Chapter 180: Gion: Come On, Defeat Me!
"Then let's fight!"
"I'm wounded!"
"I can see your injury's already healed!"
"No!"
"Does it still hurt?"
"Hm. Shiki's Armament Haki was too strong."
"…"
"Do you need a massage?"
"Um!"
After that string of not subtle at all, blatantly manipulative back and forth, Roy clutched his head and looked at Gion with the most pitiful expression he could manage.
Gion… seemed to smile.
[Favorability with Gion +10!]
Roy heard the notification echo in his mind and steadied himself.
Good. Steady. This could keep going.
"Shing!"
Gion drew Konpira in one smooth motion, raised the blade, and sneered. "Roy, get up!"
"Damn it!"
Roy spun on his heel and bolted.
Their favorability was going up. After fighting the Golden Lion at his peak, after sharing life and death, after all that hardship and victory together…
Their relationship had a bright future.
So how could someone who clearly had feelings for him, someone whose favorability kept rising, suddenly turn around and try to kill him?
"Don't run! I'll kill you, Shanks' brother!"
"That's made up by shameless tabloids!"
"I'll still chop off both your legs to vent my anger, you bastard!"
"No, I really didn't mean it, I'll take responsibility!"
But if you kill me, nobody can take responsibility!
"Aaaah! I'll kill you!"
On the beach, Roy sprinted like his life depended on it, while behind him, Gion swung her sword in fury, slashing the air so hard the wind screamed.
A group of sailors nearby put down their repair tools, cheered wildly, and shouted encouragement for their superior.
Amid the ruins, people who were finally catching their breath stared in disbelief.
Sanji and Luffy sat by a fire. When Roy ran past, the gust he dragged behind him nearly snuffed the flames out.
A heartbeat later, a beautiful figure chased after him with a sword, shouting, "Stop! Let me cut you a few times so I can calm down!"
Roy answered in the most shameless, obnoxious voice possible, "Dame dame~"
Gion nearly exploded. "Roy!"
Sanji and Luffy exchanged a look.
Why were they fighting?
Sanji, who Roy had raised into a straight man, was no longer the woman obsessed Sanji from the original story.
Luffy understood it even less.
As everyone knew, Luffy tended to sacrifice his intelligence for talent, fighting strength, and sheer toughness.
"… "
Gion paused for a moment, and Roy instantly stopped to catch his breath.
"Damn it, you're seriously injured? Then I'll cut you down!"
Gion's anger spiked the moment she saw the fire Roy almost extinguished by running past.
And the reason for that anger…
It was actually connected to Roy's dream.
In his dream, had he not been messing around on floating islands and clouds, bouncing everywhere?
Ahem, not exactly like that.
Some dreams had a very inconvenient habit of linking to reality.
Earlier in the day, Roy fainted, and Gion let him rest against her shoulder for a while.
Then… it slipped.
Roy slipped.
Right onto her Breast.
If you combined what Roy did in the dream with what he did in reality, the meaning became painfully clear.
And who said you needed to talk in your sleep to do something confusing while dreaming?
In short, it was way too much.
In that same dream, Roy also heard a loud bang.
That was not dream logic at all. That was the sound of Gion punching and collapsing a building.
But Gion had seen Roy save her more than once. They had fought side by side against the Golden Lion at his peak. And after that, Roy's forehead had been drenched in blood, a terrible sight.
She really could not bring herself to hit him.
Then Galette happened to pass by and saw everything.
At first, she was so shocked she hid far away.
But once she realized Roy was clinging to someone and refusing to let go, and Gion could not pry him off because of his steel like defense and ridiculous strength…
Galette stepped forward and, while Roy was still unconscious, tossed out a subtle, razor sharp sarcastic line at Gion.
...
"What a talent."
Lucky Roux sat on a chunk of ruined stone, gnawing on grilled fish, watching Roy and Gion vanish into the distance with wide eyes.
"I suggest we leave tomorrow. Otherwise, things will get really complicated once Marineford arrives."
"That was Yasopp's idea," Yasopp added.
"Yeah. Leaving earlier is better."
Beckman nodded, then looked at Shanks.
Shanks gripped Gryphon, took a deep breath, and watched Roy run off.
To be honest, even back in the day, Roger's old crew used to tease Shanks and Roy about this kind of thing.
Now, those shameless newspapers had dug it up again.
Even Shanks, with his good temper, felt tempted to spar with Roy, friendly and proper, just to vent a little.
"Alright," Shanks said, nodding. "We do quick repairs, then we're off."
And the situation did, in fact, start developing in the worst possible way Shanks and his crew imagined.
Long before the Golden Lion fell from the sky, Gion had taken the time to contact Headquarters, Marineford.
These days, the East Blue branch forces patrolled frequently, and some Navy personnel arrived to assist Gion's subordinates.
At the same time, those guys who did not fight Shanks were clearly watching Shanks and his crew on behalf of Headquarters.
With Shiki suspected to be dead, the cautious Navy Headquarters immediately dispatched an Admiral.
And many Vice Admirals.
After all, Roy had only knocked the Golden Lion unconscious and sent him falling into the sea.
Before Shiki left Gion's Observation Haki range, his life force had not been so weak as to be on the verge of death. But that did not mean she had confirmed Shiki's death.
The Celestial Dragons were cowards. They could not tolerate even the slightest accident when it came to Shiki's death.
Shanks did not want to get tangled up with the Navy. That kind of trouble never ended.
...
That night.
In an open space, Roy dropped to the ground, panting, wiping sweat from his brow.
Gion, also breathing hard, sat nearby and glared at him, irritated.
She tugged at her cloak and fanned herself aggressively.
Gion did not truly intend to kill Roy. She had only said it in anger.
She told Roy that as long as he sparred with her often and followed her around, he could secretly go back and visit his sister, Tsuru.
She had barely forgiven him.
On one hand, it was because she cared about Tsuru.
Gion could not bring herself to kill Roy. She could not bear the thought of her beloved Tsuru being heartbroken.
On the other hand…
That shameless bastard had said he would take responsibility and all that.
Fine. She would reluctantly believe him for a while.
"Fine, if you don't want to give it to me, then don't," Roy said with a grin that deserved a sword to the face. "I'll get it sooner or later anyway."
If Amatsuki Toki were here, she would say it straight. This bastard had grown up and was finally showing his true colors.
"Heh. I'll consider being with you again when you can beat me…"
Gion stopped halfway through, then turned her head away.
No. She could not let her cool, aloof goddess expression crack.
Roy stared at her, stunned. Seriously?
"Don't get the wrong idea," Gion snapped, glaring at him. "I'm not as filthy minded as you. I mean we take it slow and actually get to know each other properly."
When people were going to be together, how could you do it the other way around, you bastard?
You were supposed to understand each other first, then take it step by step. That was what made it special.
"Haha. It was all unintentional. I was unconscious. I'm actually a very serious person."
Roy was delighted.
He had not expected one ridiculous accident to make things with Gion progress this smoothly.
"Tch. I don't believe you!"
Gion pointed Kinpira at him, eyes sharp.
"Defeat me first. Accidents don't count!"
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