Soon, by the shore.
Caesar and Izo stood facing each other from a distance.
Marco stood between them, his gaze shifting between the two.
"Since Izo wants to fight, I'll act as the witness. Although there's some tension between you two, it's just a matter of differing stances. Don't go for the kill, alright?"
Marco rubbed his neck, tilting his head slightly, his tone somewhat resigned.
He wasn't entirely sure of Caesar's strength, but if it was as Pops had said, then Izo likely stood little chance. So, his words were more of a reminder to Caesar not to kill Izo out of anger due to his provocation.
After all, they were all brothers on the same ship, and emotionally, he naturally leaned more toward Izo.
Caesar gave an OK gesture, while Izo snorted coldly and raised his twin guns.
"I'm not skilled in swordsmanship, so I use guns. Just letting you know in advance, so don't call me sneaky later."
Caesar scoffed lightly, "Doesn't matter. The outcome will be the same anyway."
Izo's expression darkened, "Arrogant fool…"
Marco sighed, "Can't you two tone down the hostility a bit?"
"Hey! Go for it, Izo!"
"Show that guy what you're made of!"
On the Moby Dick by the shore, the members of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew were noisily cheering for Izo.
Satch leaned on the railing, sizing up Caesar, "That guy's sword is pretty long. Looks like he's a swordsman."
"No, he's not."
The burly man wearing a hat beside him shook his head slightly, his gaze burning as he looked at the Shadowy Night Swallow at Caesar's waist. "But that sword is truly something. It's definitely Supreme Grade Sword level!"
Satch was surprised, "One of the Great Grade Swords - 21 Craftsmen? By the way, Vista, what level is your sword?"
"A bit higher than a Well-Made Sword, but still falls short of a Supreme Grade Sword. It's almost unbelievable, but top-tier weapons seem to have a consciousness of their own. That's the biggest difference between Supreme Grade Swords and Skillful Grade Blades."
Vista sounded somewhat regretful, "What a lucky guy. Although there are more than 21 Supreme Grade Swords in the world today, they're still incredibly rare. And that sword looks like it was crafted by a master smith."
"That guy might not be a swordsman, but his aura matches that sword perfectly. I've heard that Wano Country has the world's finest forging techniques. It's likely that a swordsmith from Wano specially crafted it for him."
"Is that so…"
Satch nodded, but before he could say more, a loud shout suddenly drowned out the surrounding noise.
"Go, Caesar! Teach that guy a lesson!"
Ulti had somehow jumped onto the railing, hands on her hips, shouting at Caesar.
"What's with that effeminate guy? He doesn't know anything! Oden this, Oden that—it's so annoying! If you lose, I won't forgive you! I'll headbutt you!"
"Haha, she's really full of energy…"
"Hey, little girl, want to join the Whitebeard Pirate Crew?"
The surrounding pirates started teasing her, but Ulti just put her hands on her hips, looking smug.
"Who'd join you guys? A bunch of smelly men! I'm the woman even Caesar can't catch!"
"Who's trying to catch you…"
Caesar glanced at the showy Ulti, then turned to Marco, "Can we start now?"
"Well… I won't say much more. I'll step in if things get critical."
Marco shook his head, blue flames swirling around him as his wings transformed into fiery blue wings, and he swiftly flew away.
"Let's begin!"
Bang—
The moment Marco flew away, Izo instantly fired two shots.
Since the triggers were pulled simultaneously, it sounded like only one shot.
The bullets, enhanced by Armament Haki, shot toward Caesar with devastating force.
Caesar let out a light scoff, appearing somewhat nonchalant. A red flash appeared in front of him, and two blood droplets the size of soybeans shot out, precisely shattering Izo's bullets.
"A Devil Fruit user, huh…"
Izo's expression darkened. The news that Caesar was a Vampire Fruit user was no secret within the Whitebeard Pirates. The story of their search for the Vampire Fruit had been shared by Marco when he returned.
At the time, Izo had marveled at Caesar's luck, as he had managed to consume a Mythical Zoan.
But when that Mythical Zoan belonged to an enemy, it became a troublesome matter.
"Impressive Observation Haki."
Marco looked at Caesar in surprise.
Had it only been two months? And yet, Caesar had already mastered Observation Haki to such a precise level?
Marco didn't know that Caesar had been training his Observation Haki blindfolded recently.
Although Caesar still hadn't mastered the ability to foresee the future, his precision with Observation Haki had greatly improved, and his ability to predict his enemy's movements had become sharper.
Caesar, noticing this change, felt encouraged. It meant his training was on the right track.
However, as a marksman, Izo's Observation Haki was no less impressive.
Almost the moment his bullets were shattered, he darted to the right, using the visual distortion from his sudden acceleration to fire several more shots.
A faint smile appeared on Caesar's lips as he raised his index finger. A red flash, and a few more drops of blood precisely intercepted the incoming bullets.
"How many bullets do you have?"
Caesar grinned at Izo, his fingertip flashing red once more.
Biu—
A crimson streak shot out, and Izo felt a chill run down his spine. He twisted his body just in time to narrowly avoid the flying blood droplet.
In the next instant, a thick tree trunk not far behind him exploded into a shower of splinters, leaving a walnut-sized hole in its center!
"Tsk tsk, that would've been bad if it hit…"
Marco clicked his tongue as he observed the hole. Though the area of impact was small, the edges of the hole were smooth and precise.
Normally, bullets enhanced with Haki would cause significant destruction upon impact, not only piercing the target but also causing widespread damage.
The damage caused by Caesar, though seemingly minor, was deceptive. The fact that it could easily pierce Izo's bullets and the clean edges of the tree hole indicated that the power was simply too concentrated.
"This method of using Armament Haki… I've never seen anything like it…"
Of course not!
Hearing Marco's astonishment, a smile tugged at Caesar's lips.
Over the past period, his training had focused on two goals: foreseeing the future and mastering the use of Armament Haki, pushing it to a higher level.
This shooting technique was a small trick he had developed for using Armament Haki.
The principle was to compress Armament Haki to its limit, making it "viscous," and then rotate it, significantly enhancing its penetrating power.
With a lingering sense of fear, Izo glanced at the tree trunk that had been pierced through and gritted his teeth.
"Don't think you're the only one who can pull off tricks like this!"
Bang! Bang!
Darting behind Caesar, two more gunshots rang out along the shore.
Though only two shots were fired, Caesar's Observation Haki detected four bullets!
And unlike before, this time the bullets carried a faint, sharp whistling sound!
Caesar tilted his head slightly, and in his vision, the four bullets were each surrounded by a ring-like slash, resembling a planetary ring!
Holy Gun Kata, is this how Armament Haki can be used?
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