Kuina flew back and landed beside White Ghost.
"Rest," White Ghost said with a light smile. "Watch the next one. It'll help you."
"Mm." Kuina dismissed her transformation, took the towel Nami offered, wiped her face—and then lifted Nami into her arms without thinking.
Nami settled happily against her.
A moment later, Bai Hezi stepped down onto the ice and walked toward Bogard.
Uta watched with a quiet smile. Whatever name Bai Hezi had once carried, she was choosing who she would be now.
And recently, she'd been training like someone trying to prove she belonged—not as decoration, but as someone who could stand in the same storm as the crew.
Bogard looked at the second challenger and sighed slightly.
So I'm the whetstone today.
Bai Hezi drew Ame no Habakiri and Enma and released her power.
A dark-winged demon-girl form took shape around her.
Bogard's eyelid twitched. "Another Mythical Zoan…"
"Hell Slash!"
Bai Hezi crossed her blades, sending a black-flame coated slash forward—then surged in behind it, wings snapping as she closed distance.
Bogard cut the slash aside instantly—the flame carried danger, and he didn't want it touching him.
Then he caught the twin blades with his own.
CLANG!
He clicked his tongue. "Two named swords. And the last girl's weapon was a named sword too."
"You lot are loaded."
Bai Hezi didn't answer.
She pulled back and attacked in a rapid storm.
Clang-clang-clang—!
Bogard's eyes narrowed. "You're stronger than the last one."
"I've heard of you—Wano, right?"
"Shut up!" Bai Hezi's expression twisted with anger.
"I'm not Wano."
"I threw that identity away."
"I am Bai Hezi."
She cut a massive cross-shaped wave—
a hundred-meter X of black flame and steel.
Bogard stepped aside and let it pass rather than meeting the cursed flame head-on.
Something happened to her, he thought.
He knew the Navy's files: after White Ghost's New World period, a Wano girl and three Mink fighters appeared at his side. There were too many unanswered questions, and too many coincidences, for the Navy to be comfortable.
Bogard surged forward and thrust.
Bai Hezi's reaction speed—boosted by her Mythical Zoan—saved her. She slipped the line and counter-cut with both blades.
Bogard blocked cleanly. "Good reaction."
On shore, Garp paused his eating, eyes tracking the demon-winged fighter.
"Another Mythical Zoan…" he muttered. "White Ghost… what are you building?"
Ace stared hard. "Old man—Devil Fruits can boost you that much?"
"They can," Garp said. "But they come with weaknesses."
"Besides the sea?" Ace pressed.
Garp nodded. "They become poor swimmers."
"And Seastone—the sea's 'solid form'—can suppress Devil Fruit users instantly."
Then he added, voice heavier: "And there's also Haki."
"Haki?" Ace tilted his head.
Garp pointed toward the duel. "See that black power along their weapons? That's Haki."
Ace focused—and realized both of Bai Hezi's blades were coated in dark force.
"So that's Haki…"
"Haki is an energy every person carries," Garp said. "It has to be trained and drawn out."
"That girl's ahead of the last one because she can use it."
Ace's eyes burned with a different kind of hunger—pure desire for strength.
Back on the ice, Bai Hezi vanished forward with a burst of footwork—moving like a flash.
"Demon Flash Slash!"
Bogard drove his blade forward to stop her.
CLANG—!
Metal screamed. The ice under them fractured.
Bogard spoke into the pressure. "Your swordmaster realm is stable, but your Haki and sword control still aren't enough."
"Your power and speed are impressive for your age—"
"But you're still far behind me in Haki and technique."
"Stop talking!" Bai Hezi snarled, black energy flaring harder.
"Two-Sword Style—Hell Slash!"
She lunged again, relentless.
Bogard exhaled. Mythical Zoans are a headache…
On the ship, Ain watched closely.
"She's fighting more aggressively than before," Ain said.
Uta answered quietly. "After she ate that fruit, something in her changed."
"And after what happened recently… it's like she's trying to become someone else."
Ain didn't argue. She knew the truth now too.
Bai Hezi was still being watched—not as an enemy, but as someone who had to earn trust back over time.
On the ice, Bai Hezi was knocked back again, sliding hard.
Ain finally drew her blades. "That's enough. My turn."
Brook and Wanda, who'd been ready to step in, both eased back when they saw Ain move.
Bai Hezi forced one last strike—
"Hell Oni Slash!"
Bogard answered with the same clean draw-cut and pushed her back once more.
Ain dropped down and caught Bai Hezi mid-slide, steadying her.
"That's enough," Ain said gently but firmly. "You did what you could. Leave the rest to me."
Bai Hezi nodded, dismissed her transformation, and returned to the ship without protest.
She stopped in front of White Ghost, breathing heavy. "I lost."
White Ghost smiled faintly. "That's normal. He's a great swordsman. The gap is huge."
"Sit and watch."
Bai Hezi sat, took the towel Nami handed over, and looked down toward the ice—where Ain and Bogard were about to begin.
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