Chapter 264: Awakening! An Admiral Descends!
"Jealous?" Kuina's eyes went colder still. "Of you? What is there to be jealous of?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Smoothie purred as they traded blows across the ice. "You're jealous that I can openly confess my feelings to your Lord Shane, while you..."
Kuina's attack faltered for a split second.
"I saw it at the Tea Party," Smoothie whispered in her ear. "The way you looked at me every time I got close to him... You can't hide it. Does the great 'Wind Erosion' Kuina not even have the courage to confess?"
"Shut up!" Kuina roared, and with a furious slash, she sent Smoothie flying into a nearby mountain of ice. "My feelings for Lord Shane are of respect! Not like your vulgar fantasies!"
"Really?" Smoothie said, rising from the rubble with a grin. "Or are you just angry because I hit a nerve? How sad. But I get it. A man as dazzling as Lord Shane... who wouldn't fall for him? Too bad he doesn't seem to have noticed you. It seems you're destined to be his loyal sword forever."
"What do you know?!" Kuina finally snapped, years of repressed emotions bursting forth. "You have no idea the heights of his dream! I... I have to be the sharpest sword in his hand! I have to see him to the very end! And when he's achieved his goal, then... then I'll confess, and of course he'll..." The words died in her throat. Will he? For the first time, a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
Now! Smoothie saw her opening and lunged, her sword aimed at Kuina's heart. "Admit it! You're jealous because I'm not afraid to say what I want, and you're too much of a coward to even face your own feelings!"
CLANG!
Kuina parried the blow at the last second. "You're right," she said, her eyes closed. When she opened them again, they were calm. "I have been a coward. But... thank you for the reminder." She pushed Smoothie back. "To hide from my own feelings... is the weakest thing I could possibly do. And a weakling... can never be his sharpest sword."
VWOOM!
Wado Ichimonji began to vibrate, and a terrifying aura exploded from her body, sending a wave of Conqueror's Haki across the battlefield.
"W-What?!" Smoothie stumbled back, her eyes wide with disbelief. This... this can't be happening... How can someone awaken their Conqueror's Haki... for a reason like this?!!
In the sky above, Kuina's hair had come undone, and it whipped around her like a black storm. Black-and-red lightning crackled around her body. She opened her eyes, and they were no longer calm, but burning with a fierce, volcanic fire.
"What's the matter?" she said, her voice a low, dangerous purr. "You seem to be regretting your words."
On a lone reef at the edge of the Galaxy Sea, Jinbe was meditating. He had been waiting for days for Shane's return, to apologize for his part in Arlong's tyranny. He refused to set foot in their territory until he had been forgiven.
Just then, he saw a strange figure flying across the water, a giant yellow flower on his head spinning like a propeller.
"Hey, you blue fatty," the man said, landing in front of him. "You a member of the Curtain Call crew?"
"I am not," Jinbe said, his eyes narrowed. "And you are?"
"Then I don't have to kill you. Get lost," the man, Greenbull, sneered. "So they really did leave their base undefended... Hehehe. This is going to be fun."
"Hold it!" Jinbe stood, his massive frame blocking the man's path. "If you have business with the Curtain Call crew, you'll have to go through me."
"Jinbe... the name sounds familiar," Greenbull said, cracking his knuckles. "Oh, well. If you're so eager to die, I'll be happy to oblige." He shot a vine from his hand, and the battle began.
Jinbe was strong, especially in the water. But he was no match for this man. The vines were relentless, and with every blow he landed, the man just regenerated.
"Is that all you've got?" Greenbull laughed. "My turn."
"DEEP FOREST EMERGENCE!"
In an instant, the sea for miles around was transformed into a dense, primordial forest. A giant, sentient tree rose from the depths, its face a twisted mockery of Greenbull's own. "In my forest, I am a god! I am immortal! And you, fish-man, without the sea... what are you now?"
Vines shot out, wrapping around Jinbe's limbs, piercing his flesh. He was trapped, his strength fading. Is this... the end?
Just as a giant wooden fist was about to crush him—
BOOM!!!
A massive, flaming meteor slammed into the top of the forest, and the entire canopy erupted in fire.
"Fire?! A meteor?!" Greenbull's voice roared from the tree. "Who's there?!"
"You were looking in the wrong direction. I'm right above you," a calm voice said.
A man in a purple kimono, his eyes closed, a staff-sword in his hand, was descending from the sky, a young, orange-haired girl with her hands wreathed in flames floating beside him.
"Mr. Issho!" Jinbe cried, a wave of relief washing over him.
"You've done well, Jinbe-dono," Fujitora said with a polite bow. "You have my thanks for protecting our home. Nami-dono and I will take it from here."
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