Tyrant Kuma

"Uh..."

Gawain looked ahead with an amused expression. There, a gigantic octopus over two hundred meters tall was sprawled out, its tentacles tangled around countless wrecked ships.

What a "gentle" warning sea beast!

Gawain was immensely glad that he did not suffer from thalassophobia or megalophobia.

Viewed without fear, this sea beast was unexpectedly somewhat... adorable.

Beside him, after glancing over the Kraken's condition, Gion smiled and said reassuringly.

"This fellow seems to be in a good mood. It looks like the undersea volcano will not erupt anytime soon."

As Gion spoke, she waved toward the bow. Immediately, Gawain's ship began to accelerate.

Standing beside Gawain, Gion also felt somewhat nostalgic for the scenery of the Ryugu Kingdom. It was a rare sight on land.

Perhaps nostalgia was at work, because Gion became much more talkative. Her right hand rested on the edge of the deck as she gazed into the distance and said,

"We'll see the Ryugu Kingdom in just a little while. The Marines really haven't come here much these past few years.

"Originally, we wanted to compete with Whitebeard for the right to protect the Ryugu Kingdom. But after the Five Elders chose Jinbe as a Shichibukai, Jinbe had the Ryugu Kingdom completely raise Whitebeard's flag.

"Since then, we've hardly paid any attention to matters concerning the Ryugu Kingdom... Hmm?"

As she spoke, Gion suddenly paused. Noticing something strange about her, Gawain turned to look at her.

At that moment, Gawain's ship was changing course, intending to slip past the Kraken.

Based on past experience, as long as a ship had not been shattered by an undersea waterfall, the Kraken would not attack proactively.

But when Gawain turned his head, he immediately saw the Kraken moving its enormous tentacles. One tentacle swung down toward Gawain's ship, already inches away from the bubble coating the vessel!

"Strange!"

Gion frowned and lightly stomped the ground. With a loud boom, she shot directly out of the coated bubble.

She did not use Coating either, instead diving straight into the seawater thousands of meters deep and rapidly bounding through the water.

In only a moment, Gion stood directly in the path of the enormous swinging tentacle.

Facing the tentacle, Gion gripped the hilt with her left hand and drew Kompira.

Swoosh!

Surging sword energy burst forth, and a massive wave suddenly rose beneath the sea. After that wave, wrapped in blade light, swept past, more than three of the Kraken's six-meter-thick tentacles were severed outright.

But it was not over yet. Gion swiftly sheathed her sword and continued racing across the water.

Creating countless shockwaves, Gion stepped onto one of the Kraken's severed tentacles in the blink of an eye and charged toward its body.

In three seconds, Gion crossed over five hundred meters. She sensed the positions of herself and the Kraken, then drew her blade again with her left hand.

Left-handed sword, Ittoryu Arashi!

Gion's blade light found its mark precisely, slicing the Kraken's tentacles to pieces!

Before the waves kicked up by the blade light had faded, Gion continued her charge. She clenched her right fist as Armament Haki continuously gathered over her entire right arm.

The next instant.

BOOM!!!

Gion's right fist smashed straight into the Kraken's massive head. The Kraken's eyes bulged as the whole octopus was sent spinning like it was performing the Dance of the Little Swans!

As it spun, the Kraken dizzily passed out. Only after confirming that it had lost its ability to fight did Gion nod in satisfaction.

Stepping on the water, Gion returned like a torpedo. Around seven or eight seconds later, she drilled back into the ship's bubble and stood beside Gawain again.

"How strange!"

She frowned as she spoke to Gawain.

"As far as I know, I've never heard of the Kraken attacking on its own initiative.

"But it's nothing serious. Though it's gotten fiercer, its strength is still as gentle as ever."

With that, Gion brushed her right hand over the top of her head, smoothing her dripping wet hair back behind her.

Droplets scattered everywhere, and quite a few landed on Gawain, but he was not displeased in the slightest.

On the contrary, even as he tried his best to restrain himself, his gaze toward Gion was filled with starlight!

A sea beast two hundred meters tall—Gion had dealt with its attack with one slash, then used another to confiscate its tools of the trade.

Then, with just one punch, she had sent this giant sea beast, no different from a small mountain, spinning countless times!

Before he had transmigrated, Gawain had only seen the things Oda drew in manga. Figures like Wadatsumi, who stood over eighty meters tall, had merely left him with a vague impression.

But in reality, over eighty meters tall?

In other words, how tall was Ultraman?

The Kraken before him was far larger than Wadatsumi. Yet this mountain-like beast had been punched by a powerhouse like Gion into spinning like a top!

That visual impact was something no IMAX or VR experience could compare to!!!

In that brief moment, even the pain in Gawain's body disappeared. He completely forgot the hardship and exhaustion of the devil training over the past three days.

Watching Gion's valiant figure as she casually tidied the water stains on her clothes.

Gawain had only one thought!

He had to possess that kind of strength too!!!

Power, status, fame?

He had to admit that power and status did have their own unique appeal.

But for a man.

A fist capable of knocking over a mountain was the ultimate romance!

Beside him, Gion noticed Gawain's expression and smiled faintly.

"What is my lord thinking? Does my drenched appearance seem improper?"

"No!"

Excitement was rare in Gawain's voice.

"I was thinking about how long it will take for me to possess strength like yours!"

"So even a Celestial Dragon like you longs for the fists and blades of a rough woman like me?"

Gion was surprised for a moment. Then she shook her head, and her long black hair fluttered through the water.

After shaking the water from her hair, Gion continued with a smile.

"Though you've trained for only three days, I've already gained some understanding of your physique. You are still weak for now, but don't rush.

"There is nothing wrong with your body. Your talent is even far superior to that of ordinary people.

"As long as you maintain your current resolve, you should undergo a tremendous transformation in around three months!

"As for raising your strength to my level, I cannot say how long that will take. Until the end, I cannot guess just how much help your Conqueror's Haki will bring to your progress.

"But I am certain that, after one year, you will at least reach the level of an outstanding field-grade officer. In two years, you may have a chance to challenge the threshold of rear admiral-level strength.

"As for three or four years, I cannot speak that far ahead. But as long as you persist with high-intensity training, you will at least reach mastery of the Rokushiki.

"At that level, you will have barely stepped across the threshold of vice admiral rank."

"But the threshold of vice admiral is nowhere near enough!"

After hearing Gion's assessment, Gawain took a deep breath and asked seriously,

"Gion, if I want to become stronger in a shorter time, do you have any good suggestions?"

"Of course. Devil Fruits. Eat a Devil Fruit with an exceptional ability—"

"Wait!"

Gawain raised a hand and interrupted Gion.

"Until my strength can no longer improve at all, I will not consider Devil Fruits.

"What I want to ask is, through training alone, is there any way to maximize the efficiency of my growth?"

"Uh..."

Gion was truly somewhat helpless after Gawain asked that. She cleared her throat, wanting to say that there were no shortcuts to becoming strong.

But as the words reached her lips, Gion suddenly remembered something.

After thinking for a moment, she said hesitantly,

"My lord, I suddenly remembered that there really is a way to greatly improve your training efficiency!"

As soon as she said that, Gion's eyes grew brighter. She continued,

"I only just thought of it. Didn't you want to use the Shichibukai as a breakthrough point for changing the state of the seas? And among the current Shichibukai, there really is someone who can help you!"

Hearing that, Gawain immediately understood, and Gion continued, confirming his guess.

"Bartholomew Kuma, the Paw-Paw Fruit user. He has developed the Paw-Paw Fruit's abilities to an astonishing level!

"If he follows at your side, then after devil training, you can have him directly repel all your fatigue. You would not need to rest at all and could maintain extremely high-intensity training without stopping!

"In that case, one year of your training might equal five or even ten years for someone else.

"Other than Devil Fruits, there truly are no shortcuts to improving one's strength.

"Even Tyrant Kuma would not be a shortcut. He would merely save you countless amounts of time!"