Bang! Bang!
Clang! Clang!
Every time a bullet collided with a Flying Wheel, the shock waves were clearly visible. They sent both fighters' hair whipping about and scattered much of the cloud layer above them.
"This isn't good. I can't let him keep leading me around!" Gray had been suppressing him the entire time, leaving him no chance to take the initiative. Tokikake couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.
"No choice! Looks like I'll have to show him what I can really do!" After knocking the Flying Wheels back with two shots, Tokikake quickly reloaded his guns.
Then, as Gray stared in bewilderment, he pulled out another gun from who knew where.
"Dual-gun style?"
"Kid! You'd better watch out from here on!"
"I'm not much of a fighter in the Navy. I can't compare to those monsters. The only thing I can really boast about is my marksmanship!" Gripping both guns, Tokikake's confidence reached its peak.
"I see! Having another gun really is a big advantage for a strong man like you, Mr. Ugly. I can feel the threat too!" Gray nodded, clearly impressed with Tokikake.
"I told you, my name is Tokikake, not Mr. Ugly!"
Gray ignored Tokikake's complaints and roars, speaking to himself instead. "Well then~ how will you deal with this?"
As he spoke, Gray conjured two more Sky Crystal Flying Wheels.
"F-four!" Tokikake's confident smile froze on his face.
"You use one gun to deal with two. Now that you have two guns, it's only natural that I can use four Flying Wheels!" The four Flying Wheels hovered in pairs on either side of Gray, like wings.
Empowered by his ability, the arcs of electricity began to contract, concentrating on the Flying Wheels.
This was Gray's true strongest state at the moment.
Once each of the four Flying Wheels reached a certain limit through Magnetic Field Rotation, their wildly radiating electricity was forced to concentrate on the wheels. This brought their attack and cutting power to a whole new level.
And this level was no longer called Eight-Fold Light Wheel.
The correct name was Magnetic Field Rotation: 1000 Horsepower!
Gray couldn't yet maintain the full force on every Sky Crystal Flying Wheel.
His weakness now was probably that after launching an attack with four Flying Wheels, he couldn't precisely control each one anymore.
With two Flying Wheels, Gray could control them precisely, as if two perfectly coordinated fighters were attacking an enemy together.
But Gray had tested it with four Flying Wheels, and his limit was only three. If he attacked with all four now, he wouldn't be able to coordinate them with the same precision as before.
"Looks like I can't keep testing this." Once he'd made up his mind, he sent three Flying Wheels hurtling toward Tokikake, controlling them with all his might.
As for the remaining Sky Crystal Flying Wheel, Gray planned to give Tokikake a surprise.
Bang! Bang!
The gunfire grew more intense.
Tokikake's two guns certainly packed more firepower, but the force behind Gray's Flying Wheels had grown stronger too.
Gray had traded quality for Tokikake's quantity, forcing him to fire twice to knock back a single Flying Wheel.
Under Gray's control, the three Flying Wheels didn't coordinate as well as the first two had, but it was like facing an extra fighter, putting even more pressure on Tokikake.
"Scattershot!" He poured even more Haki into the bullets, and for a while, the two sides were evenly matched.
"This won't work! A bullet is only so big. The farther it flies, the more Haki dissipates. I can't knock these Flying Wheels back from long range."
"To keep the bullets powerful and stop the Haki from dispersing, I have to attack at mid-range!"
"But then I'll be suppressed again."
"Damn it! Flying abilities are so annoying!" Tokikake had inched a little closer, only for Gray to fly farther away again. He couldn't help feeling helpless.
His enemy wouldn't let him get close and kept his distance at a thousand meters. Tokikake couldn't hit him at all. He was being dragged around until he was numb.
After all, he only had flintlock guns. Even with Haki added to the bullets, they could only travel so far. Unless he closed the distance to attack, his marksmanship was a joke.
"Am I really left with no choice but to take advantage of his youth and wear him down with my greater stamina?" Seeing Gray's youthful face, Tokikake couldn't help thinking, Another monster!
"He's grown this strong at such a young age! Why did he have to become a pirate?" Tokikake couldn't help feeling regret and admiration.
But as Gray grew more familiar with controlling the three Flying Wheels, their coordination improved, and the pressure on Tokikake mounted.
He had no time to think about anything else. He focused all his attention on the battle.
"Fuffuffuffu..."
"Marine, it seems we have the upper hand. Your comrade is about to lose!" Doflamingo, fighting Gion, had kept his Observation Haki spread over the entire battlefield.
He had a clear view of Gray suppressing Tokikake in the sky and the many officers being held back by Tsuru below.
Doflamingo knew what Gray could do, and the smile on his face had begun to grow twisted.
"Hmph! A pirate is still a pirate. Tokikake hasn't shown all his strength yet!" Though Gion knew Tokikake was being suppressed, she wasn't worried he would lose.
After all, Gray was only wearing himself out by dragging the fight on.
Gray's youth was an advantage, but against seasoned fighters like Tokikake, who had been famous for years, it was also a weakness.
"Fuffuffuffu... Well~ who knows?" Doflamingo gave a laugh that was hard to interpret, then increased the speed and force of his attacks.
He knew the fight over there would soon be decided.
Over the past three years, the family had sparred plenty of times. One of Gray's trump cards would have given even him trouble the first time they met.
No—rather, even someone who knew about that move would be in trouble if their Observation Haki wasn't strong enough.
"Super Whip!"
Clang!
Their attacks grew faster and faster, and the force behind them increased with every clash.
Doflamingo was no longer holding back. He paid no heed to the rapid drain on his Haki and stamina, intent only on taking Gion down quickly.
All for the sake of his boss's reputation!
He couldn't have his subordinates defeating their enemies while he, their boss, was still dragging things out up here.
"Shadow Knight!" As they bounced apart after clashing, Doflamingo created a clone out of strings. The clone looked exactly like him, and even had the same abilities.
Controlling the Shadow Knight alongside himself would take a greater toll on his concentration and double his stamina consumption, but Doflamingo didn't care anymore. He wanted to finish his opponent quickly.
"Five-Colored Strings!" ×2
With two Doflamingos attacking together, the pressure on Gion became immense.
She had to use Armament Haki not only to attack but also to defend, rapidly expending it while sensing attacks with Observation Haki.
One and a half Doflamingos were certainly much harder to deal with than one.
When she was fighting one-on-one, she didn't need to use Haki to defend. She could simply focus on attacking.
"One Sword Style: Slash!"
Clang!
"Fuffuffuffu... Marine, show me everything you've got. If this is all you can do, then this is where your journey ends!"
"Break White!" ×2
"Anyone can talk big. Come on, if you've got the guts!"
Clang!
Gion ran her Observation Haki at full strength, dodging attacks while channeling more Armament Haki into Kompira. Her Slash Wave as a swordswoman grew even more fierce.
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