Chapter Intro Serial・Love-Sickness 23・Recovery
Upon learning that Kuma was the Tyrant of the Ice Cream Kingdom, and having now coincidentally run into him again at Kuja along with the Queen Dowager Bonney, both Sander and Marifully were astonished and somewhat awkward. Fortunately, Bonney sobbed and tearfully recounted her familial bond with Kuma, and did not accuse the three sisters of what they had done to her...
Hancock, being used to disregarding others, remained completely indifferent to whether Kuma recognized her or not.
During these days, Tulip politely declined all invitations to appear in front of the citizens of Kuja, choosing instead to rest in the inner palace, only occasionally gazing distantly from the palace balcony at the training grounds of the warriors. And so, the deadly love-sickness gradually and miraculously began to heal…
…
Vacation Island, the Giant Arena, at the Sword Hero Tournament…
Countless spectators looked on eagerly…
Everyone had just witnessed the Shichibukai, having turned into sand, flying away at high speed, while contestant Giorno followed closely behind, stepping on air with crisp "pa! pa!" sounds, and then both vanished from sight.
They just… flew off?
Was this what a battle between true powerhouses looked like, fighting to the point of disappearing into the sky?
The audience was collectively dumbfounded, but also thought it was truly amazing, absolutely thrilling to watch.
Still, the action not to be missed at this moment was, naturally, the ongoing match between Mihawk and Amande on the arena stage.
In the pirate world, people generally had extraordinary physiques.
Thick-skinned, high durability.
Even someone labeled as an "ordinary person" like Usopp could routinely take beatings from all kinds of monster pirates, getting smashed by multi-ton weapons, electrocuted with tens of millions of volts, headbutted to the point of skull fractures... and still wouldn't always pass out on the spot.
And even if he did, as long as he could be rescued, a few days later he'd be bouncing around again.
As for top-level powerhouses, this was even more the case. In duels between first-rate experts of the pirate world, if their strength was roughly equal, or even not too far apart, then unless they fought for several days and nights, grinding down the opponent's stamina and regeneration until they could no longer keep up with their accumulating injuries, it was difficult to determine a victor.
The parting battle between Liam and Hancock before he left Kuja Island was just like that.
Compared to Hancock, Liam naturally had a large advantage. But since it wasn't a fight to the death, Liam wouldn't go all out to kill, and Hancock wouldn't use her Medusa's Snake Eyes or serpent hair to attempt a one-hit kill. As a result, the battle dragged on for several days and nights before finally ending with Hancock's utter exhaustion.
Now, at this moment, Mihawk vs. Amande was underway, fierce and intense.
On the confined arena platform, surrounded by a sea of spectators, the two were locked in a dazzling exchange of sword and blade. Countless slashes flew back and forth, light flashing and shadows dancing. It was a back-and-forth duel with no obvious victor.
Whether it truly was evenly matched, of course, wasn't something the average spectator, watching mainly for spectacle, could determine.
The host commentator and judges, though experienced with many battles and having presided over many top-tier tournaments, had limited strength and vision.
Even just keeping up with the combat exchanges and giving live commentary was already pushing them to their limits. To ask them to analyze who was winning, who was stronger, or who was holding back and who was struggling, that would be asking too much.
As for figures like Buddha Sengoku, Whitebeard, Big Mom, or Aokiji, they weren't physically present. They couldn't use their Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) to sense the fight, nor could they rely on their battle experience to judge the situation. Watching through a broadcast screen, even they couldn't make out much.
The only one present at the scene with both the strength and the ability to accurately discern the momentum of the battle on the arena was Shiryu of the Rain, but he was currently being held off in battle by Jolyne Kujo, unable to spare any attention for the fight on stage.
His own opponent, that Shichibukai Sand Crocodile, had just flown off into the sky mid-battle! Shiryu of the Rain was so furious he nearly exploded, itching to tear apart the woman in front of him with his monstrous sword Thunderain!
But reality was cruel, throughout the battle, waves of heart-shattering pain throbbed through his chest, making his vision blur black and his body spasm uncontrollably…
Forget tearing this woman in front of him to pieces, Shiryu of the Rain already felt incredibly lucky that she hadn't taken the opportunity to tear him apart.
Or rather… this female pirate across from him was just too stupid.
Far away now… Robin cast a glance toward the corner of the arena's sky. Liam had already chased after Crocodile into the air some time ago. That meant it was about time she made her retreat too…
"You still have time… to look somewhere else?!" Shiryu of the Rain's voice came like a sinister demon, cold and menacing.
…
Ground Death – Erosion Samsara!
The entire small island was drained of moisture and completely turned into sand, becoming a miniature desert.
With Liam's height of 2.4 meters, combined with his extremely dense muscles and bones, his immense body weight made it impossible to find footing in this terrain, he would sink right into the sand if he stepped down.
"Assimilating the environment… this really looks like an 'Awakening,' doesn't it?"
Liam stayed aloft using Geppo, his feet "thump-thump" against the air as he hovered, watching the completely sandified trees collapse into yellow sand, spilling and merging into the desert floor.
"Awakening?"
From deep within the sweeping sands came Crocodile's voice.
Had he never heard of it? Or was he pretending to be dumb? Hmm… probably not pretending. More likely, he really didn't know about Devil Fruit Awakenings…
Still suspended midair, Liam was pondering this when a tremendous sandstorm, amplified by the desert terrain Crocodile had created, rapidly expanded, now encompassing the entire range of the small island.
"How crude… a full Awakening should allow you to control the terrain you've assimilated! Like the so-called Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation…"
Woooosh! Woooosh!
The dragon-like sandstorm howled and rampaged, swallowing both Liam's voice and his silhouette.
Each grain of sand that struck Liam's skin hit like a bullet fired at high speed…
Luckily, Liam wasn't afraid of bullets.
In the overwhelming sandstorm tornado, his figure looked small, but his skin, like steel, shrugged off the sand's cutting, tearing fury.
To avoid getting sand in his eyes, Liam simply closed them, relying solely on his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) to sense everything around him.
The deafening roar of the sandstorm dragon faded from his ears like receding waves…
To him, the whirlwind that others would consider a storm of blades felt more like a light exfoliation, its trajectory now clearly visible through the lens of his Kenbunshoku Haki, like a sand painting being gently wiped away by the hand of consciousness…
Within this awareness, the world was silent. Liam bounced up and down in midair, tapping his Geppo rhythmically, up, down, up, down…
Almost like Mario bumping his head on boxes for coins…
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!…
Just as Liam was nearly distracted, countless silent attacks came at him from all directions within this empty, quiet world.
Thirty-six attacks.
They were spike-like projectiles made of sand.
Ten from directly ahead, six from the left, four from above, six from the right, four from below, and six from behind…
Kenbunshoku Haki locked onto all thirty-six sandy spike assaults with absolute precision.
The trajectories of all thirty-six sand spears instantly targeted Liam, Throat, spine, lungs, liver, carotid artery, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart…
Each point of impact aimed straight at Liam's vital organs.
Woooosh, ! Woooosh, !
The sandstorm dragon rampaged, churning the air into chaos, with sand flying and sky and earth darkened, wailing and roaring in a frenzy.
Under such hellish conditions, a normal person would lose vision, hearing, and mobility, at constant risk of being shredded or swallowed by the sandstorm…
But Crocodile, as a Logia-type Suna Suna no Mi user, naturally remained unaffected by the storm.
'Missed? All of them missed?' Crocodile's expression darkened.
(End Of The Chapter)
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