"This is really a tough opponent!"
Luo fought Gula with an exhausted body. His opponent had a wealth of combat experience and was highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Not only that, he had probably mastered Observation Haki, too, and could always evade Luo's attacks.
Meanwhile, Nia quickly shook off the emotions stirred by her long-awaited reunion with her younger brother. Her yellow, slit-pupiled eyes narrowed slightly as she watched his every move.
"You haven't spent the past few years doing nothing but playing around, have you?"
Neo suddenly vanished from Nia's sight. The next instant, he appeared behind her and kicked at her shoulder.
Nia barely dodged Neo's attack, then stumbled through a roll across the ground.
"You haven't improved at all!"
Neo didn't press his advantage. Instead, he waited for Nia to get back to her feet before speaking softly.
"Judging by your course, you're planning to head to the Grand Line. With your strength, you won't be able to survive on those seas."
"And you've even gotten yourselves mixed up with Doflamingo. I can't imagine what you were thinking. Even ignorance has its limits."
"Hmph! You've improved quite a bit in the years since I last saw you, Neo!"
Nia glared at her younger brother, feeling more than a little annoyed.
Annoyed with herself.
When she'd explained the family situation to Rod earlier, she'd described her younger brother as a true genius. But before she'd run away from home, she'd always been stronger than him.
Yet after their brief exchange just now, she'd discovered, to her dismay, that she really wasn't Neo's match anymore.
What have I been doing all these years!?
She'd talked about breaking free from her family's control, but she'd forgotten that only sufficient strength could guarantee her freedom.
"You should come home with us. If you're worried about the king, there's no need. Dawson Bourbon is dead, and Dawson Flynn is the new king."
"Dead?"
Nia blinked at Neo's words.
The king who'd once put her under immense pressure and driven her to flee was dead?
"He was an old geezer, though I was always calling him that. He was only forty, wasn't he? I'd never heard that he was seriously ill. How did he die so suddenly?"
"Who knows?"
Neo's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"So you should come back with us."
"The one who came with us this time is Vice Admiral Onigumo of Marine Headquarters. He's a hardliner, and I doubt a single pirate on this island will escape.
You defeated a Marine Headquarters rear admiral at Spiders Mill, but Vice Admiral Onigumo is nothing like them. Even among all the vice admirals at Marine Headquarters, he's one of the very strongest."
"To be frank, I don't think you have any chance of escaping."
"Looks like I'll have to finish you off quickly!"
Neo's words made Nia's expression shift. She leaned forward slightly, the corners of her mouth lifting to reveal sharp teeth, as a pair of black cat ears emerged from the top of her head.
"If Rod finishes off Vice Admiral Onigumo while I'm still fighting, he'll probably make fun of me."
"A Devil Fruit?"
Seeing the changes to Nia, Neo seemed to understand.
"So this is what you're relying on? But a Devil Fruit alone can't erase the gap in strength between us."
"You've gotten pretty good with words since I last saw you."
Nia suddenly appeared in front of Neo, her right hand curled into a claw as she swiped at him with a sharp, powerful strike.
"Is that Soru? Looks like you've learned a few things."
Neo immediately recognized the technique Nia was using.
"But you're still too green!"
He leaned back to dodge Nia's attack, then followed up with a kick that struck her in the chest and sent her flying into the air.
"Soru!"
The next instant, Neo appeared beside Nia in midair.
"The Marine Six Powers are secret Marine techniques. They're physical skills that surpass the limits of the human body.
"Of the six, Soru can be considered a basic technique. To use it well, you need not only a body stronger than an ordinary person's, but also precise control over your own strength."
"Once you've mastered Soru, learning Geppo comes naturally."
Suspended in midair, Neo stepped forward, but didn't fall. A series of "thump, thump, thump" sounds rang out, as if he were stepping on invisible air, and he remained aloft.
After being kicked into the air, Nia twisted her body around, still trying to rake Neo with her claws. But he used Geppo to retreat a step and easily evaded her attack, leaving her with no choice but to fall to the ground.
Nia looked up at Neo, who was stepping on the air, and frowned slightly.
"Once you've mastered both Soru and Geppo, learning Rankyaku comes naturally, too."
Neo continued stepping through the air as he looked down at Nia. His voice carried clearly to her ears.
"Rankyaku is a technique that uses high-speed, powerful kicks to whip up a vacuum and create a cutting slash that attacks the opponent. It demands even greater strength. You have to unleash immense power in an extremely short time.
Anyone who's mastered Soru and Geppo has basically met those requirements.
"Train this technique to a high level, and you can easily slice your target in half."
"Just like this!"
As he spoke, Neo landed on the ground and kicked hard. A curved slash shot toward Nia. She dodged it, and the attack left a huge fissure in the ground.
An opening!
Taking advantage of the moment Neo spent attacking, Nia lunged at him. She clenched her clawed hand into a fist and struck at him with all her might.
"Tekkai!"
Faced with Nia's attack, Neo didn't dodge at all. He gave a low shout and took her punch head-on.
So hard!
The sensation of her fist hitting him startled Nia. She immediately planted her foot and shot backward.
Neo, who'd taken Nia's punch, remained completely unruffled as he spoke.
"Tekkai is a defensive technique.
"By accelerating the flow of blood, it speeds up muscle movement and fills a well-trained body with strength, giving it iron-like hardness. Even bullets, blades, and swords can't penetrate it."
"In contrast, there's a technique that gathers all your strength in your fingers and unleashes a hardened strike in the blink of an eye. It's as powerful as a bullet, and it's called Shigan!"
In the blink of an eye, Neo rushed up to Nia. Before she could react, he jabbed his finger into her shoulder.
Pfft—
Neo's finger pierced straight through Nia's body, leaving a bloody hole.
"Just like this!"
"Damn it!"
With her shoulder pierced, Nia's movements were inevitably affected. But when Neo approached her, she still launched a frenzied counterattack.
"Finally, there's Kami-e. This is another defensive technique.
"But unlike Tekkai, which gathers strength throughout the body, this technique requires you to relax your entire body. By sensing the changes in airflow caused by your opponent's movements, you make yourself as light and flexible as paper, controlling your body with ease and dodging any attack aimed at you by a hair's breadth."
Neo gave up attacking altogether. His body grew as light as air, and he dodged every one of Nia's attacks while calmly explaining the technique.
This little brat!
Nia frowned slightly as she looked at Neo.
The gap in their strength was just too great!
Her attacks couldn't affect Neo at all, while he could hurt her with ease.
But is this little brat trying to humiliate me like this?
I don't need him to hold my hand and teach me!
Before you continue