Deep-Sea Current

Clang!

A piercing boom rang through the forest.

The shadow spear collided with Monet's back, sending dazzling sparks flying. Armament Haki gathered at the spear tip into a spiraling vortex, yet it could not pierce that seemingly fragile skin.

Monet leaned forward half a step, her feet plowing two shallow furrows through the snow before she steadied herself.

A flicker of surprise passed through Stussy's eyes. She withdrew her spear and thrust again.

This time, she aimed for the side of Monet's neck.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three consecutive thrusts struck precisely the same spot. Sparks burst like fireworks, and at last, a faint white mark appeared on the skin of Monet's neck.

Seeing this, Dawn nodded in satisfaction. Being able to withstand Armament Haki attacks was already enough to be called a monstrous physique.

Though he understood perfectly well that Stussy's Armament Haki was not particularly strong.

Flowing Armament Haki could certainly inflict effective damage on a Mythical Zoan, but that still depended on its quality and strength. Among the women, only Hancock had reached that level. The rest still fell a little short.

In the end, Haki depended on strength rather than technique. In the original timeline, hadn't Lucci broken through Sentomaru's projected defense in a single exchange despite only knowing basic Hardening?

With Monet's test proving a resounding success, the other girls also underwent modification surgery. Although Dawn had never said it outright, they all knew the surgery was meant to prevent the worst-case scenario of them being captured and used as hostages. Thus, they all cooperated. No one wanted to be the one holding everyone back.

A hostage whose defenses could not be breached at all would be enough to give any ill-intentioned enemy a headache.

Naturally, the few underage little girls remained unchanged. In theory, they