Lao Jiu has now essentially gained a weapon and enhanced power; Rebecca almost suffered a loss due to this sudden power.
Fortunately, Vic kept emphasizing to her that a swordsman needs power that matches his level, and she never stopped training her strength. Many men are not as strong as Rebecca.
If it had been any other woman who had taken that hit, she probably would have had her head smashed to pieces. Having not encountered a worthy opponent for so long, Rebecca had become arrogant. Meeting Lao Jiu today was a lesson for her.
She had previously been somewhat eager to fight Zero, but now, seeing Zero's strength, she felt she had become a bit arrogant. She wanted to try her luck with everyone, perhaps because Vic was by her side. She felt somewhat fearless. Rebecca knew that she couldn't rely on brute force in the upcoming battle.
"You have a strong fighting spirit; you're a born warrior. It's a shame you're in the navy!"
Lao Jiu was surprised that Rebecca had a solution so quickly; he hadn't felt it so clearly when he was at a disadvantage in the previous battle.
" Zoan Devil Fruit enhance different aspects of the body, and their power is related to the characteristics of the animal they belong to. I thought you were slow, and that you just fell asleep after transforming."
"I didn't expect you to increase your strength. The strength of your claws is also beyond my expectations. Since they were able to block my longsword, I'll be more careful from now on." Rebecca told a lame joke, but Lao Jiu seemed like someone who couldn't laugh.
As soon as Rebecca finished speaking, she launched an attack, instantly appearing in front of Lao Jiu's tall figure. Her long sword, like a dragon, pierced towards Koala's navel, where there was a ring of hairless skin and several firm abdominal muscles were exposed.
The Koala Fruit provides weapons and immense strength, but it doesn't enhance defense. If Rebecca were to stab him in the navel, the sword would penetrate deep into his body and damage his internal organs.
Lao Jiu dared not take the attack head-on, and could only use his claws to deflect the incoming longsword. After being deflected, Rebecca's longsword spun around in place along with the force, and she crouched down to stab Lao Jiu's beast leg.
Lao Jiu used Geppo to leave the ground and dodge the attack. Rebecca followed closely behind, also using Geppo. Although Lao Jiu had transformed, his Geppo was just as powerful. The two clashed in the air multiple times with their swords and claws, neither gaining the upper hand. Rebecca would not directly take Lao Jiu's attacks now, but would instead dodge and use a strategy of attacking while defending.
The aerial battle ended inconclusively, and Lao Jiu returned to the ground. After all, his current size was too large, and he had too many openings in the air.
On the ground, at least there are no attacks from below. Rebecca hasn't shown her ability to burrow underground, so Lao Jiu can worry less. After all, his current enemy is relatively small, has a strong combat awareness, and is agile and unpredictable, making them difficult to deal with.
Rebecca chased Lao Jiu to the ground, but showed no intention of stopping her attack. Rebecca didn't like to talk during battle; she preferred to finish the fight before saying anything. However, many enemies were sent to meet Pluton by Rebecca without even leaving a last word because of this.
Rebecca charged straight at Lao Jiu's furry head, her longsword aimed directly at his brow, but Lao Jiu blocked the attack with his crossed claws.
The instant the longsword made contact with the claws, Rebecca performed a backflip, inverting her body and leaning back as the longsword traced an arc towards Lao Jiu's abdomen and chest.
Lao Jiu never expected that Rebecca's move was a feint, a quick touch and a retreat, but her real target was his stomach. Rebecca's move worked, and the longsword sliced from Lao Jiu's abdomen to the chest covered by blond hair.
A long wound appeared on Lao Jiu's abdomen and chest, and blood gushed out, staining his yellow hair red. Rebecca took advantage of the situation and landed, retreating away from Lao Jiu's attack range.
"Are you still injured? Your combat awareness is indeed strong. You seized the opportunity to strike me down at the slightest moment of lapse in concentration. Such awareness is rare!"
Lao Jiu stretched out his paw and stroked the wound on his chest and abdomen, thinking to himself that the wound had already wriggled together and stopped bleeding. This was the powerful vitality of the Zoan.
" Zoan Fruit users are indeed very resilient, but it's hard for them to sustain themselves if they keep getting injured!"
Rebecca also saw the wound being squeezed, said something, and immediately rushed towards Lao Jiu, with the blade clashing repeatedly with the claws.
Rebecca no longer recklessly relied on brute force, so the battle went smoothly for a long time without any unexpected incidents. Lao Jiu seemed to have learned his lesson from the previous fight and became even more cautious, also preventing Rebecca from injuring him. The battle remained deadlocked for a long time.
"This can't go on. Right now, I'm probably the only one who hasn't gained a decisive advantage. I can't hold everyone back; I have to defeat this koala quickly!"
Rebecca used her Observation Haki to scan the surroundings and found that she was in a stalemate. Wendy was still toying with her opponent, demonstrating her Observation Haki, while Vic and Barnett were dominating their opponent. Vic hadn't even drawn his sword yet. This was the first time Rebecca had felt a sense of urgency since arriving on the island.
"Never mind, I'll just fight using the form I honed with that bounty hunter!"
Rebecca wanted to end the battle quickly, so she abandoned her Observation Haki and directly used the instinctive state she had learned during her last battle with Kanbo.
Because Lao Jiu's Observation Haki is stronger than hers, coupled with the power and enormous size brought by her human-beast transformation, relying solely on Observation Haki is not an advantage.
However, relying solely on instinct to fight avoids this situation. You foresee my next move, and I foresee your next move. Since the difference in their Observation Haki is not significant, they cannot anticipate each other's moves, resulting in a very close and evenly matched battle.
So in Konan's eyes, Rebecca's cool and elegant fighting style immediately changed, becoming a completely instinctive close-range fighting style, letting her body do whatever it wanted, using whichever move was appropriate, letting her body decide for itself, without any rules or methods.
This left Lao Jiu somewhat bewildered. His Observation Haki couldn't predict Rebecca's next move at all. Sometimes, his Observation Haki would even be deceived, and the move might not even be used. Perhaps Rebecca sensed something and changed her move.
Rebecca dodged the onslaught of claws and then kicked Lao Jiu in the chest. Lao Jiu's body shot like a cannonball into the distant Flower Field, sending up a shower of petals.
Rebecca didn't stop after kicking, using Geppo and Shave, and flashed several times to appear above Lao Jiu.
Before Lao Jiu could get up, Rebecca stabbed him on the ground with her Lao Jiu. Lao Jiu sensed something was wrong when he heard Geppo's voice. Instead of getting up, he started rolling and moving wildly in the Flower Field.
Lao Jiu reacted quickly enough to dodge the attack, but Rebecca didn't stop. It's instinct; she always had the urge to strike and always had a usable move.
Sword Gang and Rankyaku flew wildly towards Lao Jiu, who was rolling on the ground, like a dense mass of falling moons.
Although Lao Jiu dodged most of them, several attacks still landed on him, including Sword Gang and wind blades. The wind blades were less lethal, leaving only small wounds, but the Sword Gang auras were much more powerful, leaving large wounds and dripping with blood.