"Nami, use your ability to bring Ulti up."
Seeing Ulti about to jump into the other two battlefields, Leno quickly said to Nami.
"Okay~"
Nami, who was watching the battle, casually agreed, and her arms began to turn into clouds.
"Glug glug"
As clouds continuously poured out from her arms, a cloud cluster large enough for a person to stand on appeared in front of her.
With a toss of her arms, Nami sent the cloud cluster flying quickly in front of Ulti.
"Get on!"
Ulti jumped onto the cloud cluster, curiously examining the cloud beneath her feet. She was then quickly brought back to the ship, arriving beside the group.
"Is this... the ability of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit? It's very convenient. This is my first time feeling what it's like to fly on a cloud."
After jumping off the cloud, Ulti immediately became very interested in Nami's Devil Fruit ability.
"Hmph hmph~, how about it? Convenient, right? This is just one of my fruit's abilities, called the 'Somersault Cloud'."
"Of course, I only reluctantly named it that at the strong request of that idiot Leno."
Looking into Ulti's large, dewy eyes, Nami proudly lifted her chin and formally introduced her ability.
"That's a cool name. Let me experience the feeling of flying on a cloud a few more times when we have the chance."
Then, Ulti moved closer to Leno and asked, looking at the battle below: "Hey, don't we need to go down and help them?"
Gritting his teeth, Leno withdrew his gaze from those fair, smooth long legs, cleared his throat lightly, and collected his thoughts.
"There's no need. Besides, they both need a hearty battle like this to adapt to the intensity of the New World."
"Swish" Dodging an incoming slash, Kuina's eyes darkened as she looked at the shriveled marks around her.
"What? Is dodging all you can do now?" Smoothie taunted, seeing Kuina dodge her slash once again.
Kuina looked at the taunting Smoothie with disappointment: "I originally had expectations for your strength, but the result is a great disappointment. It seems your strength doesn't match your arrogant attitude."
"You little—! Are you looking down on me?"
"I'm just stating the facts. What, you can't accept it?" Kuina raised her beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows and looked over with a half-smile.
Smoothie's face went slate-dark, her shoulders trembled slightly, and her fingertips gripping the sword hilt were turning white.
Then, the red glow around her body suddenly intensified. The surrounding objects quickly shriveled and cracked, from the deck to the cabin, and finally, the entire ship became dried up.
"Juice Giant!" With a low roar, Smoothie's figure rapidly grew taller, reaching a height of over ten meters in an instant.
Looking down at the "tiny" Kuina at her feet, Smoothie's eyes shot fire as she brought her sword down.
"Die… you bastard who dared to look down on me."
"Bring it on!"
Looking at the descending giant sword gleam, Kuina gripped her longsword tightly, and her figure transformed into a golden light, soaring into the sky.
"CLANG"
A piercing, sharp sound suddenly rang out. Electric arcs flashed, and the air boomed before turning into ripples that spread outwards.
"Ha~!" With a loud shout, the wings on Kuina's back vibrated violently. She swung her sword and forcefully flicked away the giant sword, then quickly rushed towards Smoothie's enormous body.
"Im... impossible!"
The giant sword was knocked away. The transformed giant Smoothie staggered back a few steps, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Light Feather Slash!⁵"
"Ting-ting-ting!"
Smoothie tried to parry, but Kuina's golden silhouette flashed over knees, ribs, shoulders—slashes blooming faster than she could track. Blood spattered; in moments her upper garb was slicked red.
A low chant was heard. "Radiant Light: Holy Starfall."
A huge golden sword gleam suddenly lit up in front of Smoothie. The dazzling light forced her to squint, and her instincts for danger drove her to block with her sword.
However, it was too late. The sword's gleam had already reached her and slashed through diagonally.
"Pfft"
Blood shot out, falling like rain. Smoothie's eyes were filled with shock and deep unwillingness as her giant body slowly collapsed.
As Smoothie lost consciousness, her falling giant figure also gradually shrank, returning to its original size the moment it hit the ground.
"Smoothie!" Citron, who was nearby, saw Smoothie fall and cried out in horror.
Her figure flashed over to Smoothie's side. She reached out with trembling hands, wanting to touch her but afraid of worsening her injuries. She didn't know what to do, and tears of anxiety streamed down her face.
At this moment, a helpless Citron sat collapsed beside Smoothie, staring blankly at her pale face, having completely forgotten to administer emergency treatment.
'My sister, who was strong all her life, has actually been defeated, and so miserably...' This was a scene Citron had never imagined, yet the reality was right before her eyes.
At this time, Nojiko also came to Kuina's side. Seeing her somewhat disheveled state, she wanted to step forward and support her. Kuina shook her head, signaling that it wasn't necessary, and then looked at Leno and the others who were descending.
Before the ship had even landed, Leno had already appeared beside the two. He stepped forward and hugged them both, saying softly: "You've worked hard. Go back and rest well."
"Mm," Kuina and Nojiko's cheeks were slightly red as they replied in a low voice.
He helped Nojiko tidy her somewhat messy hair, then turned to see the shriveled patches of skin on Kuina's body slowly recovering their luster. His chest pinched and, ignoring her struggles, he scooped her up in a princess carry.
"Let's go, back to the ship."
"Put me down, I can walk by myself."
Kuina protested in a small voice, struggling in Leno's arms with a flushed face.
"Don't move, or I'll discipline you."
"Barbarian!" Not daring to look up, Kuina obediently curled up in Leno's arms and fell silent. Nojiko stood to the side, covering her mouth and snickering.
"Adventurer Leno, we will remember this grudge. I hope you can withstand the wrath of our Big Mom Pirates in the future."
Citron's hate-filled roar came from behind, her eyes fixed deadly on the departing group.
"Instead of making empty threats to me here, you'd be better off checking on your sister. She's really on the verge of death, you know."
Ignoring what was behind them, the three of them returned to the ship.
Chopper rushed over in a hurry with his medical bag: "How are you guys? Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?"
Looking at Chopper who was checking on them with worried eyes, and at the concerned gazes of her other companions, Nojiko felt a wave of warmth in her heart. She looked up and smiled to reassure everyone:
"Don't worry, we're fine, just a little tired!"
"Thank goodness…"
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, and their moods immediately became cheerful.
In fact, they were being overly worried. As Mythical Zoan users, Nojiko and Kuina's recovery abilities were no joke. The moment the battle ended, their wounds had already begun to heal slowly.
"Alright everyone, the battle is over. It's time for us to set sail," Leno said, scanning the onlookers.
"Carmen, go to the kitchen and prepare some food first. Nami, set the course, and then we'll depart. I'll go take care of Nojiko and Kuina's baths, and after that, we'll have a banquet!"
"In your dreams!"
The others all rolled their eyes. 'Your intentions are so obvious… How can you just say things like that in public.'
Nojiko and Kuina's faces instantly flushed red, and steam was practically coming out of their ears. They were so embarrassed they lowered their heads, not daring to face anyone.
In the end, everyone decided that Robin would take care of the two of them for their baths. Before closing the door, Leno was still trying, his eyes full of expectation.
"Robin, you can't handle it alone. I can help."
Robin glanced back with a you know better look.
"BANG"
The door slammed shut.
T/n:
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