Vasco Shot's target was also Vane. Everyone tacitly agreed that Vane posed the greatest threat. Of the three leaders, two came to deal with him, while the remaining one—the man with the staff—went to find Fujitora. In his mind, he planned to finish Fujitora with a single strike before turning back to gang up on Vane.
"Be careful."
Snow and wind swirled beneath Vane's feet, rapidly engulfing his figure. As the blizzard faded, his silhouette reappeared—already in his Blood Demon Art state.
"Lackeys of the Celestial Dragons, let me see what you're capable of."
The CP0 agent used a practiced Soru step, and Vane did the same. The two, who had been more than ten meters apart, instantly met in the middle—elbow crashing against elbow.
Bang!
They held for less than half a second before CP0's arm began to tremble and give way, forced backward uncontrollably.
"Worororo~"
Vasco Shot coated his massive wine gourd in Busoshoku Haki and hurled it like a heavy projectile straight at Vane.
"Get lost!"
Seeing this, Vane finally exerted himself seriously, using Ryuo Haki.
This time, CP0 had no ability to resist at all and was sent flying by the elbow strike.
The jet-black gourd, covered in Armament Haki, was already descending above Vane's head.
Boom!
The gourd smashed into the ground with a heavy crash. A circular web of cracks spread outward for over a dozen meters—clear proof of the attack's formidable power.
Unfortunately, it didn't hit its target. Vasco Shot reacted a beat too late, swinging his hand backward in a blind strike.
"Too slow."
Before Vasco Shot could even finish turning his body, Vane's kick slammed into his side. He flew like a ball and crashed into his own gourd.
A veteran of many battles, Vasco Shot rolled with the impact, hugging his gourd as he widened the distance between them.
"As expected of an 1.1 billion Belly bounty."
Vasco Shot wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth. Anyone would suffer after taking a hit to the kidneys like that.
That alone showed how impressive Akainu's defense was—he'd once taken a punch from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit with his waist and still endured.
At that moment, CP0 lunged back in. He was faster than Vasco Shot and could at least serve to stall.
"You attack!"
CP0 repeatedly used Soru, trying to confine Vane within a limited range. Vasco Shot uncorked his wine gourd, and a rich aroma of alcohol drifted into the air.
Glug, glug—
After taking a huge swig, the flush on Vasco Shot's face deepened, and his eyes grew unfocused.
Whoosh!
His speed noticeably increased. Even more obvious was the boost in strength—one stomp of his foot created a massive crater in the ground.
While Vane was entangled with CP0, he saw the attack coming and smiled faintly, shifting his fist technique mid-motion.
Vasco Shot suddenly felt a strange force guiding his punch slightly off course!
"What's going on?!"
"You almost hit me!"
Nearly caught in the crossfire, CP0 shouted at Vasco Shot in alarm.
Vane felt a bit of regret. The true Flowing Water Crushing Rock Fist was extremely effective against humanoid opponents—it could precisely redirect an enemy's attack onto someone else.
But his own Flowing Water Crushing Rock Fist couldn't achieve that level of precision, nor could it truly use four ounces to move a thousand pounds. At best, it was eight hundred pounds deflecting a thousand—reliable under pressure, but nothing more.
Against weaker opponents, it was far easier to simply crush them with raw strength, or use the Whirlwind Cutting Fist. Flowing Water was better suited for enduring pressure—fighting evenly matched monsters.
With that thought, Vane gave up the idea of probing with his fists and focused instead on gripping his Cursed Sword.
"Tekkai!"
CP0 instinctively activated Tekkai. Sure enough, in the very next instant, a slash of sword energy came flying at his face.
Clang—shhk!
He blocked it, but not completely. A line of blood appeared across his chest, quickly freezing over with a layer of frost.
"What a fast sword."
He hadn't even seen how the blade was swung. It was pure instinct that warned him of danger and triggered his defense.
Tekkai activated faster than Soru. If he had tried to escape with Soru just now, he likely would have been cut down by the flying slash before even leaving his spot.
Vasco Shot and the agent grew even more cautious. Their coordination was decent—one harassing, the other attacking—but even so, sword wounds continued to accumulate across their bodies.
Vane, by contrast, had only a slightly dirtied hem.
In Vane's eyes, the two of them were only a notch stronger than Daifuku and Oven—roughly at a 400 million Belly level. Hardly a real threat.
"What's that bastard with the staff doing? Why hasn't he come to help yet?!"
"Does it really take that long to deal with a blind man?!"
CP0 could feel it—they were mice, and Vane was the cat toying with them. The two of them were no match. If the man with the staff joined in, they might still have a sliver of hope.
Taking advantage of a moment while Vasco Shot attacked, he glanced back to see what the staff wielder was doing—
—and witnessed a scene that shattered his "heart."
The blind man, who should have been easily dealt with in his mind, stood calmly where he was. Meanwhile, the staff wielder lay in a deep crater, covered in sword wounds.
The crater didn't look like it had been smashed out. It looked more like something immensely heavy had pressed him into the ground.
"I'll trouble you to lie there a little longer."
Fujitora stepped lightly over the unconscious staff wielder and continued walking inward.
"It's over! That blind man's a master too!"
The staff wielder was the Loan Shark King's trusted subordinate—easily worth two or three hundred million. Yet he had been rendered incapable of fighting so quickly. Everyone had underestimated the blind man.
Vasco Shot realized something was wrong as well. The two of them were already riddled with injuries just fighting Vane alone—and now they were being told the blind man was equally formidable.
He immediately pulled out his trump card and gulped down a mouthful of his secret wine, boosting his stats across the board once more.
"That's right—if we go all out, we still have—"
The agent hadn't even finished speaking when he saw Vasco Shot turn and run.
What the hell! He boosted himself with alcohol just to prepare for escape?!
Vasco Shot felt not the slightest psychological burden. He came from a pirate background—what was strange about running when you couldn't win? He had already taken plenty of sword wounds in this fight and had done his part.
One opponent was already too much. The other was also extremely strong. Staying meant certain death. If he didn't run now, when would he?
He was even worried the agent might try to flee too—so he had to boost himself enough to run faster than the agent.
As long as he ran faster than his companion, he didn't have to worry about being chased down.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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