"Flower Sword Vista, get up here!"
Gion pointed her sword toward Vista with an air of absolute dominance, her voice ringing out as a challenge.
No one present found this surprising. After all, Gion was a Marine and Vista was a pirate; they were natural enemies. Furthermore, three years ago, Vista had defeated Gion just as she had become a Great Swordsman. After the fight, he had left her with a scathing remark:
"The Marines are just the Marines—completely fragile!"
It would have been stranger if Gion hadn't sought him out for a rematch.
Vista, however, looked on with a hint of disdain. He let out a contemptuous chuckle and strolled forward, carrying his two blades.
"What? You think three years of training is enough to defeat me?" Vista smirked. "Sean and Hawkeye made a bet earlier. Why don't we make one of our own?"
"If I lose, I'll go to Marineford alone and kowtow in apology in front of every single Marine. But if you lose... well, you've got a lovely face and a great figure. How about you just come back with me?"
"Do you have the guts?"
The hundred-odd spectators erupted.
'Holy crap, this is even more provocative than the bet between Sean and Hawkeye!'
If Vista lost, he'd go to Marine Headquarters and kowtow... would the Marines even let him leave after that?
But if Gion lost, it was even worse—she'd be taken back by Vista. As for what he intended to do with her, every man there knew exactly what was being implied.
However, in everyone's memory, Vista wasn't known as a lecher. In fact, among the hundred people present, there were hardly any. A swordsman who could reach the level of a Sword Master, or even a Great Swordsman, rarely had time or interest for such distractions.
Thus, they understood that Vista's bet was primarily a means to humiliate the Marines, rather than a genuine romantic pursuit of Gion.
On the field, Vista wore a smug expression.
But in the next instant, his face froze.
A terrifying pressure, one that struck the very depths of his soul, suddenly descended. It felt similar to Conqueror's Haki, yet it was fundamentally different. Even the renowned Vista felt an immense weight pressing down on him, forcing him to resist with everything he had.
He couldn't tell where the attack was coming from or what it even was.
He glanced around at everyone present, and finally, his eyes landed on Sean, who was sitting on a rock outside the ring. Vista's eyes widened in shock.
In his vision, Sean appeared colossal—even more imposing than his own father, Whitebeard—radiating a terrifying, overwhelming aura.
"Sean, stop!"
"This is my fight!" Gion suddenly shouted.
The moment she spoke, the eerie power crushing Vista vanished instantly. It was as if nothing had happened.
Apart from Hawkeye, none of the other sword masters or Great Swordsmen even realized what had occurred. Sean had exerted precise control over his Reiatsu, enveloping only the spot where Vista stood, leaving everyone else completely unaffected.
To the observers, it simply looked as though Vista had suddenly faltered, his expression turning pale and strained, followed by an inexplicable shout from Gion. That was all.
Hawkeye, however, had noticed the anomaly. As he looked at Sean, the fighting spirit in his eyes grew even more intense.
"Flower Sword Vista, was it?"
Sean warned, his voice cold now that the Reiatsu had subsided. "A mere Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates needs to know which words are acceptable to say, and which are not."
Vista's eyes flared with anger, but he didn't dare act rashly. For one, he couldn't comprehend that strange power. Even focusing solely on swordsmanship, the fact that Sean could easily provide technical guidance to Atravis proved that Sean was far beyond his own level. If a real fight broke out, Vista knew he stood no chance.
"Your bet... I accept!"
Gion's cold voice rang out, leaving everyone stunned once again.
Though they didn't know exactly what had happened, it was clear Vista had suffered some invisible blow and had lost the nerve to push his bet. Yet Gion had accepted it?
The situation was becoming increasingly baffling.
Even Sean shook his head with a wry smile. 'Fine, I guess I overstepped. Given Gion's personality, this outcome was predictable.'
Still, it didn't matter. Sean didn't believe that the current Gion was someone Vista could defeat.
'''
In a hidden area of the Marine fleet.
Watching the images transmitted by the surveillance Den Den Mushi, the officers were in a stir.
"Vice Admiral Gion is powerful, but is her swordsmanship still a step behind Vista's?"
"Yeah, if she loses, this becomes a disaster. Even if we move in afterward, people who don't know the truth will think the Marines are just attacking Vista because we're sore losers who can't accept a bet..."
"Exactly. If it reaches that stage, the prestige of the Marines will plummet!"
Inside the bridge, the Vice Admirals were discussing the matter with great concern.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, what do you think?"
After a moment of silence, Akainu turned to Tsuru. He and Gion rarely crossed paths on missions, and he hadn't seen her fight in years, so he wasn't sure of her current strength. Tsuru was the one who knew Gion best. More importantly, he noticed that Tsuru didn't look worried at all.
This was highly unusual.
"Don't worry. Gion won't lose," Tsuru replied calmly. "Because she is wielding Konpira."
The officers were confused. Aside from Garp, who was dozing off, and Kizaru, who was focused on grooming his nails, everyone wondered why wielding Konpira guaranteed victory.
Wasn't it just a Great Grade blade? As far as weapons went, Vista's "Flower's Dance" and "Snow's Rage" were also among the twenty-one Great Grade swords.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, does Konpira possess some special ability?" Akainu asked.
"I'm not entirely sure. However, during a six-month mission Gion carried out previously, she used Konpira to execute a devastatingly powerful technique. Whether that's an inherent ability of the blade or if Konpira has consumed some kind of Devil Fruit, I don't know for certain."
"But I am certain that Gion herself has never eaten a Devil Fruit, so the probability that the sword has consumed one is much higher."
The group was curious, though not shocked. Forcing a sword to eat a Devil Fruit wasn't unheard of; under specific circumstances, it was possible. Furthermore, the Science Division had developed a method to achieve this two years ago.
The real question was: what fruit had Gion's Konpira eaten?
Tsuru simply shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
"While I don't know what Devil Fruit Konpira has eaten, I know one thing for certain."
"Once Gion releases her ability, even you, Akainu, would have a high probability of being defeated if you let your guard down!"
'Boom...'
At these words, everyone truly lost their composure.
Everyone knew that Tsuru wouldn't lie about something like this, but the claim that Gion could defeat Akainu? Even if Akainu were careless, it was simply too unbelievable.
Akainu, however, didn't show much of a reaction. Gion was a Marine—a true, thoroughbred one—and he welcomed the presence of more powerful Marines. Only then would the Marine's strength grow, allowing them to truly purge the seas!
He locked his gaze back onto the transmitted image.
The battle between the two had begun, yet neither had made the first move. In many cases, the person who attacks first doesn't necessarily hold the advantage, and this is especially true in the way of the sword. One must stare intently at the opponent, search for a flaw, and then strike!
In the next instant, Vista made his move!
He leaped over ten meters into the air and let out a loud shout.
"Rose Dance!"
As his two rapiers danced continuously, a multitude of red rose petals instantly rained down from the sky, creating a scene of profound beauty.
Of course, these were not actual rose petals, but manifestations of Sword Energy produced by Vista's status as a Great Swordsman. This wasn't merely for show; every single petal formed from Sword Energy possessed lethal cutting power.
If Hawkeye's slashes were comparable to a sniper rifle, then Vista's attacks were more like a submachine gun. While the individual power was lower and the range shorter, the coverage was immense.
Watching from the sidelines, Sean simply shook his head. On the other side, Hawkeye was equally unimpressed. In the eyes of true masters, Vista's technique was far too flashy and held little practical value.
Gion reacted instantly. With a single swing of her blade, she unleashed a slash that scattered the hundreds of rose petals before her.
'Don't be ridiculous.' By splitting the power of a slash into hundreds of pieces, the result was that each individual strike was incredibly weak. The moment those rose petals contacted Gion's slash, they were crushed and dissipated.
As for the remaining petals... they were fundamentally still slashes made of Sword Energy, meaning they couldn't change direction mid-air. Thus, as long as she cleared the path directly in front of her, the rest could be completely ignored.
Truth be told, Vista's technique would be gorgeous and effective against weaker opponents. But against a powerhouse... it was a joke.
Furthermore, Gion looked at Vista's move with more annoyance than anyone else.
As for why...
In the next moment, Gion held Konpira upright before her.
"Scatter, Konpira!"
As the sword in Gion's hand began to decompose, transforming into a cloud of blade fragments that looked exactly like cherry blossom petals, Sean was momentarily stunned.
'Did Gion's reforged Konpira become Senbonzakura after its Shikai?'
'No, that's not right. Gion's Shikai command is "Scatter, Konpira," not "Scatter, Senbonzakura"...'
'Is it actually possible to rename a Zanpakutō?'
This was beyond absurd! Could she have actually communicated with the Zanpakutō and forced it to change its name?
Was such a thing even possible?