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"Water Breathing, Twelfth Form: Dancing Blade Cascade!"
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
Swoosh!
The figures of Tashigi and Vivi passed each other, and a few seconds later, Tashigi's clothes suddenly tore open at the collar.
"Huh... I lost."
Tashigi slid her sword back into its scabbard and glanced with complicated feelings at the Yubashiri held by Vivi.
Originally, this blade had been in her hands.
Tashigi hadn't expected that the her sword 'Shigure' would fall into Nojiko's hands and that the sword 'Yubashiri', which was taken away by Ikki before, had gone to Vivi.
"Princess Vivi, you're really strong," Tashigi said as she walked up to Vivi, her eyes looking a bit conflicted. "And to be able to use the 'Eleventh Form: Dead Calm' of Water Breathing, which is something I can't do."
It wasn't just because Vivi had taken the Yubashiri that she originally owned and mastered the 'Eleventh Form: Dead Calm' that she had never learned.
It was also because Vivi had gotten the man she had a serious crush on.
"No, compared to me, you're the real deal, Tashigi," Vivi shook her head.
She was self-aware—without the special power-ups given by Ikki, she would never be stronger than Tashigi was now.
"Um, Tashigi, do you like Ikki?" After putting the sword back into its sheath, Vivi lowered her head and whispered in Tashigi's ear.
"Huh?" Tashigi looked at Vivi in shock.
"You don't need to look at me like that. Actually, I've been watching you for a while. You clearly have feelings for Ikki."
"This... you, you've got it all wrong, Princess Vivi. Ikki is your husband, I..."
"Tashigi, what if I told you that Ikki and I have a fake marriage?"
"What?!"
Tashigi's voice suddenly got louder and she stared at Vivi with surprise.
"Shh! Keep it down, I don't want others to know about this."
Vivi put her fingers to her lips and carefully looked at Smoker who was observing the contest between her and Tashigi not far away.
"I'm only telling you this. I hope you can keep it secret, at least don't let the people of Alabasta find out."
"Actually, the reason why Ikki and I had a wedding was because of a misunderstanding... A cunning and manipulative woman set us up."
Considering Nico Robin's wanted status, Vivi didn't reveal her specific identity.
As Vivi continued her story, Tashigi's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and her originally disappointed expression gradually became cheerful.
"So that's... that's how it is."
After listening to Vivi's story, Tashigi breathed a sigh of relief, raised her hand and patted her still slightly immature chest.
'As expected, Ikki is a sinful man,' Vivi sighed in her heart. 'Not only do Nami and Nojiko have feelings for him, but even Tashigi from the Marines likes Ikki.'
Originally Vivi wanted to keep this secret and not tell anyone else.
But seeing Tashigi's absent-minded and lost expression all the time, and thinking of her behavior after meeting Ikki, Vivi decided it was best to tell Tashigi.
That way, there wouldn't be any misunderstandings that she didn't want to see.
However, after saying these words, Vivi felt an inexplicable flash of loss in her heart.
'That's weird, what's wrong with me?' Vivi frowned and put her hand on her heart in confusion.
She didn't understand why, after seeing Tashigi's excited and happy expression, she felt a sense of crisis.
"By the way, Princess Vivi, did Ikki also teach you the breathing swordsmanship style that can create ice?" After regaining her energy, Tashigi, also aware of the Marines' purpose, asked Vivi.
"Breathing style that creates ice? What style is that?" Vivi blinked and quickly realized that Tashigi was referring to Sode no Shirayuki's release.
"Actually... this is..." Vivi pursed her lips, a little unsure whether she should tell Tashigi about Sode no Shirayuki's power.
At that moment, Ikki's voice reached her ears.
"Tashigi, Vivi, are you two done competing?"
Vivi turned around and saw Ikki, dressed neatly, walking out of the gym door.
Behind him were the tall Gion and Hina.
"Ikki!"
Seeing Ikki, Tashigi immediately forgot her previous question and quickly ran to Ikki's side, her face turning bright red.
Smoker patted his head, feeling helpless at Tashigi's expression.
Ikki nodded politely to Tashigi, then turned to look at Gion.
"Vice Admiral Gion, come with me," Ikki said. "Let's find a more open place. With your power, if you really go all out, you might demolish this building."
Ikki waved and took the lead, rushing off in one direction. His figure quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
Gion naturally had no objection to this.
After telling Smoker and Hina a few words, she used "Soru" to follow Ikki.
"Let's follow them," Nojiko said, placing her hand on the sword at her waist. "Hopefully my help won't be needed."
Although she was very confident in Ikki's strength, she was also worried that he might get injured.
As the ship's doctor of the Explorer, she felt it was necessary to follow them.
After Nojiko, Nami, Smoker, Hina, and the others also followed.
"Let's stop here. If we fight here, no one will disturb us and no one will get hurt."
In a vast desert area, Ikki stopped walking and turned around to face Gion.
At the same time, he drew Zangetsu, which was not yet in its Shikai form.
"The name of my sword is Zangetsu," Ikki said with a smile. "Please give me your guidance, Marine Admiral candidate, Ms. Gion."
"My sword is named Konpira, and it is one of the twelve Supreme Grade Swords!" Gion replied. "Please show me what you've got, Ikki!"
Gion also drew her long sword and looked at the Zangetsu in Ikki's hand with interest.
"I heard that the Zangetsu in Ikki's hands is comparable to the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords, and seeing it today, it seems that's true," Gion said. "I hope to see the transformation of Zangetsu in your hands today."
Ikki smiled, not surprised that information about Zangetsu's ability to transform would be known to Gion.
After all, he had released Shikai Zangetsu in front of Tashigi.
Besides, he planned to use Zangetsu's power to deal with Gion anyway.
Even though his life force had now reached S level, and his swordsmanship had reached the Mountain-Cutting level, Ikki didn't feel confident that he could handle a Marine Admiral candidate without relying on the power of Zangetsu.
To defeat Gion, Ikki thought he might have to use Tensa Zangetsu's power.
"Konpira, one of the twelve Supreme Grade Swords," Ikki said. "Now I want your blade even more."
"Don't worry, I'll show you the power of Zangetsu in my hands."
Ikki held his sword in front of him, his face gradually becoming serious, and his eyes looking towards Gion grew sharper.
In an instant, Ikki was able to see through Gion's skin to her muscle structure and movements...
The world around him seemed to slow down.
He had entered the state of the 'Transparent World'.
The corner of Gion's mouth turned up, and without any hesitation, she stomped the ground with both feet and leaped into the air.
Holding her sword with both hands, she struck at Ikki with a powerful and heavy slash.
Ikki's eyes narrowed as he used Observation Haki to read Gion's movements.
Intermediate Armament Haki wrapped around the Zangetsu sword like flowing cherry blossoms.
But that wasn't all—after the Armament Haki, Ikki's eyes flashed red, and mid-level Conqueror's Haki also coated the Zangetsu blade.
'Is that Armament Haki coating?' Gion thought in shock. 'No, there's Conqueror's Haki too! This man can use both at once!'
Gion was shocked. She knew Ikki could use Conqueror's Haki.
After all, Ikki had used his aura to stun tens of thousands of royal and rebel troops. Anyone could find this out just by asking.
However, she hadn't realized that Ikki could use 'Conqueror's Haki Infusion'.
Realizing something was wrong, Gion quickly enveloped her slash with high-intensity Armament Haki.
As Konpira swung forward, the powerful Armament Haki and sword energy flew from the blade and hit Ikki before the blade itself arrived.
Ikki's mouth cracked into a wicked smile as he stomped his foot on the ground. He gripped the handle of Zangetsu with both hands and swung it upward toward Gion.
BOOM!
A deafening thunder!
When Ikki and Gion's swords made contact, the surrounding terrain instantly changed.
The clouds in the distant sky were blown apart by the powerful shockwave caused by their clashing attacks.
Although Gion didn't use Conqueror's Haki, her Armament Haki, which was stronger than Ikki's, withstood his attack.
The Conqueror's Haki that was blocked by Gion's Armament Haki began to continuously emit red and black electricity.
"Wait... the swords are not touching?" In the distance, watching the black-red energy continuously spilling out from the gap between Ikki's Zangetsu and Gion's Konpira, Smoker's jaw dropped, and he didn't even notice when his cigar fell from his mouth.
"Is this Haki release?" Smoker wondered. "But can external Armament Haki reach this level? Isn't that red energy Conqueror's Haki?"
Hina was also surprised, but luckily Gion had warned her beforehand.
The Den Den Mushi in her hand showed no signs of shaking, faithfully recording everything.
"Hina, do you know what's happening with Ikki and Vice Admiral Gion?" Smoker looked at Hina and asked.
"I heard Fleet Admiral Sengoku mention it when I was at Marine Headquarters," Hina replied. "Armament Haki released externally is a power that only top Armament Haki users can access. Ikki used this technique against Crocodile."
"No, what Ikki's using now is way more dangerous and powerful than what he used against Crocodile!"
Hina looked at Ikki in the distance with complicated emotions.
She originally thought she had already overestimated Ikki enough, but every time she believed his power had reached its limit, Ikki would reveal strength she hadn't known he possessed.
'Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others will definitely be surprised after seeing Ikki's performance,' Hina thought, glancing at the recording Den Den Mushi in her hand and remembering what Ikki had mentioned in the gym.
'Flame Breathing is definitely worth trying,' she thought.
At that moment, Hina's desire for strength overcame the small bit of shame in her heart.