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Marine Headquarters
In the hallway leading to the conference room, two Shichibukai - Bartholomew Kuma and Moria - walked quickly forward under the leadership of several Marine officers.
Different from Kuma's calm expression, Moria had bandages wrapped around his body at this moment, with an impatient look on his face.
"Tsk, what bad luck," Moria muttered. "I didn't expect to arrive here at the same time as you."
He looked at the large Kuma quite unhappily. Kuma glanced at Moria and ignored him, but looked at Tsuru and Gion who came out from around the corner. To be precise, his eyes fell more on Gion.
"Here you two are. You were the first to arrive," Tsuru said, looking back at Kuma and Moria with a gentle expression. "By the way, Moria, are your injuries okay?"
"Tch, Marine Chief of Staff Tsuru, there's no need for you to worry," Moria replied, becoming even more unhappy.
In response, Tsuru just smiled lightly and didn't say much. Only she knew that Moria was now not far from losing his Shichibukai status. The Marines would have removed it already if his power wasn't needed right now.
"Kuma, what's with you?" Gion turned back to look at him. "I've felt your gaze since just now."
"Just curious! You seem to be... stronger than the last time you competed with Hawkeye," Kuma replied, a searching light flashing in his eyes. "The rumored Ikki seems to be a very powerful sword instructor."
You know, the Revolutionary Army was also making efforts to contact Ikki. To some extent, Gion could be used as a reference for the extent of this effort.
Hearing Kuma mention Ikki, Gion had a smile on her lips and a slight blush on her face. Just when she wanted to answer him, Moria, who had been made even worse by Tsuru's words before, spoke up.
"Ikki? That rumored bounty and famous sword hunter?" Moria said angrily. "I heard that bastard took away my famous sword. Don't let me get my hands on him - if I do, I'll definitely take away his shadow!"
During the fight with Luffy and the others, Moria had also learned that Ikki had arrived on his Thriller Bark, defeated the zombie Ryuma, and taken away his sword.
Gion stopped, and the aura of a top swordsman suddenly burst out. Strong winds whipped up throughout the corridor, and the powerful wind waves formed sharp blades, cutting everything around them.
"What's wrong? Why are you going crazy?" Moria put his hands in front of his body and looked at Gion with a frown. He could clearly feel that the aura emanating from her was directed at him.
"Gion, please be careful," Tsuru said, holding her forehead with one hand and shaking her head with a sigh. By this time, she was really sure that Gion liked Ikki.
Gion smiled at Tsuru and nodded. The next moment, Monohoshizao on her waist suddenly unsheathed and swung out a powerful flying slash.
"Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains!"
The flying slash passed by Moria and then rushed into the sky with tremendous force. The thick cumulonimbus clouds that had originally gathered on the horizon of Marine Headquarters split into two instantly, as if the sky itself was divided.
Seeing this scene, a gleam flashed in Kuma's eyes. Even his face, which was somewhat paralyzed due to his modifications, was trembling slightly at this moment.
BOOM!
"You... what are you doing?!" Moria fell to the ground and looked at Gion in horror. At that moment, he had clearly felt great terror that could threaten his life.
"Nothing, just a little reminder," Gion said coldly. "If you take action against Ikki, you are my enemy."
She gave Moria a cold look, quickened her pace, and left the area.
Tsuru shook her head and said, "Right now, Marine Headquarters is spreading news that Gion and Ikki are in love. You should understand what I'm saying, Moria."
After saying that, Tsuru turned around and followed Gion's footsteps.
"A Marine Admiral candidate fell in love with a bounty hunter, and even threatened me? Kuma, did I hear wrong just now?" Moria opened his mouth wide and looked at Kuma in disbelief.
"You heard correctly, Moria," Kuma replied. "It seems Ikki's charm is quite fatal to female swordsmen. His strength is also quite outstanding."
He said this to both Moria and himself. The fact that Gion was able to advance further in swordsmanship in such a short time was definitely not just because of her talent. Ikki definitely played a big part in that.
'It looks like I need to ask Dragon and the others to speed up,' Kuma thought, taking a deep breath and continuing forward.
Seeing this, Moria, although he hadn't fully recovered yet, could only stand up and follow.
Meanwhile, on the other side
The waters near Marine Headquarters
On a Marine warship, Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky in the direction of Marine Headquarters.
"That's... a great swordsman's slash!" Hawkeye murmured with some surprise.
Although the distance was still far away, with his swordsmanship level he could naturally tell the extent of the slash that had just occurred.
"Is there a powerful swordsman at Marine Headquarters?" Mihawk turned his head and looked at Marine Vice Admiral Strawberry, who was responsible for picking him up.
"That... must be the slash from Vice Admiral Gion," Strawberry said, raising his head and glancing at the cut cumulonimbus clouds in the distance.
As a dual-sword user himself, Strawberry had a faint envy in his eyes when looking at Gion's achievement.
"Gion? Has she recovered?"
"Not only has she recovered, but she's become stronger. You'll understand when you see her."
"Really? It seems Ikki is indeed quite capable. I really hope to see him soon," Hawkeye said, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "But for now, I can meet the Marine Admiral candidate first!"
Back at Marine Headquarters
"I'll ignore the fact that Empress Hancock and the ghost girl who's suspected of being Moria's subordinate became Ikki's partners for now," Sengoku said into his Den Den Mushi. "I'll think about it carefully after the matter with Whitebeard is over. You go to the birthday party first, Onigumo."
After finishing the call, Sengoku hung up and raised his head to look at Gion and Tsuru as they walked into the conference room.
Just as he was about to say something, Moria's voice came from outside.
"Ghost girl? Ikki's partner?" Moria's voice boomed. "Sengoku, have you found my subordinate?"
Following the sound, Moria's tall body appeared at the door of the conference room.
"It's you, Moria. Since you're here, please take a seat first," Sengoku said calmly, pointing to one of the seats. "Regarding your previous defeat by the Straw Hat Pirates, there are some things we still need to know from you."
BANG!
"Hey, Sengoku, I'm asking you about my subordinate!" Moria slammed his hands heavily on the conference table. "Did Ikki capture my crew member?!"