Gion and Baccarat

Gion's idea of "confiscating the tools of the crime" ultimately ended in failure.

She simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

To avoid being watched by Marines from nearby bases, Lucas used magnetic levitation to move the Eos to open waters with no islands within dozens of nautical miles.

He had developed this move long ago but rarely used it. It was fine to use occasionally when he was in a hurry, but relying on it for everyday sailing would be troublesome. If he encountered an enemy while in poor condition from constantly using his ability, he would be helpless.

"That was about it."

Inside the cabin, warm yellow light cast the shadows of the four onto the metal walls as Lucas roughly recounted what had happened after he left the Kingdom of Ye.

Not only Gion, but Robin and Baccarat also listened quietly from beginning to end.

"So our enemies out in the open are the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki, and the Dark Emperor of the underworld, the Loan Shark King Du Feld?"

After listening, Robin immediately summed it up.

"More accurately, it's only the backer behind Du Feld—the Big Mom Pirates."

Lucas corrected her.

"Du Feld himself isn't worth worrying about in a fight. That old bastard couldn't even beat street thugs. His only talent is being rich.

Golden Lion is unlikely to notice an unknown nobody who has already 'died.'

As far as I know, he's currently brewing a grand plan to show the World Government the power of his revenge. He probably doesn't have time to care about anything else."

It was no wonder Golden Lion had been careless. With an ordinary person's physical constitution, even if they had jumped into the sea in time, that terrifying kinetic force would have smashed them into a pulp.

A special constitution was hardly something commonplace. It was even rarer than Conqueror's Haki or a Mythical Zoan.

"Showing the government the power of his revenge?"

Gion's delicate brows knitted tightly together. "Do you know the details of Golden Lion's plan?"

Even though her belief in justice was already on the verge of collapse, she still did not want to see such a terrorist attack happen.

Lucas's expression turned strange as he explained Golden Lion's IQ plan.

To be fair, he felt that this plan was no different from child's play.

The giant animals in the Elbaf Underworld were not much weaker in combat than animals enhanced by IQ.

If giant animals alone could accomplish anything, Elbaf's previous kings would have done it long ago.

The kings before Harald had made Elbaf infamous. Aggression and the urge to destroy had seeped into their bones. Yet even those warlike former kings had failed to achieve anything with the Underworld's giant animals, so why did Golden Lion think artificially ripened beasts could?

The most baffling part was that Golden Lion himself had followed Rocks into the Elbaf Underworld.

He had seen those distant giant beasts with his own eyes, along with their destructive power and limitations. Yet even under those circumstances, Golden Lion still believed he could conquer the world with them.

After hearing that childish plan, Gion finally relaxed.

If that was all, the actual impact would not be too great. They were only giant animals, after all. It was not as if the Marines could not handle them.

She sighed in relief. Her gaze inadvertently swept over the ring on Lucas's right ring finger, paused for a moment, then shifted to Baccarat beside him. A smile far too gentle appeared on her face.

"Baccarat, you must be troubled by having such strong physical abilities but not knowing how to refine them, right?"

"How about big sister teaches you a few moves? Don't worry, I won't use Haki."

Robin, who stood nearby at under two meters tall and possessed none of the feminine advantages that surpassed Gion's, was subconsciously ignored by her. In Gion's eyes, Baccarat posed the greatest threat.

Baccarat did not turn to Lucas for help.

She knew she could not avoid this fight.

She met Gion's gaze, smiling politely yet distantly.

"Then I'll trouble you to teach me, big sister."

Lucas tacitly approved. Conflicts within the household needed an outlet. It was better to have a real fight than bottle everything up and sulk.

He chose a deserted island covered in coconut trees in the nearby waters as their arena. He remembered this island. Back then, when Garp flattened Chinjao's cone-shaped head with one punch, it seemed to have happened somewhere nearby.

By that calculation, their target, the Jewel Ice Bed, was not far away.

At Lucas's command, Gion vanished from the spot with Soru. Bursting with confidence, she appeared directly in front of Baccarat, intending to end this teaching match with a beautiful grappling move, only for her opponent to vanish before her eyes.

Gion's pupils contracted slightly. Before she could adjust her posture, a gust from a fist came from behind. The punch tore through the air with a low roar, and the powerful airflow whipped her Justice coat.

"[Tekkai]!"

Gion reacted swiftly. The muscles in her back instantly tensed as she activated the Rokushiki defensive technique with full force.

She had said she would not use Haki, so she absolutely would not use it.

Bang!

A pale fist slammed solidly into her back. It felt as though a warship sailing at full speed had rammed into her from behind. All the air in her chest was forced out at once, and a metallic sweetness surged up her throat.

Gion suddenly coughed up blood, her body shooting away like an arrow loosed from a bow as she crashed through a thick coconut tree. The trunk snapped in two behind her, and coconuts fell and shattered at her feet.

She lay in wood chips mixed with coconut juice, her Justice coat covered in white coconut flesh and gray dust.

"She broke Tekkai with nothing but basic physical strength...?"

She pushed herself to her feet, brushed the debris from her body, and stared in utter disbelief.

Breaking Tekkai was nothing unusual. Any officer who had mastered Armament Haki could do it.

But breaking through its defense with raw physical strength alone was something she had never seen in her life.

Lucas, watching from the side, lightly shook his head.

Gion had been completely overconfident this time.

After being strengthened again and again, even without using her Devil Fruit ability or her newly learned Armament Haki, Baccarat's pure physical strength was now at least on the level of Enies Lobby's Gear Second Luffy. Breaking Tekkai was perfectly normal.

If she truly went all out, even Lucci from the Enies Lobby era would be beaten into questioning his life.

After all, Gear Second was a draining state that could not last long, while Baccarat's base attributes had no time limit.

"[Soru]!"

Gion reined in her contempt and vanished again. When she reappeared, she was behind Baccarat. Kompira swept out sharp sword energy as it slashed diagonally toward her opponent's back.

With a tearing sound, the expensive gown was cut open, and blood seeped from her skin. Almost the instant pain struck, Baccarat tapped the ground with her toes and vanished as well.

"[Soru]"

She flashed to Gion's rear flank. The tip of her high heel sliced through the air, and an arcing Vacuum Slash howled outward.

"[Rankyaku]!"

The slash tore open Gion's Justice coat and cut through her Marine uniform, leaving a shallow line of blood across her pale back.

Baccarat did not seize the chance to use the Lucky-Lucky Fruit to kick her while she was down. Since Gion had kept her word and not used Haki, she would not exploit her ability either.

This was a domestic matter. They were fighting for face, not for their lives.

Seeing that the two were about to continue, Lucas flashed between them and raised a hand in a stopping gesture.

"Draw."

If they kept fighting, Baccarat, whose physical abilities were more absurd, would most likely win.

If Gion truly lost, where would that proud female officer put her face? Both were dear to him, and it would not be right to favor either one.

As for whether Baccarat would resent failing to secure the position of the main wife, he was not worried at all.

The women by his side had never been such brainless fools.

Baccarat understood the situation well. She took the initiative to walk over, smiling as she extended her hand and gave Gion plenty of face.

"Gion, you went easy on me. I gained a lot from fighting you."

Gion was not someone who could not accept defeat. She took Baccarat's hand, and her smile became a little more genuine.

"You're too polite. I was the one who acted rashly before. Your strength is not bad either."

The two women smiled at each other, as though all their past grievances had melted away in that moment.

TO BE CONTINUED