Chapter Head Serialization・Love-Sickness 27・The Flower Falls of Its Own Accord
After Kuma slapped both Dragon and Tulip into the sky with his paw, he turned to gaze at the teary-yet-smiling Queen Dowager, and then he, too, vanished from the spot.
Marigold waved farewell to the former Snake Princess.
Sandersonia slowly lowered her hand and looked back toward the departing figure of her elder sister, walking away alone.
When they passed each other moments ago, she had clearly heard her elder sister trying to stifle labored, exhausted breathing…
Sandersonia's eyes filled with concern, her sister's love-sickness seemed to be growing worse.
…
Earlier…
Crocodile had unleashed a combo starting with Ground Death – Erosion Samsara followed by Sables – Sandstorm Dragon, summoning a massive sandstorm dragon in the arena...
Braving the raging sand and wind, Robin had noticed Tesoro, gravely injured by Liam's Rankyaku, lying unconscious on the rapidly dissolving spectator stands. Seizing the chaos, she dragged him into the Den Den Mushi City Fortress.
Squinting, she scanned the stormy surroundings, The air was a blur of yellow sand and Kikoku's distant howls. Sight and hearing were nearly useless.
Given these conditions, even someone of Robin's level found it difficult to concentrate enough to use Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki). Before the sandstorm dragon could engulf her, Robin vanished on the spot, disappearing into the City Fortress beneath her feet.
Little Green closed its eyes and incarnated into a sturdy fortress, standing firm amid the storm. Gradually, the fortress was buried beneath waves of sand.
Inside the Den Den Mushi City Fortress…
Robin used "Hana Freely" to copy Tesoro's heart and other vital organs, and instructed Little Green to provide life support, making sure he remained fully unconscious.
She let out a breath and walked to the inner wall of the fortress, asking Little Green to open a window.
Outside: there was a storm of yellow sand, howling and roaring. Robin sat sideways at the window ledge. In her palm, flowers spiraled into bloom, and then suddenly formed into a human head.
Liam's head. Aside from the slightly dazed eyes, it was life-like and eerily accurate.
"Flower Flower Freely・Floral Oddity・Head-Only Mode."
A beautiful woman holding a human head, the image was disturbing no matter how you looked at it.
But Robin didn't care. She treated it like a handheld camera, adjusting the "Floral Oddity" Liam head's unresponsive eyes to face her own.
"I'm hiding in the City Fortress now…"
After a quick check-in, Robin turned the head to face Tesoro, lying on the fortress floor.
"I think I saw something covering your face earlier... Did he do that? Anyway, I've brought him with me. We'll wait for the sandstorm to end before doing anything else…"
Unfortunately, even though "Hana Freely" allowed for sensory sharing between Robin and her copied targets, full control remained with her, the Hana Hana no Mi user.
She knew Liam could see and hear everything through this head, But he couldn't respond.
So Robin held the head in her arms and, while watching the sandstorm rage outside, whispered softly to it as if they were talking.
Until, the sand outside suddenly vanished.
CRACK!
A black staff came crashing down!
Shiryu of the Rain, already covered in blood and looking utterly battered, barely raised his sword to block it, but the blow numbed half his arm instantly.
'This guy's strength… It's on a whole different level now!'
Shiryu was stunned. With a loud bang, he was sent flying, pain searing through the tiger's mouth grip on his sword hand.
There was no doubt in his mind, if his sword Thunderain weren't a top-grade, famed blade, and if he hadn't reinforced it with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), then under the crushing power of Giorno's black staff, his blade would've already shattered into pieces!
Liam didn't give Shiryu the slightest chance, his black staff rained down like a violent storm, each strike as fierce as a hurricane, each blow as fast as lightning.
Already battered from Robin's earlier Hana Freely technique, Shiryu now stood no chance against the black-armored Liam. He could barely resist, every swing of the staff drew blood.
Liam, having finally summoned his armored Stand form, was fighting with full strength.
It would've been absurd not to properly beat down this manga-version Blackbeard Pirates officer, this Shiryu of the Rain, the man widely assumed to be Zoro's destined rival!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Every strike exploded with black lightning, every blow shattered bones audibly.
The once terrifying Shiryu of the Rain, who had seemed like a demonic force, now couldn't even put up a defense. He was being sent flying again and again by Giorno's countless staff shadows, battered all across the sand-covered arena, which had now been completely transformed into a desert wasteland.
This brutal display played out on screens all over the world, leaving viewers with their mouths hanging open, unable to recover from the shock.
"The Shichibukai's disappeared from the match, and now Shiryu of the Rain is being beaten bloody… What the hell is with this Giorno guy!?"
"Chopper-na Giorno… What a terrifying guy…"
"And this monster only has a 200 million Belly bounty?!"
From the screens alone, no one could see the black armor covering Liam's body, nor did anyone know the hellish punishment Shiryu had endured earlier in his fight with Robin…
But across the sea, in the New World branch, and at Marine Headquarters, where Admiral Sengoku watched, many powerful figures stared at the footage grim-faced.
They had always known that Chopper-na Giorno was not to be underestimated, but none of them had imagined he was already this strong.
This wasn't just about his special ability to steal Devil Fruits, nor was it simply that his Haki just happened to counter Sand Crocodile well… Shiryu of the Rain was one of the military's top elite swordsmen, a man absolutely capable of contending for the title of the world's greatest sword hero.
And yet here he was, being savagely beaten with a staff in a head-on fight with Giorno.
"Come to think of it, wasn't the second match originally Giorno vs. Shiryu of the Rain anyway?"
"So… does this count as Giorno winning?"
Many viewers around the world realized this as well, but looking at the screen, where the arena had literally turned into a mini desert, no one had words to offer.
"Forget about rules, the arena itself is gone…"
Can you even call this a match anymore? Could it still continue? Was there even any point in continuing?
No one could've predicted this, the world-famous "Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven" Tournament semifinals had taken such a wild turn.
The first match had been going just fine, then suddenly, Giorno started fighting a Shichibukai, then said Shichibukai unleashed a Dragon-tornado-level sandstorm, reducing the entire arena to dust…
No one at the venue knew what had happened. Everyone hoped the spectators were okay.
But even if they were safe, this kind of devastation made it impossible to continue the semifinals as planned…
And yet, in the midst of the sandstorm's annihilation, there was that one sky-splitting sword strike, a blade that cleaved the Dragon-storm clean in half, burned into the hearts of countless viewers across the world.
That sword… Could only have been unleashed by the world's strongest swordsman.
With a single strike, he shattered the Shichibukai's ultimate attack.
The daughter of a Sea Emperor, the infamous New World pirate known as the Demon Lady, wounded and defeated, she sheathed her sword and left in silence…
And then, Hawk Eyes Mihawk!
Dracule Mihawk, his towering silhouette standing alone amidst the endless yellow sands, his giant black blade on his back, appeared on giant screens across the globe.
If things had gone according to plan, tomorrow's match would have been Mihawk vs. Giorno, the final battle to decide the world's strongest swordsman!
But clearly… this tournament was no longer following any plan.
"Honestly, it's even better if they don't fight!" Cackled a certain "Big News"-nicknamed humanoid bird in the New World, flapping his wings gleefully.
"Now their fans will start fighting instead! Giorno vs. Mihawk, who's really stronger? If the final match still happens, who'll walk away with the title of 'Greatest Sword Hero'?
Argue! Fight! The more heated it gets, the more I sell my papers!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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