Deep Ocean Current

Clang!

A piercing blast rang through the forest.

The shadow spear collided with Monet's back, throwing up blinding sparks. 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 grooves 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 at the side of Monet's neck.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three consecutive thrusts struck precisely the same spot. Sparks burst like fireworks, and a faint white mark finally 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 qualify as 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 Mythical Zoans, but that still depended on its quality and strength. Among the women, only Hancock had reached that level; the rest were still lacking.

Haki ultimately depended on strength, not technique. In the original timeline, didn't Lucci break through Sentomaru's emission defense in a single exchange despite only knowing basic hardening?

With Monet's test proving a great success, the other girls also underwent modification surgery. Though Dawn had never said it outright, they all knew the surgery was meant to guard against 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 was enough to give anyone with ill intentions a massive headache.

Of course, the underage little girls remained unchanged. In theory, they were the ones who most