Chapter Serial・Lovesickness 14・Riding the Wind
The blade's sharp edge slowly traced along the statue of Stone Princess, gliding over the lifelike, stone-petrified brows and eyes of the previous generation Snake Princess. Hancock's hand, which was gripping the sword, suddenly paused. She calmly turned her head — it was her third sister, Marigold, rushing in anxiously, seemingly due to an unexpected visitor to Kuja Island.
…
"Could it be… Haoshoku Haki?" Gion slashed her sword horizontally, charging coldly toward Robin. "No wonder that Giorno acknowledged you as Captain!"
Robin sighed softly. Why was everyone always assuming she had Haoshoku? She wasn't Hancock... Besides, if she and Hancock both had Haoshoku Haki, then a certain someone might get jealous!
With a faint smile, flower petals surged from the wide sleeves of Robin's long robe, coalescing into the blood and flesh of Liam, wrapping around her limbs and full body.
With the power of her "Blossom Armor," Robin boldly faced off against the aggressive female Marine swordswoman.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Elsewhere, Onigumo's hair transformed into six arms, each gripping a sword. His own two hands also held blades, making it eight swords in total. The flurry of sword lights whirled like a snowstorm, so intense that the slightest misstep could result in impalement or being sliced into pieces.
"Whoa! Look at Vice Admiral Onigumo's hair, it's like it's alive!"
"It's turned into six arms! That's unbelievable."
"Vice Admiral Onigumo is a famous Hattoryu sword hero…"
"Hattoryu! So that's what Hattoryu means!"
"Incredible!"
Amid the gasps of the bystanders, many hidden swordsmen also showed astonishment, stunned by Vice Admiral Onigumo's overwhelming Hattoryu Sword Technique.
'Is this really a sword technique that humans can use? Why can his hair wield swords like arms?'
"Thank goodness this Vice Admiral isn't participating in tomorrow's tournament..." whispered one Swordsman pirate with relief. "There's no way I could take him on. I've got one sword, and he's staring at me with eight! How do you even fight that?"
"This Giorno guy, he might… huh?"
Suddenly, the swordsmen hidden in the crowd noticed that in the face of Vice Admiral Onigumo's dazzling Hattoryu sword barrage, Chopper D. Giorno remained unfazed — even graceful.
"What kind of movement is that from Giorno?!"
"His body… it's twisting at will?"
"Just what is his body made of?!"
"So fluid… no, so bizarre!"
At this moment, Liam, faced with eight swords slashing at him, looked just like a paper scrap fluttering in a violent rainstorm, drifting and swaying…
"This Bastard!"
Onigumo's hair and arms swung the eight blades simultaneously, but just as each blade was about to strike Giorno's skin, his body would suddenly collapse inward like a living lump of clay, forming strange, contorted shapes… twisting and bending, completely impossible to hit!
"So wicked, so wicked, so wicked!"
One slash.
Two? Four? Eight? Sixteen? Thirty-two…
Countless blade lights streaked through the air. Every sword tip grazed the patterns on Liam's clothes, brushing past with friction, but not a single strike landed.
The more Onigumo slashed, the more frantic he became. The more he slashed, the more fear crept into his heart. He swept his sword horizontally, it passed barely half an inch in front of the opponent's throat, only to lock eyes with Giorno's teasing gaze. In that instant, Onigumo suddenly recalled their earlier exchange.
["I heard you're a master of Rokushiki..."] — that's what he had said.
["Wanna find out?"] — That was the guy's reply.
Onigumo had never expected that this man would truly, as promised, show off his Rokushiki techniques, right before the face of a Hattoryu sword hero like himself.
Even more shocking, this man's Kami-e (Paper Art) technique… was terrifyingly strong!
Eight swift blades closed in step by step. Under such a tempest of slashes, any ordinary person would already be bleeding from countless wounds, or even sliced apart. But these blades could only helplessly scrape past this man's clothes…
"Vice Admiral!" The usually lackadaisical Kakichi now wore a serious expression as he slashed into the battlefield.
Coordinating with Onigumo's Hattoryu, he struck from the flank, cutting off all paths of retreat for Liam.
"Unless you can split your body into pieces, front, back, top, and bottom…" Kakichi's blade flashed toward Liam. "You've already lost!"
Though Onigumo wasn't thrilled about someone interfering in his fight, catching a pirate was ultimately more important. So he also raised his eight swords and struck in unison with Kakichi at Giorno.
Clang!
"You've got to be kidding… They're both women, yet each is more terrifying than the last!"
The crowd stepped back again and again, the fight on the street had become far too intense.
Even many of the sword heroes participating in the tournament stood dumbfounded, lacking the confidence to face either woman.
Robin's long sleeves flared as she caught the female Marine's long blade with her bare hand.
Shua!
Gion's sword darkened, cloaked in black.
"Busoshoku Haki?" Robin remarked. "If we're comparing Armament Haki… you're still far worse than him."
Beneath her sleeves, Liam's large hand was also quickly enveloped in a layer of black Haki. Robin gripped the blackened blade, pulled it back, then gave a fierce shove — sending Gion flying, sword and all.
Such strength!
Spinning midair, Gion struck a rooftop on the side of the street and rebounded off it, landing on her feet. She panted slightly, adjusted her breathing, and leaped high into the air once more.
Dusk.
The street was a complete mess.
The female Marine swordswoman spun midair, her eyes firm and unwavering. Her blackened blade shimmered with the colors of the sunset.
Robin looked up and saw a stunning arc of sword light descending from the sky.
Clang!
The onlookers were stunned again.
But this time,they were truly shocked to the core.
Was that Giorno really… a monster?!
Under everyone's gaze, at this moment, in the face of an inescapable pincer attack from nine blades, Chopper D. Giorno still stood firmly in place.
Instead, it was Vice Admiral Onigumo and Rear Admiral Kakichi whose expressions changed drastically. Like the spectators, their eyes showed disbelief, as if they'd just witnessed something outrageous...
Each of their swords, every single blade, had its tip pressing against Giorno's throat, shoulders, chest, and back. But none of the blades could move forward because each and every one was tightly bound in midair by thick black hair, caught and immobilized!
Liam's black hair danced wildly as he smiled:
"Didn't I tell you? My Rokushiki is actually… not bad."
Bang!
Vice Admiral Onigumo suddenly vanished in front of Liam.
No one had seen when Liam struck to send Onigumo flying. At least Kakichi hadn't seen a thing, not even a blur.
Liam's eight strands of hair were still gripping Onigumo's eight swords, suspended midair.
Long hair, acting like eight hands, reversed the blades, now gripping them just as Onigumo had earlier.
Liam turned to look at Kakichi.
Kakichi met his gaze — and was momentarily stunned. But he quickly snapped out of it and let his blade darken with Haki.
"As long as I cut off your hair…" Kakichi muttered, only to be shocked as his Busoshoku Haki-infused sword couldn't slice through the man's hair at all!
Liam tilted his head curiously:
"At what point did you start believing the misconception that hair… can't be infused with Busoshoku Haki?"
(End Of The Chapter)
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