Black vines imbued with Armament Haki flew out from the wooden giant, lunging at Buggy.
"I always feel a sense of incongruity," Buggy said, swinging his blade to parry the vines. "It's like you're on the wrong set. Did you eat some Wood Release Fruit? This thing is just like the Wood Golem Technique."
Buggy used Geppo to flash onto the wooden giant's shoulder. "Magnetic Field Rotation: 50,000 Horsepower—Thunder Roar Cannon!"
The Thunder Roar Cannon hit the wooden giant and was absorbed directly. Then, a tree at the stern of the ship exploded, its core already carbonized by the high temperature.
Did he redirect the attack elsewhere?
"Don't give my Devil Fruit strange names," the wooden giant said, swatting at Buggy with a giant hand. At the same time, vines sprouted from the giant's shoulder, attempting to bind Buggy's feet.
"Ursus Shock." A paw-shaped shockwave repelled the wooden giant's massive hand; it was Bonney commanding Bartholomew Kuma to attack.
The shadows of the trees on the ship seemed to come alive, turning into sharp spears that pierced into the wood.
Moriah also activated his Devil Fruit Ability, Black Box.
"These things don't seem to fear piercing attacks. Black Box, Second Form: Brick Bat."
The Shadow Spears sprouted sharp serrations and began cutting through the plants on the ship.
"Hey big guy, look over here... Mero Mero Mellow." A charming voice rang out, catching the wooden giant's attention.
A pink heart-shaped beam shot from Hancock's hand and struck the wooden giant, but it had no effect.
"He clearly looks like a lecherous fellow, so why wasn't he attracted to me?" Hancock hadn't expected Aramaki to be immune to Mero Mero Mellow and avoid petrification.
"This guy's fruit has awakened; he's likely become a 'forest man.' And it wasn't entirely useless..." Buggy noticed a cluster of flowers suddenly blooming around the wooden giant's waist.
For a plant, does this count as pitching a tent?
"Damn it! Perfume Femur!" Hancock snapped in annoyance. "Even a plant should be captivated by me!"
The parts of the wooden giant that were kicked petrified and shattered, but compared to its dozens-of-meters height, such small injuries meant little.
But the one Aramaki feared most was another person.
Crocodile looked at the plants covering the ship. "It seems I've found someone whose ability is countered by mine..."
He grinned wickedly and placed his right hand on the deck. "Ground Death."
Moisture was sucked dry from wherever Crocodile touched, gradually spreading outward. Whether it was the deck or the plants upon it, everything crumbled into sand. The ground seemed to die, turning into a cracked wasteland.
"Bastard..." Aramaki hastily activated his fruit ability to counter Crocodile's desertification. The green plants and the yellow desert were locked in a stalemate, but without the moisture needed for growth, the plants were steadily losing ground.
The crux was that they were on the ocean; there was plenty of water below, but Aramaki didn't dare absorb it.
The wooden giant crumbled and disintegrated, and Aramaki's figure flew out. The katana in his hand had turned into an Armament-clad black blade as he charged at Crocodile, who posed a greater threat.
But a magnificent sword blocked his attack—the black blade Yoru, one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, wielded by none other than the world's strongest swordsman.
"Both of the newly appointed Admirals carry swords. I wonder how your swordsmanship measures up?" Hawkeye looked as if he had spotted prey.
He wanted to find strong opponents to test his skills; two guys in the Buggy Pirates wanted to spar with him.
But Daz's level was too low, and the other one... "It's not that I'm not dodging, it's just how the Chop-Chop Fruit works. Slashing attacks are useless against me anyway. Why don't you try a different weapon? Alvida's iron mace is quite good. Don't be constrained by one type of weapon; everything can be a sword."
Thinking of the Captain's self-righteous look made Hawkeye's irritation rise. That guy had no swordsman's soul at all; he had no idea how he'd learned Roger's swordsmanship.
Having finally encountered a Marine Admiral who used a sword, Hawkeye didn't want to let him go.
Aramaki felt a sense of powerlessness; this was the first time he had been besieged by so many powerful individuals.
This must be how Whitebeard felt during the Marineford War.
A cluster of dazzling flowers suddenly bloomed on the ship. Their petals spun rapidly like propellers, blowing pollen in all directions.
"What's this? Deep Forest Bloom?" Buggy held his breath and used Armament Haki to isolate himself.
"I told you not to give them strange names!" Aramaki roared. "This is Paralysis Powder. Unless you can hold your breath indefinitely, inhaling even a tiny bit will render you unable to move."
He didn't expect this move to take them down; he only wanted to divert their attention.
Aramaki swung his katana with his right hand at Hawkeye, while the five fingers of his left hand suddenly lengthened, stabbing toward Hawkeye's abdomen from a tricky angle.
As long as even one could pierce his body, Aramaki could drain a massive amount of life energy.
"Another fellow without a swordsman's soul," Hawkeye sighed. "Night..."
Aramaki's vision went dark as the sword shadows of the black blade Yoru filled the surrounding space, severing the vines formed from his fingers and wrapped in Armament.
In an instant, countless wounds appeared on Aramaki's body.
With a flash of green light, the wounds on Aramaki's body healed.
"Wait, Captain Buggy, how about we make a deal?" Aramaki shouted as he did his best to block Hawkeye's assault. "There are things on my ship you'll definitely be interested in. I'll trade them for our safe departure."
Half the plants on the ship had already turned to sand, and Aramaki couldn't be bothered to grow more.
Even if the others didn't act, he would have a hard time dealing with just Crocodile and Hawkeye.
Fortunately, he had absorbed a large amount of life energy recently, which would allow him to hold out for a long time.
"What could be worth more than the life of a Marine Admiral?" Buggy said. "Besides, if I kill you, the things on the ship will be mine anyway."
"It's the officers of the Kaido Pirates. I've left Spore Bombs on them; with just a thought, they'll blow up and die," Aramaki said.
"If they die, they die. They're not part of my Pirate Crew, so why should I care if they live or die?" Buggy began to circulate his magnetic field power.
As the magnetism shifted, distant clouds were pulled in, and the once-clear sky was shrouded in dark clouds.
"Captain, whose side are you on? Don't go making it rain, or all my hard work will be for nothing," Crocodile said helplessly.
"I won't. I just need some lightning. This guy looks like he can take a beating, so I'll give him a heavy blow."
Buggy broke off a piece of his fingernail and let it fly into the air, activating the magnetic field power within it.
Lightning generated by the friction of the dark clouds was drawn in by the magnetic field power, converging to form a massive lightning spear aimed at Aramaki below.
"Magnetic Field Rotation: 150,000 Horsepower—Indra's Arrow!"
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