Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Seastone Weapons
He sensed Adrian's presence behind him instantaneously, and with a swift motion, his longsword, sheathed in Armament Haki, swung around for a precise counter strike.
The swords met, igniting sparks, and the resonant clang of their collision echoed.
Clang!
In that instant, the colonel's aide, who had been observing from the sidelines, sprang into action. With a determined expression, he unsheathed his longsword and lunged at Adrian.
Adrian looked at him with disdain, and the Yubashiri in his grasp glided off Comil's blade, arcing towards the unsuspecting colonel.
"What—"
The adjutant's vision blurred abruptly, and before he could comprehend, the Yubashiri's edge was already looming before him. The finely-crafted sword nimbly evaded his own and descended sharply upon his torso.
Swish
A muffled thud followed as the blade sliced through leather, carving a deep gash across the aide's chest, from his right shoulder down to his left waist, nearly cleaving him in two.
Plop
The remaining force sent the aide flying backwards, and a torrent of blood gushed out of the wound, staining the deck of the cabin he passed by a bloody red.
"Tucker!"
Comil, the rear admiral, exclaimed in shock, his gaze fixed on his long-serving deputy with a look of profound sorrow. Despite being a seasoned veteran of numerous conflicts, the gravity of the moment overwhelmed him.
Adrian flicked the blood droplets from Yubashiri, his sword, and said icily, "Rear Admiral Comil, haven't you instructed your men not to meddle in the other's battle?"
Comil used his Observation Haki to sense the condition of his deputy Tucker's injuries. He was somewhat surprised to find that although Tucker's injuries were very serious, if he could get treatment as soon as possible, he might be able to make a full recovery!
"White Ghost!"
Vice Admiral Comil bellowed, his grip on his sword's hilt tightening to the point of nearly imprinting the steel.
Simultaneously, his form blurred into near invisibility, each hand brandishing a longsword. The blades, ensconced in Haki, sliced through the air towards Adrian's head with lethal intent.
Yet, Adrian's countenance was a portrait of serenity.
Channeling his Armament Haki, a dark sheath enveloped Yubashiri's blade, meeting Vice Admiral Comil's twin swords head-on.
The collision of their formidable strikes unleashed a cataclysmic shockwave. It ravaged the vicinity, obliterating nearby objects and dispersing them with the ferocious gale it spawned.
Reeling from the Negative Ghost's aftermath, several Marines were once more hurled from the deck by the relentless force, slamming into the ship's bulkheads.
"Everyone… fall back!"
Observing the titanic clash between the Vice Admiral and the formidable White Ghost, Tucker, who was severely injured and lying on the ground, grounded and in agony, mustered his resolve. He ordered the elite Marines, now partially recuperated, to hasten their withdrawal.
In Vice Admiral Comil's eyes, a glimmer of ease flickered momentarily.
While his right-hand sword maintained its course, his left, previously sheathed, now unsheathed with a piercing thrust. The blade, aimed deceitfully, darted towards Adrian from an elusive angle.
The advantage of the two-sword style swordsman was particularly evident at this moment!
With a light tap, Adrian's toes grazed the ground, propelling his body skyward, evading Vice Admiral Comil's onslaught.
In tandem, he unfurled his left hand, unleashing his Devil Fruit power!
Mini Ghost · Star Fire!
A swarm of diminutive ghosts burst forth from the abyss, their spectral bombs raining down on Vice Admiral Comil in a relentless siege, compelling him to shroud himself in a dense layer of Armament Haki.
Confronted with the White Ghost's 'phantasmal minions', capable of altering their effects at will, Comil couldn't afford a shred of overconfidence.
After successfully repelling Vice Admiral Comil, Adrian showed no signs of letting up.
Taking advantage of his Ghost Warrior abilities, Adrian instantaneously traded places with one of the mini-ghosts converging on Comil. Yubashiri, aglow with the dark sheen of Armament Haki, made a beeline for Comil's flesh!
One moment, Comil was contending with the ghostly barrage; the next, Yubashiri materialized beside him. Caught off-guard by the abrupt assault, Comil found himself defenseless and was sent reeling meters away by the blade's impact!
Comil burst through several walls with a series of muffled crashes, finally coming to rest in the ship's cabin, a billow of dust marking his tumultuous entry.
Amidst the anxious stares of the Marines, Comil emerged from the wreckage, unsteady on his feet.
In a bid to counter the Ghost Fruit's effects, he had encased himself in a thick veil of Armament Haki. Little did he know, this seemingly crude tactic would fortuitously buffer him against Yubashiri's formidable strike!
"Cough cough!" Comil hacked, regaining his composure. "Truly a vexing power! It seems I'm left with no choice but to resort to 'that'…"
No sooner had the words escaped his lips than he shattered the wooden box at his left hip, unveiling a peculiarly shaped weapon for all to see.
"A jitte?"
Surprise flickered in Adrian's eyes.
At that moment, Vice Admiral Comil retrieved a weapon from the splintered box. It was the "large jitte" that Smoker, user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, would later become known for.
With a flourish, Comil presented the weapon, intentionally glossing over a crucial detail. "Indeed! This jitte is crafted to neutralize swords!"
And it's a Seastone weapon?
In an instant, Adrian's confusion cleared. He had pondered why the Marine Headquarters seemed so assured in dispatching a Vice Admiral to confront him. The answer lay in their possession of this Seastone weapon.
But in the next second, he became a little puzzled.
Seastone, the bane of Devil Fruit users.
But why the assumption that mere possession of Seastone guaranteed a hit against him?
Vice Admiral Comil was no slouch; bolstered by two types of Haki, he posed a formidable challenge even to pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions.
But what made the Marine Headquarters so certain that he, who had stalemated Sakazuki, would fall to Vice Admiral Comil?
Did they believe the combination of a vast fleet, Seastone, and a Vice Admiral from headquarters was invincible?
Baffled by the Marine Headquarters' peculiar logic, Adrian chose to dismiss it. In a blink, he vanished from the marine warship's deck.
"White Ghost, prepare to be apprehend… where is he?"
Vice Admiral Comil's command faltered as he realized that the White Ghost had vanished from view.
In the next breath, the heavily crewed and armed marine warship lurched violently!
"It's a whirlpool!"
"A colossal whirlpool has formed beneath the warship!!"
A chilling scream of terror echoed across the sea.
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