Amon watched from the side and nodded as Koby's movements became smoother and smoother.
Some of the techniques were still rough around the edges, but beating Alvida should no longer be a problem.
After all, Alvida was not some powerful pirate. For practice, though, she was a very suitable opponent.
"Koby!"
Dragging her fat body forward, Alvida swung another overhead smash at him.
A great deal of her anger had already poured out along with her sweat. Now that she had calmed down a little, she had also begun to notice that something was very wrong with Koby. After seeing him dodge every one of her attacks, she no longer had any real hope that this blow would land.
At this point, she was still attacking for one reason only. Her anger had not fully gone away yet.
But just as she assumed Koby would dodge again, he suddenly stopped and stood there without moving.
That filled her with delight. Without the slightest hesitation, she swung the mace down with all her strength.
"Iron Body."
Facing Alvida's attack, Koby stayed unexpectedly calm.
Clang!
Alvida's iron mace slammed heavily into Koby's body.
But instead of crushing him, the recoil ran back through her arms and injured the web of her hand.
It felt as though her mace had smashed into a slab of steel. The force of the rebound made her hand ache violently.
"What?!"
"Koby blocked Captain Alvida's attack with his bare body?!"
The pirates of the Alvida Pirates who were watching from the side instantly fell into chaos.
Their eyes bulged out one after another, every face filled with disbelief.
Koby lowered his head and looked at his completely unharmed body, then looked up at the shocked expressions of the pirates around him.
For a moment, he felt a surge of relief.
Especially after seeing that the fat, furious Alvida had become completely helpless against him, a powerful sense of accomplishment rose in his chest. He gained a much clearer understanding of the Marine Six Powers' might.
"Moonwalk!"
Taking advantage of the instant Alvida was stunned, Koby stepped through the air and shot toward her at high speed. He closed the distance in a flash and sent her upward with a kick.
Then he gathered strength into his hand and used the final move of the Six Powers.
"Finger Pistol!"
Now filled with confidence, Koby thrust his finger forward.
The strike hit Alvida directly as she was still airborne, and the impact knocked her unconscious on the spot. Her body flew backward and crashed hard into a nearby house, smashing part of the wall apart.
After taking that Finger Pistol from Koby, Alvida collapsed to the ground, completely unable to fight any longer.
The battle had ended far too suddenly.
No one had expected that Koby, who had always looked weak, timid, and easy to bully, would become this powerful.
In his hands, Alvida could not endure more than a few exchanges.
"So strong..."
Even though Koby had been mentally prepared, he was still stunned after seeing that a single thrust had knocked out the fierce-looking Alvida.
Amon, however, was not surprised.
"Heh, so? Now do you understand the power of the Marine Six Powers?"
There was a clear gap between Koby and Alvida now.
With the training in Marine Six Powers and Observation Haki, the gap between their combat abilities had become quite significant.
If Koby had been fully proficient with the Six Powers already, he could have defeated her in a single exchange.
Then again, Alvida really was quite a magical case.
Looking at how fat she was now, it was hard to imagine that after eating the devil Fruit, she would one day turn into a great beauty.
Still, Amon felt that after seeing Alvida like this, even if she became beautiful later, she would still leave a permanent shadow in his mind.
Koby turned toward Amon with shining eyes.
"Yes, yes, Mr. Amon, thank you. The Marine Six Powers are incredible. I used less than my full potential just now and still beat Alvida. That's unbelievable."
He was extremely satisfied with their power.
Those words, however, shocked the pirate lackeys even more.
"Less than his full potential was enough to beat Lady Alvida?!"
Just as everyone stood there reeling in shock, a crisp young girl's voice suddenly drifted into the scene.
"Smoker, it's here. I saw pirates grabbing someone here just now!"
The moment he heard the name Smoker, Amon turned toward the direction of the voice.
Smoker was not a stranger to him at all. After all, he was the man who could go even with almost anyone.
As Amon looked over, a young man with short silver hair came into view. Goggles hung around his neck, and he wore a white coat of justice over his uniform.
He was not very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen, yet the rank on his Marine uniform had already reached lieutenant commander.
Still, the most eye-catching thing about him was the two cigars clenched in his mouth.
The moment he saw him, Amon recognized him immediately.
It was Smoker, the man who always seemed to be able to fight anyone on equal footing.
But Amon's gaze only stayed on Smoker for a moment before shifting away entirely.
Because all his attention had already been captured by the standing beside him.
"Wait... is that Kuina?!."
At a distance, her features bore a striking resemblance to Kuina.
The resemblance was simply too strong.
They looked as though they had been carved from the same mold.
But after that brief shock, Amon quickly realized that this girl was not Kuina from Shimotsuki Village.
If he was not mistaken, then this had to be the little girl from Loguetown who looked almost exactly like Kuina.
Tashigi.
Too similar.
Far too similar.
No wonder Zoro, when he first saw Tashigi, had almost thought she was Kuina.
Their faces truly looked as though they had come from the same mold.
The only real difference was probably in their clothing.
Kuina liked to wear a short-sleeved white shirt, while Tashigi was currently dressed in a pink floral padded jacket, with a pair of goggles resting on her head.
Also, Tashigi had not become nearsighted yet as a child, so she was not wearing glasses at the moment.
Without glasses, her eyes looked very large, and they were almost identical to Kuina's.
Especially since both of them were swordswomen, there was a certain sharp presence about them, something unique to those who practiced the blade.
Still, Tashigi's presence was noticeably weaker than Kuina's.
That was also the reason Amon could tell that she was not Kuina.
Come to think of it, it had already been some time since he left Shimotsuki Village.
He wondered how Kuina was doing now.
At the thought of Kuina, Amon remembered the promise between them.
Looking at Tashigi reminded him of his time in Shimotsuki Village and the training he had left behind.