Numerous water jets converged on Vic from all directions, enveloping Vic like a net. No matter which direction Vic attempted to break through, he would first collide with the water curtain.
Seeing this, Golden Lion felt confident that the game was in the bag. He could use Vic to blackmail Garp, and might even gain some benefits from this.
He could tell that Garp was grooming Vic as a future Admiral; Vic's value was immeasurable, and letting him go would definitely pose a huge threat in the future.
Killing him would be a major loss for the Navy. He was currently hesitating about which option to choose. At this moment, the encirclement of water was getting smaller and smaller, and it was about to converge into a water sphere, which would trap Vic inside.
"Hahaha! Kid, you're still too young. Paramecia Fruit users have all sorts of strange and unpredictable abilities. The slightest carelessness can lead to defeat. Only Zoan and Logia Fruits are the easiest to predict and defend against!"
Golden Lion looked at Vic, who was trapped in the water sphere, and said smugly, " Golden Lion is right. You can hardly know what kind of strange effects Paramecia Devil Fruit have when others don't use them."
Just like the Table-Table Fruit that Vic obtained, judging from the name, one might think it can only conjure up a few tables, or that the user can transform into a table.
However, Vic had experienced that battle, knew that the Table-Table Fruit was a rule-based, abnormal fruit; as long as one's imagination ran wild enough, it could become a godlike existence.
Unless you encounter someone with exceptionally strong Haki, and since Zoan basically only have three variations, only Chopper's Human-Human Fruit, influenced by Rumble Ball, has more forms and variations. Logia are simply the enhancement and extension of natural forces, which is also predictable.
Vic was now completely enveloped in the water sphere, but Vic didn't panic. Seawater only weakens ability users; it doesn't affect his original bodily functions.
Vic had been able to go a whole day without breathing underwater without any problems, so as long as Vic could get used to the feeling of powerlessness in the sea, he wouldn't be in any danger if he fell into the sea in the future, as long as he didn't fight strong people in the sea.
With his powerful breath-holding ability, Vic had plenty of time to escape from the seawater. However, the water sphere enveloping Vic was controlled by the Golden Lion, so no matter how much Vic struggled inside, he couldn't escape. The water sphere controlled by the Golden Lion could move freely; whichever way you tried to escape, he would control the seawater to replenish that direction.
Seeing that Vic had been moving around in the water sphere for about twenty minutes without showing any signs of unconsciousness, the Golden Lion couldn't help but marvel at Vic's powerful breath-holding ability. This was an effect that could only be achieved by controlling the body to near perfection, minimizing the body's cellular metabolism and maximizing oxygen utilization.
Later, King Luffy would roll his eyes whenever he touched seawater, even after reaching the level of Four Emperors). There are two reasons for this. One is that he was too young when he ate the Devil Fruit and has not been deep in the sea since then. He has hardly trained his ability to hold his breath, so he rolls his eyes when he falls into the sea.
Another issue is that he didn't have a professional to teach him this knowledge. Before he went to sea, he had no idea that Devil Fruit users could adapt to the feeling of powerlessness in the sea through training. Later, after training with Rayleigh and at the Wano Country quarry, he did become somewhat adaptable to the feeling of powerlessness. However, he still couldn't hold his breath properly, and he was completely different from Vic, who had learned Life Return.
Just then, Vic inside the water sphere slowly changed, becoming somewhat blurry. The center of the water sphere also turned luminous white, gradually spreading throughout the entire sphere, and the giant water sphere transformed into Ice Ball.
Seeing that the Golden Lion was controlling the water sphere and making it difficult for him to escape, Vic had no choice but to use his Swordsmanship of Ice to freeze the entire water sphere.
Golden Lion's eyes narrowed as he watched this scene. He knew the Navy had a Logia Ice-Ice Fruit user, but wasn't this kid Rumble-Rumble Fruit Devil Fruit User? Why did he have ice-type abilities?
Although Golden Lion is a great swordsman, his swordsmanship is not top-notch. He mainly relies on Devil Fruit abilities and Haki. Only pure swordsmen develop towards the "Way".
Powerful figures like Golden Lion, Roger, and Rayleigh all use powerful Haki to wield their swordsmanship, and they don't pay much attention to the special applications of "the Way." Therefore, Golden Lion didn't immediately think of that. Vic was too young; he shouldn't have that kind of understanding of the natural world at his age. He simply suspected Aokiji.
The Ice Ball quickly became covered in cracks. Being enveloped by seawater was indeed a bit tricky for Vic. Softness can overcome hardness, but Ice Ball is different. This is why it is said that the Ice-Ice Fruit is only a branch of the water type, and it is indeed somewhat inferior.
Then the entire Ice Ball shattered, and huge fragments crashed onto the island below, attracting the attention of the two sides engaged in battle.
They had all seen the seawater; there had been an island completely enclosed by it before. But what was with this sudden appearance of ice?
While they were in a daze, Vic used his advanced Geppo to charge towards the Golden Lion hovering in the air. The Golden Lion's advantage was that it could fly and control the land and sea to coordinate its attacks.
However, none of these are advantages for Vic. In order to have no weaknesses, Vic has long made the flying Geppo his main training focus, just in case he encounters such an unexpected situation. He doesn't want to become a swordsman like Zoro.
While the Rumble-Rumble Fruit allows for brief aerial combat, its practicality is still inferior to Geppo. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is excellent for long-distance travel and surprise attacks, but for close-quarters combat, the advanced Geppo is more useful and consumes less stamina. Therefore, the outcome for the two will depend on Haki, which is why Kaido said that the pinnacle of strength is Haki, and that makes a lot of sense.
As Vic charged toward the Golden Lion, Allen and Blood Wither's domineering Haki surged forth, indicating they were unleashing their ultimate moves. He didn't want to fight the Golden Lion for three days and three nights; by then, the old man might be too impatient to wait and would have to intervene.
There is a significant age gap between Vic and Golden Lion, and their Haki also differs. Vic's current Haki reserves are definitely not as high as Golden Lion's, so Vic can only rely on quality, that is, the amount of Haki he can mobilize with each attack.
King Luffy defeated Kaido in this way, and Vic is preparing to follow suit. However, like King Luffy, Kaido also possesses Conqueror's Haki and Conqueror's Coating. Vic also needs to guard against Golden Lion's Conqueror's Coating attack, as he has never experienced Conqueror's Coating attack before and is somewhat uncertain about his chances.
When Kaido struck him, he only used Ryuo (Advanced Armor). Kaido didn't know how strong the stun effect of the Conqueror's Coating was, so being attacked by Conqueror's Coating might catch him off guard and create many opportunities for Golden Lion to fight.
This is also what Vic is most concerned about in his fight with Golden Lion: he doesn't have Conqueror's Haki, and he doesn't know if he will be able to Awakening in the future. The difference between Marine Admiral and a Sea Emperor may lie here.
If he really can't Awakening Conqueror's Haki in the future, he'll have to find other ways to close the gap, and perhaps improving his physical proficiency is one of them!
Vic was thinking a lot, but only a moment had passed in reality. Vic had already arrived in front of the Golden Lion, and his twin swords with Ryuo were slashing towards the Golden Lion's neck.