"Don't worry, I'll ask Garp first if they have a Eternal Pose to Fish-Man Island."
Ikki shook his head, wrapped his arm around Gion's waist, and used Geppo to fly toward the Marine warship where Garp and Chaton were waiting.
By now, the Straw Hat Pirates had most likely already left Water 7. To prevent the famous sword Shusui from falling into Zoro's hands, Ikki knew he had to reach the next destination quickly.
If he waited for the Log Pose to store Water 7's magnetic field, it would take a full five days. If he really had to wait that long, Ikki felt certain that Zoro would have already claimed the famous sword Shusui and taken it away.
Of course, there was still a chance the Straw Hat Pirates hadn't gone to the Florian Triangle and hadn't encountered Moria's pirate ship. However, Ikki didn't want to gamble on that possibility.
"Is there something else you need?"
Garp looked at Ikki and Gion with some confusion.
When Chaton saw Ikki's hand on Gion's waist, his face became even colder, as if all hope had drained from his life.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you should have a Eternal Pose pointing toward Fish-Man Island. Can you give me one? I want to reach Sabaody Archipelago as soon as possible."
Ikki said with a laugh.
"A Eternal Pose to Fish-Man Island? That's not something I can just give to outsiders." Garp paused, then waved his hand dismissively. "Well, forget it. You're considered a friend of the Marines, so it won't hurt to give you one."
Garp gestured behind him, and an adjutant immediately brought over the permanent pointer.
"Thanks, Vice Admiral Garp."
After receiving the permanent pointer, Ikki was about to offer a few more words of thanks to Garp when he suddenly felt an strange aura coming from Gion beside him.
He frowned and quickly turned to look at her. Garp and Chaton also sensed the unusual energy radiating from Gion and turned their attention to her as well.
What happened next surprised them all.
The Demon Slayer Mark covering less than half of Gion's cheek began to shrink. After a few seconds, the mark on the right side of her neck contracted into a small flame-like pattern.
Not only that, but Gion's hair, which had turned snow-white, instantly returned to its natural black color.
"This... what is this?!" Chaton stood up from the deck, staring at Gion in disbelief.
"Gion, you succeeded? How do you feel now?" Garp asked quickly.
Gion touched her neck and looked at her hair, which had returned to its black color. She was overwhelmed with emotion. She knew her own body well, and at this moment, she could clearly feel how stable her condition had become.
Even if she wasn't with Ikki, she no longer had to worry about losing her life force due to the Demon Slayer Mark.
"Congratulations, Gion. You did it." Ikki removed his hand from Gion's waist and retracted the Demon Slayer Mark from his own face, speaking with a smile.
By observing Gion's condition, he had confirmed that the woman before him had successfully activated her natural Demon Slayer Mark.
"This is all thanks to you, Ikki. Although my physical strength is still lacking, I should be able to recover after a short rest." Gion smiled, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at Ikki.
She understood that without Ikki's dedicated efforts, she never would have been able to activate the natural Demon Slayer Mark so quickly.
"Since your health is no longer a problem, do you want to come back with us, Gion? You could return and attend some meetings at Marine Headquarters," Garp suggested at the right moment.
After hearing Garp's words, Chaton also looked at Gion expectantly.
"Yes, Gion, there's a lot happening at Marine Headquarters right now. You should come with us."
Chaton still couldn't give up on Gion. In his mind, if she left Ikki's side now, maybe after a few days, she could become the Gion she once was. That way, he might still have a chance.
However, Gion saw through his thoughts immediately. She smiled and took Ikki's hand.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I will return to Marine Headquarters with you, but can you wait for me a little while? It's rare that I came to Water 7 with my boyfriend. I want to walk around the city with Ikki. Also, I have some questions about swordsmanship that I'd like to ask him while I have the chance."
CRACK!
The sudden scene made Chaton feel like he could hear the sound of glass breaking. He stood frozen in place, as if his soul had left his body.
Garp glanced sympathetically at Chaton, then nodded to Gion. "Alright, if it's just a few hours, we can afford to wait."
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Garp."
Gion smiled. This time, she wrapped her arms around Ikki's waist and flew directly toward Water 7 using Geppo.
"Stay strong, Chaton." Garp looked at the backs of Ikki and Gion as they flew away together, patting Chaton's shoulder.
However, as soon as he spoke those words, Chaton couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears.
"Waaahhhhh!"
Money makes the world go round - this saying held true everywhere. With several billion Berry in capital, Ikki and his crew quickly purchased a medium-sized three-masted sailing ship in Water 7 that was perfect for their current crew size.
Ikki regretted that there were no treasure tree ships available here.
"Ikki, our flag is up! This way, it'll be our new Explorer," Vivi called out after hanging the flag. She jumped down from the mast with a smile on her face.
"Ikki, we've moved everything from the original Explorer, and we got a good price when we sold the old ship," Nami said as she jumped onto the deck from the shore, giving Ikki an "okay" gesture.
"Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. I'll guard the ship for now. You all go explore Water 7 and buy some supplies. Oh, and Kalifa, you must have many acquaintances here. Make sure you control your temper and don't blow your cover."
Ikki spoke to Nami, Vivi, Nojiko, Nico Robin, and Kalifa, who were standing nearby.
Kalifa had worked as a spy in Water 7 for several years before finally losing her identity as a CP9 agent because of a mission in the city. Ikki was genuinely worried that she wouldn't be able to control her temper and would attack Mayor Iceburg directly.
"Don't worry, Ikki. I know what's going on and I won't mess around," Kalifa said with a slight nod, speaking seriously.
"Good. Go to Water 7 with Nami and the others to buy some clothes that suit you. That black stocking secretary uniform that got torn before - you can buy two more sets," Ikki said with a laugh.
Kalifa pushed up her glasses, but this time she didn't say anything about Ikki's harassment. She just looked at him with some inexplicable emotions flickering in her eyes.
"Ikki, are you staying because you want to spend some alone time with Gion? You're really something - wanting to take a bath with Gion before she leaves," Nico Robin said, holding her chin with one hand and looking at Ikki and Gion with interest.
Hearing Robin's words, Nojiko and the others also looked over curiously. Kalifa's eyes especially flashed with an inexplicable light when she looked at Ikki.
As a new crew member, she didn't know what Ikki had experienced with Gion before. Now that she heard Ikki seemed to often bathe with Gion, she was naturally quite curious.
"It's not wrong if you put it that way," Ikki smiled and continued. "After this, Gion will leave the Explorer and return to Marine Headquarters. Before that, she wanted to ask me about swordsmanship and spar with me again. As for why she's in the bathroom now, she naturally wants to fully recover her physical fitness before discussing sword-related matters with me."
After hearing this explanation, Robin and the others nodded and each left the deck, walking toward Water 7.
What they thought in their hearts and whether they believed Ikki's statement - only they themselves knew.
Seeing everyone leave, Ikki also walked into the cabin of the new Explorer. After calling out the door to the training room on the wall of the captain's quarters, Ikki stepped inside, came to the arena, sat down cross-legged, and waited quietly for Gion's arrival.
Half an hour later, Gion, who had changed back into her Marine uniform and showed off her long, slender legs, walked into the sword training room and came to Ikki's side.
"I'm ready," Ikki opened his eyes and looked at Gion.
"Yeah." Gion raised the corner of her mouth, drew the long sword from her waist and pointed it at Ikki. "Then I'll be counting on you, Ikki."
Ikki nodded slightly, stood up from the floor and drew Zangetsu from his waist.
"Gion, if you want to learn Transparent World, I can teach you. I've already told you the method to master it. Next, it depends on you to truly activate the power of this Demon Slayer Mark. I'll fight you using the state of seeing through the world and the swordsmanship of Moon Breathing. Try to understand it yourself."
As he spoke, Ikki's blade became entangled with several crescent-shaped air currents, clearly using the breathing method of Moon Breathing.
In guiding Gion to unlock the power of the 'Transparent World', Ikki was being careful. Now that he had gained considerable trust from Gion, Ikki didn't mind strengthening this trust even more.
One day in the future, Ikki felt he might be able to use this trust and friendship. Not only the power of 'Transparent World' - if Gion could master it, Ikki even planned to let her try to defeat Gion's sword shadow in the future to obtain the swordsmanship of the 'Mountain-Cutting Realm'.
This way, the favor would be even greater. Ikki felt that based on his understanding of Gion's character these past days, even if he did have a conflict with the Marines in the future, Gion would help him to some extent depending on the situation.
"I'll take this seriously, Ikki." Gion took a deep breath and fully activated her Observation Haki, completely covering Ikki's body.
After sensing Ikki's body state, which seemed completely shielded from emotions, she suddenly rushed toward him.
"Moon Breathing, First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace!"
Because he wanted to show Gion the power of seeing through the world, Ikki deliberately slowed down his attack, executing the sword techniques of Moon Breathing in perfect harmony with Gion's rhythm.
To Ikki's surprise, only ten minutes had passed when Gion actually began to gradually enter the 'Transparent World'.
As someone who had mastered the power of 'Transparent World' and superior Observation Haki, Ikki could clearly feel the changes in Gion.
Thirty minutes later, Ikki discovered that Gion had completely entered the state of 'Transparent World'. At the same time, the speed and movements of her sword swings were becoming more and more tricky. Even though Ikki had Observation Haki that could see through the world and predict the future, it was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with her attacks.
It was as if Gion could also predict the future.
"Stop - let's end here." After their swords collided again, Ikki stopped the fight.
"Hah..." Gion took a long breath, exited the state of seeing through the world, and looked at Ikki with excited eyes. "Ikki, thank you for your help in mastering this wonderful power. Being able to see through the world is really powerful. It can not only see through other people's skin directly to their internal organs, helping me find your weaknesses, but it also seems to be able to predict the future. This is just like the rumored Observation Haki that can predict the future."
"Speaking of which, if one can see through other people's clothes, then when I wear clothes or wrap myself in a towel in the bathroom, wouldn't I still be naked in front of you?"
Gion said, showing an inexplicable smile to Ikki.
There was a flush on her face - whether from excitement or shyness, it was hard to tell.
"First of all, congratulations, Gion. Congratulations on mastering the 'Transparent World'. There isn't much more I can teach you about breathing techniques and swordsmanship. Also, there's one more thing I need to remind you - the ability to predict the future isn't the ability of seeing through the world. It's your Observation Haki's ability."
Ikki looked seriously at Gion in front of him. Before him was an attribute panel belonging to Gion that only he could see. Above it, four large characters were clearly displayed: Future Vision!
[Name: Gion]
[Age: 38 years old]
[Weapon: None]
[Life Force: 80,800, SS+ level]
[Sword Realm: Mountain-Cutting Realm]
[Swordsmanship Style: Momousagi Single-Sword Style, Moon Breathing]
[Abilities: Advanced Armament Haki, Intermediate Observation Haki (Future Vision), Innate Demon Slayer Mark]
"Observation Haki that predicts the future...? Have I really awakened such an ability? But... why?"
Gion opened her mouth in surprise, asking Ikki in disbelief. But soon, a light flashed in her eyes as she asked tentatively, "Ikki, could it be that the ability to see through the world helps awaken Observation Haki that can foresee the future?"
Before awakening the Transparent World, she hadn't been able to predict the future with her Observation Haki. But after awakening the Transparent World, she soon developed Future Vision.
After personally experiencing the ability of "Transparent World," Gion deeply understood that it and Observation Haki had a lot in common. Under such circumstances, how could she not think of the connection between Future Vision and the Transparent World?
"To a certain extent, it is indeed because of the Transparent World that led to your Future Vision awakening. It's just that the 'Transparent World' is merely a key. If a person's Observation Haki doesn't have the potential to predict the future, even if they learn to see through the world, there's no way for their Observation Haki to develop Future Vision."
Ikki nodded slightly as he spoke. Having said that, even Ikki himself wasn't entirely sure. After all, the only people who relied on Transparent World awakening to develop Future Vision-level Observation Haki were himself and Gion.
This speculation was made entirely because Ikki discovered that although Nojiko had awakened the Transparent World, she hadn't awakened Future Vision. Of course, Ikki still hoped that Nojiko could acquire such an ability.
After speaking, Ikki couldn't help but fall into deep thought, glancing at the 'Mountain-Cutting Realm Swordsman Gion Challenge Permission' on his personal panel.
[Name: Gion]
[Age: 43 years old]
[Weapon: Konpira]
[Life Force: 100,500, SS level]
[Sword Realm: Mountain-Cutting Realm]
[Swordsmanship Style: Momousagi Single-Sword Style]
[Special Abilities: Advanced Armament Haki, Intermediate Observation Haki]
The sword shadow's life force was nearly 20,000 points higher than Gion's current level.
'However, with the power of the Transparent World, Demon Slayer Mark, Moon Breathing, and such, we should be able to let Gion defeat this shadow. Should I let her challenge it?'
Ikki held his chin with one hand, lost in thought.
"Ikki, thank you for making me stronger."
Gion's voice brought Ikki slowly back to reality as he raised his head.
"You're welcome... ugh!"
Ikki's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Gion so close to him. The warm feeling and taste that was different from Nico Robin made him feel momentarily stunned.
After a while, Gion raised her head with a smile and stuck out her tongue to lick her lips. Ikki did the same.
"It tastes pretty good, but... what do you mean by this, Gion? Could it be that you really like me and want to marry me? Chaton might really be heartbroken."
"I have to admit, I do have feelings for you, Ikki. If you weren't with that Nico Robin, I would really consider marrying you. As for this kiss, consider it my gift to you - you've earned it."
"Really? That's quite a shame."
"But... if you could join the Marines and leave Nico Robin, maybe we really could be together."
"I don't mind joining the Marines, but it's impossible for me to leave Robin. I can't abandon a woman who's committed herself to me."
Ikki spoke with complete seriousness.
"Hehe, that's true. This is one of the things I admire about you, Ikki. It's just a pity that such a powerful man and excellent swordsmanship teacher can't become a Marine."
Having said this, Gion couldn't help but shake her head regretfully.
"Ikki, I'll be leaving soon. It may be a while before we can meet in person again. Do you need me to be your model and help you make some paintings?"
Gion asked.
"Of course." Ikki nodded slightly, then looked across Gion's face. "Speaking of which, Gion, will you participate in the upcoming war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Huh? Ikki, how do you know... That's right - someone as smart as you couldn't possibly not have imagined the conflict between the Marines and Whitebeard."
"So, will you participate in that war?"
Ikki stared into Gion's eyes. Although in the original timeline, Gion hadn't participated in that war, now the situation had changed. Gion had stayed here for a long time and would follow Garp back to Marine Headquarters. In addition, Gion was now much stronger.
This made it difficult for Ikki not to think that Gion would participate in the war at Marine Headquarters.
"Probably... yes."
Gion said uncertainly. Originally, she had other missions. However, due to her battle with Hawkeye, she had developed the Demon Slayer Mark and become physically weak. Her original mission had been cancelled.
Now, even when she returned, it wouldn't be convenient for her to participate in the original mission, so Gion felt the possibility of participating in the war between Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates was quite high.
"I see... then there's nothing to be done."
Ikki shook his head and made his final decision.
"Ikki, what are you talking about?"
Gion tilted her head, looking at Ikki with some confusion.
"Nothing. I just feel that although you're powerful, being involved in the war with the Whitebeard Pirates, you might still be seriously injured beyond recovery. If you're unlucky, you might even..."
"So, I plan to help you improve your strength again."
Ikki said. Although in the war between Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates, Marine Headquarters had the advantage, Kizaru, Garp, and others were all experts at slacking off.
If Gion was at the forefront, there would be a greater chance of being targeted by Whitebeard or the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates. After all, Gion was someone who bore his partner's seal, and Ikki didn't want to see her seriously injured or killed.
"Ah, I'm so happy. Are you worried that something will happen to me? Are you going to give me a sword like the ones you've modified?"
Gion's eyes shone as she looked at Ikki with a smile.
"I can't give you that kind of sword. But... I can let you try to surpass your future self."
Ikki raised the corner of his mouth and activated the 'Mountain-Cutting Realm Swordsman Gion's challenge authority' in the system space.
In Gion's sight, a new figure appeared in the center of the arena.
"This is... me?"
Gion opened her mouth slightly, looking at Ikki strangely.
"What is this, Ikki?"
"Did you use me as a model to learn swordsmanship?"
Gion looked at Ikki suspiciously.
In the Sword Training Room, a model of a swordsman who mastered breathing technique was used by Ikki and his partners to challenge. Gion knew this - she had learned about it from Tashigi.
Gion always felt this was Ikki's way of making it easier for his partners to learn breathing techniques and swordsmanship. This was also the reason why they could master breathing methods and swordsmanship so quickly.
Since she and Hina weren't Ikki's partners, they had adopted a less convenient method to learn breathing swordsmanship. But she never knew that Ikki would be able to create a model of herself for challenge.
"To be precise, the shadow inside isn't based on you. She's targeting your future self."
Ikki took Gion's hand and walked toward the arena.
"Future me?" Gion's eyes widened slightly as she looked intently at herself in the arena.
After taking a closer look, she found that the version of herself in the arena seemed a little older than she was now. The most noticeable difference was that she had wrinkles under her eyes in the arena, and her skin didn't seem as radiant anymore.
"This... how on earth did you create my future self?"
Gion looked at Ikki in surprise. She thought she knew enough about his abilities, but now she found that she still didn't know enough yet.
As for whether Ikki was deceiving her, Gion didn't think so. Based on her understanding of him, Ikki wouldn't do such a thing just to entertain her.
"Well... it's a secret."
Ikki raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
"It's really... you still don't trust me enough. It's really sad. Forget it, who made me a trespasser? And I'm not as beautiful as Nico Robin, so I can't attract you like she can. Even my future self got wrinkles early."
"By the way, you said the person in the arena is my future self, so exactly how much older is she than me?"
Hearing this, Ikki rubbed his chin and said, "It should be... you in five years."
Gion was now 38 years old, and the sword shadow in the arena was 43 years old. That was exactly a five-year difference.
"In five years?" Gion frowned and raised her hand to the corner of her eyes. "In five years, will I have wrinkles and my skin will gradually age?"
"Well... who knows."
Ikki shrugged. Now that Gion had learned breathing techniques, Ikki thought she might be able to slow down her body's aging process.
Gion pursed her lips and took a deep look at the lines at the corners of the sword shadow's eyes. Even a powerful woman like her couldn't help but feel emotional when seeing the wrinkles of her future self.
Ikki glanced at Gion and raised his hand, snapping his fingers. The next moment, the sword shadow in the center of the arena began to demonstrate her abilities.
She slashed with her sword, and a huge peach-colored sword energy flew out from the blade, striking directly against the transparent wall of the arena.
Just this one sword move made Gion widen her eyes. She recognized that the person inside had a higher level of understanding the way of the sword than herself.
At this moment, she understood why Ikki had summoned her future self.
"You want me to fight my future self, then let me complete my understanding of swordsmanship by fighting her? Just like how you asked Nami and the others to challenge the breathing swordsman models to help them quickly understand the way of breathing swordsmanship?"
Gion murmured.
Ikki remained silent. In his opinion, if Gion thought that way, then that was what he wanted to see.
Ten minutes later, Gion's sword shadow finished her demonstration and returned to her previous position.
"Then it's your turn, Gion. Go fight her and try to master your future power in advance."
Ikki patted Gion's back and looked up at the sword shadow in the center of the arena.
Gion took a deep breath, nodded, and walked into the arena with her slender legs.
Although it was unclear why her future self couldn't use Moon Breathing swordsmanship, the sword energy she could wield in the future was unmatched by the current Gion.
Faced with such a future self, Gion understood that she needed to go all out.
"Then, come on, future me. Let me learn how to use your sword."
Gion's eyes focused, the Demon Slayer Mark and Transparent World activated simultaneously, and she suddenly stepped toward the sword shadow on the opposite side.
-----
[Ding! Your partner Gion defeated the 'Mountain-Cutting Realm Swordsman Gion,' and her swordsmanship realm was promoted to the 'Mountain-Cutting Realm.']
[Gion's personal attributes have been updated, please check them yourself.]
[Name: Gion]
[Age: 38 years old]
[Weapon: None]
[Life Force: 81,000, SS level]
[Sword Realm: Sea-Breaking Realm]
[Swordsmanship Style: Momousagi Single-Sword Style, Moon Breathing]
[Abilities: Advanced Armament Haki, Intermediate Observation Haki (Future Vision), Marine Six Styles, Natural Demon Slayer Mark, Transparent World]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host, a member of your team has raised their swordsmanship realm to the limit of the current world. Host will be specially rewarded with 2 lottery opportunities, and Gion, the Mountain-Cutting Realm swordsman, will be specially rewarded with 1 exclusive lottery opportunity. Please ask Host to draw the lottery on her behalf.]
'Huh?! Is this an unexpected surprise?'
Ikki opened his eyes wide and looked at Gion, who was fainting on the ground in the center of the arena due to exhaustion from fighting. He didn't even have time to see the future sword shadow that she had stabbed through the chest turn into energy and integrate into her body.
He looked at his own personal attributes panel. When he saw the number of remaining draws clearly displayed on the attribute panel, Ikki realized that he had heard correctly. The system really was rewarding lottery privileges.
'Sure enough, good deeds are rewarded.'
Ikki sighed in his heart. Fortunately, he had taken out the 'Mountain-Cutting Sword Master Gion Challenge Permission.' Otherwise, it might have taken a long time for him to get lottery rewards.
'System, I want to draw the lottery!'
[Drawing lottery... Congratulations to the Host for winning X5 'A-level Nutritional Potions' and X3 'S-level Nutritional Potions.' Congratulations to Gion for winning the famous sword 'Monohoshizao'!]
[Note: Only one S-level nutritional potion can be used per day, and the effect lasts 3 hours.]
[Note: The 'Monohoshizao' is the weapon held by the heroic spirit Sasaki Kojiro. The 'Monohoshizao' issued by the system contains the inheritance of Sasaki Kojiro's sword skill 'Tsubame Gaeshi.' Using the inheritance can enter the relevant fantasy world to observe the process of Sasaki Kojiro's research and development of 'Tsubame Gaeshi.' Participating in the practice will have a high probability of obtaining the sword skill 'Tsubame Gaeshi.' As a Host, you can follow Gion into the fantasy world to observe 'Tsubame Gaeshi' and learn related techniques.]
'S-level nutritional potion?! What good luck. Also, there's the famous sword Monohoshizao of the heroic spirit Sasaki Kojiro. This is really a pleasant reward.'
The corner of Ikki's mouth rose, and he felt more and more happy about Gion's decision to reach the Sea-Breaking Realm. It was precisely because of this decision that he had the opportunity to become stronger faster.
"Thank you."
At this time, Ikki heard Gion's voice. It turned out that Gion had already woken up under the recovery function of the arena.
After meditating, Gion clearly felt that she had gained more understanding of swordsmanship. Gion wasn't stupid - this way of becoming stronger by fighting her future self to gain experience was completely beyond the limits that ordinary people could imagine.
After all, her current swordsmanship hadn't just improved a little bit, but had clearly crossed a huge bottleneck. In Gion's view, this method of transformation should be a secret that only Ikki could master.
Ikki had fully demonstrated this ability in front of her. What trust that showed.
In her excitement, as soon as Gion came out of the arena, she pushed Ikki's head into her 'weapons' as he raised his head to look at her.
"Thank you. Thank you for trusting me, thank you for worrying about me. I promise you, I will not die in the war with the Whitebeard Pirates. I promise you, even if I leave the Explorer, just as the seal of partnership is still engraved on my chest, I am still your partner."
The excitement made Gion's face blush a little. This was because she didn't know that defeating her future self would directly lead to an improvement in her sword realm. She thought she was temporarily gaining comprehension and improvement in her sword realm after fighting her future self until she fainted.
Otherwise, she would be even more excited.
"Hey, I'm grateful, but if you do this again, I'll suffocate," Ikki said in a muffled voice.
Gion pursed her lips, feeling the warm breath in her arms. A gleam of light flashed in her eyes, and she made some kind of decision in her heart.
"Before I leave, can you be my true lover?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
Ikki, who had just regained his breath, looked at Gion in bewilderment.
Gion smiled slightly and raised her hand, pulling at her clothes. The garments that had been damaged by the battle immediately turned into pieces and scattered.
"I mean, I like you. Please be my true lover."
After saying that, Gion directly reached out and touched the buttons on Ikki's clothes under his stunned gaze.
At this moment, Gion had truly taken Ikki into her heart. Seeing what she would look like in the future, she felt a sense of urgency. She didn't want to wait until she had real wrinkles before having Ikki.
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the bathhouse and let the water help you recover?"
Ikki frowned, looking at Gion who was struggling to walk.
"It's okay, I want to feel this sweet pain."
Gion's face was flushed, and she showed an unprecedented gentle smile to Ikki.
"I see... I understand."
Ikki nodded slightly, and with one hand, a slender katana appeared in his grasp. It was the Monohoshizao of Sasaki Kojiro that Ikki had just received from the lottery!
"Gion, I'll give you this sword. For you now, an ordinary sword may not be able to bring out your full power."
"This... is such a beautiful blade. But didn't you say before that you couldn't give me a sword like Nami and the others? Could it be that my body satisfied you so much that you changed your mind?"
"Ahem, watch your words, Gion." Ikki twitched the corner of his mouth, putting Monohoshizao into Gion's hand. "The power held by this sword is different from Nami and the others' weapons."
"This sword was held by a very powerful swordsman. Although there's no description of this swordsman in history, he relied on his persistence in the art of swordsmanship to create his own secret technique."
"This sword contains his inspiration for creating the secret sword 'Tsubame Gaeshi.' Gion, take a close look. Maybe you can understand this technique called 'Tsubame Gaeshi.'"
After saying that, Ikki directly activated the observation rights of Monohoshizao.
As a strong light emerged from the sword, Gion closed her eyes unconsciously. When the strong light disappeared and Gion opened her eyes again, she found that she had arrived at a strange coast.
On the edge of the coast, a young warrior holding a long sword was constantly swinging the blade in his hand.
"This is the place of inheritance you mentioned? That man is the swordsman who founded 'Tsubame Gaeshi'?"
Gion frowned and turned to look aside, only to find that Ikki, who had been standing next to her, had disappeared. In her hand, only the long sword Monohoshizao that Ikki had given her remained.
"Are you there?"
Gion looked around, even using Observation Haki, but couldn't find Ikki, and her brows furrowed even more.
"Could it be that... I'm the only one who came here? Do I need to watch him practice swordsmanship here now?"
Gion turned to look at the young man not far away. At this moment, the young man's aura changed. A chilling atmosphere spread around him.
Even though she wasn't facing him directly, Gion felt an inexplicable chill passing through her neck. This feeling made Gion widen her eyes.
The next moment, something even more surprising happened. She saw the sword-wielding man Sasaki Kojiro swing his sword forward, but at the same time three identical slashes were struck forward, with the same speed and the same precision.
In an instant, it seemed as if the space where he swung the sword was distorted.
"This... is this 'Tsubame Gaeshi'?"
Gion spoke in amazement. At this time, she finally realized what kind of treasure the Monohoshizao in her hand was.
That technique of 'Tsubame Gaeshi' had completely surpassed the sword skills she had mastered before. Even in the battle with Hawkeye, she had never seen him use such exquisite sword skills.
Gion keenly sensed that although 'Tsubame Gaeshi' wasn't very destructive and couldn't reach the level of cutting off mountains and seas, if a person or thing was under the sword light, no matter how hard it was, it would likely be killed.
"Thank you. I'll learn this technique."
After Gion looked at the sky and spoke, she approached Sasaki Kojiro who was starting to swing his sword again, picked up Monohoshizao in her hand and imitated Kojiro's movements, starting to practice.
'Strange, Gion can't see me? My voice can't reach her?'
Ikki looked at Gion's back strangely.
'Forget it, let's practice 'Tsubame Gaeshi' first. To a certain extent, this can be regarded as a special skill in swordsmanship. The person hit by this move may be cut into several pieces if they don't have enough Armament Haki.'
Ikki shook his head, drew his weapon and started practicing with Sasaki Kojiro.