Gunko was approached by Kuina herself—ultimately, it was Gunko's chilling power and threatening aura that attracted this swordsmanship prodigy like a magnet.
Kuina's mission was to reinforce the battlefield, but this chaotic battle, which involved many top experts, was by no means a one-sided crushing victory from the very beginning.
The immortal God's Knights and the Five Elders are the most troublesome nightmares on this battlefield. Even Four Emperors like Kaido and Big Mom, who have dominated the New World for decades, have to exert all their strength to barely kill a single God's Knights.
It is easy to imagine how difficult it was for the other slightly weaker fighters. Even when they banded together in groups of three or five, they could not escape the downward spiral.
Gunko was the most terrifying among this group of thugs. Her blood-stained hands had already reaped the lives of several powerful figures renowned in the New World.
The duel between Kuina and Gunko is the ultimate clash between a pure swordsman and Devil Fruit User.
Gunko's Arrow-Arrow Fruit ability seems to have nothing to do with swordsmanship, but it can somehow find a strange common ground with the sword's edge—both are based on "precision" as the core of killing. It is not surprising that Kuina would take the initiative to seek her out.
Gunko's strength in the Holy Knights is comparable to that of Shamrock, but unfortunately, she is Imu's chosen vessel, and from the day she was selected, she has been deprived of the right to have her own will.
Imu's thoughts, like invisible shackles, had already completely transformed her. Thus, this God's Knights, chosen from the lower realm and selected step by step, could only become a soulless blade, a henchman obeying orders on the edge of the battlefield.
In contrast, Shamrock, whose strength was comparable, was able to take over his father's authority and firmly sit on the throne of the new generation's leader of the Holy Knights.
This is why even a woman as strong as Kuina, who stands at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, is locked in a fierce and intractable stalemate with Gunko, who possesses an immortal body.
Gunko has long been adept at developing the Arrow-Arrow Fruit. He can use arrows to control the field and block movement from afar, or fight with weapons to tear apart defenses up close. He can also use the trajectory guided by the arrows to increase his speed several times over. He is truly terrifyingly versatile.
At this moment, she was wielding a rapier made of artifacts wrapped in layers of arrowhead bandages, locked in close combat with Kuina. As their swords clashed, a murderous aura emanated from them.
The two exchanged blows, each one potentially fatal! Kuina continued the fighting style of a traditional swordsman, each strike heavy and powerful, carrying a majestic momentum that could cleave the heavens and earth, Wado Ichimonji reflected a chilling aura in her eyes.
Gunko's style, however, subtly reveals the shadow of fencing, agile and unpredictable, perfectly complementing the bandaged slender sword in her hand. In every movement and stillness, there is the tricky and ruthless nature of fencing moves!
But her speed and power were far beyond what ordinary fencers could match. Moreover, the rapier in her hand was not a soft sword used for fencing, but a real divine weapon, which she wielded with ghostly speed, leaving not even a trace of afterimage.
The moment the swords clashed, the clang of metal echoed across the battlefield. The slender sword withstood several slashes from the Wado Ichimonji without sustaining any damage, demonstrating just how resilient the arrowhead bandages wrapped around the blade were.
"Bite"
Another clash of swords echoed, the metallic clang of metal striking metal so sharp it made their eardrums ache.
After the first strike, the two retreated rapidly in unison—not out of fear, but because after a brief struggle with no progress, they needed to create distance and find a more difficult angle to attack.
Kuina had no way of knowing what Gunko was planning, but she knew that she herself was harboring such an idea.
The moment her toes touched the ground, Kuina's body shot out like an arrow, the tip of her Wado Ichimonji sword gleaming with a chilling light, aimed straight for Gunko's face.
On the other side, Gunko's feet had barely touched the ground when his Observation Haki keenly detected a fleeting presence that was rapidly approaching like a ghost.
By the time she realized it, the cold light was already inches away, and she had no time to make any defensive moves!
At the critical moment, a snow-white arrow suddenly extended from behind Gunko, pointing horizontally to the side, as if marking a clear trajectory in the air.
In the next instant, Gunko's body actually moved several feet to the side in the direction indicated by the arrow, narrowly dodging Kuina's deadly strike.
Such thrilling scenes have long been the norm for the two in close combat.
Kuina is undoubtedly a top-tier swordswoman, wielding countless sword techniques with ease, and her decades of combat experience allow her to remain calm under pressure.
But Gunko wasn't a pure swordsman; she was Devil Fruit User with top-notch crowd control abilities!
If it were a real melee combat with weapons, she would have been slashed dozens of times by Kuina. The fact that she has been able to hold on until now is entirely due to the incredible assistance of her Arrow-Arrow Fruit ability.
The knife missed its mark, but Kuina's eyes remained unmoved, as if she had already foreseen this outcome!
She slammed her toes into the ground again, turning her body ninety degrees at an almost bizarre angle. The Wado Ichimonji in her hand once more burst forth with a chilling light as she chased after Gunko.
Kuina was already used to Gunko's endless abilities and methods—if it weren't for these extra advantages, the woman in front of her would have been slashed countless times already!
The swordsman's speed was never slow, especially when he burst out, his speed was exceptionally fast. Even though Gunko had already moved more than ten feet to the side, in the next instant, Kuina caught up with him!
The blade came hurtling towards him. Even though it was less than half a foot from his face, the coldness it conveyed sent a chill down Gunko!
However, Gunko did not panic, nor did she move an inch. She stood there facing the blade, but in front of her, an arc-shaped arrow appeared in mid-air.
The arrow curved to one side from top to bottom, much like the stroke "", but with a larger arc. At this time, Kuina's blade also fell down, as if she was going to split the general in half!
Just as the blade was about to strike Gunko's forehead, Kuina discovered that her Wado Ichimonji was no longer under her control. It deflected, bypassing Gunko's head and transforming its straight slash into an arc!
Kuina glanced at the arrow in front of Gunko, Kuina her aura changed instantly. A powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted, Wado Ichimonji was instantly surrounded by blood-red Inazuma. The feeling of being out of control disappeared instantly, and she swung her sword back to slash at Gunko's neck!
Although her previous battle with the retired Five Elders didn't deplete her energy too much, Kuina still used up a lot of Conqueror's Haki, which she used to break through the immortality barrier. Therefore, her previous battle with Gunko didn't involve Conqueror's Haki at all; it was purely a swordsmanship attack!
In a way, she was both recovering her Conqueror's Haki and figuring out the enemy's fighting style. She had experienced Gunko changing direction out of thin air by following the arrow many times before, so she didn't pay much attention to it; it was just a Devil Fruit ability!
This was the first time Wado Ichimonji had gone out of control, which had to be taken seriously by Kuina. If the opponent made a few more turns and its final target was her neck or heart, it would be too dangerous. So Kuina immediately became serious!
"Bite!"
With a crisp sound, Gunko flew out, but when Kuina slashed out, there was no scene of a head falling to the ground and blood gushing out!