Shandia flew into a rage upon hearing Tashigi's disrespectful words.
"Blasphemy against the gods! You'll pay for that!"
With that, he charged forward, his massive body lumbering towards her.
Tashigi chose not to meet him head-on, opting instead for evasion and agility. But this "Big Mountain" wasn't slow despite his size; he was surprisingly flexible. His small arms and fists moved with surprising speed, packing an incredible punch.
Many giant trees were left with gaping holes where Dashan's fists had connected.
And his seemingly slender legs could shatter tree trunks with a single kick. It was hard to fathom where such strength originated.
However, Tashigi was accustomed to seeing extraordinary beings. She had witnessed power capable of wiping out entire islands with a single blow, let alone someone as comparatively weak as Dashan. While she didn't consider herself exceptionally strong, she was confident in her ability to defeat this divine soldier.
"Moonwalk!"
Tashigi propelled herself straight into the sky, aiming a downward slash at his head.
Seeing Tashigi's aggressive attack, Dashan didn't dare to block directly. He retreated to avoid the blade and seized the opportunity to throw another punch. But seeing that Tashigi didn't even try to dodge, Dashan felt as if his fist had connected with thin air.
Tashigi seemed to have transformed into a piece of paper!
"Paper Arts!"
Using Paper Arts, Tashigi skillfully evaded Dashan's fist and then used the opening to slash across Dashan's shoulder.
Instantly, blood sprayed.
Despite her occasional absentmindedness, Tashigi was actually a very intelligent woman. She possessed a remarkable talent for understanding techniques and was willing to endure rigorous training, making her one of the fastest learners of the Marine Six Styles.
However, Carl had once advised Tashigi to focus more on her swordsmanship.
Tashigi would nod every time, claiming she understood, only to immediately resume practicing the Marine Six Styles, much to Carl's frustration.
In truth, it was partly Carl's fault.
Carl's swordsmanship leaned towards Nojiko's style, which wasn't a good fit for Tashigi. Consequently, his instruction wasn't very effective.
Zoro could adapt to Carl's teaching methods so quickly because Zoro himself favored that wild approach and preferred to rely on brute force.
Arguably, there were more similarities between Carl and Zoro's swordplay.
In comparison, Tashigi emphasized finesse and technique in swordsmanship, perhaps making her more suited to learning traditional fencing like Kuina's style.
However, Carl didn't know much about traditional swordsmanship, and Zoro didn't know how to teach others (or perhaps Zoro always failed to teach Tashigi because she reminded him of Kuina), so Tashigi's swordsmanship development was hindered.
Fortunately, Tashigi knew she could rely on the Marine Six Styles to compensate for her shortcomings in swordsmanship; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to graduate.
Her current strength was undoubtedly the result of her own relentless hard work!
"Argh! You've made me furious! I'll never forgive you! Hasshoken!"
Enraged, Dashan reached for a black belt around his waist. It had a row of shells attached to it. The moment he pulled the belt taut, no less than ten invisible slashes materialized in the air.
Tashigi's expression changed drastically, and she immediately employed Paper Arts to evade the incoming attacks.
However, she still wasn't quick enough to avoid them all, and blood blossomed on her shoulder.
Despite the injury, Tashigi seized the opportunity to lunge forward, slashing Shichiseiken across Dashan's chest, the force of the blow causing Dashan's eyes to roll back.
"Huff... huff... huff... Sure enough, I'm still not strong enough to be caught off guard by such weaklings. It's a pity I haven't awakened Observation Haki yet. I need to train harder."
Tashigi sheathed her sword and silently regulated her breathing.
Once her breathing was steady, she quickly treated her wound and then gathered the equipment from the defeated divine soldier Dashan and the two earlier soldiers.
Tashigi realized that her injury this time was also due to her lack of understanding of Sky Island combat technology.
Once she understood it, it would be absolutely impossible for her to be injured by such insignificant opponents again.
"So they actually use shells to unleash slashing attacks? While I don't need them myself, perhaps the Marines could use them. If the army were equipped with these, their combat effectiveness would definitely improve."
Thinking to herself, Tashigi silently stowed the equipment in her backpack.
Pirate's Law: Your spoils are yours; you don't have to hand them over to the captain. She was a pirate now, so she should abide by that, right?
Let's shift our focus to another location.
After Chopper got separated from everyone, the entire reindeer was trembling slightly.
He was terrified that they would encounter more monsters like the giant python.
He had tried to find the others, even attempting to use his sense of smell, but all his efforts had been in vain.
Fortunately, by sheer luck, he happened to bump into Bepo, who was also searching for the group, when he rounded a bend. When the reindeer and the white bear met, they embraced each other and burst into tears.
"Sky Island is scary! Sky Island is scary!"
For these two, whose combined bounty was a mere 150 Berries, this situation was proving quite difficult.
But there was no choice; since they had been separated from everyone, they had to find a way to reunite.
So, the two of them first used Moonwalk to ascend and check the direction of the massive bean vines in mid-air, then began walking towards them. However, both of them were relatively timid, so they moved like frightened birds.
"Ho ho ho, these two are from the Blue Sea, are they Zoan types?"
"Ho ho ho, our elder brother was defeated by Blue Sea people! We want to defeat Blue Sea people to avenge our elder brother! Ha Suo!"
Two chubby figures in white clothing appeared, dressed like divine soldiers. If Luffy and Sanji were present, they would surely recognize them as similar to the ball priest Satori.
These were Satori's two younger brothers, Hotori (Middle Wu) and Kotori (Little Wu)!
"Who are they? What are they talking about?" Chopper asked nervously.
"I don't know, maybe they're just fools," Bepo replied rather bluntly.
"Ho ho ho, how dare you call us fools! Prepare to face our attack!"
Hotori and Kotori rushed directly towards Chopper and Bepo, using the wind beneath their feet to propel their chubby bodies forward with surprising speed.
"Impact!"
A buzzing sound filled the air, and a sudden burst of force sent Chopper and Bepo flying backward.
The reindeer and the white bear coughed up blood on the spot, their eyes nearly rolling back in unconsciousness. Fortunately, their physical resilience was decent, and they managed to right themselves in mid-air, though their faces looked rather disheveled.
"I was careless. I didn't expect their palms to have such an impact. I don't understand how," Chopper said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, Chopper wasn't quite so timid.
Regardless of how unreliable Chopper could be on a normal day, he was more proactive than anyone else in actual combat.
"Bepo, what should we do?"
"What should we do? Two against two, we can definitely win!"
Bepo declared with confidence, striking a kung fu pose. Seeing this, Chopper also raised his hooves.
A white bear and a reindeer became an unlikely kung fu combination.
"Ah-hit!"
Seeing Hotori and Kotori charging towards them, they lashed out with their hooves, but the attack was successfully evaded by their opponents. Chopper and Bepo weren't discouraged and continued to throw their respective punches, their coordination surprisingly fluid, matching that of Hotori and Kotori.
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