Chapter 267: The Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit
Tokikake and Gion locked eyes, already reading the answer in each other's gaze. They retracted their techniques at almost the exact same time. Breathing ragged, both staggered and landed on the ground.
Roy extended a hand. His palm trembled slightly, and an invisible force seemed to sweep across the entire arena, clearing away the lingering blood mist in an instant and returning clarity to the sky.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the venue like a sharp sword: "The Marine Martial Arts Tournament—The Final Victor is..."
"'Momousagi' Gion!"
"WHOOOAAA—!!!"
Thunderous cheers rolled up like a tsunami, shaking the deserted island until it trembled!
In the spectator stands, the soldiers' emotions reached a fever pitch. With red eyes, they wildly waved their fists and caps. Some had tears streaming down their faces, screaming until their throats were hoarse:
"Vice Admiral Momousagi—Invincible!!!"
"This is the combat power of our Vice Admirals!!!"
At the judges' table, Garp laughed maniacally while slamming the table. Zephyr's eyes brimmed with hot tears. Sengoku kept a stern face, but the proud glint in the depths of his eyes could not be hidden.
The Three Admirals wore solemn expressions, their eyes flashing with admiration.
On the arena, Tokikake sat paralyzed on the ground. Covered in blood, he still managed to flash a tenacious smile, giving a thumbs up. "Haha... I am thoroughly convinced of my defeat~"
Gion panted slightly, reaching out a hand to pull him up. "Your Finger Pistol... almost killed me."
Tokikake wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, revealing his usual punchable smile. "So about that next date... can you say yes now?"
Gion shot him a sidelong glance, huffed lightly, and turned toward the podium.
Tokikake, half-sitting and half-sprawled on the ground, hollered from behind, "Hey! Are you seriously not going to help me up?!!"
On the deserted island, the smoke of gunpowder dissipated. The Marine Martial Arts Tournament had finally drawn to a close.
In the spectator stands, the Marine soldiers' chests heaved violently, their burning gazes locked deathly onto the center of the battlefield.
Their fingertips clenched unconsciously until their knuckles turned white. Their Adam's apples bobbed, yet they couldn't utter a complete sentence.
"So these are... our Vice Admirals..."
"That level of desperation and power... is practically Admiral-class..."
"So all this time, we've been protected... by monsters like them..."
Scalding liquid slid down tanned cheeks, splashing onto the concrete of the stands.
These were not tears of fear, but the trembling of ignited blood—they had finally seen clearly just what kind of impenetrable fortress stood between them and hell.
Momonga, Smoker, Onigumo, and the other defeated Vice Admirals also stood silently at the edge of the arena.
Smoker exhaled a deep breath of smoke, his gaze uncharacteristically grave. "The gap... is too obvious."
Momonga gripped his katana tightly, murmuring low, "This is power approaching the Admirals... we are still far off."
Onigumo sheathed his eight swords, his long hair drifting in the wind. His expression shifted from unwillingness to determination. "This battle... is just the beginning."
In their eyes, there was not a trace of defeatism, only an even fiercer desire to win.
Law and Roy walked onto the arena together. The powers of space and the Op-Op Fruit intertwined, healing Gion and Tokikake's injuries in the blink of an eye. The blood faded, the fractures vanished, as if they had just been reborn from the ashes.
Roy surveyed the entire venue, his voice vibrating across the island: "The Marine Martial Arts Tournament—Officially Concludes!"
"Final Victor — 'Momousagi' Gion!"
"Second Place — 'Chaton' Tokikake!"
"Third Place — Science Unit, Sentomaru!"
"WHOOOAAA—!!!"
The entire deserted island boiled over once more. The soldiers shouted in unison, the sound waves shaking the heavens and earth, even causing the distant ocean waves to surge with them!
Garp couldn't close his mouth from smiling. "Well done! Gion! Tokikake! Sentomaru! All good brats!!!"
Tears spilled from Zephyr's eyes, his fist smashing heavily onto the table. "This is the future of the Marines! These are the students I taught! They are all my pride!!!"
Sengoku nodded slowly, his voice deep but full of strength. "With young people like this, the Marines... fear no storm."
Amidst the thunderous cheers, Roy led Gion, Tokikake, and Sentomaru slowly up to the podium.
The white marble beneath their feet glowed softly in the sunlight, as if the entire stage had rolled out a carpet of glory for them.
On the platform, three Devil Fruits were quietly displayed on crystal pedestals, swirling with power capable of changing the world.
The First Fruit: The Kira Kira no Mi (Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit / Diamond Fruit) —
Golden-white all over, its surface shimmering with a faint glow. Under the sunlight, it reflected a blinding radiance, even manifesting tiny, refracted points of light in the air.
Even across the air, one could feel its indestructible aura.
The Second Fruit: The Ishi Ishi no Mi (Stone-Stone Fruit) —
Heavy as rock, its dark gray surface embedded with natural stone veins. The ground around it seemed to sink slightly under its gravity, exuding a steady aura.
The Third Fruit: The Hira Hira no Mi (Ripple-Ripple Fruit / Flutter-Flutter Fruit) —
The skin was pale silver, its surface carved with flowing wind patterns. A gentle breeze circled the fruit, bringing with it ethereal currents of air, looking as if it might fly off the stand at any moment.
Roy stood before the crystal pedestals, his voice steady as he provided the final explanations for these three fruits:
"The Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit — Grants the ability to turn any part of the body into transparent, pure diamond, possessing supreme hardness. The diamondized parts achieve the hardest state in the world, granting extremely high defense and attack power.
Ordinary physical attacks are almost completely ineffective against it; it can even block Hawkeye's slashes!
It can shatter any defense with a hardness lower than diamond. If the user turns their body into diamond, coats it in Haki, and strikes the opponent, it can cause massive damage. The attacks possess speed, power, and ultimate hardness."
"The Stone-Stone Fruit — This is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that borders on the Logia class.
As long as a substance can be classified as 'stone' or 'rock', the user can control it. They can even alter the terrain and the appearance of buildings.
The user can assimilate any rock they touch, taking the rock's appearance, hardness, and other properties as their own power. They can transform into a colossal stone golem to launch attacks."
"The Ripple-Ripple Fruit — The user can make anything they touch take on the form of a fluttering flag or silk, regardless of whether it is steel or other hard materials.
The user can also use the fruit's ability to change the shape of their own body. They can alter steel or diamond beforehand and wear it as clothing.
It can be used to defend against enemy attacks, and also makes the user's own attack methods far more versatile."
The three stood breathlessly before the platform, the surrounding cheers gradually morphing into suppressed anticipation.
Tokikake's gaze locked firmly onto the Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit, an unprecedented fanatical light erupting in the depths of his eyes.
"The hardness of a diamond... if combined with my Finger Pistol..."
"Under that strike, nothing would be able to block it!!!"
Without hesitation, he took a step forward and directly grabbed that dazzling fruit.
"This one!"
"I'll take it!!!"
The entire venue fell into an instant uproar!
"Vice Admiral Chaton... chose the Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit?!! Is that the fruit of 'Diamond' Jozu from before?!"
"His Finger Pistols could already pierce steel. Now, adding the hardness of a diamond...
Good heavens, he's practically a walking humanoid siege cannon!!!"
Roy raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly. "Aren't you going to taste it?"
Tokikake gave a cheeky laugh and took a direct bite: "URGH-BLERGH—!!!"
His face instantly turned green, nearly passing out on the spot. But the next second, he grinned. Looking at his palm, which had transformed into sparkling diamond, battle intent burned in his eyes:
"Tastes like absolute hell... but this power is worth it!!!"
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