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Seeing Hina's frustrated state, Gion couldn't help but smile slightly. However, there wasn't much she could do about it.
Although her purpose was to emphasize the importance of Ikki's abilities, she didn't want to exaggerate certain aspects too much. If she really went that far, it might cause trouble for Ikki later.
"Besides the Transparent World, there's one very important thing I haven't mentioned yet about Gion," Garp said at this moment.
"Something important?" Sengoku asked, looking over with curiosity.
"Besides Observation Haki that can see through the world and predict the future, is there anything more significant than that?"
"When we were coming back, Gion managed to cut through the sea with the sword in her hand," Garp said with a serious expression, looking at the long sword Monohoshizao that Gion carried.
"So you should understand what that means."
"Cut through the sea? Could it be that Vice Admiral Gion's swordsmanship has advanced to another level?" Vice Admiral Momonga, who was also an expert swordsman, looked at Gion in shock.
"Is that sharp aura emanating from your body the result of your improved swordsmanship?"
Gion didn't speak but nodded solemnly in confirmation.
"What kind of teacher is Ikki? In just a few days, he's made you so incredibly powerful, Gion," Zephyr sighed, feeling that despite all his years as an instructor, this was the first time he felt his teaching abilities were inferior to someone else's.
"Gion, your swordsmanship... could it be that Ikki used some special method to help you improve it?" Tsuru asked curiously.
Although Tsuru didn't use a sword herself, she was quite familiar with Gion's situation. Gion's swordsmanship had been unable to improve for a long time, as if she had hit a bottleneck.
No matter how skilled Ikki's teaching abilities were, Tsuru didn't think Gion could improve so rapidly without some special method being involved.
Many sword-wielding Marine officers also looked over, wanting to hear Gion's explanation.
"Actually, it's like this..." After a moment of hesitation, Gion decided to reveal some details about Ikki's methods.
"As we suspected, Ikki's Devil Fruit ability focuses on training both his own and his partners' abilities, specifically in swordsmanship. His fruit ability has likely awakened."
"It can even pull the shadow of my future self out from the cracks of time. It was only after I fought and defeated my future self—who could easily cut through the sea—that I suddenly understood the higher principles of swordsmanship."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone was stunned into silence.
"What?! Pulling the future Vice Admiral Gion out from the cracks in time?" one officer exclaimed.
"What kind of Devil Fruit ability is this? Even if it can help with training, how can it bring the future Vice Admiral Gion to the present?"
"But... fighting against one's future self is indeed an excellent training method to some extent," another officer mused. "If someone could fight against their future self, they would definitely grow in various aspects."
"So Ikki's fruit ability can do anything as long as it helps with swordsmanship practice?"
"That's too incredible! Why have I never heard of a Devil Fruit like this before?"
"Perhaps there have been people who obtained such fruit powers before, but no one has been able to awaken this Devil Fruit to the extent that Ikki has!"
"Under normal circumstances, Devil Fruits can only affect the user themselves. Ikki's ability to affect others is definitely a sign of awakening."
At this moment, the Marines who carried swords were all extremely interested, as if they wanted to meet Ikki personally.
"What an incredible ability," Zephyr said with amazement.
"It would be wonderful if this ability could be used to train Marines. Gion, is it possible for Ikki to train more excellent swordsmen for the Marines?"
At this moment, Zephyr was even considering whether he could send his new batch of Marine recruits to train with Ikki.
Everyone looked at Gion, obviously wanting to know the answer to this crucial question.
"It's certainly feasible for Ikki to continue training swordsmen for the Marines," Gion replied, placing her left hand on the long sword Monohoshizao at her waist with a smile.
"The condition is that the Marines would need to continue providing Ikki with high-quality famous swords."
Having said all of this, her ultimate goal was finally clear—to convince the Marines to find famous swords for Ikki.
"A famous sword... that really fits that man's style," Aokiji commented.
"But Gion, the sword at your waist doesn't seem to be an ordinary blade. Did Ikki give it to you? Does it have any special abilities?"
Aokiji looked at Monohoshizao with interest, though he found it somewhat strange. Logically speaking, since Gion wasn't part of Ikki's crew, he probably wouldn't give her one of those famous swords with unusual abilities.
"This sword?" Gion glanced at Monohoshizao and said with a smile, "It's different from the swords carried by Nami and the others, but I did master advanced swordsmanship through it."
"I see... Gion, maybe Ikki's request for famous swords is because only those high-quality blades can withstand his modifications," Aokiji said thoughtfully, clasping his hands together to support his chin.
After experiencing the battle with Nojiko, he had spent considerable time thinking about Ikki's abilities. Combined with Gion's explanation, he was beginning to feel that he was getting closer to understanding the secret behind the swords carried by Ikki and his crew.
"Perhaps Ikki's ability includes the power to alter the characteristics of swords. Among them, the more precious the sword, the higher the probability of successful transformation. This is probably why he became a famous sword hunter."
"With Ikki's swordsmanship and weapons, he will definitely be able to realize his dream of building a fleet of great swordsmen in the future," Gion said, turning to look at Sengoku.
"Regarding transforming famous swords, although I don't know exactly what Ikki has accomplished so far, his abilities are quite mysterious and powerful."
"Is it really wise to leave such a man to operate freely? If he gets out of control, he might become a super pirate."
"Perhaps we should capture him and have him train combat personnel specifically for the Marines."
Kizaru said leisurely while cutting his nails, his legs crossed casually.
Hearing this suggestion, many hawkish Marines in the room began discussing among themselves, seemingly considering the feasibility of such an action.
Gion's expression darkened as she suddenly stood up, using her thumb to partially draw her blade while turning to face Kizaru.
WHOOSH!
A powerful wave of sword pressure rushed straight toward Kizaru.