One-Blade Style: Birao Ranbu

"Wait! Deal with my matters?"

Yaen was slightly startled, and just as he was about to ask and object.

"Wait a moment, Old Man..."

Unfortunately, before Yaen could finish, Sengoku, as if retaliating, grabbed Yaen by the back of his neck and flung him towards the center of the training ground.

In an instant, under Sengoku's almost irresistible strength, Yaen was thrown into the air like a parabola.

"Damn Old Man!"

Yaen couldn't help but curse, and then, to avoid landing face-first, Yaen stomped his feet fiercely into the void.

With two "thuds," the somewhat forced Six Powers: Moon Walk was used, allowing Yaen to adjust his posture in mid-air and land smoothly.

"Old Man, what do you want to do?!" Yaen, who had just landed, felt a sense of foreboding and asked.

"Don't you want a woman stronger than you as a partner? I'm naturally fulfilling your wish," Sengoku replied.

??

Yaen's eyes widened. Was Sengoku trying to set up a blind date for him at just sixteen years old?

The next moment, Yaen's Observation Haki suddenly sensed something, and his body instinctively turned to the side.

"Whoosh!"

In the next instant, a golden Flying Slash swept past Yaen, leaving a deep trace on the ground.

Yaen turned his head to look at the source of the Flying Slash, and it was the young girl who had been standing quietly beside Vice Admiral Tsuru.

Facing Yaen's gaze, the tall girl wearing a pink top and a "Justice" cape, holding a golden longsword in one hand, walked towards Yaen and said.

"Marine Captain, Gion. Please guide me."

Gion?!

The future Marine Admiral candidate "Momousagi" Gion?

Yaen was stunned at first, then quickly realized why he had felt a sense of familiarity when looking at Gion earlier.

However, the current Gion was very different from the beautiful, long-legged mature older sister type with traditional Japanese hairstyle he knew in the future.

Well... except her legs were still as shapely and long.

The current Gion had long, straight black hair, looking more like a girl next door with big eyes.

However, Gion's expression at the moment was calm yet tinged with a hint of indignation, as if she was very dissatisfied with Yaen.

"Wait, Captain Gion, don't attack yet. Let's talk properly."

Yaen waved his hands repeatedly, hoping to exchange for a peaceful conversation with Gion, rather than this crude drawing of swords.

"There's nothing to talk about. Admiral Sengoku's proposal to Sister Tsuru was for you and me to have a match. If you lose, you'll marry me and join the Navy," Gion said.

"Then what if I win?" Yaen asked subconsciously.

As soon as these words were spoken, Gion's expression became even more displeased.

Sengoku, watching from afar with an amused expression, secretly chuckled before raising his voice.

"Brat, if you can even defeat Captain Gion, the 'new star' of this generation of the Navy, it'll be enough to prove you have the ability to protect yourself, and you'll naturally have to join the Navy obediently."

"You damn old man, I object to this unfair fight! I don't accept it!" Yaen shouted.

"Sorry, your objection is invalid."

As Sengoku's words fell, Gion stomped her shapely, slender legs, instantly appearing before Yaen. Her golden longsword, emitting a chilling glint, slashed down towards him.

Such skilled Six Powers - Soru!

Yaen's heart leaped. He activated his Observation Haki, judging the trajectory of Gion's famous sword, "Konpira," and narrowly dodged to the rear-left.

Yaen's hair stood on end, and he shouted somewhat embarrassedly, "Hey, hey, hey, you're not trying to defeat me at all, you're trying to kill me outright, aren't you?"

In response, Gion gave Yaen a cold and beautiful smile, and "Konpira" continued to pursue him.

Every slash aimed for a vital spot, some even directly at Yaen's particularly crucial areas.

"Don't be like this, I'm also a victim."

Yaen dodged each attack in a most disheveled manner, his body leaping back and forth across the training ground as he hastily explained.

Strangely, although Gion's attacks were like a storm, and the famous sword "Konpira" danced faster and faster, as if it could disembowel Yaen at any moment, he always narrowly avoided it with extreme maneuvers.

For a time, Yaen was like a black butterfly dancing on the tip of a blade.

And Gion was like a pink rabbit, constantly trying to catch this black butterfly.

At the edge of the training ground, Vice Admiral Tsuru couldn't help but comment.

"Sengoku, he truly is as you said. His flaws are obvious, but he can be considered an excellent child."

Sengoku watched the battle in the training ground intently, ready to intervene at any moment, yet he spoke with feigned ease.

"Yes, his physique is the brat's shortcoming. Consequently, his Armament Haki and Six Powers are only mastered superficially, making it difficult to advance further. However, his accomplishment in Observation Haki is already on par with, or even surpasses, that of an average Vice Admiral."

"Then why don't you let this child specialize in firearms? With his excellent Observation Haki, he could perform long-range sniping. Even with his physical weakness, it wouldn't affect his combat power at all. Instead, it would maximize his strengths," Vice Admiral Tsuru asked, puzzled.

"This brat refused, his reason being 'rather than fumbling with a gun alone for a lifetime, I'd rather fence,' which is a bit strange, but I can only let him be," Sengoku said helplessly.

Vice Admiral Tsuru didn't quite understand, and could only assume it was Yaen's hobby.

After being dodged by Yaen over a hundred times, Gion's gaze grew sharper.

The next moment, Yaen's eyes, hidden beneath his glasses, narrowed slightly, as he perceived something through Observation Haki.

"One Sword Style: Birao Ranbu!"

Instantly, a large number of chaotic Flying Slashes erupted centered on Gion, almost immediately engulfing a wide area, including Yaen, completely.

"Rumble..."

A cloud of smoke rose.

"Amazing Observation Haki, Yaen." Gion said, standing with her sword, her aura sharp.

"Thank you for the compliment."

As Yaen's voice rang out from within the smoke, a sea breeze blew, revealing Yaen's figure once more.

At this moment, centered on Yaen, the ground around him was covered in a dense mass of sword marks, their density awe-inspiring.

Gion tilted her head slightly, scanning Yaen's condition, and said, "You're the first person to be covered by this move, yet choose a method other than brute force to deal with it, and... emerge unscathed."

"Sorry, my condition doesn't allow me to use Six Powers: Tekkai to forcefully withstand someone's attack, and besides..."

Yaen raised his hand, revealing his somewhat tattered sleeve, and said.

"I'm not unscathed. My clothes are torn, and I almost had my arm severed."