Vector Rotation

"Buru-buru, buru-buru..."

"Hello! Sengoku speaking!"

"This operation failed!" The voice coming from the other end of the Den Den Mushi left Sengoku baffled.

Sengoku said, "Tell me what happened! Even you, the Marine Grand Staff Officer, ran into trouble. Looks like we underestimated this former Celestial Dragon."

"It was like this, and then like that..."

After hearing Tsuru's explanation, Sengoku rubbed his temples and asked helplessly, "You know the state of the Marines right now. Most of our fighting strength is in the New World!"

"Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido have been fighting over territory everywhere lately. And now there's a rising star in the Red Hair Pirates. Things are worse than ever!"

"I know." Tsuru's calm response told Sengoku she had already thought of a solution.

"Then, what are you planning to do?"

"Have Gion come over and assist me. With her protecting these Marines, I'll be free to capture Doflamingo."

"Hmm..." Sengoku thought about Gion and realized it could work.

But thinking of Gion inevitably brought to mind her little shadow, Tokikake.

Gion and Tokikake were still Rear Admirals because of their records, and were currently patrolling Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line.

Still, both were among the elite of the Vice Admirals, and had mastered both forms of Haki.

Gion especially was a young, highly skilled swordswoman who had already reached the swordsman level.

She had also spent years honing her skills at that level. No one knew when she might break through to become a great swordsman.

"You really know how to give me a headache! You know that if I send Gion to you, Tokikake will follow."

"But pirates keep pouring into Paradise, and the Affiliated Nations call me every day. I can't risk sending Tokikake there too."

Tsuru said, "That's your problem as Fleet Admiral. You can't let your subordinates run around without orders and then blame me!"

Sengoku: ...

"What kind of thing is that supposed to mean?!" Sengoku slapped his desk, indignant. "If those two weren't the most likely candidates to become Admirals, I wouldn't be letting them get away with so much."

Tsuru: "Hmph!"

"Send Gion over as soon as possible. The staff office has already started calling me about paperwork. I don't have time to waste here!"

"Fine, fine! I got it!" Sengoku hung up and immediately called Gion's warship.

"I've got it!"

"Vectors!"

"A defensive skill—I'll develop it from Vector Rotation!" After burning through who knew how many brain cells, Gray finally figured out how to develop his defensive skill.

(Thanks to the reader who suggested this idea. I hadn't thought of this direction for the protagonist's defensive skill at first, either.)

Once he had a direction, Gray was brimming with energy. "It doesn't need to be complicated. I only have to develop directional rotation within vectors to achieve my goal."

For Gray, vectors were a vast field to explore, but he didn't have the energy to make full use of them.

As for offense, nothing had more potential than Magnetic Field Rotation.

Vector-based attacks needed a point to start from. Long-range techniques were rare and troublesome, and Accelerator's combat style was mostly close-quarters, which went against Gray's plans. So he wasn't going to develop vectors for offense.

In short, he wasn't qualified to develop in every direction yet. He could only focus on one specialty.

So, when it came to Vector Rotation, all he needed was directional rotation, focused on defending himself.

With this skill, he could perfectly defend against an enemy's attacks.

Turn your opponent's moves against them.

It was already an excellent defensive technique, and relatively easy to develop. It was something he could refine in the short term.

"Since it's a counterattack-based defense, this should do it!" As he spoke, Gray held out his left hand and took an iron ball from the armrest of his wheelchair with his right. He held it ten centimeters above his left palm, then let it fall toward his hand.

At that instant, his Devil Fruit ability activated. The falling iron ball didn't hurt his left hand; instead, it bounced off, along with the force behind it.

Once he could make the iron ball bounce off reliably, Gray's defensive skill would be at the beginner level.

As time passed, the Donquixote Family drifted aimlessly at sea for three days. Doflamingo finally woke up.

As soon as he came to, Diamante and the others felt their spirits lift, as though they had found their anchor.

"Doffy!"

"Young Master!"

Everyone crowded into Doflamingo's hospital room.

"Hey, Doffy! How are you feeling?"

"Fuffuffuffu... Don't worry!" Even now, Doflamingo's sunglasses were firmly in place. "I'm feeling much better. It'd be even better if you could bring me some food!"

At that, Diamante hurriedly ordered one of his men, "Go get some food!"

"Yes!"

"Where are we now?" As he assessed how his body felt, Doflamingo began asking what had happened while he was unconscious.

Trebol said, "We're not far from Sweet Potato Island."

"Hey, Doffy! Where do we go next?" The family had many bases, but they were worried Tsuru would chase them again. Losing another base would cost them dearly.

Doflamingo fell silent for a few minutes before speaking again. "Put the family business on hold for now. Everyone should go underground and hide their identities."

"We'll head to Sweet Potato Island to resupply and prepare to stay at sea for a long time!" Doflamingo knew that Tsuru, having failed to catch them this time, wouldn't let them escape so easily the next time she came after them.

Since they couldn't face the Marines head-on, they could only lie low for now.

What's more, until Tsuru left, they would have to keep their heads down and avoid drawing attention on any inhabited island.

"Yes, Doffy!"

"You can all leave now. Let Doffy rest." Once he knew what they needed to do, Trebol led everyone out of the hospital room.

Meanwhile, Trebol was calling the family's various contacts. Just as Doflamingo had guessed, Tsuru was busy too.

After reinforcements arrived from a nearby Marine branch, Tsuru led the Marines in sweeping through the Donquixote Family's various contact points and striking at their forces.

While waiting for Gion to arrive, Tsuru would clear out the North Blue's underground forces and the pirates roaming the seas.

Once Gion arrived, they would seize Doflamingo in one fell swoop, and Tsuru's mission would be complete.

With that plan and confidence in mind, Tsuru had no desire to put bounties on the Donquixote Family members who had escaped.

After all, why bother putting bounties on people who were about to be caught?

Please follow the story! Please follow the story! Please follow the story!

It's important, so I'll say it three times.

First of all, thank you all for your support!

A lot of you often say there isn't enough to read, which makes me happy. It means people enjoy my work, and that's the best motivation I could ask for.

During the new-book period, I have to post twice a day to build an audience and get recommended on the platform.

But I also want the book to do well—and at the very least, I have to be able to afford to eat! So asking for follows during the new-book period is essential.

As for the extra chapters owed for the tips and monthly votes you've already given, I can only put them off until the book goes on sale, then pay them back.

Once it goes on sale, I'll post six thousand characters a day, in addition to the launch-day burst.

Here are the rules for extra chapters:

For tips, every one hundred yuan gets one extra chapter of two thousand characters.

As for monthly votes, they don't really count until I get a thousand in a month, so I haven't asked for them. I'll leave it to chance.

Still, I'll explain how monthly votes count toward extra chapters, so your enthusiasm doesn't go unrecognized.

Every three hundred monthly votes in a month earns one extra chapter of two thousand characters.

Finally, I'll ask you to use the free recommendation votes you have.

Please vote, bookmark, and follow!