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Waiting outside the auction house, Alex scanned the surroundings and saw Marines beginning to encircle the building.
By his estimate, they had arrived quickly—faster than expected, even with Observation Haki monitoring the scene. It seemed word had spread almost instantly, as the Marines had intercepted all communications from within, including the Den Den Mushi.
In just ten minutes, a fully armed Marine garrison, no doubt coordinated by the nearby Naval Headquarters, had taken up their positions, ready for confrontation.
When Alex finally stepped out, the school-ranked Marine officer standing at the forefront held back the command to fire. Instead, he raised his voice, declaring,
"Assaulting the nobles and disrupting an auction house are serious crimes! Surrender now, or we will use force!"
At the officer's words, the surrounding Marines lifted their rifles, all aiming straight at Alex, waiting for his response.
"And if I don't surrender?" Alex replied coolly, glancing around as he drew his sword, Akazakura, from his side. Holding the famed blade in hand, his fingers itched with anticipation.
"Fire!"
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
At the officer's command, a barrage of bullets and cannon fire tore through the air, raining down on Alex like a furious storm.
—Whoosh!
But in a flash, Alex moved faster than the bullets, leaving only a black blur of afterimages as he dodged the barrage effortlessly. Within moments, he had slipped through the encirclement, closing in on the Marines stationed tens of meters away. The blade in his hand gleamed, and with a powerful swing—
"Gah!"
A dozen Marines cried out in pain, blood spilling as they were sent flying backward.
"Damn it!" Seeing his comrades fall, a group of Marines rushed forward with swords and rifles, anger overtaking their caution.
Without hesitation, Alex raised Akazakura, unleashing a sharp, blinding sword slash that sliced through the incoming artillery shells. The rounds exploded in midair, bursting into dust as his flying slash tore through the ground and atmosphere alike, barreling straight toward the Marines.
"Swish!"
Just as the Marines widened their eyes in panic, another powerful flying slash cut through the air from the opposite side, meeting Alex's attack head-on. The two slashes collided, canceling each other out and sparing the garrison from further harm.
At the same moment, Alex sensed a second, needle-sharp attack approaching from his side. His Observation Haki alert, he quickly pivoted, bringing Akazakura up to block. The blades clashed with a piercing screech, each parry and strike brimming with a fierce, razor-sharp energy.
Seeing the initial move fail, the opponent quickly adjusted, using Shave to create distance between themselves.
In a flash, the opponent leaped back and slashed forward, unleashing a powerful crescent-shaped sword strike.
This time, the attack was coated in a deep, potent Armament Haki—far more formidable than the standard Marine techniques Alex had seen before.
Intrigued, Alex responded in kind, channeling his own Haki into his sword with Emission, meeting the attack head-on.
"Boom—!"
The clash was intense. Though the opponent's Armament Haki began to dissipate against Alex's, his attack still shattered through the sword energy and tore into the ground, forcing his opponent back several meters.
As the distance opened, Alex finally took a clear look at his opponent's face.
The Marine officer nearby gasped as he recognized her, exclaiming, "Rear Admiral Gion!"
Alex was also familiar with her reputation. Standing before him was Gion, also known as "Momousagi," a prominent figure among the Marines and one of the candidates for the position of future Admiral. The tall, black-haired woman wore a coat bearing the insignia of a high-ranking Marine and held her famed sword, Kinpira, which clashed brilliantly against Alex's Akazakura.
"Everyone, fall back and call for reinforcements!" Gion commanded firmly, her voice sharp. "This opponent is beyond your capabilities."
Through only a few exchanges, Gion had gauged Alex's strength—his Observation Haki, his Armament Haki, and his swordsmanship were leagues beyond what she'd expect in the first half of the Grand Line.
She could tell that he was holding back, a fact that unsettled her. Though she was a seasoned Rear Admiral with a reputation even within Marine Headquarters, her untrained subordinates would only be burdens against an opponent of this caliber.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her weapon held at the ready. "If you're not a pirate, why are you causing trouble here?"
After briefly recalling the notable pirates in this part of the Grand Line, Gion found she had no information on this man before her.
"Pirates aren't the only ones who break the law, you know," Alex replied with a casual shrug. Then, with a hint of a smirk, he added, "But I suppose rules are rules, aren't they?"
In the world governed by the Marines, anyone who dared to set out to sea without authorization was labeled a pirate, regardless of their reasons. Hearing his words, Gion's expression grew colder, her red-brown eyes narrowing sharply.
She steadied her stance and, with a swift step forward, closed the distance between them. Her fierce attack launched a storm of sword strikes, each aimed with deadly precision at vital points.
Alex shifted back, retreating to create space. With Armament Haki coating his Akazakura, he noticed something unusual—his Haki seemed to flow toward his sword almost involuntarily, as if Akazakura itself was drawing in the energy. Swinging the blade, he unleashed a powerful counter-strike.
When his blade met Gion's attack, her fierce sword energy seemed to fold like paper, her slashes cut down effortlessly by the crimson energy radiating from Akazakura. While Gion's eyes widened in shock, Alex's gaze fixed on his sword, curious about what he'd just experienced.
It wasn't just his Haki wrapped around the blade; as he channeled Armament Haki, he felt his energy converge toward Akazakura instinctively, as though the sword itself was somehow amplifying his power.
For a moment, Alex realized something vital.
'Is this an attack style that abandons all defenses?'
Akazakura seemed to draw in every bit of Armament Haki he could channel, concentrating it all into the blade alone. This ultimate offensive technique, one that Akazakura seemed uniquely suited for, devoured his Haki completely, amplifying the weapon's power to its peak.
With this understanding, Alex allowed the flow of Haki to continue pouring into Akazakura, heightening its momentum as he prepared for an unrelenting attack.
Seeing this shift, Gion didn't back down; instead, she stepped forward with resolve.
"Shave!"
In an instant, Gion's figure blurred, her speed far surpassing that of an ordinary Marine. Dodging Alex's strike at the last possible second, she lunged forward, her blade coated with Armament Haki as she launched a lightning-fast counterattack.
Without moving from his spot, Alex pivoted, tilting Akazakura's hilt downward while lifting the blade. His sword met Gion's strike in perfect timing.
"Boom!"
"Whooooosh!"
The force of their clashing Haki and sword techniques whipped up a powerful gust around them.
"Clang!"
In that intense moment, Akazakura—already coated in Alex's Armament Haki—flared with a deep, crimson hue, as though the sword itself was infused with blood. With a vicious hiss, Gion felt a sharp sting in her wrist as her Haki coating shattered under the pressure. Forced to retreat, she leaped back tens of meters, her eyes wide with shock.
'Impossible.' She struggled to comprehend what had just happened. 'My Shave's speed is known across the Marines. It's what earned me the title 'Momousagi' for my rabbit-like agility and unpredictability.'
Yet, this man before her had not only blocked her attack without needing to dodge, but he also seemed to anticipate her movement, meeting her blow as if he could read the exact direction of her strike. And his Haki—her own Armament Haki entanglement had been broken, completely overwhelmed.
'This level of swordsmanship and control over Haki is rare even in the New World. How could someone like this be here, on Sabaody Archipelago? Who is he?'
Before she could gather her thoughts, Alex launched another assault.
—Whoosh!
With lightning speed, he vaulted high into the air, Akazakura raised above him.
"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
Several enormous slashes arced through the air, descending toward the ground with devastating force, each strike gouging deep, jagged cracks upon impact.
Realizing the immense power behind his Haki, Gion understood that she couldn't risk a direct clash. Not one to rely solely on brute strength, she dodged skillfully, moving in rapid succession to avoid each descending blow.
'So, the future Admiral candidate is all about speed,' Alex mused to himself, admiring her agility.
With a keen awareness of Akazakura's unique properties, Alex felt a deep resonance between his Haki and the blade. His attacks with Akazakura were now as potent as if he had coated his entire body in Haki, amplifying his swordsmanship to new heights.
With his stamina waning and the risk of Marine reinforcements arriving—possibly even someone like Garp—Alex decided it was time to end this quickly. He took a step back, speaking calmly to Gion.
"Then, let's wrap it up here."
Hearing his words, Gion hesitated for a moment. His demeanor suggested he was serious, yet confident enough to make her wary. Squatting slightly, Alex braced himself.
'He's going to try to finish this with one final move!
At once, Gion raised her guard, wrapping Kinpira tightly in Armament Haki. She locked onto Alex, honing her Observation Haki to its limit, ready to react to the slightest movement. Though her strength rivaled that of a Vice Admiral, she had been at a disadvantage throughout this fight. Gion wasn't about to underestimate him.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Alex disappeared. The next blink brought him right into Gion's line of sight, his figure looming large before her.
His speed had doubled, thanks to his Devil Fruit power, and he struck with blinding precision.
'Impossible! He was holding back all along!' Gion thought in shock, realizing she couldn't evade. Just as he had anticipated her every move earlier, she now relied solely on her Observation Haki to track the attack's trajectory. She raised her sword just in time to intercept the blow.
The two legendary blades clashed again.
As sparks erupted on impact, a shockwave burst from the clash, fracturing the ground beneath them.
Crack!
The ground split wide, cracks radiating outward. Once again, Gion's Armament Haki faltered under Akazakura's amplified power, her defenses buckling. Akazakura, empowered by Alex's Haki and his boosted speed, bore down on her with devastating force.
The ground beneath her heels shattered, creating a fan-shaped fissure as she struggled to maintain her stance. Finally, the relentless pressure forced her back, and with a tremendous crash, Gion was launched across the battlefield, slamming into the outer wall of the auction house.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Debris scattered as she hit the wall, leaving a deep impact crater. Before she could fully regain her footing, Alex was already upon her, his blade arcing upward to knock Kinpira from her grasp. The sword clattered to the ground, leaving her defenseless as Alex lowered Akazakura to rest against her shoulder.
"You lose."