On the warship, Diarmuid looked at the fruit juice stain on his clothes, then at the Marine Commander beside him who was watching the intense battle between Gion and Mihawk with an expression of pure admiration.
Diarmuid spoke, "What's your name?"
This was an Admiral's ship, and there were many new officers on board. Diarmuid honestly couldn't remember his name. The Commander was startled but quickly replied, "My name is Shuun."
"Shu?" Diarmuid was a little surprised. "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"
"No, I am not a Devil Fruit user," Commander Shu quickly replied.
"Is that so?" Diarmuid nodded. He looked very young and thought he might be the Rust-Rust Fruit user who would later destroy Zoro's sword, Yubashiri. But it was possible he was that guy, just without the face mask and not a user yet.
"Is there anything you need, Admiral?" Commander Shu asked again.
"What do you think?" Diarmuid glared at him. Shu clearly wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed; he just looked confused. Diarmuid kicked him in the rear. "Go get me a towel and a basin of water, you blind fool! If it were Sakazuki, you'd be dead by now!"
Shu stumbled, rubbed his backside, and gave an embarrassed smile before running off. He wasn't angry at all. From his time on the ship, he knew that Admiral Diarmuid was not the "Ferocious Tiger" the rumors made him out to be. On the contrary, he had a great temper. A kick like that just showed how comfortable and casual the Admiral was with them. It wasn't meant as physical punishment.
Meanwhile, Gion and Mihawk had resumed their battle. Sparks of electricity, flashes of Haki, and flying slashes turned the sea into a chaotic mess. If Diarmuid hadn't been on deck, occasionally deflecting some of the waves and slashes, their warship would have been sunk by the collateral damage.
What made it even more dangerous was that the two were clashing on a tiny piece of wood. A single misstep would be deadly. The razor-sharp blades often grazed their cheeks and throats, requiring impeccable skill and reflexes.
With a clang, Gion's Konpira deflected Mihawk's Black Blade, Yoru. She took a step back to disperse the force. That single step was the final straw for Mihawk's makeshift boat, which disintegrated into several pieces of wood.
Mihawk didn't panic. He wasn't a Devil Fruit user, so he wasn't afraid of the sea. His ability to sail the world on such a small boat proved he was fearless of the ocean.
Gion, however, was a Devil Fruit user. With a flash of electricity, she landed on a piece of wood, which was clearly not strong enough to support her. The moment she landed, it began to sink. But Gion only needed a momentary foothold. She disappeared the instant she pushed off from it.
In reality, she wasn't afraid of the sea either, since her Rumble-Rumble Fruit allowed her to levitate. However, during such an intense battle against a master like Mihawk, she wouldn't take such a risk, making the situation look even more perilous.
In the next instant, Gion appeared behind Mihawk. Her Konpira, shining with a crackle of lightning, slashed down three times. The piece of wood under Mihawk couldn't support his weight. He knew he couldn't engage in a power struggle under these conditions; he would sink.
As Gion's electrified attacks came down, Mihawk pushed off with his foot, leaping into the air and slashing upwards. The moment Yoru and Konpira collided, he used the force to retreat, landing perfectly on another piece of wood.
That board also began to sink. Just as Mihawk was about to change his position again, he was surprised to feel the wood under his feet become solid, holding him up as if he were standing on land. Not far away, Gion also landed on a wooden board, and like Mihawk, she didn't sink.
They both stopped their attacks at the same time and looked toward the warship. Diarmuid was holding a damp towel, wiping the juice off his shirt. When he noticed Gion and Mihawk looking at him, he smiled. "Keep going. Don't mind me. I just made a stage for you two. Don't worry about the wood; it won't sink."
Mihawk looked down at the floating wood. Sure enough, the edges of the board faintly glowed with a faint purple light.
"An ability? The rumored Gravity-Gravity Fruit…" Mihawk felt a heaviness in his heart. This Admiral's power gave him a huge advantage in a sea battle. Even if he could defeat Gion, he probably wouldn't be a match for Diarmuid.
However, he didn't have time to ponder. Gion, who trusted Diarmuid implicitly, immediately pushed off from her board. The force, which would have shattered the fragile wood, was miraculously held in place. At the same time, Gion's body shot toward Mihawk like a tiger. Her Konpira flashed with electricity as she screamed, "Raging Thunder!"
Like a tiger, she instantly transformed into a flash of lightning. Her speed was so incredible that in the blink of an eye, she was right in front of Mihawk's face. Although Mihawk didn't trust Diarmuid, he had no time to worry about it. He didn't dodge but instead raised his Black Blade, Yoru, to block horizontally in front of him. The next moment, Gion's strike, infused with the power of lightning, slammed against his blade.
A formidable force erupted. Mihawk's feet sank into the wood, but to his surprise, it held firm, supporting him against the force of Gion's blow. But before he could even exhale, a viscous-looking plasma burst from Konpira.
Gion's entire body turned into pure electricity. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down from the clear sky and hit her. In the next second, the lightning seemed to ignite her, and Gion's entire body erupted. A torrent of lightning enveloped Mihawk.
With the two of them at the center, the chaotic electricity instantly spread across the surface of the sea. In just a few moments, the entire area around them was covered in a layer of lightning that completely obscured the water. No one could be seen. Their location was a blinding flash of light.
Before Diarmuid could use his Observation Haki to sense the situation, a pale green slash shot up from the chaos, cutting a path through the dense lightning. Mihawk's battered figure emerged from the sea of thunder, leaping into the air. He was a mess. His elegant noble clothes were ragged, and his top hat was gone, revealing his sharp black hair.
Before Mihawk could land, a sword suddenly thrust out from the dissipating lightning around him. It was Konpira! Mihawk, though in a terrible state, reacted instantly. He raised his broad Black Blade, Yoru, to block, and Konpira plunged into the flat of his blade.
Then, Gion's figure condensed from the fading light. She gave Mihawk no time to catch his breath, shouting, "Pierce him!" Before her words had even finished, a searing flash of light erupted from the tip of Konpira. The lightning, like a focused beam of pure energy, pushed against Mihawk's Black Blade, shooting out violently. If not for the quality of Mihawk's Black Blade and the power of his Armament Haki, he would have been pierced through.
Even so, the force of the lightning blast sent Mihawk flying back, propelling him several hundred meters in an instant. Mihawk had now been knocked out of the area with the wooden boards. With nothing to stand on and no way of using techniques like Geppo, he fell straight into the sea.
In a flash, Mihawk's head broke the surface of the water. Before he could speak, he saw Gion hovering in the air, crackling with electricity, looking like the Thunder God himself. She was surrounded by a powerful aura of lightning, which shot up into the sky.
In just a few moments, a large, heavy storm cloud had formed overhead, where moments before the sky was clear. The cloud hung low over the sea, occasionally flashing with lightning.
"…Thunderstorm!" Gion yelled. Her hand formed a claw, with streaks of lightning radiating between her fingers. She then pulled down on the empty air, and the dense thundercloud above her followed her command. A massive volley of lightning struck down, completely blanketing the area where Mihawk was. The sea was hit by the thunder plasma, igniting like a fuse and causing a massive explosion.
After the attack, Gion remained floating in the air. Her body was awash in electrical plasma, and her hands were held up as if holding something. Her long black hair, which had been tied back, was now unbound and standing on end. Konpira, also wrapped in lightning, floated majestically behind her. Mysterious, jagged lightning patterns appeared on her cheeks, and her pupils became a deep, vacant blue. Her aura was so powerful that even Diarmuid, watching from a distance, was amazed.
"Is this… the so-called 'strongest and most invincible' Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Diarmuid muttered to himself with a hint of awe. To be honest, since Gion ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Diarmuid hadn't seen her use her full power or spar with her much. He only knew that her track record was spotless; she hadn't lost a single battle since then. All her enemies had been defeated by her immense power. Well, except for that crocodile who was a stalemate, who managed to escape her attacks with ease when Marco appeared and changed the plan.
But those battles took place in the Grand Line's first half, where Gion hadn't encountered any truly strong enemies, so Diarmuid hadn't given her "undefeated" record much thought. It was only now, after Gion's overwhelming display against Mihawk, that Diarmuid realized just how powerful she had become. No wonder she dared to say that Mihawk was no match for her even before they fought. There was no arrogance in her words at all.
Perhaps Mihawk was still a better swordsman, but in terms of overall strength, Gion had already surpassed him!
After a while, the electrical barrage subsided. Gion raised her hand and made a grabbing motion. The chaotic electrical power was instantly tamed, flowing into her body through her arms. The heavy thundercloud in the sky vanished in a moment, as if everything had been an illusion. The chaotic sea surface gradually returned to calm, and Mihawk's disheveled figure slowly emerged from the water. He watched Gion silently, not speaking.
Gion grabbed her floating Konpira and looked at Mihawk. "I have to admit, you are the better swordsman, but this fight… you lost, Dracule Mihawk!"
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