Clash

Seeing Gion blocking the way, Tokikake's face lit up with excitement. "Gion, did you come looking for me? I'm so sorry..."

However, Gion's eyes were fixed tightly on Doflamingo. When she heard Tokikake's words, an impatient expression appeared on her face.

"Sorry, please move aside. I came to see Senior Steve."

Crack! Tokikake turned gray and petrified into stone. A cold breeze passed by, and he shattered into pieces.

But Doflamingo was not the bootlicker Tokikake was now. One look at the fighting spirit in Gion's eyes was enough for him to understand why she had come for him.

Clearly, this beautiful girl had not sought him out because Doflamingo was handsome. She simply wanted to challenge him.

Doflamingo was naturally delighted by this. Before, he had only Tokikake as a reluctant training partner. Now, he had Gion as well—and she was a swordsman just like him. Of course, he welcomed it.

The only unhappy one was probably Tokikake.

"G-Gion... Miss Gion, ah, why? Why are you abandoning me?"

Gion showed an awkward yet polite smile. "Sorry. I only trained with you before because the two of us were the only ones in the training camp with similar strength. It wasn't because I had any feelings for you. If that caused you any misunderstanding, I apologize."

Although it sounded like a particularly scheming thing to say, Gion insisted that it was absolutely from the bottom of her heart. Heaven knew why this self-absorbed guy had misunderstood her all this time just because she always kept a cold face.

The Tokikake had sunk and could not rise again.

But Doflamingo firmly believed that this was only temporary. After all, he was a man capable of making a hundred confessions. This little setback was nothing to him.

So for now, he should go with Miss Gion and engage in an activity they were both very interested in!

"Come on, let's go to the Training Grounds!"

Doflamingo flicked the Justice Coat behind him, tightened his grip on Chidori, and spoke to Gion.

Gion's eyes brightened. Doflamingo's straightforward manner suited her tastes perfectly. Especially after seeing Chidori in his hand and realizing that he, too, was an expert swordsman, she became even more excited.

As for Tokikake, sprawled on the ground in an OZR pose, Gion did not even spare him a glance. She had already explained herself. Whether Tokikake could get over it was his own business.

At the Training Grounds, Doflamingo slowly drew Chidori. Pitch-black Haki coiled around its blade.

The sword in Gion's hand did not seem to be the Konpira she would wield in the future, but it was clearly no ordinary standard-issue weapon. Judging from the cold gleam flashing along its edge, it was at least a Grade Sword.

The two exchanged a look. Then, they pushed off the ground at the same time, and their figures vanished in an instant.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Sparks flashed through the air one after another. The two became white and pink blurs, leaping continuously through the Training Grounds. Only in the instant their weapons met could their figures be seen.

After exchanging blows, Doflamingo quickly discovered that Gion was a swordsman with a style similar to his own.

Both of them placed greater emphasis on agility and speed in swordsmanship, while being somewhat weaker in terms of raw strength.

This was easy enough to understand. Although the One Piece World valued overwhelming strength above all else, Doflamingo was only fifteen years old. Compared to those established powerhouses, there was no way he could surpass them in strength. Thus, he could only put more effort into flexibility and technique to overtake them on the curve.

As for Gion, being a woman put her at a slight disadvantage in strength compared to men. Moreover, she was only one year older than Doflamingo, so she had also chosen a speed-focused style of swordsmanship.

After all, there was only one monstrous woman like Charlotte Linlin in the entire world. Gion obviously did not possess such freakish physical gifts.

The more they fought, the more excited they became. In terms of physical ability, without using his Devil Fruit ability, Doflamingo was roughly equal to Gion. Their mastery of Armament Haki was also evenly matched. Gion held a slight advantage in speed, while Doflamingo surpassed her in Observation Haki.

Their battle was a perfect match between evenly matched opponents, and neither could gain the upper hand.

Doflamingo even had a thought. If I cut down Gion and absorb her soul, my swordsmanship might break through its bottleneck on the spot and become that of a true Great Swordsman.

Of course, the thought only flashed through his mind. He had not become that deranged yet.

The sun gradually sank westward. The two had been fighting for over three hours, and by now, both had suffered a considerable drop in stamina. Their bodies were covered in blood, and their clothes were in tatters.

That was simply how swordmasters fought. Both were the type with strong offense and weak defense, and their strength was extremely close. Getting injured was perfectly normal.

Doflamingo casually took off his shirt, revealing the sharply defined muscles of his upper body. Crisscrossing, bloodied sword wounds covered him everywhere.

Gion's injuries were no less severe. As a woman, she could not bare her upper body as boldly as Doflamingo, but her top had been cut nearly into strips of cloth and offered very little cover.

Yet Gion showed no trace of shyness. All of her attention was focused on Chidori, which Doflamingo held pointed directly at her.

Doflamingo's gaze did not linger for even a moment on Gion's barely concealed body. Instead, he concentrated his entire spirit on Chidori in his hand.

Waves of condensed killing intent made Gion's body tremble faintly. She could sense that Doflamingo's next move would far exceed her expectations.

Yet Gion's eyes were filled with excitement. Her obsession with swordsmanship kept her from doing anything to interrupt Doflamingo as he gathered momentum.

Their hours of combat made Doflamingo feel as though his understanding of swordsmanship was on the verge of bursting forth. As if guided by some unseen force, he assumed a stance with his sword point aimed directly at his opponent.

In the Pirate World, swords and sabers were not clearly distinguished. So-called swordsmanship actually referred more often to Japanese blades. Most attacks were slashes and chops, while thrusts were extremely rare.

Fortunately, Chidori had a straight blade, not much different from a Tang horizontal saber. Aside from being sharpened on only one side, it had no curve at all. That was why his thrusting stance did not look even stranger.

The invisible pressure grew stronger and stronger. Very soon, Gion sensed that something was wrong. If at first she had wanted to see Doflamingo's sword technique and had therefore been unwilling to interrupt his buildup, now she vaguely felt that if she did not act, she might even lose the chance to make a move.