Only after personally facing Fujitora's sword techniques could one truly appreciate the domineering power of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit. Faced with the roaring phantom tiger, Bellamy, covered in Armament Haki, leaped into its giant maw.
The incredibly chaotic gravitational field immediately gave him a rude awakening. This ferocious slash, named Raging Tiger, was not made of sword energy on the inside, but a chaotic mess of gravitational fields. Although the Golden Lion had seemed to dispel it with a casual wave earlier, that was because of their ability counters, not because the technique was weak. As one of Fujitora's most proud sword techniques, Gravity Blade: Raging Tiger was far more than just a simple slash of sword energy.
However, by the time Bellamy realized this, it seemed a bit too late. The moment his body entered the tiger's maw, the chaotic gravitational field immediately caused him considerable damage. This kind of damage was mostly internal. In the span of a single breath, blood began to seep from Bellamy's seven orifices.
"Cough, cough."
He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, a sign of internal organ damage. In this situation, holding back any longer would be suicide.
"BREAK!"
Bellamy unhesitatingly unleashed all his power. A soaring aura erupted from his body, forcibly shattering the phantom tiger from the inside. At full power, Bellamy's body swelled to over five meters tall. The muscles all over his body bulged, and blood vessels, like black iron wires, covered his entire frame. In that instant, the surge of power completely offset the external gravitational pressure.
And at this moment, the distance between Fujitora and Bellamy was no more than a single punch.
The moment he saw Bellamy break through his technique, Fujitora immediately knew something was wrong.
"Not good!"
At such a close distance, his only option for another sword strike was a quick-draw Iaijutsu. As a top-tier swordsman, and a one-sword style user at that, Fujitora was naturally very familiar with Iaijutsu. In fact, his proud technique, Raging Tiger, contained a lot of the essence of Iaijutsu.
But Fujitora's Observation Haki clearly sensed an incredibly powerful Armament Haki from his opponent. Could a single Iaijutsu strike really repel a top-tier physical fighter?
The answer was no.
It was precisely because he was so familiar with Iaijutsu that Fujitora knew with absolute clarity that if he unleashed that strike, Bellamy might be injured, he might bleed, but he himself would inevitably take a heavy punch in return. With the Golden Lion watching from above, getting injured less than an hour into the fight was an extremely bad sign. If he had a choice, Fujitora would rather expend several times the stamina than take a punch from Bellamy.
Since that was the case...
"Hell's Journey!"
After a rapid turn of thought, Fujitora ultimately made the more cautious decision. Since the situation had already turned against him, he would just wait for an opportunity.
Fujitora's repeated retreats, completely disregarding his own pride, were truly beyond Bellamy's expectations. An Admiral-level powerhouse was an absolute peak in the world of One Piece. Which one of them wasn't proud and arrogant, thinking themselves the best in the world? But Fujitora Issho, whether in temperament or conduct, was very gentle and placed far less importance on his pride than other masters.
It was because of this personality that he possessed such terrifying strength yet had no fame in the world. It was also because of this personality that he didn't care at all about being beaten down. If it had been someone with a temper like Akainu, he would have taken that punch, even if it meant serious injury, just to cripple Bellamy first.
Seeing the ground collapse again under the high-intensity gravity and Fujitora's body falling once more, Bellamy was a bit annoyed. Why did this guy feel so slippery? In terms of raw power, Bellamy was at a disadvantage. And the Gravity-Gravity Fruit was a strong counter to close-quarters combat. But Fujitora simply refused to engage.
"Is he trying to wear me down with sword slashes?"
If Fujitora really had that in mind, then Bellamy was in no hurry. When it came to a battle of attrition, he had never been afraid of anyone.
At this thought, Bellamy immediately stopped his pursuit.
"Retract!"
Bellamy took a deep breath, and his expanded body rapidly shrank. Like a deflating balloon, in the blink of an eye, his five-meter-tall frame contracted to just over one meter.
"If you want to wear me down, I'll play along." Bellamy picked up a handful of rubble and threw it down with the technique of Fish-Man Karate: 3,000-Tile True Punch.
A series of light sounds, like bullets cutting through the air, came from below. An invisible wave swept past, and all the commotion disappeared.
"Hey, brat, where did he run off to now?" The Golden Lion, puffing on his cigar, slowly floated down from above.
"Down there." Bellamy casually pointed underground. "Your ability, can you close this fissure?"
"Who do you think I am?"
Such a simple matter, how could it possibly stump the Golden Lion? But doing so would be useless. His understanding of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit was clearly deeper than Bellamy's.
"Don't underestimate the Gravity-Gravity Fruit. I can close it, but he can just as easily tear it open again."
If they did that, it would just devolve into a battle of stamina. For Bellamy, it didn't matter. But the Golden Lion's greatest weakness was precisely his stamina. This tactic had to be abandoned.
"Then let's keep chasing."
It seemed that was the only option. Keep chasing until Fujitora couldn't hold on any longer. One could imagine that the process would be grueling. But to capture a peak powerhouse of this level, paying such a small price was a bargain.
The Golden Lion was also very aware of how troublesome Fujitora was. With the current situation so favorable to them, continuing the pursuit was clearly the best choice. Besides, Bellamy's promised Perennial Youth Operation had not yet been delivered. It seemed he had no choice but to chase.
"Then let's chase!"
"I'll take the lead, you cover my back."
Bellamy unhesitatingly jumped into the hole. His decisiveness stunned the Golden Lion for a moment.
What kind of grudge does this blind man Fujitora have with Bellamy? Why is this kid fighting so desperately?
Up to this moment, the Golden Lion had not suspected that Bellamy might have ulterior motives in this battle. From the very beginning, Bellamy had fought with such ferocity that it had left no room for doubt in Shiki's mind.