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Chapter 48 - Chapter 48: Beat Stussy!

As soon as he finished speaking, Finn's power surged.

Stussy in the air felt her body become extremely heavy. There seemed to be an invisible force in the air around her, pressing her down.

Geppo was completely unable to withstand this force. Stussy's figure was directly suppressed to the ground by Finn.

As her feet touched the ground, the earth began to crumble.

If Stussy wasn't quite strong, she probably would have been driven into the ground.

Holding back this invisible gravity, Stussy asked with shock in her eyes, "What ability did you use?"

There was no intention to hide it. After all, there was no need. As he gradually became active at sea, his abilities would sooner or later be fully exposed.

Therefore, Finn said frankly, "As a member of the intelligence agencies, Miss Stussy doesn't seem very proficient in her profession. I eat the Press-Press Fruit."

"Press-Press Fruit?" Stussy was shocked.

The CP agencies naturally had a Devil Fruit encyclopedia and were quite knowledgeable about Devil Fruits. As for the Press-Press Fruit, Stussy was very familiar with it.

It was undoubtedly a very powerful Paramecia ability and could be called a top-tier Paramecia.

The Rear Admiral before her, relying on this ability alone, was already on the path to becoming truly powerful!

Thinking this, Stussy no longer hesitated. She kicked off the ground and disappeared directly. She used Soru.

The next moment, she appeared behind Finn, raising her leg to kick at Finn's neck.

"Perhaps the CP agencies have forgotten the prefix of the Six Powers... but it's 'Marine,'" Finn said softly.

Just as Stussy's kick was about to hit Finn's neck, his figure suddenly disappeared from her sight.

"Shigan: Black Impact!" Finn said in a low voice.

His figure had already arrived behind Stussy. His fingers, coated with Armament Haki, were jet black and pointed straight at Stussy's back.

"Tekkai!" Stussy growled.

Haki instantly wrapped around her. Simultaneously, her body stiffened as Tekkai activated.

Finn's Shigan struck her body as if pointing at adamantium, making a clanging sound like metal colliding.

Though she blocked it, Stussy still felt pain.

But before she could counterattack, she felt the fingers behind her flick lightly.

The next second, powerful gravity erupted again. Her figure shot away like a cannonball, propelled by just one of Finn's fingers.

To be honest, Finn was also slightly surprised.

The two sides had exchanged several moves so far, but in his opinion, Stussy was too weak!

There was no trace of that dominance felt on Whole Cake Island more than twenty years later, when she'd killed the King of Loan Sharks instantly with a Hishigan from miles away.

"Maybe it's because this woman is still in her growth period?" Finn thought.

She wasn't a normal human, after all—Stussy was MADS' first successful clone. Even if she looked complete on the surface, her body might still be catching up to her creation.

He hadn't realized this was a common problem among Cipher Pol agents.

Even Lucci, hailed later as CP9's most talented member in eight hundred years was no exception.

Because agents were often assigned to long-term infiltration missions, many spent years living under false identities to gather intelligence.

During that time, proper training was nearly impossible. Their bodies adapted to their covers rather than to combat.

As a result, their strength fluctuated constantly. Some improved for a time, only to regress after years of inactivity. It was difficult for them to achieve balanced, steady growth.

The same was true for Stussy. It wasn't until she was promoted to CP-0, left the CP agencies, and went to the underworld to establish the intelligence organization Pleasure Street that she finally had some freedom. During this period, her strength exploded.

Nowadays, even though she was CP-9's commander, her strength really wasn't anything special.

Stussy was also very shocked, because she knew very well that though her strength wasn't top-tier, it was enough to become a competent Vice Admiral even in the Marines.

Overall, she possessed the strength of an average Marine Vice Admiral.

Though she hadn't really taken it seriously just now, she'd had almost no ability to fight back against Finn.

Sure enough, that guy was a monster no less powerful than Kuzan and the others back then.

In fact, Finn's assessment of his own strength wasn't as accurate as Stussy's.

Maybe it was because he was in a difficult position, but the targets he compared himself to at Headquarters were people like Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino.

People like them, though they held Vice Admiral rank, their own strength couldn't be summarized by that rank alone.

If given a few more years, they'd be able to become Admiral-level combat forces.

Perhaps because he always compared himself to them and had never fought or sparred with other Vice Admirals, Finn sometimes naturally forgot these people's specialness. He always felt Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals should all be at their level.

Additionally, Finn always felt he didn't have outstanding abilities in all aspects, so he underestimated himself.

He didn't have any particular strengths that stood out, but he was steady in every area. When that steadiness combined into complete balance, it became something formidable.

Now, as he developed and valued his abilities, he actually had some outstanding aspects. However, he subconsciously compared himself with Fujitora and always felt he was still far behind in terms of abilities.

Both had many thoughts racing through their minds, but Stussy quickly came to her senses. Her aura became serious, not daring to hold back.

"Six Powers Secret: Scarlet Drive!" Stussy growled.

As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of air suddenly erupted from her body. Her skin gradually began to turn red, and her pupils quickly contracted.

Finn didn't know what was happening. After all, when the Six Powers were developed to the extreme, the extended skills mastered by each person were different.

The mysteries learned were also different.

But on the surface, this seemed to be an explosive-type technique?

Sure enough, just as he had this thought, Stussy moved.

This time, her speed was so fast that Finn couldn't keep up with Six Powers alone.

In an instant, Stussy appeared beside Finn, like a female leopard, with her hands and feet touching the ground simultaneously.

Then she grabbed with both hands, digging them directly into the earth. Her body seemed to do a spinning sweep, and her feet lashed out with Rankyaku's power.

Finn maintained a certain gravity pressure within half a meter around himself. At this moment, Stussy's explosive technique seemed to have completely resisted this force, moving very quickly.

Finn had always felt Stussy might not be as weak as she appeared. He'd had doubts, so he didn't underestimate her sudden burst. He released the gravity on his body, entering a state of zero gravity. In this state, his Soru speed could also reach the extreme.

Before Stussy's swift kick could hit him, Finn distanced himself and dodged the attack.

The two powerful kicks were unstoppable, flying directly into the air, chopping the towering bell tower in the distance into three pieces!

"This Rankyaku is comparable to a great swordsman's slash..." Finn sighed internally.

"Five Cloud Claws!" Stussy caught up with Finn again. Her hands formed claws, grabbing at Finn's shoulders.

It was visible to the naked eye that all ten of her fingers were sharp, like blades.

"It's obviously the Ten Storm Claws, right? As expected of CP, the names of their moves are so deceptive..." Finn complained.

Simultaneously, gravity on his body suddenly burst out, repelling in all directions, omnidirectional, with no blind spots!

It was somewhat like Shinra Tensei!

Stussy's slender body failed to break through. Her body suddenly stopped under gravity's repulsion.

At that moment, cold light flashed in Finn's hand. Sōzai slashed out.

"Gravity Blade: Tiger Bite!" Finn growled.

A halo of energy flowed on the blade. In the blink of an eye, this halo transformed into a tiger's shape. The blade swung past, and the tiger broke free from the blade, pouncing directly at Stussy.

Facing this tiger-like attack, Stussy was controlled by gravity and couldn't dodge in time. She stretched out her arms to block, Armament Haki and Tekkai bursting out simultaneously, ready to take it head-on.

She could only take it head-on!

In an instant, it was as if a real tiger had leapt at her. The impact was overwhelming—Stussy couldn't resist at all and was sent flying.

Her already flushed face deepened to crimson, her aura unraveling under the crushing pressure. A sharp pain surged through her chest, and blood spilled from her lips.

Before she could fly far, Finn swung his sword downward in the air, whispering, "Gravity Blade: Tiger Fall!"

The gravity applied to Stussy suddenly changed direction, slamming her to the ground with her limbs pressed flat.

The sudden shift in gravity struck Stussy again, forcing another mouthful of blood from her lips.

She pressed her palms against the ground, struggling to rise, but the weight only grew heavier. No matter how much strength she gathered, she couldn't lift herself—completely pinned under Finn's control.

Finn quietly sheathed his sword, yet the crushing pressure remained. He stepped forward at an unhurried pace, eyes calm.

"Miss Stussy," he said evenly, "you lose."

There was no pride in his voice, only clarity. In that moment, Finn finally understood why the Cipher Pol agencies could never match Marine Headquarters in true combat strength.

After all, everyone had their specialties. As the main force on the front battlefield, the Marines' combat strength was naturally stronger.

Judging from how the CP agencies specialized in the Six Powers, there was no doubt they focused more on assassination techniques. They weren't used to this kind of head-on confrontation.

If Stussy were given a chance to find a way to assassinate Finn, he might actually fall into her trap.

So there was nothing to be proud of when professionals bullied amateurs.

Stussy struggled several times, but the gravity pressing her down was so intense she couldn't stand. She felt ashamed watching Finn approach.

But she was CP-9's commander after all. She didn't lose her composure. After realizing she couldn't compete with Finn through direct strength, the violent airflow and aura around her body gradually dissipated. Her red skin returned to white, and her pupils returned to normal.

"I lost," Stussy said seriously.

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt the gravity on her body suddenly disappear.

For a moment, she wanted to attack again, but seeing Finn's calm expression, she finally resisted the urge.

Stussy stood up from the ground, slowly stabilizing her fluctuating breathing. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "The Marines are so fortunate to have someone like you. As a sister organization, I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with you, Rear Admiral Finn, in the future."

Finn smiled. "I'm also looking forward to working with Miss Stussy. By the way, has Miss Stussy ever considered switching jobs? I very much hope Miss Stussy would join our Marines' Intelligence Department..."

Stussy's expression froze.

Was this guy serious?

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