, his sharp teeth hidden behind a smile. He looked calm and collected, not out of breath or sweating.

"But there's no need to envy her," he continued. "Strictly speaking, Paramecia's Squeeze Fruit isn't so bad either."

Noticing Simon's envious gaze, Wilhelm chuckled, "Just follow the direction I've suggested and train hard. With your abilities, you'll catch up to Sister Reiju in no time."

In his eyes, the Squeeze Fruit was more than just absorbing water to grow bigger and boost attack power. That was the simplest use of the ability.

Why limit oneself to using "external forces," relying on "moisture" from outside to grow stronger?

Wilhelm believed the human body was a treasure trove, full of untapped potential.

Most people simply lacked the talent to guide and unlock that potential.

If Simon persevered in developing her fruit power and trained hard, it might not be impossible for her to unlock her potential and greatly increase her strength.

Much like the Mink Tribe, who can awaken their wild powers just by looking at the full moon, potentially multiplying their fighting power many times over in a short burst.

If Simon could do the same, her combat potential in the future would be remarkable.

Even if she couldn't surpass Smoothie—widely considered the most talented of the Charlotte family—she wouldn't be far behind.

Perhaps the price would be something like Luffy, shrinking a little in the process?

Thinking about a "chibi" version of Simon amused Wilhelm and filled him with anticipation.

"Sigh..."

A flash of lightning lit up the air.

The sword, surrounded by electricity, struck with incredible force.

Reiju, also wielding a long sword, did her best to block it.

"Keng..."

Smoothie's overwhelming strength made Wilhelm's arms go numb.

The electric glow surrounding the swords moved with incredible speed, flowing visibly along the blades.

Her expression shifted as she felt her body begin to weaken, almost paralyzed.

Without hesitation, she stomped her foot and shouted, "Shave!"

In an instant, she disappeared from Smoothie's sight like an afterimage.

"Pa, pa..."

With the incredible bouncing power granted by her Jumping Fruit, and the combination of Shave and Moonwalk that she had mastered, Reiju shot into the sky in a flash. She immediately launched her counterattack, shouting, "Tempest Kick Chaos!"

"Xuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

In the blink of an eye, a series of dazzling light green slashes appeared out of thin air.

The air was torn apart like lightning, and the slashes hurtled toward Smoothie.

"Sigh, chirp..."

The sky was lit up so brightly that it was almost impossible to look at.

Smoothie, tall and powerful, like a goddess of war, radiated electric light from every part of her body. Her long sword swung down with great force. "30 million volts, Flying Dragon!"

A massive, razor-sharp slash, glowing with electric light, formed a dragon-shaped attack in the blink of an eye. It was identical to Wilhelm's sword technique.

The dragon-shaped slash tore through the dense wave of Reiju's slashes.

The attack continued relentlessly, hurtling toward Reiju.

"Boom..."

"Clatter..."

The powerful wind pressure sent shockwaves, sweeping through the area.

The sea ahead churned with strong gusts and waves.

The crew and Homiz below stared, wid

e-eyed in shock.

Some even broke into a cold sweat.

"Hoo...hoo..."

Using her incredible jumping ability, Stron dodged the incoming slash.

Slightly disheveled and drenched in sweat, Stron panted as she hovered in the air, standing on the atmosphere.

She sighed helplessly, "As expected of Sister Smoothie... no matter how hard I try, I still can't make you go all out!"

"Wilhelm's right," she continued, "his swordsmanship is perfect for someone like me, with the power of the Logia Thunder Fruit!"

Smoothie, lightning crackling around her body, a sturdy sword resting on her shoulder, looked immensely satisfied.

She smiled at Stron, saying, "The Jumping Fruit is truly amazing. You've improved so much in such a short time..."

Only half a month ago, after they had defeated the Voxen Pirates, the long-legged triplet sisters had suddenly shifted from their lazy attitude toward training.

By chance, they all made a firm decision to become stronger as quickly as possible. They wanted to help themselves and not be a burden in the future.

From that point on, they dedicated themselves to serious training, no longer complaining about hardship. They genuinely wanted to get stronger and faithfully followed Wilhelm's daily training plan.

Driven by this new attitude, the voyage that should have felt dull over ten long days was instead filled with energy and excitement.

This undoubtedly pleased Wilhelm.

Lately, he had been not only guiding the three sisters in swordsmanship and helping them develop their fruit abilities but also teaching Smoothie, a Thunder Fruit user, his sword techniques.

It's hard to deny that his swift, unconventional swordsmanship—fierce and difficult to defend against—was a perfect match for Smoothie's exceptional talent. With her strength far surpassing that of most, and her ability to elementalize herself and move at lightning speed, it was clear that she was a perfect fit for his style.

Although Smoothie hadn't fully mastered the sword techniques Wilhelm taught her, needing more practice to improve, if she had gone all out just now, she might have been able to defeat Stron instantly.

After all, the advantages of the Logia Thunder Fruit were immense. Despite Stron's improved strength from the Paramecia Jumping Fruit, she was no match for Smoothie, who was superior in talent and had the power of the Thunder Fruit.

"Master Wilhelm, Mr. Smoothie..."

At that moment, the lookout on the pirate ship shouted from the observatory, "We've arrived at Prehistoric Island!"

Wilhelm and Smoothie didn't need any reminder, though. They had already spotted the growing "black spot" ahead, and had stopped their discussion to prepare to land.

"The sounds on the island… the snoring is like thunder…"

Lightning flashed as Smoothie appeared by Wilhelm's side.

Looking at the island, she said, "The 'breath' is incredibly strong, like a giant beast!"

"I've heard rumors about this," Wilhelm replied with a smile. "It seems that 'Blue Ogre' Dorry and 'Red Ogre' Brogy, the former leaders of the Giant Soldier Pirates, are on this island. It looks like it's true..."

"Former leaders of the Giant Soldier Pirates?" Smoothie, Simon, and Stron, who had jumped down from the air using Moonwalk, all gasped in surprise.

They hadn't expected the two legendary figures, once feared across the world, to still be alive and on this island.

Smoothie turned to Wilhelm with a curious look, asking, "So, what's the plan? Do you want to capture them, or just subdue them?"

The sea around Totto Land is also known as "All Nations," named after their mother, BIG-MOM Charlotte Linlin's dream of gathering all the races in the world.

However, there were still several rare races missing from the nations, one of which was the Titan family.

For reasons unknown, the Titans hated Charlotte Linlin and refused to join the BIG-MOM Pirates.

If Wilhelm could capture the leaders of the Giant Soldier Pirates and bring them back, their mother would undoubtedly be thrilled.

But would Wilhelm go out of his way to please her?

"No, we'll kill them!" Wilhelm said decisively.