Ginny raised her sniper rifle and began to aim.
Uncertain of Aramaki's identity, she did not aim for his vital points.
With a bang, a gunshot broke the silence, and the bullet flew toward Aramaki's thigh.
Aramaki, however, did not dodge, allowing the bullet to strike his leg.
Then, the spot where he was hit split into wooden fibers and slowly regenerated.
"Logia?"
Ginny's gun barrel smoked as she looked at Aramaki with a solemn expression.
If just now she had thought it highly unlikely that he was targeting the Revolutionary Army, the situation had now completely reversed.
Although Mythical Zoans were said to be rarer than Logias, in terms of actual numbers on the seas, Logia users were even harder to come by.
A rare Logia user appearing here at this time if it was a coincidence, it was far too much of one.
Just as Ginny was about to order the others to prepare for battle, a slightly mocking voice came from the ship opposite.
"Oh dear, greeting someone with a lead bullet isn't a very polite gesture, is it?"
Aramaki lazily stood up, and giant tree roots suddenly burst from the deck beneath him, spreading rapidly and enveloping the entire ship, turning it into a moving forest.
"Hurry up and go!"
Ginny quickly ordered the others to set sail, while she herself raised her sniper rifle again.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three consecutive shots rang out, the bullets aimed at Aramaki's eyes, throat, and heart.
But Aramaki merely raised a hand and waved it casually, and thick trunks sprouted instantly, swallowing all the bullets whole.
"Ironwood Shield!"
He grinned:
"Your bullets can't even scratch my bark."
As he spoke, the ship beneath Aramaki's feet suddenly accelerated, closing the distance with the Revolutionary Army vessel.
Ginny gritted her teeth:
"Don't you dare look down on me!"
She threw a smoke bomb into the sea.
It was unclear what principle the device operated on, but it rapidly spread a dense fog across the ocean surface.
The already lingering sea mist around Reverse Mountain thickened even further.
"Oh?"
Aramaki let out a soft sound of interest, but didn't take it seriously; such tricks were meaningless against Observation Haki.
The Revolutionary Army ship used the cover of the fog to accelerate, attempting to escape the area.
As long as they could reach the vortex current zone near Degalt, they would be safe.
Ginny had already moved to the stern, using her sniping ability to provide cover.
Her bullets, coated with Armament Haki, tore through the air with enough force to pierce steel.
Aramaki didn't even blink; the moment the bullets approached, carnivorous plants sprouted from his body and crushed them mid-air.
Ginny's pupils shrank, and she finally realized
The opponent was completely out of her league.
But Aramaki gave her no time to process it. Once the two ships drew close enough, his right arm suddenly transformed into a massive wooden hammer.
"Forest-Forest: Great Hammer!"
The name was crude, but the power was anything but.
Boom!
The sea roared as the enormous hammer smashed down onto the enemy deck.
Crack!
The Revolutionary Army ship, though heavily reinforced, could not withstand the blow. It split apart from the center, teetering on the brink of sinking.
Ginny barely managed to leap away, landing on a fragment of the broken ship
Only for creeping vines to suddenly wrap around her legs.
"Got you."
Ginny looked up in shock, only to see Aramaki standing above her, balanced atop a treetop suspended in mid-air.
Ginny gritted her teeth, pulling a dagger from her bosom to cut the vines.
But more branches surged in from all directions, binding her further.
Realizing the danger, Ginny used Geppo, attempting to escape into the air
Snap!
At the sound of Aramaki's fingers snapping, a thorn-covered net descended from above, slamming her back onto the sea surface.
"You people who dare oppose the World Government..."
Aramaki slowly approached, stepping along a tree trunk, his Armament Haki-coated fist emitting a faint green sheen:
"Always think that with a little cleverness, you can challenge absolute power."
His punch landed squarely in Ginny's abdomen.
The impact was devastating Ginny coughed up blood, her consciousness nearly fading.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you."
"Saint Black prefers his toys alive."
Those were the last words she vaguely heard before everything went dark.
Aramaki wrapped Ginny in layers of vines, forming a cocoon, and lifted her effortlessly.
He paid no further attention to the struggling Revolutionary Army members scattered across the sea and simply stepped back onto his ship.
After all, Black had instructed him to make a spectacle.
If there were no survivors, who would spread the news?
Still, Aramaki decided to deliver her to Mary Geoise as quickly as possible.
The Revolutionary Army might not dare assault the Red Line
But they might very well dare to pursue him.
...
Long after Aramaki departed, a fleet from Degalt finally arrived in the area.
Leading them was Mori, the giant of the West Blue Revolutionary Army.
They had originally been waiting at the edge of the vortex current zone, but Ginny's ship had failed to arrive, and all communication had been lost.
Sensing something was wrong, Mori immediately led a rescue force.
Seeing the wreckage scattered across the sea, along with Revolutionary Army members clinging to debris, his expression changed drastically:
"Quickly! Save them!"
After considerable effort, they finally pieced together the events from the survivors.
Mori immediately pulled out a Den Den Mushi and contacted Dragon.
After listening, Dragon's tone remained steady:
"I understand. I will find a way to rescue Ginny."
His calm voice gave Mori a measure of reassurance.
"If it's the leader... Ginny will definitely be saved, right?"
Little did he know
The moment Dragon hung up, cold sweat ran down his face.
He was far from West Blue. By the time he arrived, Ginny might already have been taken elsewhere.
All he could do was murmur quietly:
"I just hope Ginny can hold on..."
Ginny, of course, was in no such position.
When she regained consciousness, it was already deep into the night.
She tried to move, only to find herself still tightly bound by dense wooden vines.
"Hey! Anyone there? Is anyone there?!"
Her shouting eventually drew Aramaki over.
"What do you want?"
His tone was far less patient than when dealing with others.
Clearly, his impression of the Revolutionary Army was even worse.
Ginny forced an awkward smile:
"Uh... where are we? And where are you taking me?"
She intended to stall, gather information, lower his guard, and then
"Eh? Eh?!"
Before her plan could even take shape, Aramaki lifted her up with the vines.
"You'd better behave and not cause trouble for me."
With that, he turned to leave.
Ginny's eyes widened, and she immediately began cursing loudly.
Aramaki's expression twitched. Without even turning back, he waved his hand.
The vines binding Ginny instantly tightened and grew, sealing her mouth completely.
Silence finally returned.
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