Thunder rumbled faintly in the sky, the ground was damp.
Although the rain had stopped, the air was thick with moisture.
A layer of red light covered Pitou's eyes as she subtly entered a state of extreme perception.
Those brief two exchanges had made her feel a more substantial sense of pressure.
The enemy's speed and reaction ability...
Neither aspect fell short of her own, and these two points were precisely the advantages she prided herself on.
'Fortunately, I'm the one facing him.'
This thought surfaced once more in Pitou's mind.
She didn't consider herself the strongest among the three Royal Guards, but depending on the enemy's type, some advantages could become disadvantages, and some disadvantages could become advantages.
Compared to Pouf and Youpi, Pitou was acutely aware that her speed was faster than theirs. Yet when facing this human, her two rapid assaults were easily blocked.
From this, it was clear that if Pouf or Youpi were to deal with Law, forget about eliminating him… even restraining him would likely be a struggle.
'Therefore, I must resolve this here, for the King!'
Pitou pushed off the ground, charging towards Law once more.
She had no weapon. The hardest parts of her body were her pair of sharp, long, nail-like claws.
Even without practical verification, as long as she could land an attack, she was absolutely certain she could tear through any human's defense.
Even if the opponent was an Enhancer! Even if they could gather life energy in one spot for defense! It would absolutely not withstand it!
Pitou had absolute confidence in this. So her method of attack was limited to this… simple and ordinary.
Clang!
The White General manifested again, slicing Pitou away with one blow, still striking her claws.
Even when Law discerned her trajectory and countered, Pitou could instantly switch from offense to defense. This ability, to a great extent, allowed her to avoid massive damage.
Although a significant part of Pitou's strength came from humans, this ability and talent was something countless fighters dreamed of but could never obtain.
Innate abilities are impossible to achieve solely through post-natal training. Things determined from birth, impossible to force, despair-inducing.
'Her speed is indeed sufficient. Fortunately, I'm the one facing her.'
Unconsciously, Law ended up having the same thought as Pitou.
He thought of Kite and the others facing Youpi. If they had to face the speed-type Pitou, they probably wouldn't even be able to restrain her; their formation would be torn apart instantly.
'If I infuse God Hand's characteristic into the White General's slashes, the speed and precision will drop. But without God Hand's characteristic, I can't break through the Chimera Ant's astonishing defense.'
Law calmly watched Pitou charging again, delivering another slash that sent Pitou flying.
Pitou, being slashed away, had completely adapted to this forceful impact. Initially, being slashed away required about three seconds to adjust for the next attack. But now, she only needed one second, and she could be even faster.
She spun and tumbled, landing in a curved trajectory. Before her feet even touched the ground, her legs had already finished gathering strength, then fiercely propelled against the ground.
Thump.
A dull sound rang, and muddy water scattered outward in a jellyfish shape.
Pitou's body shot forward again, attacking with the shortest interval, like a violent storm, like a madly clawing feline.
However, no matter how much she increased her attack frequency, she couldn't pierce the defensive line Law had constructed.
Each time she clearly aimed at a weak point. Each time her attack angle was different. But that slash reflecting the white light always managed to overtake and break her offense.
'Increasing attack frequency is useless too...'
Pitou flew out again, then charged again.
Her petite body was like a tennis ball tied to a racket by a rubber band, with Law as the one swinging the racket, batting her back and forth incessantly.
Watching Pitou, who showed no intention of adapting, a sharp glint flashed deep in Law's eyes.
'Haven't realized it yet?'
The truly terrifying aspect of the White General was its slashes that could ignore human body structure and the limitations of techniques.
No need to consider finger movements, wrist rotations, arm swings, or the limitations of techniques.
The blade could slash from any angle, possessing extremely strong offensive power while also forming an extremely strong defensive circle.
Pitou hadn't realized this yet. And the method she adopted was only continuous offense, because that was her only choice.
'Speed is about adapted. The next slash won't be so light.'
Standing amidst the storm-like offensive formed by Pitou, Law remained expressionless.
If the White Jade attacks couldn't form effective damage, he could only switch to defense. However, Law's truly sharp weapon wasn't the White General, but the rusty longsword imbued with God Hand's ability.
That rust-covered blade, looking as if it would snap with the slightest impact, possessed an indescribable sharpness.
Law's arm suddenly moved. This was his first slash after summoning Shin.
Simultaneously, the White General conjuring behind him instantly turned back into Nen and retracted into his body.
Pitou's spine suddenly turned cold. She sensed the danger immediately.
She had grown accustomed to switching from offense to defense to withstand Law's attacks. This time should have been no exception. But she sensed danger.
She was willing to follow her biological instinct to avoid this danger. However, during her offense, she had used inertia as a weapon to increase speed and frequency. And now, it became her constraint.
Couldn't dodge, could only block.
This was what she had been doing, and the only thing she could do.
'This slash is faster!'
In that interval where time seemed to freeze, this thought flashed through Pitou's mind.
Puppeteering!
Perhaps it was the extreme senses of a living being, or perhaps a flash of inspiration under the pressure of death.
In that instant, Pitou used her Puppeteering Ability for manipulating puppets.
A balloon-like Puppeteer figure hovered above her. When the puppet strings attached to her body, constrained by [Fixed Tethering], her body's movement trajectory unnaturally paused for a moment.
It was this pause that caused Law's longsword, which should have diagonally slashed her chest, to ultimately land on her shoulder, only slicing off her entire arm.
As Pitou passed by Law, her peripheral vision seemed to catch a glimpse of the severed arm.
'So easily severed...'
Immediately after, the shocked look in Pitou's peripheral vision was instantly filled with white light.
The White General, which Law had retracted, conjured once more.
Freely summoning and dismissing was, after all, an advantage of Conjuration-type abilities.
While Law maintained his pose of holding the sword forward in a slash, the White General conjured behind him slashed towards Law's back.
Homeward!
A slash combining front and back.
The White General's longsword suddenly extended, chopping down towards Pitou's back.
Pitou, in a suspended mid-air state, absolutely could not avoid this slash. However, just as the longsword was about to touch her, her body seemed to turn into a puppet, making an abnormal movement, shifting horizontally several body lengths to the right in mid-air.
The longsword struck the ground, splitting open a fissure. Pitou had dodged the slash.
She landed on the ground. Behind and above her, a blurred mass of red and black swirled.
Her expression held a mix of shock and realization, making her emotions complex.
She was shocked by the sharpness of Law's slash and realized the true usage of the Puppeteering Ability.
Tens of meters apart, Law turned around, stepping on Pitou's severed arm.
The hidden strike of Homeward had been dodged, but it didn't matter. Taking an arm was also a decent result.
Ssssss!
Law stepped on the severed arm. God Hand's ability activated, shredding the Aura still attached to the arm into countless fragments, fluttering around him like butterflies.
Thus, Law, missing his left arm, was like the beginning of a [Hidden Move] opening. Now Pitou had also lost a left arm, the same opening as Law.
However, Law still had two [Samurai] pieces, one open and one hidden. Pitou had already lost one [Samurai] piece.
Even if Pitou was about to become stronger in battle, the disadvantage was irrecoverable.
Sharing the same opening as them was the King, who is also missing a left arm...