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"Liked my Tabasco Star!" Usopp yelled, shrinking down Gin and whipping out an enormous bazooka, of all things. "Well, you will like this! My ace in the hole!" he shouted, taking aim at the raging Vice Admiral. Usopp pulled the trigger, unleashing a massive ball of fiery destruction.
Due to the effect of the hot spice blend Onigumo was a bit distracted. And distraction was the enemy of haki users. Meaning when Onigumo saw the attack coming, it was too late.
The air seemed to shudder as the enormous volley of blue flames launched forth. It sailed true, impacting Onigumo head-on before he could react.
Scorching waves of heat rolled out as flames hotter than the sun consumed all in their path. The fireball swelled larger than a giant, almost taking the shape of a foot. Onigumo's anguished screams echoed within the roiling firestorm.
The ravenous blue flames devoured everything, concrete and steel vaporizing instantly. The raging firestorm tore through the Tower of Justice with the force of a volcanic eruption, leaving absolute destruction in its wake.
"Agh! That's hot!" Usopp hissed throwing away the bazooka, "I told that smith, it was only a one-time use…" he said blowing his burned hand, and shoulder.
Gin was wide eyed looking back and forth between the destruction and Usopp. He had that kind of monstrosity in your bag of tricks? But he didn't question it, he gave a weak thumbs up instead, "Good Job…"
Usopp cracked a smile, and also returned him to his original size. That was made using a custom flame dial that was merged with an impact dial, with Anchor's powers. It took a lot of trial and error, before Usopp managed to make it work. But it seemed it could still be only used once.
That last attack was from a Ifrit Jambe kick, from Sanji. Flames that were as hot as Ace's. Few could survive that kind of attack, and hopefully that was enough.
For a few seconds, Usopp and Gin looked on, seeing nothing but scorched ash, that blew in the wind. An unsettling silence.
"Is it over?"
"I don't know…"
Right then, Gin's enhanced ears twitched as he quickly snapped his neck at the spot. "You got to be kidding me…"
Usopp's eyes also narrowed down as he saw what it was, making him bite his lips.
Right at the end of the end of the destruction, there was a man. A burned man, charred black, was running in to attack the pirates.
"H-he's still alive?" Usopp asked dumbly.
"And he called me a cockroach," Gin grunted standing up with much difficulty, he held Usopp's shoulder and said, "We almost got him… the bastard is on his last leg. We will win this!" It was true, even Usopp could feel that Onigumo wouldn't be able to fight for long. He was in desperation, so there was a chance of winning.
Usopp's observation haki also gave him a rough estimation of where Franky and Groot were. They were near the other members of the crew, so if need be he wouldn't hesitate to using much more destructive force.
Gin charged in. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he had no reason to not use his weapons.
Gin let loose a primal war cry, all restraint abandoned. From his pocket he withdrew two massive weighted tonfa, enlarged from their shrunken state. The spiked weapons were an extension of his body, crafted specifically for his ancient zoan strength. Being strong enough to withstand even haki-clad blades. And of course, the spikes were laced with sea stones to be effective against devil fruit users.
The very air rippled as the weighed tonfas clashed with Onigumo's blades. Each thunderous impact shook the island, fracturing stone and kicking up swirling dust. Gin swung his mighty weapons in a whirlwind, smashing through Onigumo's guard. Only the Vice Admiral's honed reflexes and haki saved him from being pulverized.
The two titans struggled for dominance, exchanging blows at blistering speed. Their forms blurred, mere smears of motion to the naked eye. Shockwaves from their clashes buffeted the landscape, uprooting trees and overturning structures. Usopp wasn't standing around either, throwing in shots every now and then to cover Gin's advance.
But it soon became clear who had the upper hand. And it was not the Straw Hats.
Gin landed a crushing blow, almost cracking Onigumo's sword and driving him to one knee. But the Vice Admiral was far from finished. As Gin pressed the attack, Onigumo exploded into motion. His blades wove a web of steely death, seeking out the infinitesimal gaps in Gin's defenses.
Blood erupted as Onigumo's sword found flesh. Gin staggered back, a network of lacerations marring his body. Onigumo drove his advantage, raining precise blows from all angles. Gin struggled to defend against the onslaught, his earlier bravado fading.
"Gin! Fall back!"
"Like I would let you!" Onigumo charged, not letting Gin off the hook. Even when Usopp threw in a few trick shots, the Vice Admiral now was out for blood. Ignoring everything but his target.
Tide had turned against Gin. Onigumo was simply too swift, too skilled for Gin to overpower directly. The Vice Admiral was slowly boxing him in, dominating with surgical sword strikes. Gin knew he had to change tactics, or this would be his end.
"I won't let you get the upper hand!" Gin said, managing to hit the Vice Admiral with his tail, but it was Onigumo's plan all along.
The moment the tail hit Onigumo, he webbed it down to Gin's leg, throwing off his balance. Seeing an opening, Onigumo stabbed forward, plunging four swords into Gin through. Two at the chest, and two at his torso.
"Gah!" Gin coughed blood, his eyes almost turning white due to all the pain.
"You are dead, now! Boy!" Onigumo said using the four remaining swords to spin and slice through the ancient zoan.
But Usopp didn't let that happen.
"Gin!"
At the last second, a lead ball shot out, knocking the sword aside, and giving Gin a chance to take a step back. Onigumo momentarily glanced toward Usopp's hiding spot in annoyance as Gin seized the chance to counterattack. The pirate spun rapidly, his spiked tail whipping toward Onigumo.
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