As Zephyr and Gion were conversing, a sudden, powerful shockwave erupted from the pirate ship speeding toward them in the distance.
"He truly has about thirty percent of Whitebeard's presence," Zephyr commented, raising an eyebrow in evaluation.
Standing behind the two, Ace watched the incoming shockwave, his mouth hanging open as if he wanted to say something. Before he could speak, Gion asked with a smile, "Sensei, you haven't moved around much in years. Don't you want some exercise?"
Watching the surging shockwave, Zephyr laughed loudly. "Forget it. I'm an old man now; no need to steal the spotlight. You take it."
Zephyr had truly let go of his past burdens and become quite relaxed; if he didn't have to lift a finger, he wouldn't.
Hearing this, Gion shook her head with a smile and looked at Ace. "What's wrong? Can you hold it back?"
Ace hesitated, seeing the shockwave nearly upon the bow of the ship, and quickly shook his head. "I can't—"
Before the word "hold" could even leave his mouth, Gion casually extended an arm toward the shockwave.
Then, lightning flared. Two silver serpents of electricity seemed to grow from Gion's arm, coiling around it three times. In the next instant, a pillar of thunder erupted from her hand, slamming directly into the shockwave.
Upon contact, the aggressive shockwave shattered instantly, dissipating in all directions. The pillar of lightning, however, lost none of its momentum as it roared back along the path the shockwave had come from.
On the distant pirate ship, Buckin jumped in fright and shrieked, "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?! It's the Marine's Thunder Great Swordsman, Momousagi Gion!!! Quick, Weevil, block that lightning! We need to run!"
Buckin was well aware of the reputation of the Admiral Candidate, Momousagi Gion. If nothing else, titles like "Thunder Great Swordsman" aside, the rank of "Admiral Candidate" alone proved that Gion's strength was sufficient to serve as an Admiral at any moment—the timing simply hadn't been right!
Weevil was a fool; he didn't understand fear. If his mother told him to block the lightning, he would do it. Fortunately, he wasn't completely brainless; he flipped his giant blade and swung it down against the pillar of thunder.
A slash imbued with the power of impact actually managed to split the lightning pillar apart.
Simultaneously, the pirate ship began to decelerate, attempting a sharp turn to flee the area.
However, before Weevil could even pull back his blade, a tall figure appeared behind him, dressed in a pink suit, draped in a "Justice" coat, her hair pinned back. Her face was stunning, her physique perfect. It was Gion.
"Where do you think you are? You think you can just come and go as you please!?" Gion placed a hand on the hilt of Konpira, her gaze sharp as she looked at the tiny "Buckin."
Buckin was genuinely terrified. While she wasn't as powerful as her son, she still possessed some strength. Yet, she hadn't detected how Gion appeared at all. It was as if she had been there all along—had she teleported?
"Weevil!!!" Buckin screamed in panic.
Weevil reacted, his combat instincts proving sharp. Without even turning his body, he swept his great blade backward, already coated in Armament Haki!
Gion paid no mind to the attack. As the blade swept past, her figure vanished, reappearing directly in front of Buckin.
The Konpira that had been hanging at her waist was out of its sheath before anyone noticed. The cold blade, reflected in the light, flickered with arcs of electricity. Buckin froze for a second, then looked down at her own chest...
Clang. Gion sheathed Kinpira.
Blood trickled from the corner of Buckin's mouth. Upon closer inspection, a charred wound pierced her chest, as if she had been run through by a blade that simultaneously seared the flesh.
In that single instant, Gion had killed her.
"I thought you might at least hold out for a move or two. Turns out you're quite useless..." Gion shook her head.
Only then did Weevil turn around, just in time to see his mother with a hole in her chest, falling to the deck covered in blood.
As a total "mama's boy," Weevil went berserk instantly.
"MOMMY!!!" Weevil roared. His great blade descended with terrifying force, carrying the weight of both Haki and shockwaves as he swung at Gion.
Gion's brow furrowed slightly. Konpira flew from its sheath again, accompanied by a peal of thunder, as she braced against the giant blade.
BOOM!
The massive impact scattered in all directions. Lightning arced across the deck, and the pirate ship shuddered violently as if it were about to break apart.
"Stop screaming. I'm not your mother." Gion actually held back Weevil's brute-force slash with a single hand!
Upon closer look, Gion's sword arm was encased in a thick layer of lightning, resembling a gauntlet. It was this surging electrical power that granted her such extraordinary physical strength.
In truth, as a Great Swordsman capable of splitting mountains and seas, Gion's physical power was formidable despite her "slender" appearance.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Weevil wailed with tears of grief, swinging his blade in a frantic, disorganized frenzy.
"Lightning Dance Style: Thousand Falls..." Gion's eyes flashed with thunder.
The moment the words left her lips, she was entirely enveloped in surging electricity. Her speed reached a frightening extreme. This wasn't the "teleportation" of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, but high-speed movement achieved through sheer physical enhancement.
In the blink of an eye, three identical afterimages of Gion appeared before Weevil. Simultaneously, three blades—one left, one right, one center—pierced into Weevil's body.
As the three blades entered, they felt like solid objects, remaining embedded in Weevil. A second later, the three images of Gion dissolved into lightning. Gion herself appeared behind Weevil's back.
"All that power, yet you don't know how to use it?" Gion held Konpira, looking at Weevil's back with a hint of confusion.
Weevil wasn't as strong as Gion, but judging by the power of his initial attacks, he should have been able to trade blows with her for a while. Yet, as soon as they started, it felt as though he had no defensive capability at all.
He was like a child with the strength of a giant, but zero knowledge of how to apply it. Indeed, given his limited intellect, it was impossible to expect him to undergo serious training. Everything he had came from raw instinct and "combat experience" gained through brawling.
Normally, he might have put up a better fight, but Gion had taken his mother out right at the start. This caused Weevil's mental state to collapse completely; he forgot his techniques and resorted to wild hacking.
Weevil seemed to feel no pain. He roared and turned around, while the "three blades" embedded in him dissolved into lightning, leaving behind bloody wounds.
Seeing Gion again, Weevil's eyes turned blood-red. He lashed out with a series of frantic, ability-enhanced swings. He didn't hit Gion once; instead, he smashed his own ship to pieces. The vessel was clearly sinking.
Gion didn't even bother to parry. She swayed lightly from side to side, perfectly evading every strike. The more effortless she looked, the more enraged Weevil became, pouring more and more power into his swings.
At that moment, a light gleamed in Gion's eyes. She raised Konpira through a gap in his guard, bypassing the giant blade and pointing her own tip directly at Weevil's heart.
"Pierce him... Thunderbird," Gion whispered.
A concentrated beam of lightning erupted from Konpira's tip like a laser. In a flash, it pierced through Weevil, through the ship behind him, and snapped the mast. The blinding flash of lightning even cleared the clouds in the sky.
Weevil froze. Blood dripped from his mouth, and bloody foam bubbled from his nose, yet his eyes remained filled with hatred and rage. A fist-sized hole had been blown through his heart, the surrounding flesh charred black and crispy.
Gion's strike had destroyed Weevil's heart.
Yet Weevil's physical constitution was truly monstrous; those scars on his body weren't just for show. Even with his heart destroyed, he coughed up a glob of dark blood and, with a final surge of spite, tried to bring his blade down one last time to kill Gion.
Gion watched in surprise. Even like this, you can still fight back?
However, she could tell this was his final gasp. His strength was fading rapidly; the blade was already losing its momentum as it fell.
"For your resolve alone, this last strike is earned," Gion said softly.
Konpira was completely enveloped in lightning, transforming into a blade of pure thunder.
"Sever him... Raikiri!" Gion shouted.
The blade fell. Weevil's giant bisento was sliced clean through, and his towering, disproportionate figure was split down the middle by Gion's strike.
A literal "one-cut, two-halves."
The name "Raikiri" came from an ancient tale of a swordsman who cut through lightning itself. Gion's version took the meaning of "total severance." Strangely, despite the brutal bisection, the lightning cauterized everything the blade touched. Though the scene was horrific, very little blood actually spilled out.
Gion flicked her blade, sheathed Konpira, and glanced at the sinking ship. With a light step, her figure vanished like a bolt of lightning.
The next moment, she was back on the Marine battleship.
Ace, having watched the entire encounter, was speechless. This was likely the first time he had truly seen a top-tier powerhouse go all-out, and he realized just how vast the gap was between himself and the world's peak.
Before Ace could speak, the Den Den Mushi tucked inside Gion's clothes began to ring.
She looked down and smiled. "It's Diarmuid..."
Zephyr showed no surprise. It would have been strange if Gion couldn't handle this. Did people really think an Admiral Candidate was some pushover?
"Go ahead and answer it," Zephyr said with a chuckle.