Vice Admiral Tsuru

Gion froze when her attack missed, only then remembering that Gigue was a Logia. Physical attacks without Haki could not hurt him at all.

So she coated her sword in Armament Haki and thrust it toward Gigue's waist. For some reason, she seemed particularly obsessed with stabbing people there.

Thus, she made the same mistake Kizaru had made before: confusing Gigue's Kamui with ordinary elementalization.

Kompira, wrapped in Haki, still passed straight through Gigue's body without obstruction. Gion's small mouth fell open as she blurted out,

"How is this possible?! I clearly used Armament Haki!"

Gigue said nothing. He grabbed Gion's shoulder with one hand and drove his knee into her stomach.

She immediately used Armament Haki to defend herself, but her Haki was as fragile as paper before Gigue's attack and shattered instantly.

With her abdomen badly injured, Gion spat out a mouthful of blood. She staggered back several steps before finally dropping to one knee before Gigue.

The spectators' mouths twitched violently at the sight. Gigue really doesn't know how to go easy on women. When he fights, he's ruthless!

Gigue looked down at Gion and said flatly,

"What is with that look? Do you want to admit defeat?"

Embarrassment appeared on Gion's face. Just moments ago, she had looked down on Ginny with that same lofty attitude, utterly confident in her own strength.

Now their positions had been reversed. Her so-called confidence had been torn to pieces by Gigue, and the swordsmanship she had been so proud of could not even touch the corner of his clothes.

Gion finally understood why Tsuru had praised Gigue so highly. Judging by the strength Gigue had displayed, Tsuru might have been too conservative in her assessment.

She gave a bitter laugh. I was actually pleased with myself for defeating two students. Looking back, how laughable was my performance?

The gap between them was simply too great. No matter how unwilling Gion was to accept it, she had to admit that she had lost, utterly and completely.

Supporting herself with her sword, she rose from the ground. Gigue's stern face was reflected in her pink eyes.

Gion studied Gigue's face seriously, as though she wanted to engrave it firmly in her heart. Only when Gigue began to look impatient did she softly say,

"I lost."

Gigue raised an eyebrow. He had not expected Gion to surrender so easily, and it felt like throwing a punch into cotton.

With the anger he was feeling now, if Gion had stubbornly argued even one more word, his next strike would have knocked her unconscious on the spot. She would not be getting out of the hospital for at least ten days to half a month.

To keep himself from falling into that berserk state again, Gigue had spent six years cultivating his temperament in the Kingdom of Sorbet. His will had become incredibly resilient, and few things could make him lose control.

But when he saw Ginny injured, he had nearly failed to restrain himself and almost lost control of his emotions.

Only then did he truly realize how much Ginny meant to him.

Without him noticing, the girl who followed him around every day had become an inseparable part of his life. He would not allow anyone to hurt Ginny.

At that thought, thick black mist rose from Gigue's hand again. Gion's ponytail came loose and fluttered continuously toward him.

Her black high heels sank deeply into the soil. After barely steadying herself, she murmured,

"Still not willing to stop? So that girl isn't the only one with unrequited feelings... Why am I suddenly a little jealous of her...?"

Gigue expressionlessly raised his pitch-black right hand toward Gion. Just as he was about to exert force, a figure wearing a Marine's Greatcoat flashed forward and met his hand with her palm.

"Calm down, Gigue!"

The newcomer was tall and slender, with long dark-blue hair tied in a ponytail like Gion's. She carried herself with remarkable competence, though her face looked somewhat aged.

She was Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters. Thanks to Momonga's "tip-off," she had managed to arrive in time.

Of course, Momonga was only a student, so he did not have the authority to call Tsuru directly. He had contacted Zephyr first.

What surprised Momonga was that Zephyr was still aboard the warship returning to Headquarters. However, he had no time to ask about that and immediately told him what had happened to Gion.

"Teacher Zephyr, please come back quickly! No one here can stop Gigue!"

After hearing this, Zephyr immediately informed Tsuru at Headquarters. Tsuru was startled as well, promptly put aside what she was doing, and rushed straight to the Marine Academy.

The moment she arrived, she saw Gigue reaching toward Gion, already using his ability.

Tsuru had long heard of the Dark-Dark Fruit's power. According to the information Zephyr had sent back, the pirates Gigue had killed during this voyage had not even left behind corpses. His methods were even cleaner than Akainu's!

Though she knew Gigue would most likely not kill Gion, she did not dare gamble on it.

This was not an ordinary palm strike, either. It contained the power of the Wash-Wash Fruit. She wanted to "wash away" Gigue's anger.

But Tsuru was clearly too anxious. She had forgotten that a Devil Fruit ability requiring close contact was completely useless against Gigue, the Dark-Dark Fruit Ability User!

By the time Tsuru realized this, it was too late. The black mist around Gigue's hand not only did not disperse, but grew even more violent. At such close range, her hand had become firmly stuck to Gigue's, making it difficult for her to pull away.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, Miss Gion wanted to see my strength. There is no need for you to get involved, is there?"

"Gion has already admitted defeat. Once I find out what happened, I will give you an explanation."

The students watching were instantly dumbfounded when they heard Tsuru's words.

Good grief, that was Vice Admiral Tsuru! She was actually saying she would give an explanation to Gigue, a student? Were their ears broken?

Tsuru's eyes flickered. Armament Haki instantly covered her entire arm, erupting with a powerful repulsive force that forced Gigue back.

She was, after all, one of the older generation of Marines. Even without using her Devil Fruit ability, her ability to project Armament Haki alone was not something an ordinary Marine vice admiral could compare to.

After breaking free from Gigue's grasp, Tsuru swept Gion behind her into her arms and carefully checked her injuries. Only after confirming that Gion was not seriously hurt did she breathe a slight sigh of relief and chide her,

"Honestly, Gion. You caused such a huge mess the moment you arrived. Don't you always say you don't like staying at Headquarters?"

Before Tsuru, Gion looked like a little girl who had made a mistake. Lowering her head, she mumbled,

"Didn't I keep hearing Sister Tsuru talk about how amazing this class of students was, and how there was even a genius named Gigue? I just couldn't resist being curious, so I came to see for myself..."