While seemingly having a stare down in the middle of the air, I noticed Lindbergh was actually paying more attention to Trenza, who was doing her best to minimize her presence, than to me, which slightly annoyed but also filled me with curiosity.
"Hehe, have a problem with my crewmember? If you want to talk to Trenza, you'll have to take it up with me, the Captain." Said Diddy with a grin as he tightly clutched his bo-staff while looking at Lindbergh, who was intently eyeing Trenza.
"Trenza, so that's her name. No, I've got nothing to do with her; she just looks rather familiar, that's all." Remarked Lindbergh with a frown while eyeing Trenza before shaking his head and ignoring her as he wholeheartedly focused on Diddy floating in the air opposite him.
Seeing Lindbergh finally focus on me, I smirked, though before I engaged in battle, I was about to release Trenza from my back, yet I wasn't given a chance as Lindbergh unholstered his weird gun from his jetpack and fired condensed bullet-sized beams of water, which was honestly probably liquid nitrogen if I had to guess considering it's freezing properties.
"Dodge!!" Yelled Trenza in fear as she watched Lindbergh shoot at them, the projectiles moving faster than she could perceive, though the same couldn't be said for Diddy.
Just as Trenza yelled, I evaded every projectile, and although I wouldn't say it was easy, It was much easier than last time, despite having an extra person latched onto my back, though in all honesty, she's hardly hindering me.
"Tch, that's rather rude of you, Lindbergh, attacking before someone's ready; don't you see I've got a useless backpack!?" Remarked Diddy in annoyance, evading the projectiles with minimal movement as they flew right past him by a hair's breadth.
"Hey! I'm not useless!" Yelled Trenza angrily, though Diddy and Lindbergh promptly ignored her words.
"It matters naught to me; she's your crewmember, so she's also a pirate who goes around killing innocent people and plundering small defenseless islands. I've got no remorse for people who live like that." Stated Lindbergh calmly as he twisted a dial on the side of his gun, causing the projectiles to spew out in rapid succession, almost like a mini-gun.
"F-For the record, I've never killed any innocent people, so if you could be understanding and allow me to li-EEK!" Said Trenza with a harmless smile as she peeked her head from behind Diddy's head, only for a bullet-sized projectile to nearly freeze her head if it weren't for Diddy blocking it with his hand.
"Tch, don't move; next time, I'm not saving you, you stupid woman!" Yelled Diddy angrily as his left hand started turning icy blue while a powerful coldness invaded his arm, though it was quickly brought to a halt by lightning that suddenly emerged from his body.
'Ahh, that feels much better.' Mused Diddy as he lightly shook his left hand, the sensation in his arm returning.
Seeing how Lindbergh didn't intend to stop firing, meaning I'd have to get close and force him to stop firing, I brought forth Naga-sa and held it before me with both of my hands; slowly, I started spinning it, and with each rotation, I got faster and faster, until my bo-staff was just a blur as it created it's on powerful winds.
'72 Bian: variation 37, Whirlwind Storm!' Thought Diddy as he spun his bo-staff even faster than before, causing it to create a giant vortex of wind that dispersed all of the projectiles Lindbergh fired at him.
Once I had created a vortex of wind, I stopped spinning my bo-staff and entered the vortex, using the wind to increase my speed along with soru and geppo as I speedily approached Lindbergh without having to worry about accidentally getting hit with his freezing liquid. Within a few moments, I neared the end of the vortex, and just when it was slowing down to boot, exiting the vortex, I appeared right before Lindbergh and kicked down toward him, yet he quickly reacted by backing away with his jet-pack.
"Hehe, not so fast; don't think I'm about to let you gain some distance between us." Said Diddy with a smirk as he pointed his finger toward Lindbergh while lightning coiled around it.
'Lightning finger.' Thought Diddy with a feral grin as he used shigan while combining his lightning into it, increasing its power, speed, and piercing capabilities, though it was a challenging thing to do as one would need more than just simple mastery over the rokushiki techniques.
It seemed like Lindbergh could sense the power of this attack as I noticed his body instantly took on a black hue just as I shot, though what happened next filled the atmosphere in silence as we wordlessly looked into the air for several seconds.
"Umm, Captain; was that supposed to happen?" Asked Trenza in uncertainty as she looked a few feet before them where Diddy's attack dissipated into the air.
"Grr, what do you do you think, Trenza?" Replied Diddy with an angry growl as he stared at his finger.
"T-That could've been dangerous." Muttered Lindbergh from far away while wiping imaginary sweat as the black hue on his body receded.
As much as that angered me, It was my fault for attempting to use a new technique I spontaneously came up with; I should know better than anyone that the first time will always result in failure, despite how many martial arts or techniques I master.
'Besides, I was being overly ambitious; I don't think I'll able to do such a thing until I master that mysterious power; it seems like it would greatly help solidify some of my attacks.' Mused Diddy as he calmed down and lightly shook his head, using this chance of respite to grab Trenza off his back before throwing her toward Sebas, who, for the record, was quite a distance away.
"C-CAPTAAAAAAIN!!" Yelled Trenza as she flew through the sky like a bullet, heading directly for Sebas, who was busy fighting against several marine captains.
Watching Trenza disappear into the distance, I was about to turn around, but before I could, I sensed Lindbergh rapidly approaching me from behind as he attacked me with his elongated claws, causing me to twist my body to evade his deadly claws. Kicking at Lindbergh, who quickly blocked it, I jumped off his arms to gain some distance, though just as I did so, he swiftly neared me with his jetpack, causing me to click my tongue in annoyance.
"Tch, god dammit; making up your fucking mind! Are you fighting me up close or from a distance!?" Exclaimed Diddy in annoyance as he clawed toward Lindbergh while using rankyaku, causing five small sharp blades of wind to head right for him, though his blackened arm easily blocked them.
"Against Minks, I'll fight as a warrior, but against everyone else, I'll fight how I see fit." Remarked Lindbergh blandly as he speedily flew toward Diddy before punching him, and although he blocked, he still winced in pain.
'Better than before, but motherfucker, that hurts; nearly broke my arm again.' Mused Diddy with a frown as he shook off the pain and engaged in battle with Lindbergh; thanks to his improved strength, he could put up a much better fight, but despite that, he was still on the losing end.
I blocked one of his kicks, causing my arms to feel numb as I'm positive they cracked from the pressure, though I wasn't fast enough to react to his fist, which punched me right in the face, dislocating my jaw once again. However, with my hanging jaw, I retaliated by kneeing him in the stomach, causing him to wince in pain as I kicked off him, gaining distance, which I used as a chance to fix my jaw.
"It's only been three days, yet you've improved so much; we Minks are born warriors, but you're something else." Remarked Lindbergh with a frown as he patted his stomach while eying Diddy, imagining the monster he'd grow into if allowed to live.
"Hehe, I appreciate the compliment, but you better not chicken out now; the fun is only starting. Wouldn't you agree?" Said Diddy as he fixed his jaw and displayed a feral grin while lightning started to emerge from his body.
"Yes, I suppose it's about time to get serious, though I need to take this thing off." Replied Lindbergh with a slight nod as he turned his jetpack off, causing him to fall, though he turned it back on just before hitting the ground.
Following Lindbergh, I landed on the ground opposite him as I watched an egg-shaped man run off with his jetpack, a sight I found rather weird, but I didn't think much of it as this whole world seemed strange.
"I prefer fighting with my babies, but returning to your roots is fun." Muttered Lindbergh as he took off his goggles, revealing his beastly feline eyes before he eyed Diddy with a feral expression befitting of his species.
"Hehe, before we get things started, let's clear out the surrounding people. Wouldn't want them interfering with our battle." Remarked Diddy with a smirk as he looked around, spotting both marine and revolutionists engaging in their own fight.
Closing my eyes, I searched for that power dwelling within me, and although it was quite wild, after a little bit, it finally calmed down and heeded my call. Opening my eyes, I smirked as I released the invisible power, scattering it in a wide range, causing everyone surrounding us to suddenly drop to the ground unconscious.
"T-This feeling, I-It's the same one as Supreme Commander Dragon! C-Color of the Supreme King!" Yelled Lindbergh in utter shock as he felt Diddy's Haki envelope his body and attempt to enforce his will onto him.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, it also works this time; I've reset it again, https://discord.gg/UDA82gq7 (Note: this link only lasts for one week)
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 176: Opening of the Treasure Realm) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 57: Lavender's Birthday) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 90: Aftermath) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]