Chapter 67: A Battle That Began Like a Tiger, Ended Like a Snake
[By the Coast]
Gion flapped her bat wings, brandishing the Ryō-Wazamono blade in her hand, twelve rosy-pink slashes fanned out and shot forward violently, the blade light sliced through the air with a buzzing sound.
"Kinpō—Twelve Slashes!"
Facing this fierce attack from Gion, Rosse only smiled lightly, opened his arms and floated backward, a formless ocean current surged under his feet, blocking Gion's figure.
The basic ability of the Watatsumi Fruit allowed for floating, the body was held by the thin sea water, and as long as a little stamina was consumed, one could move in the air.
BOOM!
Gion's slashes easily broke through the sea water's blockade, sweeping past below Rosse, slicing the reef group behind into neat cubes. The shattered coral hadn't yet fallen into the sea before being swallowed by a suddenly surging wave wall.
The bat wings flapped again, Gion's figure flickered at the crest of the wave, rushing upstream toward Rosse, Ryō-Wazamono blade stabbing like a torrential rain.
"Kinpō—Sudden Rain!"
"Vertical Sea," Rosse raised his right hand and clawed at the sea surface, the sea area behind him suddenly boiled, a hundred-meter-high water curtain rose from the ground and shot toward Gion.
"Shave," Gion's figure suddenly disappeared, the seawater pounced on nothing.
When she reappeared, she was already above Rosse.
"Kinpō—Landslide!"
Gion raised the Ryō-Wazamono(Skillful Grade Blade) blade high, the blade instantly covered in Armament Haki, then she heavily slashed down.
Facing this strike like the collapsing of mountains and cracking of earth, Rosse merely smiled faintly, crossing his arms in front of him to block.
In an instant, countless sea currents surged out, blocking the path of Gion's attack.
BOOM!
Water splashed, Gion easily broke through the water barrier, her momentum still unabated, falling straight toward Rosse.
"Just relying on seawater is still a bit lacking," mRosse chuckled lightly, both hands also covered in Armament Haki.
CLANG!
The Ryō-Wazamono blade collided with his arms, Haki clashed with Haki, actually producing the sound of refined iron striking.
Because of the prior interception, Gion's attack had already weakened significantly, not enough to cause Rosse damage.
But the enormous impact still smashed Rosse forcefully into the sea.
"Saint Rosse," Gion's expression slightly tightened, her beautiful eyes flickering with anxiety.
In her understanding, Devil Fruit users all feared seawater. Even if Rosse could control seawater, he likely wouldn't be an exception.
SPLASH!
Before Gion could react, a giant water pillar soared into the sky, wrapping her entire body inside.
'It's over!'
The moment she entered the seawater, Gion's expression changed dramatically.
After eating that fruit, Rosse actually wasn't afraid of seawater at all.
But she was afraid of seawater.
WHOOSH!
Rosse, in the water, quickly followed the water pillar upward, his speed in the water was faster than fishmen, and in the blink of an eye he arrived at Gion's side, hugging her limp body.
"Saint Rosse, I was too weak and couldn't satisfy you," Gion bit her lip, a little afraid to look at Rosse.
She lost too miserably, she almost didn't have the face to see anyone.
If she had been defeated head-on, Gion wouldn't think much of it, but being rendered powerless by seawater. There probably weren't any similarly-ranked people with such an embarrassing case.
"You just obtained your fruit and haven't adapted to fighting with me, it's normal," Although he hadn't fully tested his abilities, Rosse still saw the scene he most wanted to see.
When facing a Devil Fruit user, as long as the battlefield was dragged to the sea, he would almost have a guaranteed victory.
Right now, his direct damage was relatively low. If he encountered a monster like Big Mom, it might be hard to break her defense. Also, if he encountered a powerful physical combatant, he'd need to be cautious. Other than that, there were no more problems.
"Hearing to the Sea" and "Sea Blessing" were the core of the Watatsumi Fruit.
With the ability to listen to the sea, as long as sound was transmitted into the sea within a 100 km radius, he could easily detect it.
And when fighting in the sea, no matter what movement the opponent made, Rosse could pre-read it, the seawater would perceive the force for him.
At the same time, as long as he fought in the ocean, Sea Blessing could continuously replenish his stamina by absorbing seawater, and even slowly heal injuries.
As long as the sea was not dry, stamina was infinite.
Though the absorption and healing was less than the consumption from power use, making it impossible to create a zero-loss cycle, the world of pirates had no shortage of oceans.
As long as he dove into the sea, he stood in an invincible position.
Rosse no longer intended to spar with Gion, and carried her straight back to the bedchamber.
On the way, Gion had actually already recovered, but still silently didn't get down, being carried by Rosse with her legs swinging all the way.
After arriving, in a very good mood, Rosse immediately chose to go into seclusion.
Last time with Gion, neither of them had eaten a fruit, and in the end he narrowly won.
This time, both of them had eaten fruits.
He wanted to see who could still stand at the end.
———
After one full day and night of recovery, Gion finally walked out of the bedchamber fully satisfied.
Facts proved that the Sea God was no match for a vampire on land.
Because a vampire could suck a Sea God dry, but the Sea God couldn't suck blood.
However, by the third day, Rosse, relying on a fierce battle in the swimming pool, evened the score.
This time, after two days and nights, he was still full of energy, leaving only the exhausted Gion, Stella, and Rogue behind.
As time approached the end of 1500, completely stabilizing the situation on Jaygarcia Island, and fully familiarizing himself with the fruit's power, Rosse set out on the return journey.
On a slightly salty afternoon sea breeze, Rosse stood on the wide deck of the return ship.
"Yi-ya-ya!", Ace lay in Rosse's arms, restlessly squirming, crying out incoherently.
"Ace is still very energetic," Gion walked up to Rosse, a bright smile on her face, reaching out to tease Ace with her finger.
After hearing Rogue's story, she only felt pity for Ace, and an even deeper dislike for Roger.
A man who didn't deserve to be a father, no matter if he was the Pirate King, was still a failure.
"Maybe he hasn't been on a ship for a long time, so he's excited, maybe there's a yearning for the sea in his genes," Rosse teased with a chuckle.
"Come on, if he really inherited Roger's genes, poor Rogue would be miserable," Gion raised her eyebrow.
Because Rosse used Sea Blessing to cheat, these days she had been forced into a sisterhood with Rogue.
Shared hardship brought them closer naturally.
"Loving the sea is not a fault. How to be a person is another matter entirely. If you grow up wildly, it's inevitable to pick up some bad habits."
Rosse didn't care about these things. He didn't believe in fate, only the truth in his hands.
"That's true," Gion covered her mouth and chuckled. She didn't believe Rosse's nonsense.
By logic, Rosse grew up with the best education in the world, yet he wasn't exactly a good person.
"Alright, let's talk business. You're usually practicing swordsmanship at this time, you wouldn't come to the deck to find me."
Rosse handed Ace to Rogue, who was waiting beside them, his expression growing slightly more serious.
Since arriving, Gion had continued handling CP work, helping to relieve Zannie's workload.
Unfortunately, Gion was just a warrior. Handling simple intelligence was fine, but managing a nation? Forget it.
"Kaido used the excuse that Kozuki Toki was protected by Oden to ask for more time. Looks like they want to keep stalling," Gion said.
"Stalling? They've stalled me for half a year, and still haven't mentioned anything about King. Since they didn't appreciate my courtesy, they can't blame us for showing up," Rosse looked at the gradually clarifying Red Line in the distance, his tone calm yet unquestionable, "When we reach the Holy Land, I'll meet with the Five Elders once, then we'll head straight for the New World."
"Understood!", Facing the Beasts Pirates, renowned throughout the New World, Gion had no fear. Instead, her eyes shimmered with eager anticipation.
In this era hailed as the great age of pirates, the Marine's overall strength far exceeded any single pirate crew. Even the power Rosse controlled was enough to make her fearless before Kaido's threat.
This time, she was determined to slash through King's flames, capturing him alive as a slave gift for Rosse.
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