Although every member of CP9 had mastered the basic techniques of the Six Powers and had developed their own derivative moves to varying degrees, there was still a vast gap in their overall strength.
This gap came down to two things: physical conditioning and technical proficiency.
For instance, while several members could perform a Rankyaku, the destructive power Lucci could unleash was several times greater than that of Kalifa and the others. This was Lucci as he was three years before the original timeline; if this were Lucci from three years later, the difference would be even more staggering.
Across the other four battlefields, Kaku and Lao G were locked in a stalemate, with neither side likely to emerge victorious anytime soon. Neither possessed Haki, but both were experts in hand-to-hand combat, and their physical capabilities were closely matched.
However, the situation between Jabra and Machvise was far more interesting.
Under normal circumstances, these two would have fought for a significant amount of time. But the current environment was incredibly unfavorable for Machvise.
After all, Machvise possessed the Paramecia-type Tonnage Fruit. His primary tactic was simple: launch himself into the air, use his fruit's power to increase his body weight to ten, a thousand, or even ten thousand tons, and then crash down upon his target.
On land, this fruit was a formidable asset. But the problem was that they were currently in the middle of the ocean, standing on the scattered wreckage of various merchant ships.
If he tried to fly up and crash down, what would happen?
Even if he managed to hit his target, it would be a mutual suicide. Did he really expect these floating ruins to withstand the impact of several thousand tons? The most likely outcome was that Jabra would simply dodge, and Machvise would plunge himself straight into the depths of the sea.
As a result, Machvise's Devil Fruit abilities were effectively sealed. Under Jabra's relentless assault, he could do nothing but defend, unable to launch a meaningful counterattack.
Then there were the remaining two battlefields, where the four weaker members of the original CP9 were struggling. Their physical constitutions were lacking, barely reaching what CP9 defined as the "superhuman realm." Even though they were fighting in two-on-one pairings against Dellinger and Senior Pink, they could only manage a stalemate. In fact, they seemed to be at a slight disadvantage.
Having observed the four battlefields, Sean could already determine where the breakthrough would occur.
The turning point would most likely happen in one of two places. One was the fight between Jabra and Machvise, given that the latter's abilities were completely neutralized. The other was Ace, who had yet to make his move and was still waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Ace was the wild card. He was currently wearing a Marine uniform, and since he held no official rank, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary seaman. It was highly likely that the four executives had completely ignored him.
Now, it was just a matter of whether Ace could seize the moment and break the deadlock.
Whether it was Ace or Jabra, as soon as one of them broke through, the other battlefields would collapse like a row of dominoes. Sean wasn't worried about the four executives; taking them down was a certainty. It was only a matter of time.
He shifted his gaze back to the clash between Lucci and Diamante.
Relying on his superior speed, Lucci launched continuous attacks from every angle, but Diamante dodged them all with ease using Observation Haki. At times, Diamante didn't even bother to move, using his bullfight cape to provide a perfect defense.
Of course, Diamante wasn't just defending. In fact, he was attacking more frequently than Lucci. The sword in his hand was erratic, lengthening and softening in a ghostly manner that made it incredibly difficult to guard against.
However, Diamante was beginning to grow annoyed by Lucci's persistence.
"Scurrying around like a rat!"
He suddenly pulled several party poppers from his clothing. To an outsider, this would have been baffling. Who in their right mind pulls out party favors in the middle of a life-or-death fight?
Lucci, however, did not underestimate the move. His expression turned solemn. Sean had provided him with detailed intelligence, which included Diamante's abilities and all his known techniques.
He knew exactly what this meant.
Diamante gripped the party poppers in his left hand and yanked the cords with his right.
'Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!'
The poppers detonated, shooting countless pieces of confetti into the sky. Under the influence of Diamante's power, the colorful scraps instantly transformed into razor-sharp spiked iron spheres. They rained down like a seamless curtain of iron.
"Tekkai!"
Knowing the lethality of this attack, Lucci didn't dare take it head-on. His best option was to harden his body and tank the hit.
For the next ten seconds, countless spiked spheres slammed into Lucci's body with a relentless clanging sound. When Lucci finally released the Tekkai, his Marine coat and the suit beneath it were shredded to rags. His body was covered in a dense network of small, bleeding wounds.
As expected, Lucci's current level of Tekkai was not enough to completely defend against Diamante's Death-Stardust.
Diamante looked satisfied. Without giving Lucci a moment to breathe, he lunged forward with his sword.
These injuries had a noticeable impact on Lucci, slowing his movements significantly. After narrowly dodging a sword strike, Lucci decided to deploy his trump card.
His body began to grow, and leopard spots manifested across his skin. In moments, he shifted into a half-human, half-leopard form.
This was Lucci's Human-Leopard form, a result of his Devil Fruit. At his current stage, he could utilize two forms. The Human-Leopard form drastically increased his strength and durability—essentially a massive boost to his physical attributes. The other was a pure Beast form, where he became a full leopard; while this didn't increase his strength, it granted him an immense boost in speed.
If this were five years later, Lucci would be able to use his Awakened form, which was his absolute strongest state. But currently, he was still far from achieving awakening.
"Six Powers Secret Technique: Rokuogan!"
Lucci clenched his fists and thrust them forward, planting them directly into Diamante's flank. With a thunderous shout, a terrifying amount of force was released as a concentrated shockwave.
In that instant, Diamante's Observation Haki screamed a warning of imminent danger. But it was too late to dodge. He frantically yanked his cape behind him.
"Bullfight Cape!"
'BOOM!'
The cape failed to absorb all the impact. The remaining force sent Diamante hurtling backward, smashing him into a large piece of wreckage over twenty meters away.
At that moment, the two men were thinking very different things.
Lucci thought: 'Pity. I didn't knock him straight into the sea.'
As for Diamante...
That was a close call. A moment of carelessness had almost sent him flying straight into the ocean.
For a Devil Fruit user like Diamante, falling into the sea would mean instant defeat. After all, in the world of pirates, there were very few ability users capable of ignoring the effects of seawater.
Some, like Aokiji, possessed unique abilities that allowed them to freeze the water before it could even touch them. Others relied on their heritage; for instance, Fish-man ability users would be perfectly fine even if they became "land-ducks" in the water. Since Fish-men can breathe underwater, they wouldn't drown.
Regardless, Diamante was now taking things seriously. He would no longer underestimate the Marine Captain standing before him. He was preparing to give it everything he had...
And kill Lucci swiftly!