Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"It wasn't completely unharmed; my clothes were torn, and I almost had my arm severed."

[4. Chapter Four: Scatter, Senbonzakura]

This wasn't a sarcastic remark from Yann towards Gion; it was a genuine statement.

Arn's physique is unlike that of other strong individuals. Perhaps for other strong individuals, even if they were hit by Gion's flying slash, they would at most bleed on the spot, and their bones would not even break. They could grit their teeth and continue fighting as if nothing had happened.

But Yann knew very well that if he were to be slashed, his entire arm would likely be rendered useless.

However, Gion clearly did not believe the man's words. Instead, she pointed at Aon with the "Konpira" and said.

"Isn't this enough warm-up? Aren't you going to really make a move? Otherwise, don't worry about me being impolite."

Yaon clicked his tongue in exasperation and said, "Captain Gion, I'm really not good at fighting. Please spare me, and we'll call it a draw, okay?"

"Heh~"

Gion gave a cold smile, her gaze falling on the inconspicuous sword at Aon's waist, and said.

"Aren't you a swordsman too? Draw your sword. Besides, Sister Tsuru said you're a 'Cherry Cherry Fruit' user, so show us your abilities."

"Cherry Blossom Fruit?"

Yaen's expression instantly turned as if he were constipated, and he shouted towards Sengoku at the edge of the training field.

“Old man, I’ve told you several times, it’s not ‘cherry-cherry fruit’, it’s ‘cherry blossom fruit’.”

“You brat, ‘Cherry Blossom Fruit’ is the correct name for this newly discovered Devil Fruit,” Sengoku replied loudly, feigning seriousness.

"What a bastard!" Yann couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse.

Gion's tone grew increasingly sharp. "In any case, draw your sword, Aeon, and let me see your power."

"Ugh……"

Yern sighed, casually drawing the katana hidden at his waist, and said, "Actually, I'm really not a swordsman, and this sword has never been used for slashing..."

However, the repeated conversations had completely worn down Gion's patience.

The next moment, before Aon could finish speaking, Gion transformed into a pink streak, its hidden golden light pointing directly at Aon's chest.

Faced with Gion's unusually fierce and swift attack, this time Aon did not dodge, but instead raised the sword in his hand and chanted.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

As Arn finished speaking, the sword, which Arn called "Senbonzakura," began to disintegrate rapidly from its tip, like beautiful and dazzling cherry blossoms blooming and separating one after another.

In just a moment, Senbonzakura's blade had completely disappeared, leaving only the hilt and guard in Arn's hand.

The next moment, Gion appeared in front of Aon, and "Kinpira" stabbed straight at Aon's chest.

However, the large number of cherry blossoms that had been drifting around Arn gathered instantly, deflecting "Kinpira" from the side.

"what?!"

Gion was astonished that those seemingly fragile and beautiful cherry blossoms actually contained a tremendous impact, even capable of forcibly altering the trajectory of "Konpira".

Unbeknownst to her, a cherry blossom gently brushed past Gion's cheek.

"Zi!"

A gash instantly appeared on Gion's fair skin, and drops of bright red blood seeped out.

"This isn't cherry blossom, it's... a sword?!"

Gion's Observation Haki swept across the scene, instantly revealing that these beautiful pink cherry blossoms were actually tiny blades.

Gion stared wide-eyed at Aon, who was standing in front of her, slowly adjusting his glasses, and a feeling suddenly arose in her heart.

'Fragile, beautiful, and dangerous!'

The next moment, Gion's long, beautiful legs suddenly reversed their momentum, defying common sense, and her entire posture changed from charging forward to retreating, instantly retreating more than ten meters, trying to distance herself from the dangerous cherry blossoms beside Aon.

However, almost in the blink of an eye, when Gion came to her senses again, she found that the area within her sight was completely covered by the ever-present cherry blossoms.

'So fast! '

Gion had no time to think; with a single movement of the "Konpira," she adopted an offensive strategy as a form of defense.

"One-Sword Style: Bira Ranbu"

In an instant, a large number of golden flying slashes were continuously released by Gion as she retreated, sweeping towards the cherry blossoms like countless turbulent currents.

The cherry blossoms, like leaves in a raging wind, flew and slashed, scattering and falling to the ground wherever they went.

"it's useless……"

Standing motionless, Yann shook his head and said.

"Cherry blossoms are fragile, but it's not so easy to make them disappear completely."

Immediately, Yann gently lifted the hilt of Senbonzakura, and the countless cherry blossoms that had scattered on the ground glowed pink and gathered up again. They even bypassed the cherry blossoms from the side and surrounded Gion.

"Oops!"

Gion gritted her teeth and instantly used "Armament Haki" and "Naval Rokushiki: Iron Body" as defensive techniques. She stood still as if she were a solid piece of black steel, forcefully resisting the cherry blossoms that surrounded her.

"Ding ding ding..."

A series of loud crashes rang out, making Yann's teeth ache.

"Captain Gion, you've put me in a difficult position. 'Iron Body' is a move that's practically suicide for the average person. Even if I don't want to beat you, there's nothing I can do." Yann's tone was full of helplessness.

Gion, as expected of a future Navy Admiral candidate, is still young, but her mastery of "Naval Rokushiki: Iron Body" and "Armament Haki" is by no means weak.

Numerous cherry blossoms swirled around Gion, yet they couldn't harm the garden in the slightest.

However, Aon was well aware of the fact that "Senbonzakura" was relatively weak in attack power, and he was not in a hurry to break through Gion's defense in the short term.

After all, if he maintained the Zanpakuto's Shikai form, Aon could easily hold out until Gion was so exhausted that she had to lie down.

Ten breaths, one hundred breaths, five hundred breaths...

Gion is truly stubborn. Aen doesn't know why she keeps persisting. Even though her Armament Haki looks much weaker, she just won't give up.

Unfortunately, Yann would not allow himself to be defeated. Otherwise, given Sengoku's character and integrity, he might have forced him to "marry" Gion, thus making him willing to become a Marine.

How can this be allowed?

Gion may be very good, and her strength will be comparable to that of an admiral in the future. She is stunningly beautiful, with a graceful figure and a pair of beautiful legs that are captivating. But how can Aon allow his dream to stop at Gion?

"So, I apologize, Captain Gion, for being so rude on our first meeting."

Ahn said apologetically, then gripped the hilt of Senbonzakura and slashed it sharply towards Gion.

Suddenly, the rotation speed of the numerous cherry blossoms that were constantly cutting through Gion increased dramatically, and the pink color reflected under the sunlight became even more dazzling.

[5. Chapter Five: The Spiritual Pressure of the "Nineteen Chariots"]

The next moment, Gion, who was already being ground down like soybeans by Yone, faced an attack that suddenly became several times more intense, and the defenses she was maintaining collapsed instantly.

"Ah~"

With a groan from Gion, a large amount of blood splattered from Gion's body, almost instantly staining her pink top red.

With a flick of his wrist, Yann manipulated the cherry blossoms from Gion's body, causing them to drift gently down around him, and spoke softly.

"Don't worry, Captain Gion, all the attacks have avoided vital points."

However, as Gion supported herself on the ground with her "Konpira" and slowly stood up with one hand covering her chest,

Ahn suddenly noticed that Gion's clothes were now tattered, revealing large areas of her fair and delicate skin, and her expression was one of shame and indignation.

'Oh no, this is a huge misunderstanding!'

As Yann swallowed hard, he couldn't help but put one hand to his forehead, covering most of his eyes in the process.

However, there were inevitably some gaps between the fingers, which allowed Aeon to clearly see that Gion's expression was extremely unpleasant.

"What a brilliant attack, avoiding all vital points..."

Gion's chest heaved as she gritted her teeth and said, "Aan, is this how you use your Devil Fruit power—for such thuggish purposes?"

Immediately afterward, without waiting for Aon's explanation, Gion flashed away and left the training ground using "Naval Six Styles: Shave".

"Ugh……"

With a helpless sigh, Yann released the initial release of Senbonzakura, transforming the cherry blossoms back into blades and sheathing them. However, he couldn't help but look up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, his face full of melancholy, deeply regretting his decision to use "Soul-Slaying Blade: Senbonzakura" as a facade to deceive Sengoku.

Because Arn's physique was much weaker than that of ordinary people, Sengoku did everything he could to collect Devil Fruits for Arn in order to enhance his strength.

Ultimately, Arn was presented with a lower-level Logia-type Devil Fruit, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, and an unknown Devil Fruit, and was given the choice to make.

Yann's choice, however, was that unknown Devil Fruit.

It's not that Yann has a strong gambler's mentality.

In fact, the reason why Yann chose that unknown Devil Fruit was precisely to be cautious and try to use it to conceal his special ability—"Zanpakuto".

Based on his current research and summary of his own abilities, Yann discovered that on his birthday every year, he would randomly awaken a Soul-Slaying Blade.

These Zanpakuto have different names, uses, and abilities, but most of them are useless grunts. Only a few are Zanpakuto that Ahn is familiar with, such as: Senbonzakura, Tenken, Hibiki, Gosei-to, and Satsuchi-kaze.

These newly awakened Zanpakuto can only achieve "Shikai". As for the more powerful "Bankai", only Zanpakuto that have undergone "Bankai" in Aon's memory can be further released, and they also need sufficient spiritual pressure to be infused into them.

However, since Aon is not a true Shinigami, he has no idea how to cultivate spiritual pressure. The only way he can obtain it is by breaking those useless Zanpakuto.

According to Yann's calculations, the spiritual pressure obtained after a normal Shikai Zanpakuto is broken can be simply counted as a basic vice-captain level unit.

"Senbonzakura" requires at least fifteen vice-captain units of spiritual pressure to perform its "Bankai," while "Divine Punishment" requires thirteen.

As for the other sword that could be "Bankai," the "Zanpakuto: Dienchifu," it had already been destroyed as a test subject by Yon, but unexpectedly gained spiritual pressure equivalent to six vice-captain units.

It just so happens that the original owner of "Broken Ground Wind" is Kensei Rokugura from the anime "Bleach". For the sake of convenience, Aon simply counts the spiritual pressure of each vice-captain unit as "one car".

As a result, the total spiritual pressure that Aon can allocate now is "nineteen carts", which is only enough to unleash the "Bankai" of "Senbonzakura", but it is far from enough to unleash the "Bankai" of both Zanpakuto at the same time.

Therefore, the weak and frail Yan understood that the longer he lived, the stronger he would become, and he had no need to take unnecessary risks.

Just as Arn was feeling melancholy, Sengoku appeared beside him in a flash, smiling as he spoke.

"You brat, congratulations on defeating Captain Gion. You may be the strongest rising star among the young generation of the Navy."

"Old man, don't try to flatter me."

Yaen shook his head and said dejectedly.

"You know my situation. My potential is limited, and I guess this is how my life will be."