Vice Admiral Tsuru

The attack missed, and Gion froze for a moment before remembering that Gigue was a Logia type. Physical attacks without Haki couldn't harm him at all.

So, she wrapped her Armament Haki around her sword and thrust it towards Gigue's waist. It was unclear if she had a fixation on kidneys, but she always aimed for that spot.

In doing so, she made the same mistake Kizaru had made: confusing Gigue's Kamui with ordinary elementalization.

The Konpira, still wrapped in Haki, passed through Gigue's body without resistance. Gion's small mouth parted, and she blurted out, "How is this possible?! I clearly used Armament Haki!"

Gigue remained silent. He grabbed Gion's shoulder with one hand and delivered a knee strike directly to her stomach.

She immediately used Armament Haki to defend herself, but her Haki was as brittle as paper against Gigue's attack, shattering instantly.

Her abdomen was severely injured, and Gion let out a scream, spitting out a mouthful of blood. She staggered back a few steps, trembling, and finally knelt before Gigue on one leg.

Seeing this, the onlookers on the scene twitched their mouths violently, thinking that Gigue showed no mercy and was truly ruthless in his fighting!

Gigue looked down at Gion and said indifferently, "What's with that look? Do you want to surrender?"

A look of embarrassment appeared on Gion's face. Just moments ago, she had faced Ginny with the same condescending attitude, fueled by absolute confidence in her own strength.

Now, the roles had reversed. Her so-called confidence had been utterly torn to shreds by Gigue, and her proud swordsmanship couldn't even touch the hem of Gigue's clothes.

Gion finally understood why Tsuru had praised Gigue so highly. Based on the strength Gigue had displayed, Tsuru might have even been too conservative.

She gave a bitter laugh, thinking how ridiculous her earlier self had been, feeling smug after defeating two trainees.

The gap was simply too immense. No matter how unwilling Gion was, she had to admit that she had lost, completely and utterly.

She placed her hands on her sword and stood up from the ground, her peach-colored pupils reflecting Gigue's stern face.

Gion seriously studied Gigue's face, as if wanting to engrave it into her memory. Only when Gigue showed a hint of impatience did she softly say, "I lost."

Gigue raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Gion to surrender so easily, and it felt like punching cotton.

With his current temper, if Gion had argued back even a little, his next strike would have knocked her unconscious on the spot, leaving her hospitalized for at least ten days to half a month.

To avoid falling into that berserk state again, Gigue had spent six years cultivating himself in the Kingdom of Sorbet, tempering his state of mind to be incredibly resilient, making it difficult for anything to break through his defenses.

But when he saw the injured Ginny, he had almost lost control, nearly having an emotional breakdown.

It was then that he truly realized how much Ginny meant to him.

Without him even noticing, the girl who was always by his side had become an inseparable part of his life. He would not allow anyone to harm Ginny.

With that thought, dark energy surged from Gigue's hand again. Gion's ponytail came undone and fluttered towards Gigue.

She dug her black high heels deep into the mud, stabilizing herself temporarily, and murmured, "You still don't want to stop? It seems that girl wasn't the only one with feelings for you... Why do I suddenly feel a bit envious of her?"

Gigue's expressionless face lifted his pitch-black right hand towards Gion. Just as he was about to exert force, a figure clad in a Marine's Greatcoat flashed by, blocking his palm with his own.

"Calm down, Gigue!"

The newcomer was tall, with long, dark blue hair tied in a ponytail like Gion's. Her demeanor was sharp and capable, though her face appeared slightly aged.

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

Of course, Momonga, just a trainee, didn't have the authority to call Tsuru directly. He had first called Zephyr.

To Momonga's surprise, Zephyr was still on the warship returning to Headquarters. However, he didn't have time to ask about that and immediately reported Gion's situation.

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

Zephyr, upon hearing this, didn't hesitate. He directly relayed the message to Tsuru at Headquarters. Tsuru was startled and immediately put down what she was doing, rushing to the Marine Academy.

As soon as she arrived, she saw Gigue reaching for Gion, already using his ability.

Tsuru had already heard about the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit. According to the information Zephyr had relayed, the pirates who had died at Gigue's hands during this voyage hadn't even left behind corpses; his methods were cleaner than Akainu's!

Although she knew Gigue likely wouldn't kill, she couldn't take the chance.

This wasn't a simple palm strike. It contained the power of the Wash-Wash Fruit; she intended to "wash away" Gigue's anger.

However, Tsuru was clearly too hasty. She forgot that Devil Fruit abilities requiring close-quarters combat were completely useless against Gigue, an Ability User of the Dark-Dark Fruit!

By the time Tsuru realized this, it was too late. The dark energy on Gigue's hand not only failed to dissipate but grew more ferocious. At such close range, her hand was already firmly stuck to Gigue's, making it impossible to pull away.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, this Miss Gion wanted to see my strength. You don't need to get involved, do you?"

"Gion has already surrendered. I'll give you an explanation later after I've asked her clearly."

Hearing Tsuru's words, the trainees on the scene were stunned.

Good heavens, that was Vice Admiral Tsuru! She was saying she would give an explanation to a trainee like Gigue? Was she hearing things wrong?

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

After all, she was an old-generation Marine. Even without her Devil Fruit ability, her Haki emission alone was something ordinary Vice Admirals couldn't contend with.

After breaking free from Gigue's grip, Tsuru pulled Gion, who was behind her, to her waist. She carefully checked Gion's injuries and, confirming she was unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but scold her, "Gion, honestly! You've caused such a huge mess as soon as you arrived. Don't you always say you don't like staying at Headquarters?"

Gion acted like a little girl who had made a mistake in front of Tsuru. She lowered her head and mumbled, "I've always heard Sister Tsuru talk about how amazing the trainees in this batch are, and about a genius named Gigue. I couldn't resist my curiosity and wanted to come see for myself..."