"Maybe nothing will happen, but after all, we look like we've gained freedom, don't we? Want to join us?"
Gion smiled lightly, meeting Tokikake's gaze across a short distance.
The two had no intention of fighting, nor any reason to fight.
Just as Gion's target was Tokikake, Tsuru also knew that Gion and the others weren't truly aiming to annihilate the NEO Marine.
Otherwise, Rosse himself would have come.
'Young people nowadays really are strong.'
One against four, and in the end they still won.
If Rosse could defeat Whitebeard and Golden Lion together, he could certainly defeat people like them as well.
His not showing up now indirectly confirmed one of her guesses.
"That only looks like freedom. In reality you're still birds in a cage, aren't you?"
Gion sighed softly. Her temperament wasn't like Sora's; she had no interest in trading words with Tsuru.
Once this matter was finished, she still had to return to Wano.
Rosse had already urged her several times, saying he'd found the most precious thing left in Wano and wanted her to go back as a witness.
In truth, she wasn't particularly interested in those things.
But Rosse's way of inviting her filled her heart with warmth.
She wasn't good at scheming, yet Rosse never hid things from her; even when asking her to do something, he would later give her an analysis. That alone was enough for her.
"I've been standing here so long, and you still don't dare to appear? Tokikake?"
Gion's gaze glanced toward the cabin. Her Observation Haki was far stronger than Tokikake's; the other party indeed wanted to hide, but in front of her it was meaningless.
Her original target was Tokikake. There was no way she'd let him get away.
"Tch! You're still arrogantly like a swan, but how are you any different from those who stand at the branch doors selling themselves?", Tokikake walked out from the cabin. Compared to years ago, his bearing had somehow worsened.
Back then he merely looked sleazy, but still had a certain vigor.
Now he'd changed. His face remained lecherous, but his whole presence gave off the air of a petty thug.
"Can't get it, so just rage impotently? You haven't improved a bit, if anything you look like someone overindulged. Is that all you are?", Gion glanced at Tokikake with no courtesy at all.
Before her words had finished, an extremely sharp Conqueror's Haki burst from her body, sweeping toward Tokikake like a tide.
Each person's Conqueror's Haki bears a unique spiritual imprint.
If Rosse's Conqueror's Haki was deep and vast like the ocean, then Gion's was like ten thousand blades unleashed from the sky, forcing every living thing within its range to feel the agony of a hundred thousand swords piercing the heart.
Perhaps neither in quality nor quantity could her Conqueror's Haki compare to Rosse's, nor could it threaten a powerhouse like Tsuru, but it was more than enough to suppress Tokikake.
More than two years apart, she had already matured into a top-tier fighter, while Tokikake remained stagnant.
Because of the desolation of the East Blue, his body had been hollowed out and his will had grown more depressed.
"Wah!", Tokikake clutched his chest in pain and spat a great mouthful of blood.
The Conqueror's Haki cut his flesh like a blade; his internal organs felt as if pierced by countless swords.
"Damn it! How do you have Conqueror's Haki?", Tokikake's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Gion.
He didn't care about the minor wounds, what shook him was that Gion possessed Conqueror's Haki.
Conqueror's Haki!
Those who had it in the Marine were few, each unquestionably a top-tier powerhouse.
Why on earth could Gion have it too?
"Trash!"
Gion said coldly, not bothering further with Tokikake.
If Tokikake had been ashamed and turned to improve, a slight boost over two years, reaching at least B-rank, would've spared him from being hurt by her Conqueror's Haki.
But a man like him could only stand there and rage impotently.
Whoosh!
A flash of blade, Gion lifted Konpira and suddenly vanished from where she stood.
Tsuru, who had been watching, changed expression sharply. Her body moved like lightning, crossing dozens of meters to instantly block in front of the still-furious, unreactive Tokikake.
Tsuru's arms were wrapped in Armament Haki as she leapt up, crossing them into a defensive block posture.
Gion appeared right above Tsuru. Konpira, wrapped in a fierce slash that merged crimson and peach hues, came down with tremendous force, smashing into Tsuru's forearms.
At the instant of contact, Tsuru's face changed drastically.
"Conqueror's Haki Coating?"
She wasn't inexperienced; even if she rarely fought top-tier foes, she recognized this move's signature.
BOOM!
With no strength to counter, Tsuru's body was struck and flew like a kite with its string cut; her clothes tore, and countless small sword wounds appeared across her body.
Her power was not to be underestimated. She ranked at the top edge beneath true apex fighters; by Rosse's grading she'd be at least A+.
Yet facing Gion's thunderous strike, entwined with Conqueror's Haki from the outset, Tsuru's hurried defense was fragile. She was sent flying in the blink of an eye.
Only when Tsuru was blasted away did Tokikake snap awake, anxiously looking at Gion and exclaiming, "You!"
Before he could finish, a cold flash passed, his world flipped.
The last thing he saw was Tsuru's figure struggling to return, flashing past his sight, then plunging into eternal darkness.
Tokikake, had his head severed!
"GION!"
Tsuru stared at the easily slain Tokikake, her pupils contracting.
"Chief of Staff Tsuru, you should be the one to thank me. If you hadn't looked down on Tokikake and given me the chance to act, I wouldn't have been able to kill her so easily," Gion smiled sweetly at Tsuru, reciting the prepared lines.
Of course these weren't her own improvisations, this had been arranged before coming.
Tokikake's death had to carry value.
"I DIDN'T!", Tsuru shouted, furious. The moment Gion spoke, she understood what the other meant.
There were already internal conflicts within the NEO Marine. Tokikake belonged to the East Blue faction that actively defected, and he'd been easing relations between the sides.
Now, killed so casually in front of her, the East Blue Marines would inevitably suspect.
The NEO Marine was already in a bad state; internal strife would only make things worse.
"Chief of Staff Tsuru, you should also thank some people among your ranks who provided intel, otherwise we wouldn't have found you."
Gion finished her lines with a smile, sprouted a pair of bat wings behind her, and drifted away.
At the same time, as if sensing the situation on her side, others on the battlefield began to withdraw.
There were originally four top-tier fighters here. If they truly wanted to leave, Sengoku and the others wouldn't be able to stop them.
Besides, aside from Zephyr, the others either had spatial abilities or could fly; chasing them would likely result in being counter-killed.
Soon, the NEO fleet fell silent again, leaving only wreckage of ships and Tokikake's headless corpse.
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