Sakazuki could no longer hold back. He charged straight in and unleashed his signature technique, Great Eruption.
As for friendly fire, he had never worried about that. If they survived, they survived. If they did not, they died. He would report them as having died in the line of duty.
"My, you look rather old. Why is your temper still so fiery?" Xia Mi teased as she raised an earthen wall to block Akainu's attack.
Naturally, that earthen wall could not stop Akainu, but it could block his vision.
Then Xia Mi flashed away and appeared not far from Akainu, kicking him away with a single blow.
He was not afraid of friendly fire, but Xia Mi was.
If they wanted to fight, they could take it farther away.
Xia Mi immediately followed after him.
That kick sent him flying all the way to a nearby island.
"Fenrir, go test yourself against Mr. Garp," Richard said.
"Alright." Fenrir drew his gigantic Zanbato and walked toward Garp, continuously layering himself with various buffing Spirit Speeches as he went.
As the King of Earth and Mountains, he could use all Dragon Race Spirit Speeches from his bloodline.
After sensing Garp's formidable aura, he held nothing back and fought with everything he had.
"I'll handle Onigumo. Leave Momonga, the swordsman, to Kuina." Lin Feng drew his sword and walked toward Onigumo.
"Kuina, you haven't fought a swordsman of roughly equal strength since setting sail, have you? This man should be about your level. Go fight him," Richard said.
"Alright." Kuina stepped forward and stood facing Momonga.
"Swordswoman Kuina. Please enlighten me."
Momonga promptly returned the courtesy.
"Swordsman Momonga. Please enlighten me."
The clash between the two swordsmen was remarkably plain and unadorned. There were no flashy techniques, no magnificent elemental effects. There was only the glint of blades, every strike brimming with lethal intent.
Cold and sharp, with only crisscrossing sword qi and jagged, shattered earth left in their wake.
"Eh, what about me?" Erii blinked in confusion. Why did it feel like she was the only one left with nothing to do?
"Does Erii want to fight?"
Everyone had already been assigned an opponent. The Marines were really disappointing—they had brought so few people that there were not even enough to divide up.
Richard thought about it. If necessary, he could heal that Marine rear admiral lying on the ground and let Erii have a spar with him. At least she would get some sense of participation.
Erii shook her head. Fighting was not fun at all.
"Then just stay here with me and wait for their battles to end," Richard said.
"Okay." Erii obediently sat down and turned her gaze toward the several battlefields.
Xia Mi was too far away to see, so she skipped that one.
Fenrir looked kind of clumsy. Was he constantly getting beaten up? This old man named Garp was incredibly powerful, and his combat skills were superb. Fenrir's attacks all missed him.
"Brother Richard, does Fenrir need me to help him?" Erii asked.
"No. His combat experience is lacking, so this is a good chance for him to learn more from Garp," Richard said after observing carefully.
Fenrir was getting beaten up, but he looked like he could still endure for a while. There was no rush.
The battle between Lin Feng and Onigumo had something of an unconventional rhythm to it.
Lin Feng mainly cultivated Classical Wuxia Qi Cultivation and the Under One Person Qi Cultivation Method, cultivating both life and nature. Other than his slow growth in power, he had no real weaknesses.
To make up for that shortcoming, he had also learned some sensory techniques and methods for absorbing Natural Energy from the Slug Sage.
If looking inward was not fast enough, then he could add the world's energy from without.
He had then adapted portions of Ninjutsu and Sealing Technique into techniques he could use.
So although Lin Feng carried a sword, he was more of a mage-type fighter.
For example, Lin Feng would occasionally throw out an earth-element technique to obstruct Onigumo's steps, then suddenly launch a small fireball at him.
Meanwhile, with Observation Haki, Onigumo would often dodge in advance the moment he sensed Lin Feng intended to attack.
Lin Feng did not possess Haki, but his True Qi was far more troublesome. It could pass through the body and strike vulnerable internal organs.
Otherwise, why did martial arts masters so often suffer internal injuries? Was it not because True Qi passed through their bodies, causing their organs to shake and sustain damage?
Thus, every time Lin Feng's blade touched Onigumo's body, it dealt real damage.
If people in the Pirate World were not so tough, with even their internal organs being more resilient, Onigumo would already have gone down.
Finally, Kuina and Momonga were locked in a fierce exchange, with neither gaining the upper hand for the time being.
An hour later, Richard sensed that Fenrir was about to reach his limit.
By then, Fenrir had been beaten black and blue.
Garp was having a great time. It had been ages since he had encountered such a durable punching bag.
As for the occasional counterattacks Fenrir landed on Garp with his blade?
Sorry, they did not break his defense. Other than shredding his clothes to pieces, they had no effect whatsoever.
"That's enough, Fenrir. This is about as far as we need to go," Richard said, stopping Fenrir.
If Fenrir wanted to continue fighting, he would either have to transform into a dragon or use World-Ending Words of Power.
There was no need to go that far.
After all, following the devastation inflicted by so many powerful fighters, a considerable portion of the island's shoreline foundation had already collapsed inward.
If Fenrir unleashed a major attack, the entire island would sink.
Fenrir withdrew upon hearing that, but Garp tried to intercept him.
A stream of water stopped him.
"Vice Admiral Garp, let me play with you next." Richard turned into a stream of water, merged into the surrounding water, and appeared before Garp alongside the current.
Well, although he had yet to successfully enter the Mystery of Round Softness, he had not come away empty-handed.
Over the past few days, he had attempted to cultivate the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique.
He had gained no results when researching this secret technique in the Ninja World, but now that he had Chakra, he could try using it directly.
After all, what could be more intuitive than experiencing it firsthand rather than merely watching with his eyes?
And he was in the Pirate World, where the Laws of Water were active.
Sure enough, although the Hydrification Technique was a Hozuki family bloodline secret technique, Richard learned it after spending only a little time in this world.
Then, naturally, after learning the Hydrification Technique and earnestly experiencing the sensation of becoming water, he entered the Water Body Profound Mystery not long afterward.
He was now fully focused on overcoming the Mystery of Round Softness.
As for Kizaru, Richard had casually sealed him away and tossed him into the Small World.
"So you really are a Sui Sui no Mi user." Seeing this, Garp directly mistook the Hydrification Technique for elemental transformation.
"Believe whatever you want." Richard could not be bothered to explain. They could think whatever they liked.
Garp could not understand it. Did something like the Sui Sui no Mi really exist? Why was it not recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia?
Could the World Government have hidden it?
Would that not make this man the natural nemesis of every Devil Fruit user?
Everyone knew that Devil Fruit users feared seawater. Even if large portions of their bodies came into contact with freshwater, they would lose their abilities and suffer a tremendous loss of stamina.
It could be said that Devil Fruit users were people cursed by water.
But now, a Sui Sui no Mi had appeared? Would this man still fear seawater?
More and more questions surfaced in Garp's mind.
He only looked carefree and rough around the edges. In truth, he was meticulous and thoughtful.
Unfortunately, Richard was destined not to answer his questions.
Before you continue