Space Displacement: Meteor

Chapter 36: Spatial Displacement—Meteor!

"What is this? So many of you bullying an old woman, yet you don't even dare to attack?" Looking at the Donquixote Family executives guarding the front, Tsuru began her verbal assault.

Unfortunately, she was facing Trebol, an old fox who, as a loser, possessed no sense of indignation.

All his integrity and self-esteem had long since been discarded in the New World after his defeat there.

"Ne-ne-ne! Diamante, Pica, just keep attacking from a distance! Don't give her a chance to get close and use her abilities to affect us!"

"I know!"

"G! We just need to stall her until the Young Master arrives!"

"Fine, I can hold out for another three days if I have to!"

"Ho~ I can't pretend I didn't hear that!" Her figure vanished from the spot instantly. Using Shave to charge toward the executives, Tsuru snapped, "Let me see how you intend to stall me for three days!"

"Tempest Kick: Chaos!" She raised her legs to unleash her kicking technique, and sharp, cutting waves enveloped the executives from all directions.

"Pica!"

"I know!" Although Pica's doll-like voice was grating, in the eyes of the other executives, it was incredibly reliable: "Stone Giant!"

The earth churned rapidly, and under Pica's control, a giant that blotted out the sky rose from the ground.

The giant's massive body took the full brunt of Tsuru's cutting waves.

The power of the Stone-Stone Fruit allowed Pica to freely assemble massive giants across the island, and he could move freely within the giant's body.

Those with poor Observation Haki could never track him inside the giant, let alone harm him.

Unfortunately, Tsuru was clearly not someone with poor Observation Haki. Without the support of the other executives, Pica alone could not stall her for long.

Hum, hum~

Swish, swish, swish!

The three flying wheels attacked in turns. Gray kept his Observation Haki locked onto Tokikake, while the remaining Sky Crystal Flying Wheel beside him spun and gathered power.

Bang, bang, bang!

The intense gunfire never ceased. Tokikake had fallen into the awkward position of being unable to advance or retreat, completely pinned in place by Gray.

As the saying goes, long defense leads to mistakes. After continuous high-intensity combat and such a stagnant situation, Tokikake's mind had gone numb. He only thought of pinning Gray down so that Staff Officer Tsuru could free herself and deliver the decisive blow.

"An opening!" After waiting so long, Gray finally felt the timing was right.

The electric light on the spinning flying wheel beside him brightened a notch. As Gray shifted a portion of his focus to the fourth wheel, the pressure from the wheels suppressing Tokikake inevitably lightened.

This allowed Tokikake to finally catch his breath.

It was at this moment that Tokikake noticed Gray's movement: "Is he going to add another flying wheel to the attack?"

Given Gray's behavior and Tokikake's ignorance of his specific abilities, he could only guess that Gray was pouring power into the fourth wheel to unleash a more powerful technique.

Tokikake secretly braced himself.

But this preparation was entirely different from the method Gray intended to use.

"Spatial Displacement—Meteor!"

Seizing the moment Tokikake was reloading, the fourth flying wheel hovering beside Gray vanished the instant its rotation reached its peak.

Gray pushed his ability to the limit, ignoring the violent drain on his stamina, as his Magnetic Field Rotation broke through its previous ceiling to reach 3,000 units.

By the time the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel reappeared, radiating a lethal aura, and Tokikake sensed the danger through his Observation Haki, it was already too late.

"What?" The sharp aura pressing against his back made Tokikake's eyes bulge. Sensing his life was in grave danger, he only had time to focus all his Armament Haki into defense before he was unable to make any further moves.

The vanished fourth wheel appeared instantly behind Tokikake's back, its sharp edges and electric current embedding into his body in a heartbeat.

"Sss—"

"Ahhh!!" Blood splattered everywhere, and Tokikake's scream immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Tokikake!"

Gion's eyes widened in horror. Although she found Tokikake's frequent confessions annoying and thought of him as a toad lusting after a swan, the bond of their colleagues still made her deeply concerned for his condition.

"Five-Colored Strings!"

"Where are you looking, Marine?"

"Damn it!" Doflamingo seized the split second of Gion's distraction.

Sss—

"Ah!"

"Gion!" Tsuru immediately disregarded the executives. Between Tokikake and Gion, she chose her sworn sister, using Moonwalk to dash toward Gion.

"Tempest Kick!" To prevent Doflamingo from inflicting secondary damage on Gion, Tsuru hurriedly attacked him to stop his pursuit.

"Boom!" Tokikake was driven completely into the ground, the intense shockwave causing the surrounding terrain to collapse significantly.

With his Observation Haki sensing Tokikake's life force, Gray had no intention of holding back.

An iron bead hovered at his fingertip, and under the influence of his Devil Fruit ability, Magnetic Field Rotation began to push past its limits.

The rapid Magnetic Field Rotation caused electric sparks to dance densely across the surface of the iron bead.

"Hold them off!" Gray's continued assault forced the members of the Donquixote Family to turn their gazes toward him.

Yet, Gray was cursing inwardly, I'm up here fighting for my life while you lot are down there spectating uselessly. Now that I'm about to kill someone, how can you just stand there watching the show!

"Five-Colored Strings!"

Tsuru, who had just caught Gion, had barely caught her breath when her Observation Haki picked up the Donquixote Family members launching a fierce assault against her.

In the distance, she sensed Tokikake's life force beginning to wane, and the increasingly dangerous aura emanating from Gray in the sky left her deeply unsettled.

"Giant's Wrath!"

"Blast!"

"Half-Moon Funeral!"

"Sister Tsuru, hurry and save Tokikake!" Gion, whose left side was bleeding profusely from a slash by Doflamingo's strings, urged Tsuru to go to Tokikake's aid.

But faced with the onslaught of the group, and with Gion weighing her down, Tsuru could not simply walk away.

Tsuru fell silent; while dodging the attacks, she began to weigh the worst-case scenario.

Sizzle, sizzle~

The flickering sparks gathered more and more at Gray's fingertip, the dangerous aura they emitted becoming increasingly heart-stopping.

Below, lying in the crater, Tokikake's back was charred through to his lungs. That he was not currently in mortal danger was entirely due to the support of his formidable physique.

Sensing the dangerous aura from above with his Observation Haki, Tokikake relied on his iron will to force himself up and sprint directly toward the coastline.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, Gion! Retreat!" Tokikake shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran toward the shore.

Caught off guard by Gray, he was now severely wounded and had no strength left to continue the fight; he had no choice but to retreat and rethink his strategy.

"Run! Where do you think you can run to?"

High in the sky, Gray maintained the power at his fingertip while controlling his own movement to pursue Tokikake.

I hate enemies with a Blood Bull Physique, and I hate them even more when they have Armament Haki! Gray grumbled to himself, watching Tokikake run as if he were completely unaffected.

His ultimate attack, even with the element of surprise, had only left Tokikake severely wounded; it was far from a decisive blow.

This was entirely because Tokikake's Armament Haki was so potent that Gray's attacks could not completely tear through his defenses.